[Event] Cape Town Cycle Tour 2023

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, matthew de haast said:

Results are out but my group is wrong. Lots of other people I know groups are also incorrect… Racetec things

 

9 minutes longer than my Garmin time.

 

Garmin measured mat to mat.

 

 

Surely no issue for me, but have to wonder if some lost a sub.3 or similar personal goal

[dev null]

11 minutes ago, Nico van Loggerenberg said:

Why were the refreshment stops so poorly stocked? Weak powerade and coke? Not even bananas? Is it just my imagination but compared to 947 it seemed pretty poor, especially considering that most people in the rear bunches will stop multiple times to stock up. 

I think the bank balance is a bit low. There were also not the usual music and fanfare on the top of Edinburgh Drive and Suikerbossie. And no CTCT magazine with all the tit bits, advice and info.

[Jbr]

My racetec time is 1sec short compared to garmin 😜 I must have taken my time to pause it after crossing the line !

[tubed]

7 hours ago, Thomo said:

I'd love to know if there was just a little confusion at the finish.

I imagine I noticed a shake of the head as they crossed what looked like a timing mat a little distance before the actual finish ... I thought he was still well positioned at that point.

Unless it was just acknowledgement that the tank had run dry ... and understandably so given the work done. 

I thought so as well - appears as if he thinks he has 2nd over the timing mat and then realises the finish is further up the road and he didn't have another kick so finishes 4th. 

A really humble guy with a huge motor, that break would have not survived without his effort.

Needs a bit less Campenaerts and a bit more Alaphilippe.

Hopefully someone with a team spot sat up and took notice.

[ChrisF]

15 minutes ago, Nico van Loggerenberg said:

Had a great day out in the back of the bunch with family, not racing and not trying to get sub anything. Two questions:

 

Why were the refreshment stops so poorly stocked? Weak powerade and coke? Not even bananas? Is it just my imagination but compared to 947 it seemed pretty poor, especially considering that most people in the rear bunches will stop multiple times to stock up. 

 

When did it become acceptable to ride in bunches wearing airpods? Nearly cost me a square metre of skin when someone in front of my decided to suddenly change direction despite me shouting "coming by on your right" a few times. Pass them to see them blissfully listening to music via noise cancelling earphones, completely oblivious to the world around them. Ai! 

 

Lady in her 70's doing her 22nd Argus had a very bad day in the saddle ....

 

Tummie issues ....

 

She ended at the end of the field.   Water points were totally understocked .....

 

 

 

She eventually got in the sweeper van.  We waited until 17:00 before the van got back.

 

 

Saw some of the riders that fell .... saw some of the mangled bikes ....

 

Stark reminder of the risks ...

[Nico van Loggerenberg]

3 minutes ago, dev null said:

I think the bank balance is a bit low. There were also not the usual music and fanfare on the top of Edinburgh Drive and Suikerbossie. And no CTCT magazine with all the tit bits, advice and info.

It just seems like something that should have been communicated strongly beforehand, as there are not many places to buy snacks between Simons Town and hout Bay for beginners who often ride 6-7 hours 

[ChrisF]

6 minutes ago, dev null said:

I think the bank balance is a bit low. There were also not the usual music and fanfare on the top of Edinburgh Drive and Suikerbossie. And no CTCT magazine with all the tit bits, advice and info.

 

Magazine was an electronic download ....

 

Also miss the paper .... nice to share with friends and family

[dev null]

And I miss the dude at the start chutes like in the old days on his long legs. To me he was the face of The Argus / CTCT. The way he said Hoopla was the best.

Also hate the new rolling start. Kills the anticipation and banter in the start group.

