'Dale Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 Craig Boyes took $ glory on his alu clinchers. The loose sand on the descent of Malanshoogtr was a perfect ambush after a magnificent stretch of initial gravel. Was involved in a pile up at the front of %, rushed out of there and kept good leg speed to the finish. A positive and negative Excellent organization in the marshaling and road signage dept.Terrible seeding process that really mixes up racing / riding capabilities. Skubarra, mikkelz and NixM 3
'Dale Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 But, hey, did the weather gods smile on the race or what...
'Dale Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 In middle section of the gravel part it looked like the first 15 minutes of Saving Private Ryan... bodies everywhere.... Analogy of the day.True...
milky4130 Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 I was feeling strong and then somewhere on the Malan's hoogte rd (after gravel) I just lost my legs and could not stick to that front bunch. Most of the % group must have passed me by the time I crossed the matts. Personally I think it is stupid to add the gravel section. If it was just a climb it should have been fine. Well organized race. Hope the organizers reached their targetswell My understanding is the initial route which doesn't include the gravel section couldn't be used due to a road that washed away during that heavy winter rainfall we had. So it's an exception this year. I don't know the area to well to say it should've been diverted to another tarred road section.
straatvark Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 (edited) https://picasaweb.google.com/111324164786249356699/20140208_99er_Export# Edited February 8, 2014 by straatvark mikkelz 1
milky4130 Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 Awesome race !! Loved the route, but from $, the bunch was way too big !! Anyone know who won and what there time was ?craig Bouys our time must've been 2:29, 'twas a bunch sprint on that climb, hectic stuff.
straatvark Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 Craig Boyes took $ glory on his alu clinchers. The loose sand on the descent of Malanshoogtr was a perfect ambush after a magnificent stretch of initial gravel. Was involved in a pile up at the front of %, rushed out of there and kept good leg speed to the finish. A positive and negative Excellent organization in the marshaling and road signage dept.Terrible seeding process that really mixes up racing / riding capabilities. I was amazed:How loose the first 2 or 3 bunches worked that sandy patches. I wish I had taken before and after photos.How big the leading 2 or 3 bunches was - no changes of really picking a line.How the big bunches disintegrated on Malanshoogte.How brutal that last 12-15 km is. (and I was on a motorbike) Well done all! mikkelz and milky4130 2
AuctionLamb Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 Loved the race...gravel was in a very good condition. If you fell on the gravel section you were just going too fast for your skill level regarding racing and holding a line. Go a bit slower till you feel comfortable to handle your bike. Yesterday everyone was raving about the gravel... Saw plenty of times random guys who want to sit in front when they do not belong there...accident waiting to happen. Race only started on Malanshoogte! Well organised race with a curve ball!! milky4130, NixM, Gerlach and 1 other 4
brussel Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 I was really disappointed by the number of riders in $ that I saw turfing their gel wrappers on the road deliberately.
Reece_Rower Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 I was in the % bunch and right behind the crash. Did some bundu bashing and managed to get around it and stay on my bike, but by then the bunch was too far ahead. I agree with the marshalling being excellent because it really was. My thanks to the two marshalls on the motobikes who had to try and contain the whole of % and A bunch.
dommisse Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 I was in the % bunch and right behind the crash. Did some bundu bashing and managed to get around it and stay on my bike, but by then the bunch was too far ahead. I agree with the marshalling being excellent because it really was. My thanks to the two marshalls on the motobikes who had to try and contain the whole of % and A bunch.I think at least half of that bunch should be DQ'ed for crossing the white line on many occasions!
Soggy Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 What an awesome race, but sad to see so many accidents. Hope the guys affected are ok
lucmccann Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 Yeah i really enjoyed that ride! Went out quite hard in A and between about 5/6 of us we managed to pull back the % bunch in 35kms...after that i just tried to stay out of trouble in the bunch. When we hit Malans I decided to rather be cautious and took it easy through there and then rolled through to the finish. Nice easy spin to keep the legs loose for tomorrows league ride. Also a little confused by the seeding process, I saw many guys that clearly didn't belong in the % group and many very strong guys in the A group, it was a bit sketchy when our groups joined, lots of nervous riders being indecisive about movements almost caused a few pile-ups.
lucmccann Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 (edited) https://picasaweb.go...08_99er_Export# That guy in A on the 29er hardtail was a machine today! Edited February 8, 2014 by lucmccann
DJR Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 Absolutely super day on the bike, from the weather, the route, even the gravel, the nasty sting in the tail, the super marshalling to the big smiles of the friendly volunteers at the finish! You all get this from me and team DJR What I particularly liked is that my 13 year old managed to beat his 14 year old brother by about a half hour. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I know how sweet it must taste. That I worked like a domestique dog and showed him all those precious wheel-sucking tricks, take nothing away from it. Next race I might help the older one for a change? At the very least after today I know they are going to be ready for the Argus! Wannabe, cobus3000, lucmccann and 1 other 4
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