[Event] Cape Town Cycle Tour 2023

[WattsTheFuss]

Whats the best group to start in, to ride a Sub3 without any aggressive surges and rather a constant high tempo ride?

[The Ouzo]

14 minutes ago, WattsTheFuss said:

Whats the best group to start in, to ride a Sub3 without any aggressive surges and rather a constant high tempo ride?

its a bit late to be worrying about that. you should already have a seeding group that you should be starting in

[Skubarra]

13 minutes ago, WattsTheFuss said:

Whats the best group to start in, to ride a Sub3 without any aggressive surges and rather a constant high tempo ride?

I guess in theory 1A? Although most years your odds for a sub-3 is much better in the "aggressive surges" racing groups...

[WattsTheFuss]

5 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

its a bit late to be worrying about that. you should already have a seeding group that you should be starting in

Not worried, was just a Question, Seeded in 1A 

[The Ouzo]

6 minutes ago, WattsTheFuss said:

Not worried, was just a Question, Seeded in 1A 

someone posted a nice graph a good few pages back indicating the median times per start group, my guess would be that those groups with more finishers in the sub 3 would have less aggression mid pack. Or, if you're really strong, starting in a group where the front outliers did sub 3 would put you in a smaller bunch with hopefully less aggression 

[Jbr]

16 hours ago, bleedToWin said:

Now just don't go and mis the break at Cycle Tour!

I’ll just stick to your wheel, you seem to have a 100% success rate in this field 💪💪

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, WattsTheFuss said:

Whats the best group to start in, to ride a Sub3 without any aggressive surges and rather a constant high tempo ride?

You may need to consider the zwift ctct for this…..#semanet

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, The Ouzo said:

someone posted a nice graph a good few pages back indicating the median times per start group, my guess would be that those groups with more finishers in the sub 3 would have less aggression mid pack. Or, if you're really strong, starting in a group where the front outliers did sub 3 would put you in a smaller bunch with hopefully less aggression 

The less the aggression the lower the chances of <3. It’s just not possible as the seeding is a crap shoot of loyalty aspects. 
 

the main surges will happen off the startline, creating Edinburgh drive, big one up Smits after the last bend, then ocean view and little chappies again. 
this is how it happens every year if you’re in the front 10% of your bunch. 
mid mot you can add the M3 past uct, from Constantia road to steenberg road and the drop to Scarborough. 
 

sub3 is a hard day out no matter which way you try to skin it. 

[Skubarra]

37 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

sub3 is a hard day out no matter which way you try to skin it. 

Yes and no - if you are a decent climber you only have to make sure you stick on the sections you mentioned, the rest of the ride fairly mundane and gives you the chance to recover. Even if you are a bit heavier rider the climbs mentioned are not that long, you just bleed through the ears for a minute or so longer and make sure you are not at the back of the bunch when the group hits those climbs.

[The Ouzo]

3 minutes ago, Skubarra said:

Yes and no - if you are a decent climber you only have to make sure you stick on the sections you mentioned, the rest of the ride fairly mundane and gives you the chance to recover. Even if you are a bit heavier rider the climbs mentioned are not that long, you just bleed through the ears for a minute or so longer and make sure you are not at the back of the bunch when the group hits those climbs.

you make its sound easy.

I bled through my ears doing a 3:40 (my best time) 2 years back. I've set a goal of 3:20 for this year and am wondering if I'm even capable of that. 

Sub3 is a distant wet dream

[Skubarra]

1 minute ago, The Ouzo said:

you make its sound easy.

I bled through my ears doing a 3:40 (my best time) 2 years back. I've set a goal of 3:20 for this year and am wondering if I'm even capable of that. 

Sub3 is a distant wet dream

Put it this way - I don't buy into the concept of the "Eye of the Tiger" type efforts on the day imagined by some sub-3 hopefuls on the hub in the past.

I think most of the hard work is to get to the level where you are in contention for the sub-3 & to get the seeding needed for a sub-3. On the day of the ride it's 90% chilling in the bunch and just to make sure you aren't caught napping on the climbs. And then you also need a bit of luck from the weather gods and not get a mechanical.

 

[The Ouzo]

2 minutes ago, Skubarra said:

Put it this way - I don't buy into the concept of the "Eye of the Tiger" type efforts on the day imagined by some sub-3 hopefuls on the hub in the past.

I think most of the hard work is to get to the level where you are in contention for the sub-3 & to get the seeding needed for a sub-3. On the day of the ride it's 90% chilling in the bunch and just to make sure you aren't caught napping on the climbs. And then you also need a bit of luck from the weather gods and not get a mechanical.

 

I guess part of the reason I work so hard in races is because I no longer like to sit sheltered in the middle of a bunch. Having gone down a number of years back due to someone doing something stupid further up, I now stay on the outer edges or out front. Trying never to get boxed in.

[bleedToWin]

40 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

I guess part of the reason I work so hard in races is because I no longer like to sit sheltered in the middle of a bunch. Having gone down a number of years back due to someone doing something stupid further up, I now stay on the outer edges or out front. Trying never to get boxed in.

Off the front or off the back is my motto... 😉

[KidCharlemagne]

4 hours ago, WattsTheFuss said:

Whats the best group to start in, to ride a Sub3 without any aggressive surges and rather a constant high tempo ride?

That group doesn't really exist. The chilled even tempo bunch comes in at 3:15 and later. The high-tempo protagonists will delight you with plenty of surges—all part of the experience you know.

[Mamil]

3 hours ago, Skubarra said:

Yes and no - if you are a decent climber you only have to make sure you stick on the sections you mentioned, the rest of the ride fairly mundane and gives you the chance to recover. Even if you are a bit heavier rider the climbs mentioned are not that long, you just bleed through the ears for a minute or so longer and make sure you are not at the back of the bunch when the group hits those climbs.

Sliding room is key as a heavier rider, not only because if you are slower than the rest you will hopefully catch the tail as they crest the hill but because being in the bottom third as you go into a climb means the bunch concertinas ahead of you and you end up braking at the foot of the hill rather than carrying momentum into the climb.

[swingTOpeddle]

3 hours ago, The Ouzo said:

you make its sound easy.

I bled through my ears doing a 3:40 (my best time) 2 years back. I've set a goal of 3:20 for this year and am wondering if I'm even capable of that. 

Sub3 is a distant wet dream

This sound like I wrote this. Last year was my first one at 3:40 and 3:20 is also my goal. With my weight and w/kg I don’t think a sub-3 on this race is possible for me. 
 

It would, however, be rather sexy to tell people you hit a sub-3.