Edited March 12, 2023 by dev null

[daveno7]

The tale of today....nice gentle roll out...the wind was there in places but you knew you had to pace  yourself....the ride towards the M3...Smooth enough towards  Smiths...this is a stunning climbs...go in a bit too deep and the knee pain...yes the knee pain...resolved...but then the  riding standards began to wain...the same people..on their phones...cutting up...great bikes...no idea to ride with consideration...the same bikes that were  walked up Chaps and were noisy as hell..

it was a bad day for good riding...too many not paying attentions at danger spots...just not aware..maybe people were very tired with the heat...the climbs...Chaps...no voices...no banter...thats what the tour is about? We suffer together......the fun wasn't there this year...oh the heat sapped the fun...then the drag over Suikerbosse...a grind....the e-bikes taking over a few lines...and no water hoses? it was warm

The ride towards the finish...great vibe...the legs great....the crazy riders out again....noticed some rider forgot his cycling shoes...all the kit....no shoes...

Then mr passing on the right...we tangled...we both held it...but he just didn't care too much...he wasn't bothered...

The finish...happy to have done this event...

This event cost me plenty to do but it will be hard to bring me back ( I say this always...)

ride standards are becoming poorer and in a way more dangerous...

today for me the fun wasn't there...

I honestly hope everyone enjoyed their day 

Misty Cliffs had an incident ...and news has reported on this..and I have seen a few too many effects of incidents on this tour at the times I have done it...

Sometimes there is more in cycling to do..

Night all 

 

But there is mor

 

[ChrisF]

My race weekend took a tumble for the worse on Saturday during a MTB race.  GLAD I did not break bones ... it was a properly high speed crash !

 

Sunday morning I lost a good chunk of time putting on dressing over roasties under my clothes.

 

Got to the start shute about 15 minutes before the 2E start .... to find F and G BLOCKING entry to the start shute ....  Another 2 E rider put their bike on the back wheel and WALKED through the crowd, I just followed .....  What happened to waiting away from the shute until your start time.

 

With a 40-11 gear ratio I was able to hang with the slower 2E roadies on the downhills.  On the hills I would wait for a gap and pace only when absolutely safe.  Not once did I shout at anybody to pass.

 

My only comments to other riders (both ebike and normal bikes) where to please keep "a line".  The number of people that simple turns 45-degrees and crosses the road in front of others is simply scary.

 

Just past Muizenberg there was a nasty crash in the bunch right ahead of me.  Another NEAR crash after the toll booth, just onto the brown-cement section .... roadie totally overcooked it and broad-slided between other riders and nearly went over the pavement.  I had to work my brakes to stay out of that mess (still sitting far left and keeping out of others way)

 

Okay, enough of the negative stuff ....

 

 

 

I was VERY glad on Sunday morning that I was mobile and mostly pain free.  Being able to join the ride was a blessing.

 

Shortly after the start @MORNE  pulled in next to me and we had a nice chat. 

 

As a responsible cyclists that happens to ride an ebike I stayed LEFT.  I kept out of the scuffles ....

 

Met a friend from Potch and stayed with her up a short hill then got on with my race.

 

I had two goals:

1. Stay SAFE

2. Try for 3:50.

 

The weather was VERY nice, despite the few spots of wind.  I had a couple of riders that dropped off their groups take my slip.  Mostly the elastic broke very quickly.  Two small groups managed to hang on for a while .....  I was riding my race, watching my average time, keeping the cramps at bay.

 

@Jewbacca greeted as they blasted past me on the M3 .... me properly on the very left side shoulder, not intervering with other's race strategy.

 

Another Hubber,  @splat greeted me on Chappies.

 

THANKS guys, those chats were nice.  

 

I stopped for a coffee at Seattle in Houtbay   Met up with two gents that did the Saturday MTB race, and also doing the CTCT.

 

The views on the day .... WOW !!!  What a lovely day !!!!

 

 

At the end of Beach road I joined the 2E ebikers to wait 4 minutes to finish over 3:50.  Some good news for the e-haters ... a couple of the ebike riders commented that they would be back on their normal bikes next year, rather than having to wait out their 3:50 ..... 

 

Short wait for our Potch friend to finish her ride, then a nice lunch.  Then the very long wait for our friend in the sweeper van .....

 

 

What a lovely day.

Edited March 12, 2023 by ChrisF

[MORNE]

Medical personnel along the route endured a strenuous day as they attended to an estimated 220 cases, 19 of which were referred to the hospital for follow-up treatment.…

 

[splat]

I know that Racetec is still processing the results, but I am very interested to see how many finishers in each event there were.

