ScottCM Posted February 19, 2018 Posted February 19, 2018 Started in FL Think it was the right batch for me but we went nice and fast by my standards, first 40km in 53min. Do think they messed up with the VP seeding though as we started to catch them regularly from 6km onwards. After covering 43km in the first hour things looked good till we got to the back of SBR when we once again passed a straggler. The guy on my left wasn't concentrating and tried to push in between the straggler and the tandem in front of me. Needless to say, this meant he hit the deck right in front of me and with nowhere to go i went over the top of him. By god's grace i somehow managed to stay on my feet, run to the side of the road without being hit. Once the bunch went passed i collected my bike, fixed the chain and hoped for the best as i pursued the finish line. With the hills starting the bunches got split up and i was able to join the Africa Alive group and finished the race. Uninjured but bike has some scratches which hurts more at this point in time
AryM Posted February 19, 2018 Posted February 19, 2018 My alarm went off at 4am and I thought fuckthisshit, but I toughened up and rode AL and chilled in the main bunch. Saw some dude go down around the 20km mark and we had a few twitchy moments later on when the 60k route joined up. Always going to be an issue and I don't see how things will change.. Bottom line is that its flat and fast race so you need to have your game on and stay focused and not ride like a ****. That said I'm going to move up to VB and test those waters. Came in at 2:58 with the main bunch in a sprint. AND So cool to see a sold out event. Its a good sign folks. 100% my race report too! All was fine in the main bunch until we met with the 62km riders. Was sitting 8/10th wheel when was caught behind a tandem, then a dude with huge tricycle wheels. Managed to get a gap & re-joined in 30th place.Also, that little zig-zag @ Carnival with the cones, Jeez, guys went straight on & re-joined later. Nearly took out the traffic police stationed there.I had work to do, but finished strongly with the bunch in 2:58Solid ride from the guys. Can't believe Stefano & Ari broke away & stayed away!Power!
mecheng89 Posted February 19, 2018 Author Posted February 19, 2018 My account of the race - CL start, we took control of the pace from the start along with a gentleman from Vaal club. Surges felt a lot more manageable, which provided for more consistent racing. Got a pretty good jolt once we saw a large group ahead of us going down Steps and realized it was BL! Still not entirely convinced it was the entire group, but a remarkable achievement nonetheless. Turns out, it was the entire BL group since the first CL crossed the line before the first BL! My race ended prematurely just as we turned left onto Joan Ave towards SBR. Perhaps it was for the best after I heard about all the crashes. So ends my summer season.
mecheng89 Posted February 19, 2018 Author Posted February 19, 2018 I got 19 PB on today's race, according to strava, Garmin only gave me 3 records. New PB for me too. I shudder to think what the Elites do over the first 40k.
mecheng89 Posted February 19, 2018 Author Posted February 19, 2018 100% my race report too! All was fine in the main bunch until we met with the 62km riders. Was sitting 8/10th wheel when was caught behind a tandem, then a dude with huge tricycle wheels. Managed to get a gap & re-joined in 30th place.Also, that little zig-zag @ Carnival with the cones, Jeez, guys went straight on & re-joined later. Nearly took out the traffic police stationed there.I had work to do, but finished strongly with the bunch in 2:58Solid ride from the guys. Can't believe Stefano & Ari broke away & stayed away!Power!Repeat of 2017 edition. Organizers obviously haven't listened or no one complained load enough.
geomark Posted February 19, 2018 Posted February 19, 2018 My account of the race - CL start, we took control of the pace from the start along with a gentleman from Vaal club. Surges felt a lot more manageable, which provided for more consistent racing. Got a pretty good jolt once we saw a large group ahead of us going down Steps and realized it was BL! Still not entirely convinced it was the entire group, but a remarkable achievement nonetheless. Turns out, it was the entire BL group since the first CL crossed the line before the first BL! My race ended prematurely just as we turned left onto Joan Ave towards SBR. Perhaps it was for the best after I heard about all the crashes. So ends my summer season. Well that would explain why I got spat out the back of the CL lead groups so early
Nibali Posted February 19, 2018 Posted February 19, 2018 Seems like CL is the place to be. Have had some of my best races out of that bunch.
