Coronation Double Century

The Coronation Double Century has become a 'must do' event in the South Africa racing calender. It is a 203km Team Time Trial held down in the Robertson/Swellendam area of the Western Cape.

Winning this event has become a major matter of pride for the big teams based in the Western Cape, and each year these teams look to invite some guest riders from up country to bolster their squads.

I was honoured to be invited to ride as part of the Anderson Transport squad, one of the race favourites along with Daikin Gu, last year's winners. These two teams are big rivals on the Western Cape racing scene, and they both pull out all the stops when it comes to the Double Century.

Sitting at dinner the night before the race, I was impressed with the squad, which included Darren Lill, Andrew Mclean, Shan Wilson, Heimer Anderson, Brandon Stewart, Johnny Kritzinger, Jacques Roussouw, Jamie Ball, Robert Quinn, Martin Wesemann, and Travis Allen.

Brandon Stewart commented that if he was a betting man, his money would be on us for sure!

The afternoon before the race, we went for a short ride so that Andrew and Darren could sort out some of the techniques required in a team time-trial and do some fine-tuning with regards to rotation order etc. Both of them are experienced pro's and had plenty of helpful information.

Initially, our start time was 7:29 - one minute before Daikin Gu. This got changed and we ended up starting 4 minutes in front of them, which was a much better situation.

The team started out nice and solidly, with everyone taking even, steady pulls on the front and keeping things nice and smooth. Up the climb (Tradouws Pass), Darren Lill kept a steady tempo, and we made it over the first obstacle with the whole team in tact.

The next sector after the climb was very fast, with a strong tail-wind. This was dangerous as it meant all the riders in the pace line had to be putting in a big effort, as there was little drafting benefit.

Next up was 'Op de Tradouws' which looks tame on the course profile, but just seems to carry on forever! This was where we lost our first rider, Shan Wilson. The first feed zone was at the top of 'Op de Tradouws' but we had elected to skip that and head for Montagu. We probably misjudged the heat a bit, and I was out of fluid with 25km to go to Montagu. News filtered through that we were 1m05 up on Daikin, and they were down to 7 riders. We were feeling confident!

The feed stop in Montague went wothout any problems, and soon we were heading out on the flat section towards Robertson. We had just lost another rider, Jacques Russouw, one of the strong men on the team! He was having saddle problems. I started to develop 'hot foot', and felt a burning sensation in the middle of my foot. Soon after that, I lost feeling in both my feet! I suddenly had no power and when my turn on the front came, I couldn't come through. I dropped to the back of the pace line, told Andrew that I had no sensation in my legs, and could not even hold on to the back of the team! I dropped off about 15km for Robertson, and about 120km into the race. Looking back after the race, I think I made a big mistake wearing black shoe covers. My feet heated up so much in my shoes that it seems that it affected my circulation. That is the only explanation that I can find because it happened very suddenly, and I was feeling quite good physically.

By now I was also suffering from the heat, so I had to take a 10 minute detour into Robertson to find some more water.

After stopping for some water, I was feeling okay again and got going to Bonnievale, hoping to catch the support car and get a ride home!

Unfortunately for me, I took too long to get to the third feed stop and the support car had had to go - so I was going to have to ride back alone. I tagged along with one of the tandem teams and finally linked up with Jacques Roussouw and we limped back to the finish. Every few kilometers I had to unclip and wriggle my feet around to get feeling back into them!

I eventually managed to limp in just under 6 hours.

In the meantime, the business end of the race had unfolded. For us, the last 30km was where the race would be won or lost. The team had heard that Daikin were down to 6 riders, so they were really cutting it fine. Andrew and Darren made the decision to ease off the pace a bit after the third stop, as they were concerned that they wouldn't have spare riders coming into the last few rolling hills.

In the end, Daikin pushed us all the way, and we managed to take the win by a mere 28sec over 205km - unbelievable!!

