Omar Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 chatting to the organisers of league the other day, that is why they punted the interclub category as a stepping stone for riding elite or in the open section in category three. the youngsters can progress to elite as they get better. even now the laaities come out of u16's and can go straight into the elite/juniors, the gap in standards is just too big for most of them. but thats the ppa for you.
duringd Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Started in combined F-G group.Start was quite relaxed, in fact, pace up to Botmans Kop / Riebeek Kasteel was chilled. Pace started picking up going up Botmans, and as I'm not the strongest climber (but I climb at a steady pace) , a small group got away on the front. Going down the other side we formed a small chasing group, with myself and four other riders doing the bulk of the work chasing the front group down. A couple of km after the T junction I managed to bridge the gap to the front group (and brought the groupetto with). We then kept the pace nice and high and steady. Once joining up with the shorter distance riders it became interesting, trying to get past riders all over the road without going over the white line too often, the watchfull eye of the Motorcycle Marshall always on us.Things became a bit easier after turning left on the Voorpaardeberg rd, up to Windmeul. Pace was ever increasing on this stretch, trying to make the bunch a bit smaller.Once on the R44 it again was difficult to pass the slower shorter route riders. Once on the "Fairview" stretch the pace was hot right up to the end. A few riders tried to get off the front, but they were closed down quickly.The final stretch was really hairy, with the pace we were going (I clocked 65.8km/h on the run in to the mats), the cones placed all over the show, and the slower riders behaving very erraticly.I actually decided that safety was more important than sprinting for 300th position (if only I knew we were at the sharp end of the F-G bunch) and did not go all out in the last couple meters and some riders came past me.Was surprised to see on the results that I ended in the top 10 of the group. Like I said, if only I knew. But I'm happy with my ever improving form, did not suffer from any cramps or fatique at all. I was in that first couple of guys racing towards the finish. Looking back I just cannot understand why our group wasn't a bit faster starting? The D/E group guys flew along in a much bigger group?
Wannabe Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 I was in that first couple of guys racing towards the finish. Looking back I just cannot understand why our group wasn't a bit faster starting? The D/E group guys flew along in a much bigger group? They had more B/C riders there to help friends improve their seeding.
lucmccann Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Thanks for the race report for Cat 2 Luke. Sounds like it was a good one. I raced in Cat 3 and the only thing I can say is that I let those okes from Robert Daniel catch me on Botmas! We're you the guy that came to join my little break off the front of the bunch just before the start of the climb?
Tiny K Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Thanx for the concern Kent and congrats on taking 1st position in group D. Yes, lots of pushing and shoving going on in the last 3km as all those lazy riders, sucking wheel the entire race, lining up for the sprint. I suppose the beacons in the road didn't help much either. I sustained some bad injuries on my left knee and I guess it was the adrenalin still pumping that made me get up, fix my wheel and carry on to finish the race. Death before DNF I live to ride another day! Thanx againStar Rider Glad you Ok boet. I have a rough idea of what happened, but not too sure. Think wheels were overlapped - I stood up and, not knowing you were there, took your front wheel out - Sorry man I went back to look for you but you had obviously gotten up. Asked the marshall and he said you got up and finished.
Breezer Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Ppa moet dit regtig oorweeg om die A groep voor die cat3 te laat wegspring. Toe ons hulle inry was die bondel hopeloos te groot vir die smal agterpaaie.
Tankman Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Nice pics Tankman. Looks like you were MOOOOVVVING! Nice time too! Naaa, I was just out having fun to tick over some miles!
'Dale Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 They had more B/C riders there to help friends improve their seeding. Unacceptable. It should lead to DQs.
'Dale Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Ppa moet dit regtig oorweeg om die A groep voor die cat3 te laat wegspring. Toe ons hulle inry was die bondel hopeloos te groot vir die smal agterpaaie. It happened lots last year when the main bunch of Vets got reeled in at about 75 kms on the course on average. The laaities in A kan gooi!
andydude Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Unacceptable.It should lead to DQs. Agree. It makes a mockery of trying to do seedings as if it isn't difficult enough already.
babse Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 any race report from cat1 bunch?racetec shows some very interesting results... cat2 as fast as always bt the A-C bunch seemed to be a mission! share your race experience speedsters
Pure Savage Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 They had more B/C riders there to help friends improve their seeding. I was one of the B/C riders in the D bunch. I rode there with my mates for fun as they had a E seeding. There were not that many B/C's in the group maybe 5 and they did not do a lot of work on the front. So the theory the group was pulled round by higher seeded riders falls a bit flat. Next week we are starting in F-G with some more mates cause PPA do not use the DC for seeding, so have no rides to use for seeding. These rides are for the vibe
Breezer Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 any race report from cat1 bunch?racetec shows some very interesting results... cat2 as fast as always bt the A-C bunch seemed to be a mission! share your race experience speedstersA-C went hard from the go. We caught the cat3 bunch just before the agricultural school and rode with them to the finish. There was 2 riders that got away from our group, but I did not see where and when.
DJTerblanche Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Nice Pics.This was quite an awesome race for me.Started in group H-J.Group J-K caught us after 30 minutes. and the peleton were about 100 big when we hit botmanskop.The group naturally split but we were still like 50 big and kept together until the rollers came.There was one guy who had to sort his back wheel out as it was going flat at the water stop before the rollers, was a nice oke - bad luck!The rollers split us up to like 17 and I just managed to hang on.When we joined with the short course guys, they latched unto us and it became quite a big peleton again, so much that I couldn't get to the front again as I had to stay inside the white line. But I am very happy with the race results!
Stoffies1 Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Cyclelab Cat 2 report (not my work) Looking at the overall time/results its seems clear that a few of the stronger guys in Cat 2 should be riding Cat 1 and visa versa.
babse Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 A-C went hard from the go. We caught the cat3 bunch just before the agricultural school and rode with them to the finish. There was 2 riders that got away from our group, but I did not see where and when. why was cat3 ahead of A-C?what made it different from the week before when they started behind A-C?
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