Bakwena - A tale of two halves

[Jason]

Jason your bike handling skills are very good old chap you saved yourself some hospital time.

Hey mallo, was good to meet you! Handling skills?   I think it was more the wind that caught my wheels and slowed my fall down .

Don't know who the MS chap was that came down in front of me. Does anyone know who all the riders involved there were?

[Jason]

So who won?

Jamie Ball - Exel

[Pieter Henning]

Herman Fouche, Juan van Heerden, Jock Green. Not sure about the rest.

[Thyolo]

Race report from Nic White -

 

In <?:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Pretoria, the Bakwena Post Office Super Classic is known as one of the fastest race routes on the calendar was held on a closed Bakwena (Rustenburg) Highway and was won in a bunch sprint finish by Exel?s Jamie Ball. The out and back race from the Waterkloof Air field, over 95 kilometers is an extremely quick route considering a strong wind that blew on the day.<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

The race was marred by a pile-up in the final kilometer. Many riders were hurt including Italian Giuseppe Bonomi of the international Barloworld team, and Juan van Heerden of Colorpress/Cyclingnews. The Italian had just arrived in South Africaon> on Friday with some team mates in order to race the Cycle Challenge in Jo?burg next week. Bonomi ended up having a broken shoulder, and may have to return home, Van Heerden was taken to a nearby Hospital for observation.

 

There were no notable escapes during the course of the race despite a four man group in the early kilometers. This group put pressure on the Konica Minolta team, who worked hard to chase it down. Many attacks came after the turn around point, but with a strong headwind blowing, no group could get a gap over the bunch. The Exel team, as defending champions of this race, and with the greatest number of riders in a split of the field, led the bunch into the final kilometers. The teams of Microsoft, Konica Minolta and Barloworld had trains going along side the one of Exel, but coming into the final kilometer, Exel had the prime position, and at the section where some badly placed road cones caused the major crash, Exel kept ahead, and had the numbers to take their riders to the line, Jamie Ball coming out tops from Nolan Hoffman and Rupert Rheeder. The other teams best riders all came down, including Konica Minolta fast man Fouche, Barloworld?s Jock GreenonName> and Bonomi, Colorpress? van Heerden, and a few others. Microsoft was lucky to have Fullard and Lange out of the trouble, but with their positions jeopardized, lost all shelter in the cross wind, and had to watch Exel race to the win.

 

Jamie Ball enjoyed his first victory in many months, ?I knew that it would end in a bunch sprint, as the race was ?easy?. Thanks to my team for keeping our positions at the front, we were able to keep clear of the mayhem in the final 500 meters?

 

With just one week left before the 94.7 Cycle challenge, every one will be sizing each other up. But with a very different route around the streets of Johannesburg, there will be no doubts that the finish will be slightly different to the flat and dangerous bunch sprint of this past Bakwena Super Classic.

 

The results:

1^st Jamie Ball (Exel) 2:13:21

2^nd Nolan Hoffman (Exel) 

3^rd Rupert Rheeder (Exel) 

4^th Malcolm LangeonName> (Microsoft)

5^th Hanco Kachelhoffer (Exel)

6^th Arran Brown (Harmony)

7^th Jacques Fullard (Microsoft)

8^th Pieter Seyfert (Colorpress Cyclingnews)

9^th Tom White (Konica Minolta)

10^th Alex Lamberts (CBist)

 

 

Take care and good luck for the big one this weekend!

Nic

 

[Angel]

Dit is nie net die pro ryers wat 'n slegte uiteinde gehad het vir die dag nie.  In die bondel waar ek gery het, was daar nie minder nie as 3 ongelukke, en dit in die laaste 40km van die wedren!  Twee van die ryers wat geval het, het reg langs my gery en ek het gesien wat gebeur het.  Dit is duidelik dat, al word jy in 'n sekere katagorie geplaas, maak dit nie van jou 'n goeie fietsryer nie.  Die ryers wat die ongelukke veroorsaak het, het geen respek vir ander fiersryers nie en ry asof die pad aan hulle behoort.  Dan moet ander ryers boet vir hul ongeskiktheid.  Een ou het wragties die vermetelheid gehad, na hy voor iemand ingery het, om vir hom te skreeu "Hou jou lyn".  Ek moet teesinnig erken, meeste van die "roadies" wat ek gister teegekom het, is uiters arrogant en ongeskik.  Geen wonder so baie mense gaan eerder oor na bergfiets ry nie.  Dit is nie net 'n kwessie van padveiligheid nie.

[Jokerman]

I wonder how they seeded the riders for the Bakwema race...............I started out in B bunch and ended up with a couple of A bunch guys.What amazed me was how these guys where seeded ahead of me but fell of the pace 30-40 kilometers in the race...............not to mention their poor bunch riding skills

If you though you saw a gymnast on the bike at the 70 kilometer mark  thatw as me...........was switched by a guy in the bunch and had to do some pretty hair raising balancing acts in order not to come off.....doing 35km/h

 

After that it goes without saying that it was sure hard to get back the racing cap on and cycle

[Jedi]

Angel, I couldn't agree more with you.  My general opinion is that cyclists are cycling the way they are driving their motor cars -me first attitude.  I have been cycling for about 9 months.  I don't cycle in a bunch because I don't know how to do it properly - so I stick to time trialing races on my own and I am happy and safe that way.

 

But WOW, yesterday at Bakwena, everyone you pass tries to grab your wheel and then when you start slowing down because the wind is pumping this whole "bus" comes past you, left and right, and almost knocks you off your bike in the effort not to get dropped.

