The Munga

[JohanDiv]

Only 6 scratched riders so far.. I think that is testament to the nice weather conditions they are enjoying at the moment

[TyronLab]

8 minutes ago, hboli4 said:

Drikus is truly flying - looks like a tailwind since VDK. 

I agree with you Shebeen. When I rode I decided to do it my way and not be bothered about what others are doing - it is out of my control as well as how the rules are enforced(or not) - as long as I stay within  the rules. To this end I never rode with anybody else and only briefly chatted to riders at RV's & CP's and a couple of times on the route. Stupid to not make use of drafting? - probably. But I made up my mind before the start to do my own thing and ride as if drafting was not allowed. Also - I am probably too slow to draft anybody in any case.😁

I also think that in a race this long you're going through ups and downs, strong times and weak times. Unless you're really committed to and patient with your drafting partner, you're very similar and going through the same motions at the same time, it's likely that at some stage you'll organically separate (well, that's what has happened to me).

[BMCfan]

4 hours ago, Dicky DQ said:

But this year is social for Chris. He rode up to the start from Cape Town with 2 mates in 4 days. So the legs should be warm now.... Not.

Almost Top 10 on a social ride. I stand by my statement that he is definitely the Munga OG

[JohanDiv]

Really impressed with Jenny's ride so far.. The gap is now at least two hours to second place lady, and she's sitting comfortably in 7th overall!

[The Ouzo]

1 minute ago, JohanDiv said:

Really impressed with Jenny's ride so far.. The gap is now at least two hours to second place lady, and she's sitting comfortably in 7th overall!

cant see from the tracking, could she perhaps be drafting some of the men ?

[Ozzie NL]

6 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

cant see from the tracking, could she perhaps be drafting some of the men ?

It's within the rules so she would be mad not to do so if the opportunity presents itself

[The Ouzo]

7 minutes ago, Ozzie NL said:

It's within the rules so she would be mad not to do so if the opportunity presents itself

100%

Just thought it might be an explanation for her big lead.

 

I dont have the balls to line up for this event, let alone have the legs to draft anyone for so long, so huge praise to her.

[Jewbacca]

11 minutes ago, Ozzie NL said:

It's within the rules so she would be mad not to do so if the opportunity presents itself

Very much so.

It's a gentle balancing act of staying in the wheels and burning slightly too many matches to stay in the wheels.

I guess we will see if it's a comfortable pace for her or if it's a couple of RPM too high. KM 800 to 1000 can suddenly seem a VERY long way to go if you're alone and you've blown

Pretty fun watching the racing 

 

[The Ouzo]

@gemmerbal is about 21km from WP3

[JohanDiv]

23 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

cant see from the tracking, could she perhaps be drafting some of the men ?

She was riding with two guys late yesterday on the event photos.

[TyronLab]

 

How is that even possible. I come back from a solo 27kph/1hr road ride on my mountain bike and I've done a solid Z3 training session. 

How in the name of all things holy has he averaged that over 650km?!? Conditions being advantageous or not, that's a mind-bending pace.

Out of interest, is the record time an actual recording of Ramses' traverse along the route, or just an average speed assumption based on his finishing time (similar to the cutoff marker)? If it's the former, Drikus is killing it.

@Carlog also going well, only 1hr stopped so far and at ~430km. Strong riding!

[SSCC]

29 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

100%

Just thought it might be an explanation for her big lead.

 

I dont have the balls to line up for this event, let alone have the legs to draft anyone for so long, so huge praise to her.

Drafting in this race is mostly of little benefit for almost all riders. Speeds are really slow for almost everyone so drafting doesn’t help much. The group dynamic can help a lot but that’s more for motivation / connection rather than draft. Where it does help is if you get two “pros” riding a fast section fast and swopping turns. That applies to about 2 people in the whole event and only happens every couple of years. 

[hboli4]

8 minutes ago, TyronLab said:

 

How is that even possible. I come back from a solo 27kph/1hr road ride on my mountain bike and I've done a solid Z3 training session. 

How in the name of all things holy has he averaged that over 650km?!? Conditions being advantageous or not, that's a mind-bending pace.

Out of interest, is the record time an actual recording of Ramses' traverse along the route, or just an average speed assumption based on his finishing time (similar to the cutoff marker)? If it's the former, Drikus is killing it.

@Carlog also going well, only 1hr stopped so far and at ~430km. Strong riding!

It is truly astonishing!

As far as I know it is a recording - you will see that it sometimes veers off the current route as it is plotted on the route he rode.

[Ozzie NL]

9 minutes ago, SSCC said:

Drafting in this race is mostly of little benefit for almost all riders. Speeds are really slow for almost everyone so drafting doesn’t help much. The group dynamic can help a lot but that’s more for motivation / connection rather than draft. Where it does help is if you get two “pros” riding a fast section fast and swopping turns. That applies to about 2 people in the whole event and only happens every couple of years. 

Drafting at slow speeds in a raging head wind still makes a moer of a difference.

This year they seem to mostly have a tail wind but that is not usually the case

Edited November 30, 2023 by Ozzie NL

[Danger Dassie]

13 minutes ago, SSCC said:

Drafting in this race is mostly of little benefit for almost all riders. Speeds are really slow for almost everyone so drafting doesn’t help much. The group dynamic can help a lot but that’s more for motivation / connection rather than draft. Where it does help is if you get two “pros” riding a fast section fast and swopping turns. That applies to about 2 people in the whole event and only happens every couple of years. 

Nope, you'd have to be falling over to not get an advantage from drafting. Any grouping will benefit, no matter the speed. 
All credit to Jenny, nothing untoward and she is a pro in her own right. Still has work commitments but gets in elite level training.
So lets not detract from that by making up physics.

[The Ouzo]

2 minutes ago, Danger Dassie said:

Nope, you'd have to be falling over to not get an advantage from drafting. Any grouping will benefit, no matter the speed. 
All credit to Jenny, nothing untoward and she is a pro in her own right. Still has work commitments but gets in elite level training.
So lets not detract from that by making up physics.

and there is the phycological advantage of riding with others that also helps to keep the pace up.

 

Respect to her.