Bad Day, Great Result!

Yesterday was the Macsteel Carnival Classic. A flat 100km race out in the East Rand, starting at Carnival City, heading out to Heidelberg and back.

Once again, not a race that suits the Toyota SuperCycling 40+ team, but that doesn't mean we don't want to win it!

After missing out last week, having been the main aggressors in the race, we were determined to not lose out again this time. So we decided we would change tactics, and try get away right from the start. I would try to get away, failing that one of the other team mates would break. With everyone watching Andrew Mclean, there was a fair chance that they would let the break go.

My bad luck started right at the beginning of the race. My front derailleur was broken. I had had problems with it last week, but I thought it was sorted out. Riding to the start, the derailleur came lose completely and could not be tightened. Thinking that I would not be able to race, I decided to put the bike in the car, and get to the start and see if I could follow the bunch in case one of the team members needed help on the road - we did not have a backup car on the day.

When I got to the start, the guys pointed out to me that a front derailleur was not really required for this race, good point, so I quickly removed the derailleur, put the chain on the big ring, and rolled up to the start, with 2 minutes to go before the gun.

From the gun we started attacking. Mark Thijs and I took turns in attacking, whilst Boss Logistics were putting in plenty of attacks as well. It soon became apparent that I was being marked and nobody would cooperate with me in establishing a break.

Mark Thijs, however, managed to get a good move going, along with Anton Oberholzer, a Boss Logistics rider and one other. This was the point in the race that my second piece of bad luck occurred - I hit a cateye and had a pinch flat. With no backup car, and the speed of the race, I was out of the race! Fortunately one of the Germiston Wheelers support guys stopped and helped me get sorted out. I rode a few km's, thinking I would ride the course as a training ride, but then realised that I had no spares if I had another problem - so I turned around and headed back to the start.

Turns out, Mark's move was the telling move of the day! He managed to stay away to the finish and take the win - nice one Mark!!

What made the win even better was that Mark is due to start chemotherapy for a tumour in the bladder, so to get a win in the last race is really cool!

The bunch expected Andrew to make the moves, and when he just sat in, they had no answer. Maybe the other teams should start making more of the racing.

Dischem Ride 4 Sight

The Dischem Ride 4 Sight is a 116km race starting in Boksburg and heading down to Heidelberg and back.  It is a pretty flat race, and wind conditions play an important role in determining race tactics.  Unfortunately, today there was virtually no wind, so tactics were hard to implement.

Checking out the weather forecast last night, the wind prediction was 0-3 knots westerly.  Completely the wrong wind for a gutter section up Karee Kloof.  So, the only alternative was to try to split the bunch on the two hills either side of Heidelberg.

Most of the teams were present today, Boss Logistics, Wadeville Steel, Club 100, General Airways, and a team that has Mr Video on the side of their kit and I never know their name.  Along with ourselves of course - Toyota SuperCycling 40+.

So, the plan was to try to keep a low profile until the hills, then try to do some damage.  There were a few minor attacks, but generally the bunch was watching us closely to see what our plans were.  Danie Marais (Mr. Price) put in plenty of attacks and at one point was away for quite a long time.

Then a good move got away, with Issy Zimmerman (Toyota SuperCycling), Jorge Faria (Wadeville Steel), and another rider that I didn't see.  They soon opened up a 45sec gap.

On the first climb, Danie Marais started hard, and when he started to slow, I went hard as well.  Unfortunately 2m28s at 508w was not enough because although the bunch split up a bit on the climb, it came back together on the other side.  No worries though, there was always the second climb coming out of Heidelberg.

Again, I went hard at the start, then Andrew came through and took a turn.  I went again but we were riding straight into a headwind, which is always a problem on a climb because it provides that extra bit of shelter to the riders behind.  Again, a few bike lengths at the top of the climb, but not enough to split the bunch, and launch across to Issy who was still away.

With the only two major obstacles out of the way, and the bunch very much together, everybody decided to try have a dip.  Racing got very aggressive but then died down as tired legs took over.