Ride data can be seen here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/19479177

Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge

For Joburg based cyclists, this is the main event of the cycling calender. Second in size only to the Pick 'n Pay Argus. Although our team is split over two age categories for this race, we chose to race in the 40-44 (VC) category in order to race together.
The route has changed a bit this year, and is a bit longer. Now the route travels on the M1 all the way around the city, and heads back via Joe Slovo Dr. past Ponte flats. Here the route travels over 2 short sharp climbs, first over the ridge at Ponte, then again up Carse 'O Gowry past the Johannesburg College of Education.
With the team riding for me, we had chosen this point in the race to try to force the selection. Andrew and Issy strung out the bunch on the first climb and it was important to go into the corner at teh bottom of the second climb close to the front as it was fast and sloped the wrong way. Keeping the pace high after the first climb, we hit the corner very fast with me on Andrew's wheel in third place. Then it was flat out up the short 800m (8%-9%) climb. Only 5 riders were left at the top, Andrew Mclean, myself, Deon Coetzee, and 2 Germiston Wheelers riders (Tinus Scheepers and Gerald Latre).
The split had happened, but now it was going to be hard to hold it because the next 10km or so were flat to downhill, and the gap would be small.
We lost both the Germiston Wheelers riders travelling along Jan Smuts, then finally Deon popped off coming into Randburg.
Andrew was driving the pace really hard, and I was struggling to recover! Although I had managed to force the split, I was not feeling great.
The gap was still dangerously small heading up Witkoppen road and though Kya Sands, and had dropped to 1min when we turned onto the N14 highway. If the gap came down further, I was going to have to drop off and let Andrew go alone. I managed to get some food in, but the highway section of the race was one of the hardest times I've ever had on a bike - the power was just not there.
Andrew is an old pro, and realised that the chasing bunch was able to see us because of our support vehicle. He told the vehicle to drop back a bit so that we were not so visible in amongst all the stragglers from previous groups. Fortunately for me, the pressure on the bunch finally told, and the riders in the chase lost their cohesion. Coming off the highway, the gap had grown to 3min but I was really taking a lot of strain.
I started to feel a bit better after Diepsloot, but had no gas in the tank when I tried to come through and pace. The last few hills were very painful, but coming over the crest at Crowthorne I could see the finish line and could not believe that I had managed to hang in (at various times Andrew had been screaming, supporting, urging me to keep going).
Over the last bump and into the finish, I have seldom been so happy to see a finish line. Taking the win, I have to say that without Andrew I would not have made it. Performance wise, I was not great, but am so glad that I managed to hang in. Was rewarded with a hand shake from the great Phil Ligget after the race as well!!
Special mention to Mark Thijs (our team mate that is currently fighting bladder cancer) who rode the race on a chopper style bicycle dressed in a cow suit in aid of the Choc Charity. At the start of the race he had already raised R84000. We had agreed the day before the race that we would donate any prize money to his initiative as well, so I'm really happy that we are able to add nearly R4000 to his fund raising. Well done Mark, we are so proud of you!
Next week is the Double Century. I will be riding with Shan Wilson and the Anderson Transport team. After that, I'll probably have to have a bit of time off the bike to have a growth behind my eye removed.

Thanks to John Thompson, Neil Frazer and Deon Cilliers for supporting us in the race. Thanks to Deon for the pictures.

Details of the race can be seen here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18820317

