Argus Cycle Tour "New Route" and sub-3

[janneman72]

Hi Guys

 

The last time I did the Argus was in 2002 where I just missed my sub 3 by a minute or two, I didn't cycle since then until 2010.

 

Now I'm much fitter and I do better than I did then but apparently with Boyes Drive or something it's almost impossible to do a sub 3? I checked on racetec and thought that it was the 2009 & 2010 winds that caused the winners time to increase with almost 30 minutes :S

 

Is this true and if so is it really THAT difficult to do a sub 3 now?

 

Cheers,

Jan

Edited February 9, 2011 by janneman72

[Top Fuel]

Will get back to you on the 14th of March. Hope that helps.

[X-Man]

Boyes Drive it is!!!

 

It is a bit kukky because it will add +- 5-10 min to your time if you fit and could add 25min to those who's not fit at all.

 

And then again you have the South Easter to deal with as well

Edited February 9, 2011 by X-Man

[Mr. G]

Is this true and if so is it really THAT difficult to do a sub 3 now?

 

Hi Jan

 

I don't think that the guys who do 2h30and 2h40 will find much difference, the wind has made the last two impossible for me to do a sub 3h00 for sure and Boyes drive just secures my fate even further.

[Gman1834]

In 2009 boyes drive did have little to no effect on race time compared to the wind. we had to pedal on all the downhill sections.

[Spinnekop]

That little climb added is not THAT bad.

MAYBE add 3-5 minutes to your time.

[janneman72]

Boyes Drive it is!!!

 

It is a bit kukky because it will add +- 5-10 min to your time if you fit and could add 25min to those who's not fit at all.

 

And then again you have the South Easter to deal with as well

 

5-10 minutes are doable I suppose but anything more than that will be too much to cut down.

[FC&P2C]

And Boyes Dr makes for a very interresting right hander at the bottom with the tandem.

[janneman72]

That little climb added is not THAT bad.

MAYBE add 3-5 minutes to your time.

 

Is Boyes drive where the extra 5 km's comes from as well? Should add more than 3-5 minutes then I suppose.

[fandacious]

That little climb added is not THAT bad.

MAYBE add 3-5 minutes to your time.

 

Yeah, i agree - I dont think boyes drive makes such a big difference. The cape cobra, our TOTAL time for boyes drive was 11min38secs, with an avg speed of 33.5 km/h

 

you're not going to be going much faster if you go the coast road

[LeTurbo]

Is Boyes Drive a hill? I hadn't noticed...but seriously, it is an interruption in the nice long flat bit we used to have from Wynberg to Simonstown, and I guess the average rider would add about 10 minutes to the trip, given the way everyone gets into Granny gear at the slightest obstacle.

[Tiny K]

It'll add more like 15min I reckon - for the average fit rider at least. Pro's don't feel it. Old route would be lekker for this year, but alas, roadworks STILL aren't finished.

 

What group you leaving in? I'm in E for Eina my bene gaan afK@K!

[scuzzy]

I think the time added is not so much from what happens on the climb, but more what happens afterwards. In the past, once you take the turn off from the Blue Route, the bunch is pretty organized, and you make the next right hander, barring any falls or something like that, you are immediately up to speed and either driving in front or hidden away in the bunch all the way to Smitswinkel and then maybe there you might lose the bunch or it gets unorganized because of the backmarkers of the front bunches. Once you go over Boyes Drive, it might still be fine, but going down on the other side, with the tight left and then right, just rips the bunch appart and it takes some hard work and pedaling to make up 'n nice bunch again, something that might only happen once you are in Simons Town.

 

Maybe it is just me with that experience, but I had it in both years.

 

Maybe I'm just unfit

Edited February 9, 2011 by scuzzy

[Andyr249]

I am with the group that Boyes wouldn't make that much of a difference. The wind in the last two editions has had much more of an impact on the race.

[stratus5]

I had a look at my Cape Cobra stats for this stretch, which I did in the Cat3 group ... There was almost no wind.

The Boyes drive distance is roughly 6.8 km (we did come in at the Westlake Golf club though, not from the main road)

Start height was 33m ASL. Heighest point is 95m ASL. It feels much higher!

Our group took 12:30, which is an average speed of ~32.6 km/h

 

The main road distance is slightly shorter. I would guess 6.5km? Somebody might have more accurate figures.

This stretch used to be very fast (~40km/h+) if there was no wind. You could also get sucked along and recover a bit if required. At 40km/h this would take ~9:45

 

So Boyes Drive adds about 2:45 to the course, which is much less than I expected. I dont feel so negative about it now

 

There is however a large energy cost as you have to work much harder. The climbers will try and break you on this piece so you cant wheel suck all the way to Simons Town. In the last two Argus's our group © fractured on this piece. It gets exponentially harder as the wind speed picks up.

[jatho]

Well the fact that only the Elites did sub 3 last year should tell you something, even VA's who are basically the strongest group to leave after elites didnt do sub 3 which says a lot. I'm talking singles here only not tandems.

 

Biggest factor IMO is the wind.

 

But basically

 

$ 2:39

VA 3:02

VB 3:04

A 3:03

B 3:10

C 3:11

D 3:16

Edited February 9, 2011 by jatho