On the highway heading back to Boksburg, our team started taking turns in attacking to try soften the bunch up and eventually get one of us away.  This worked well, and Andrew made a good move with Danie Marais and Anton Duvenage (Boss Logistics) on his wheel.  Not ideal for us, given that Anton is a good sprinter, but still better than leaving it to a bunch sprint.

The chase was subdued, because of the alliance between Boss Logistics and Wadeville, so a few half hearted attempts to bring it back were made.  Coming in to the dogleg bend, I heard a huge crash behind me, and was later told that Andre Taylor (General Airways) went down hard (hope you are okay Andre).

Andrew was beaten in the sprint by Anton, with Danie taking third.

Overall a frustrating race - and power numbers show that midweek training rides are generally harder!

Emperor's Palace - Fast and Furious!

The Emperor's Palace Classic has had it's route revamped, in an attempt to provide a safer race.  The route used to travel through Midrand, taking in the Allandale 'Camel Humps' which was usually when the splits occured.  It now takes a more southerly route, circling Boksburg and Springs.  This route is a lot flatter, making the race very fast.

The Toyota SuperCycling 40+ team decided to race down an age category, with the 30+ vets.  This would be a faster and more aggressive bunch.  The 30+ cateogory was very strong, with Bulk Pack Trek, Toyota SuperCycling 30+, Focus, Club 100, TCS, and some new teams on the block that made for aggressive racing.

This is not really my kind of race, but it is very good training.  In these races concentration levels have to be high to stay in the front of the bunch.  This race started aggressively, with the Labuschagne Brothers (Toyota SuperCycling 30+) making numberous attempts to get away.  This situation always causes a bit of a dillema because technically they are not the same team as us, but we are from the same club and wear identical kit.  So, from the bunch's perspective, we are seen as one group, but tactically on the road that might not always be the case.  This can result in a few choice words being spoken when an alliance between another team and the 30+ team is broken by the 40+ team.  Anyway, we're all amateurs so let's not take these things too seriously!

The wind was playing a role in preventing the breaks from getting away, and things stayed together until the one small bump in the race.  At this point Jason du Preez (Bulk Pack Trek) was off the front and David Labuschagne used his MTB skills to good effect when he attacked from the dirt pavement.  David got across to Jason, and went past him.  Jacques Fullard (Focus) then attacked on the right, taking Craig Harvey (Bulk Pack Trek) with him.  They bridged across to David and the group quickly started working together.  This was a good move, but a bad situation for the 40+ team.  The three riders were strong enough to stay away, but chasing them would not have been seen in a good light.

The break hovered at the 45sec mark for the next 30km at least.  The speed made it difficult for them to really get away.  The Focus team did everything to disrupt the chase but the gap stayed constant.  Two teams that I don't know (one with Mr Video on their kit, and the other with VWE on their kit), did the bulk of the chasing, with Club 100 chipping in every now and then.

When the break finally came back, the attacks resumed.  This was the stage of the race where I felt I would have to be in a move if I was to get a result from the race.  Leaving it up to a bunch sprint was not in my favour.  The racing was very fast, so getting a break off the front was almost impossible.

Then, the short distance (fun rider) race and our race merged, and chaos ensued.  I'm not sure why race organisers insist on doing this, but it is incredibly dangerous.  There were certainly crashes in our bunch.  It became almost impossible to see what was going on in our race with so many riders all over the road.  A few attempts were made to slip quietly off the front, but the speed of the bunch ensured these would not be successful.

Our strategy was to try get into a break, failing that, Colin Germs would try his hand in the bunch sprint.  Coming in to the finish line, he was well positioned in the train, but ended up being taken off the wheel by David L as both tried to stay in the pace line.  In the end both lost out, but I don't think either would have been able to match Jacques Fullard when he kicked.  Jacques too a well timed win.

Overall the race was fairly comfortable as reflected in the power stats:

Duration:   02:15:13

Work:       2156 kJ

TSS:        178.1 (intensity factor 0.889)

Norm Power: 316

VI:         1.19

Distance:   98.257 km 

                   Min               Max            Avg

Power:        0                   1083            266 watts


Speed:        7.2                68.5             43.5 kph