OFM Classic

This race is billed as the biggest race in central South Africa. Central South Africa being Bloemfontein of course.
Although Bloemfontein is reasonably flat, this course has enough bumps and wind to make racing very interesting. A few years back Bloemfontein hosted a very successful S.A. Champs.
This year, the course had been re-arranged a bit. Usually the race heads out on a very flat section to the airport, then comes back through the suburbs and over some short sharp hills. This year, we hit the hills first, and the airport loop came right at the end of the race.
The goal this year was for the team to work for Issy Zimmerman (a.k.a. the Jerusalem Jet) as it has been his ambition to win this race for a number of years. Something to do with impressing the inlaws after the young Jewish man made off with the plattelandse meisie!
With the bumps coming early in the race, and the team feeling confident that if we caused the split we would have the legs to stay away for the rest of the race - the first 15km of the race was going to be very aggressive.
Kevin Prinsloo was assigned first watch - and needed to be in any moves that tried to get away in the first few kilometres. Then Andrew and I would go hard over the first two bumps and put the bunch on the back foot. The pace would be high for the next few kilometers then Andrew would attack a couple of times leading up to the last hill. As the bunch came back together, I would counter with Issy on my wheel. Andrew would then bridge to us, and we would be away.
Things went exactly to plan, and the only other rider that was able to come with was Deon Coetzee (current S.A. Champ riding for Tony Impey Cycles).
Deon immediately began working with us even though he was outnumbered and the time gap quickly got to 45sec.
We soon past the Elite Ladies and headed out on the N1 into a strong headwind. 10km later, the gap was up to 2m30sec and a small chase bunch containing Anton Duvenhage (Boss Logistics), Shane Brown (DiData), Kevin Prinsloo (Cyclelab Toyota), Samuel de Swardt (Cyclelab club rider), Jorge Faria (V&A), Mark Linington (Club 100) and a couple of Germiston Wheelers riders (Andy Irvine and Tinus Scheepers) was trying to bring us back.
A short loop through farmland north of Bloemfontein and we were heading back towards Bloem now with a strong tailwind and some long drags. This was the second point in the race where we could cause splits. Coming back onto the highway, Andrew attacked with Issy but Deon was able to get onto Issy's wheel. Deon saw that I had been gapped and countered, pacing hard on the highway trying to remove me. Andrew and Issy weren't going to help him, so the next few kilometres were spent with me trying to get back into the group, and Deon trying to drop me. Eventually he slowed, and as I came back on to the group, I attacked him and forced him to pace again. I opened a nice gap and put the pressure on. Then, as the gap started to close, Andrew and Issy attacked Deon again. I jumped onto Issy's wheel, but Deon was not too far behind and I realised that I was giving him the chance to hang on. I sat up and let the gap open. This was the last straw for Deon, and the elastic finally broke. Andrew and Issy were away.
The gap quickly opened to over 1 minute, at which point I started pacing with Deon again, wanting to get to the finish as third place was still up for grabs and the chase group was 2m30 behind us.
Deon and I maintained a steady pace to the finish, with Deon taking third place.
Then, a very unfortunate incident happened as the chase group came to the finish. Samuel de Swardt participated in the sprint (for 5th place) though he had not contributed much to the chase. This upset some of the other riders, Shane Brown and Jorge Faria, and resulted in Samuel being physically pushed into the curb and crashed.
I can understand the guys being angry when this happened, but physically crashing the guy off his bike is just unacceptable. The incident was reported to the commaissaires and hopefully some action will be taken.

GPS data from the race and power data can be seen here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/17717655

Telkom Satellite Challenge

Even though maby road races have declining numbers, this race is still growing. This is despite the fact that the last 20km are some of the toughest to be found in Gauteng racing. The continued growth can only be due to the fact that the race is such a well organised one.

The only negative from the race was news of a bad crash apparently in A bunch. From what I heard, there was a fall within the bunch, and a rider swerved to avoid and went onto the wrong side of the road, colliding with a car. I don't know who the rider was, but hoping that he is okay!

The main obstacle in this race is Hekpoort, a climb that starts at about 20km to go, and is just over 3 km long at around 7% gradient. This is long enough that there can be no hiding, and close enough to the finish that if you can get away here, you have a real chance of getting to the finish and winning.

Our plan was for me to get away in a break and make it to Hekpoort with a bit of a gap on the bunch. My race would start at Hekpoort and I planned to try to get away from the break up Hekpoort. Andrew would attack the main bunch at Hekpoort and depending on the time gap, bridge across to me and we'd go for the finish. If I could stay away then all would be good anyway.

Well, that plan didn't happen. I was being well marked and DiData were making all the attacks, trying to force us into a long chase. The pattern repeated a number of times. Didata would attack, if I responded there would be plenty of guys on my wheel, and it would all come back together. So, change in tactic was required. A move went off the front, and I said to Kevin Prinsloo that he should go for it. He went and the bunch let it go a bit. The break got to 4 strong, but did not seem to gel well so it came back after 5km or so.

Approaching the dam, an attack went off, I responded with Danie Marais. As I got across, the break sat up, so I counter attacked and now had a nice gap on the bunch. Two more riders came across, Mervyn Scorgie and one other. This forced a big chase for a few km's as DiData did not have representation. It all came back together going over the dam, and Jackie van Eeden (DiData) attacked. The bunch was already strung out, and a small group responded to Jackie's attack. Andrew was amongst this group, and going up a short drag, he saw that the bunch had broken up. He accelerated away and joined Jackie. Too late for everybody else and they were away. For us this was perfect, as we know Jackie would not be able to hold onto Andrew up Hekpoort, and Andrew was more that capable of staying away to the finish.