Escapee.. Posted February 19, 2018 Posted February 19, 2018 My account of the race - CL start, we took control of the pace from the start along with a gentleman from Vaal club. Surges felt a lot more manageable, which provided for more consistent racing. Got a pretty good jolt once we saw a large group ahead of us going down Steps and realized it was BL! Still not entirely convinced it was the entire group, but a remarkable achievement nonetheless. Turns out, it was the entire BL group since the first CL crossed the line before the first BL! My race ended prematurely just as we turned left onto Joan Ave towards SBR. Perhaps it was for the best after I heard about all the crashes. So ends my summer season. What happened? We had a good club ride back in GL, around 20 and all of us finished together in 3h38ish Only heard one crash behind me just before Heidelberg. It was going to happen sooner or later as a couple of the guys rode all over the place Was a massive bunch for the first 45km
s14phoenix Posted February 19, 2018 Posted February 19, 2018 2:58 in AL and I actually was able to hang on and not get dropped. Enjoyed the last little bit until we got to the turn in at the stadium... I don't see why we always have to make these finishes as technical as possible. I think the race organisers need to start taking the group safety in consideration and make for bigger and less technical finish areas as these bottlenecks and 90deg turns are so unnecessary. Otherwise I really enjoyed the race. The number collection was a circus of note.
Schnavel Posted February 19, 2018 Posted February 19, 2018 Capture3.PNG New PB for me too. I shudder to think what the Elites do over the first 40k. The racing was relatively subdued for the first 40km - 49,5kph average However, once we turned left towards Suikerbosrand around the 50km mark, the intensity went through the roof.
Underachiever Posted February 19, 2018 Posted February 19, 2018 2:58 in AL and I actually was able to hang on and not get dropped. Enjoyed the last little bit until we got to the turn in at the stadium... I don't see why we always have to make these finishes as technical as possible. I think the race organisers need to start taking the group safety in consideration and make for bigger and less technical finish areas as these bottlenecks and 90deg turns are so unnecessary. Otherwise I really enjoyed the race. The number collection was a circus of note.To be honest, a sprint finish will always be potentially dangerous, even if you place it on a wide, dead straight road.
Underachiever Posted February 19, 2018 Posted February 19, 2018 My account of the race - CL start, we took control of the pace from the start along with a gentleman from Vaal club. Surges felt a lot more manageable, which provided for more consistent racing. Got a pretty good jolt once we saw a large group ahead of us going down Steps and realized it was BL! Still not entirely convinced it was the entire group, but a remarkable achievement nonetheless. Turns out, it was the entire BL group since the first CL crossed the line before the first BL! My race ended prematurely just as we turned left onto Joan Ave towards SBR. Perhaps it was for the best after I heard about all the crashes. So ends my summer season. Surges and breakaways are part of racing - what you describing is a coffee ride .
ScottCM Posted February 19, 2018 Posted February 19, 2018 To be honest, a sprint finish will always be potentially dangerous, even if you place it on a wide, dead straight road. Ala Fast One finish
s14phoenix Posted February 19, 2018 Posted February 19, 2018 Ala Fast One finish I don't know - fast one has quite a bottle neck last year where the road narrows just before the line. But Ja... always risky. Just wish they wouldn't make it worse than it already is. But hey that's racing.
Dexter-morgan Posted February 19, 2018 Posted February 19, 2018 My account of the race - CL start, we took control of the pace from the start along with a gentleman from Vaal club. Surges felt a lot more manageable, which provided for more consistent racing. Got a pretty good jolt once we saw a large group ahead of us going down Steps and realized it was BL! Still not entirely convinced it was the entire group, but a remarkable achievement nonetheless. Turns out, it was the entire BL group since the first CL crossed the line before the first BL! My race ended prematurely just as we turned left onto Joan Ave towards SBR. Perhaps it was for the best after I heard about all the crashes. So ends my summer season. That sucks!!
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