Cape Town Cycle Tour 2026

[gerriemtb]

13 minutes ago, Skubarra said:

I naively thought they were psyching themselves up for the effort or subtly warning their buddies to follow...

[Skubarra]

22 minutes ago, gerriemtb said:

A bit like that fist reload in the Mission Impossible movie

[DieselnDust]

3 hours ago, Skubarra said:

I have been cycling for years and never knew about that signal, but now that you mention it I have recently seen guys do it in the group just before they put in a big attack. I naively thought they were psyching themselves up for the effort or subtly warning their buddies to follow...

so basically it's all a Red Bull advert...?
Take bottle out of cage, offer a swig to the person next to you. "No?" "Don't mind me then"

Two swigs, bottle back , flap arms and take off.

Red Bull gives you wiiiiiinggsssss

[Pure Savage]

On the things that the Cycle Tour needs to change, the short Route, Needs to be on the saturday on closed roads from Town to Hout Bay and back. Have it as a proper protest ride, the roads a mare anyway in the morning with all the people on that road and its a much better route than the highway and high way. 

Can also allow parents to ride both days and have a jol.

[Shebeen]

7 hours ago, Pure Savage said:

On the things that the Cycle Tour needs to change, the short Route, Needs to be on the saturday on closed roads from Town to Hout Bay and back. Have it as a proper protest ride, the roads a mare anyway in the morning with all the people on that road and its a much better route than the highway and high way. 

Can also allow parents to ride both days and have a jol.

Are you really suggesting two way traffic on Victoria road? 

 

I've only done the "short route" in the fire year and then the detours with no chappies was oukaaps then M3 north. Thought it was a great option, do people really not like it?

[bleedToWin]

Two flicks of both elbows is a general warning similar to flashing your hazards when slowing down on the highway. It's used for speed bumps, rail roads, before getting out the saddle, or any warning where you cannot safely take hands of the bars to point or where there isn't a specific direction that you want the guys behind you to avoid (like a parked car). It started in the pro bunches about 5 years ago and was quickly adopted locally.

[Akon]

On 3/11/2026 at 7:20 AM, Heina13 said:

I started in the 2B, did 3:30 and I passed him when he was waiting in the finishing straight. I was very surprised to see an e-biker knowing their rules. So started in 1C but did the 3:50 I guess. Only some rules apply to him.

I read this all the time, even from @ChrisF,

This is akin to those BMW drivers gunning an ASOD section at 250+ km/h, then stop just before the end and wait 15mins before continuing...

[MaMc]

11 hours ago, Pure Savage said:

On the things that the Cycle Tour needs to change, the short Route, Needs to be on the saturday on closed roads from Town to Hout Bay and back. Have it as a proper protest ride, the roads a mare anyway in the morning with all the people on that road and its a much better route than the highway and high way. 

Can also allow parents to ride both days and have a jol.

The real issue here is 2 way traffic on that road, and the risk of head on collisions with people descending suikerbossie. Only takes one idiot to send people to hospital or worse

[RocknRolla]

All these signals when cycling sounds like a Hennie's session...

 

"Remember to Howl with the rider that falls off the back of the bunch...."

[Shebeen]

ok since we're talking about drinking*....

 

my algotube obviously send me some Argus rider vids

 

check this guy out - some german triathlete based in kommetjie. he made the very unfortunate error of thinking one can rock up 20minutes before your argust start time - maybe the time spend filming yourself getting out of your jimny was not really available!

 

but then i remembered there was a megatonload of beers at the oakley sytand on chappies

 

 

 

this okey is here doing the epic i think? at this point they are getting some beers from the oakly chappies stop (edit - 8mins in when on chappies)

 

my stoker would not let me stop for a cold one but

wait. is that poweraid from a draught tap?

Edited March 13 by Shebeen

[ChrisF]

2 hours ago, Akon said:

I read this all the time, even from @ChrisF,

This is akin to those BMW drivers gunning an ASOD section at 250+ km/h, then stop just before the end and wait 15mins before continuing...

 

Maybe we are talking past each other .... to avoid any confusion -

 

TWO riders from 3B finish early, then stopped along the sea and waited to finish after 3:50 (I have absolutely no idea if they were there 2 minutes of half an hour).