At the moment, it's sitting at 768 for the 42km event and 18481 for the main event.

[W Smith]

11 hours ago, tinmug said:

Ha, ha, ha. You must be young. I remember having to wait 2 weeks and buying a newspaper to find out how slow we rode. No bike computers, no gels, no recovery shakes and most importantly no electric scooters. And even unseeded riders got start in the dark (and the roads were empty). 😉

I remember those days when the results were printed  a week later in the Argus. Now riders moan because the results are not out on the same day when some of the slower groups are still out of the course. Reading the comments it is evident that the "risks" of riding  this event have not changed or diminished at all  through the passage of time. Crashes at the bottom of Hospital bend, aggressive riders, riders with no skills and etiquette etc. have also been there and will always be there in this event . 

[mikkelz]

20 minutes ago, splat said:

I know that Racetec is still processing the results, but I am very interested to see how many finishers in each event there were.

At the moment, it's sitting at 768 for the 42km event and 18481 for the main event.

Also interested in that.

Looking back at my first "Argus" in 2010 – there were just over 28,000 finishers! Huge difference.

[ChrisF]

18 minutes ago, W Smith said:

I remember those days when the results were printed  a week later in the Argus. Now riders moan because the results are not out on the same day when some of the slower groups are still out of the course. Reading the comments it is evident that the "risks" of riding  this event have not changed or diminished at all  through the passage of time. Crashes at the bottom of Hospital bend, aggressive riders, riders with no skills and etiquette etc. have also been there and will always be there in this event . 

 

At Vines&Views in 2022 RaceTec waited until the last rider crossed the line.  Once the sweeper finished and it was confirmed the race was done, they processed the data and we could see our results.

 

Obviously processing the huge amount of data for the CTCT would take a bit longer.  Very understandable that the results only came in early evening.

 

 

 

Would like to know how or why they got the times for so many riders so wrong though ....  not that it really matter, just technological curiosity.

[GenoW]

2cents as a first timer.

My first CTCT, previous years didn't appeal, always too windy and I didn't train enough to even think about it. This last year though i wanted to experience 'racing'. Got myself into 1B with a few minor PPA events leading up. Overall enjoyed everything, nothing was as bad as i thought, ie parking & traffic, an luckily my group was not the crashy one, but it also wasn't great.

There was zero teamwork, a few guys tried to roll multiple times only to be sat on by the bunch riders and all intent lost. We caught many ahead but couldn't bridge proper. I pulled with the sub 3 in mind but eventually cooked myself and cracked on chappies/suikerbossie, minor cramps all the way to the end.

Overall 1B bros were mostly cordial, fairly polite in etiquette, almost got chopped only once or twice but i focused hard on staying safe so saw them coming. I did see the aftermath of the 1A crashes so that immediately put me in high alert for most of the race. I only started enjoying the race on chappies decent, being able to ride both lanes is too much fun, and then the flying finish after suikerbossie was bliss. I knew most of the route and where to be careful so didn't hit any potholes and got out ahead where ever i could.

It definitely is easier riding the smaller events and i even saw the same bros, one guy in particular had zero awareness or care of how **** he rides, made sure to get away from him asap.

I made one minor mistake but wasn't sweared at so i take that as a good day, unlike some other riders up chappies whom got into a heated debate xD.

There wasn't any banter at the front of 1B and at times the group was eerily silent. So to me the fanfare was great, but I've read it was subpar this year.
The coke and energade was awfully watered down and the water itself tasted of more chlorine than water, that was disgusting.

I chucked my sponsored bottle to some kid asking for one and even got a small push up the last bit of chappies. I didn't puncture so was very thankful for a clean race.

I am fairly disappointed not making the sub and that i cracked, still came in at around 3.14 according to racetec, also got shifted down to 1C.

At present I don't think I'll do another CTCT unless i can smash a 100km solo at 37km/h avg or get some fit mates to form a group.

The views were amazing, the weather was superb, and i enjoyed the experience mostly.
Thanks to everyone out there, riders, organisers, spectators and all.