 

Exactly where on the road am I supposed to cycle to stay out of trouble?  It did not matter whether I was on the left hand side of the road or the right, someone was trying to sit behind me.

 

But I would like to say thanks to the sponsors who had their banners on the steel railing at the end.  They broke my fall at the end and saved me from some nasty damage to myself and my bike.

 

To the poor chap on the mountain bike that slammed into the "championchip" timing box because someone fell in front of him on the mat, I just want to say - you dont' know how close you come to nearly ramping over that box - you just so nearly made it.

 

Needless to say my nerves are shattered for the 94.7 next week so please, if you see some women desperately cycling on her own, she is not so desperate, she really wants to be in that position.

 

[Gumpole]

Hope you recover before the 94,7 Jedi (and all the other cyclists that were involved in crashes). And the 94.7 is a lot safer due to the hills meaning slipstreaming is less critical - just watch out for the first 6kms on the highway.

I must admit I am puzzled why people who take the 94.7 seriously do this race. If you are thinking of nailing yourself to get a last minute reseeding you will be too tired the next week to be at your best. If you are going to take it easy why not just do a club ride? If you are trying to avoid accidents the fast flat races are what you should avoiding.

[brianrow]

Seeding does seem to be a problem, don't the organisers use the seeding index? But that is another topic  all on it's own.

We started at 07h00, or nearly, in the Tandem group and a neutral zone was announced between the tape and the timing mats. Hah!! The front bunch was off like rabbits and caused a split immediately. Although we chased, and our average was 52Km/h to the turn, they were gone. Meanwhile we had picked up a very strange bunch of singles, CL, VIP and all other mottley riders who jumped onto our wheels. Worst of all were those using MP3 players. What the hell - I propose these devices be banned from racing events. Some of them were so loud that we could hear them almost 1m away. We shredded a front tyre 'cos the single rider (CL1445 with MP3) ahead of us decided to swap his water bottles in the middle of the pack - so just slowed down and we hit his cluster. Guys, the dynamics and manouvarabililty of a tandem are very different from a single. Give the tandems a reasonable gap or stay behind. To play amongst these bikes is very risky.

Well done to all who finished, good luck for 94.7.

 

[epoh]

 

Seeding does seem to be a problem' date=' don't the organisers use the seeding index? But that is another topic  all on it's own.

We started at 07h00, or nearly, in the Tandem group and a neutral zone was announced between the tape and the timing mats. Hah!! The front bunch was off like rabbits and caused a split immediately. Although we chased, and our average was 52Km/h to the turn, they were gone. Meanwhile we had picked up a very strange bunch of singles, CL, VIP and all other mottley riders who jumped onto our wheels. Worst of all were those using MP3 players. What the hell - I propose these devices be banned from racing events. Some of them were so loud that we could hear them almost 1m away. We shredded a front tyre 'cos the single rider (CL1445 with MP3) ahead of us decided to swap his water bottles in the middle of the pack - so just slowed down and we hit his cluster. Guys, the dynamics and manouvarabililty of a tandem are very different from a single. Give the tandems a reasonable gap or stay behind. To play amongst these bikes is very risky.

Well done to all who finished, good luck for 94.7.

 

[/quote']

 

 

umm.. okay I have no clue how you caught up to some CL riders .. The A bunch caught a big bunch of Tandems before the turn  if  I remember correctly  ? . I am not sure how that happened as I thought this route is perfect for a very fast tandem ride, especially on the way out. Maybe not on the way back due to all the traffic.

 

But yeh when we caught the Tandems it was a messy race all the way back.

 

 

 

[Bateleur1]

Brainrow ... I am not quite sure what listening to MP3's has anything to do with bike handling.  Seems to me that guy was just plain forward an idiot that can't handle his bike.  He is propably born that way.  Not the fault of the MP3 player.  Or do you think the radiation might have something to do with it.

[Grapkas]

I have to agree with Mr Brainrow, if you can't hear what is going on around you your judgement is not going to be 100% and then you do stupid things.  If you ride on your own and you don't mind risking your ass (not hearing cars) that is your decision but don't put the other riders at risk.  If i see somebody in my bunch with a mp3 player i will give her/him a piece of my mind!

[_Daemon_]

 

Brainrow ... I am not quite sure what listening to MP3's has anything to do with bike handling.  Seems to me that guy was just plain forward an idiot that can't handle his bike.  He is propably born that way.  Not the fault of the MP3 player.  Or do you think the radiation might have something to do with it.

 

All depends if he's got both ear plugs in and the volume so loud that he cannot hear what's going on around him...then IMO he's a danger to whoever is around him. That said I have no issues with someone with one headphone in at a reasonable volume.

 

[Guest Michelle]

I saw a guy riding in Suikerbosrand with an mp3 player... a car came right up behind him & had to go around him on the gravel cause he didn't move across (after waiting patiently)... when the guy finally saw the car he got such a fright he swerved & almost came off... not a good idea.

[tazman]

I ride with my cell/fm radio and I keep the volume just loud enough so that I can still hear what's going on around me.

[Bateleur1]

Once again.  It is about responsibility.  I cycle with my cell phone/mp3 player in my ear all the time.  Only the left ear is "plugged in" right ear is open.  Can hear traffic as per normal.  Only if someone wants to talk to me from my left side, I will only flip the earpiece out and plug it back in later. 

 

So Grapkas, you will propably give me a piece of your mind at some point.  But just give me a nice usefull piece please