TWO more riders ended in the finish straight to realise they are heading to a sub 3:50 .... they decided to pull into the gap left for the motorcycles to get out of the barriers .... down right dangerous ...

 

My own ride .... in 2025 I misjudged my speed and came in much later than I planned to, with a time just over 4 hours.  This year I kept an eye on my time at 27, 54 and 61km, noting that I need to allow for Suikerbossie etc ... I soft peddalled about 500m to come in just over 3:50.

 

[Akon]

On 3/11/2026 at 11:35 AM, Paul Ruinaard said:

Things that need to change at CTCT:

- Number collection and expo. Let you print out your own number and stop wasting time and effort taking you to an expo that is really a waste of time. I would even pay extra to avoid the schlep to walk through the expo at high speed. Nothing new or that i cnat google that was there.

- goodie bags. So much a waste of time and money. Dontae this to charity.

Others?

 

Those bottles can be distributed to all the kids pleading "Empty bottles" road side.

[Shebeen]

1 hour ago, ChrisF said:

 

Maybe we are talking past each other .... to avoid any confusion -

 

TWO riders from 3B finish early, then stopped along the sea and waited to finish after 3:50 (I have absolutely no idea if they were there 2 minutes of half an hour).

TWO more riders ended in the finish straight to realise they are heading to a sub 3:50 .... they decided to pull into the gap left for the motorcycles to get out of the barriers .... down right dangerous ...

 

My own ride .... in 2025 I misjudged my speed and came in much later than I planned to, with a time just over 4 hours.  This year I kept an eye on my time at 27, 54 and 61km, noting that I need to allow for Suikerbossie etc ... I soft peddalled about 500m to come in just over 3:50.

 

What's the motivation to try and finish 3:50 plus small change?

 

[ChrisF]

3 hours ago, Shebeen said:

What's the motivation to try and finish 3:50 plus small change?

 

 

Whats your the motivation to finish a sub-3 ?

 

 

For ME ... I have a standard legal pedal assist.  It is damn hard work to get in under 4 hours, at least for me it is.  Sure I am more stoked about my 3:51 than @Johnny82 is about his sub-3 CTCT, a sub-6:30 DC is his goal ... for me it is about my road to recovery over the last 10 years.

 

My next goal .... to complete a 40km road event (NOT the CTCT 42km route) in the cut off time on my gravel bike (non-ebike) ... I have yet to make it to a 30km trip on the non-ebike .... a bit of wind like this weekend and such a trip puts me right back at the physios ..... so as silly as this goal seems to most Hubbers, this is a huge goal for me.

 

Punch line, we are each on our own journey, each with our own abilities and goals.

 

 

Heck, there is a growing group of ebikers NOT entering the CTCT.  They do Winelands, 99er, etc as it allows them to fully enjoy their journey .... their journey, their goals, their PB's.

 

While saying that, the CTCT is just too big and busy to accommodate such diverse speeds, i.e. super chipped ebikes racing at 2:45 times from the mid pack through bunches of people ..... if that is your goal, then Winelands, 99er, etc has smaller numbers and space for you to go live out your dream.

[Jaco Steyn]

On 3/12/2026 at 2:46 PM, Ncayi said:

It's usually a double flick of both elbows. One can get missed but missing two flicks is the fault of the person behind you.

Most people lose speed when they stand and pedal. Its possible to stand and pedal without losing speed but most people can't or usually stand in a moment of panic.

I have been doing road cycling since about November 2002, just before turning 40 in 2003. Since then, I have taken part in over 200 organised cycle races, including 12 CTCT and 18 947 RideJoburg races. Also joined a cycling club to keep in feel with riding in groups.

In all of those races and club rides, I have never ever seen any of these Flappy Bird moves, or the one where your fellow cyclists offer you a sip of his drink before doing so himself. Maybe it's something that's just done in the sub-3 CTCT echelons, or the seriously racing cyclists that does that, but I have always only done races in the Open/Seeded categories, usually departing in the latter half of the starting groups. 

I have seen fellow cyclists pointing out road hazards, or verbally indicating their intention to pass you either to your left or right, but that's about it.

[@grootlem]

Any idea what was fastest time on an mtb this and last year? And Moir time on gravel bike?