Disappointingly, the bunch threw in the towel without a fight. Shane Brown (DiData) did his best to get a chase going, sensing that unless they brought Andrew back immediately, the race would be over. A little while later, Boss Logistics (without Anton Duvenhage), started chasing for a bit, but nobody coordinated anything. I really don't understand this, because there were enough teams to put together a proper chase - DiData, V&A, Boss Logistics, and some strong individuals like Danie Marais, Deon Coetzee, etc. Andrew would have had to do all the work, and Jackie would have been able to just sit in. A 50km TT prior to Hekpoort would have taken some of the sting out of Andrew and who knows?? Seems like the guys are happy to race for second place.

Various people came and went off the front, and after about 20km DiData started chasing a bit more. I was waiting for Hekpoort. I was not feeling good at all, having had some oral surgery this week, I was very flat. Hekpoort duly arrived, and I just set a really hard pace. Gary Beneke and Shane Brown come with, but the rest of the bunch quickly disappeared. Shane eventually popped close to the top, but Gary stayed with. At the top, Gary looked to see if Shane would re-join, but I decided to keep the pace going and prevent that from happening. Gary saw that Shane was not going to re-join us, and started sharing the effort to get to the finish line. At this point we thought we were racing for third place, because we had not picked up Jackie at all.

There is one last opportunity to make a move. A short sharp climb just before the finish line. Getting over the top with a gap would enable me to get into the finish straight in front. There is a short descent and a 90deg left hander into the finish - coming about 100m later. It is important to get into the turn first. I attacked Gary but did not have enough of a kick to shake him. He countered and I got caught out in the wrong gear.

In the meantime, Andrew had solo'd to the finish 6 minutes ahead of us! Catching and overtaking the VA bunch in the process. We also found out that we were racing for second as Jackie had cramped and was still somewhere out on the course.

So, a well deserved win for Andrew, Gary taking second and I got third.

Power numbers for the day were better than I expected - averaging 354w NP for the race. But I was not feeling sharp at all.

Just heard that the rider involved in the accident is Anton Pretorius, and Cyclelab Pretoria member. He is in a critical condition in Sunninghill hospital. Thoughts go out to his wife Roanne and family!!

Amashova

The Amashova is the cycling equivalent of the legendary Comrades Marathon. But although the two races share much of the same route, I would far rather do this on a bike than in running shoes!

Although this event has been running since the mid-90's, for some reason this year the organisation was absolute chaos! First indications that things were going to be a bit different was the start order. Junior ladies categories were starting off before the Vet's categories, and with the weather conditions the way they were, along with some of the very serious descents on this route, it is a wonder that there weren't any serious accidents en route!

My race entry had been lost in the works somewhere, and I was told that the licensed categories were absolutely full, no more entrants allowed. Fortunately some intervention from Dave Bellairs got our team sorted out, but I was not surprised to see riders lining up next to me with boiled potatoes in a little bag on their cross bar, and rearview mirrors! Fun riders (i.e. riders on hybrid bikes and flowers in their hair) were lining up in the ladies elite start pen!

Forunately, the main selection point in this race comes in the first 15km or so, so we wouldn't have a mixed ability group for very long. I have absolutely nothing against people that take their riding a lot less seriously than I do, but this situation was plain dangerous!

Anyway, having a look around the start pen, there were definitely a few guys who we would have to keep an eye on. Our plan was to try to get away (Andrew and myself), right from the first climb. The second selection point (Inchanga) comes about halfway through the race, with plenty downhill after that, so we decided that getting away early would cause a lot of indecision in the bunch as to chasing hard. Guys would be reluctant to go too hard so early in the race and risk not having legs for the windy sections approaching the finish.

Andrew had been feeling very tired the whole week, and I had not been too sharp either. We also had Colin Germs from the team, and a welcome guest appearance from Gary Marescia (Cyclelab Cape Town). Jorge Faria (V&A), Martin Saunders (DiData) and Garth Schonewolf (Bring It On) were two of the danger men present.

On the first slope of Fox, Andrew surged, and a few riders followed and the bunch got strung out. Things came together, and Andrew went again. This time, Garth Schonewolf, Martin Saunders and another Bring It On rider went with. The bunch did not react, so as soon as the gap got to about 30m, I jumped across and nobody came with - perfect.

We went really hard up the rest of Fox, with Andrew doing most of the work. Martin popped off quite quickly, but Garth and his team-mate were hanging in there. Sensing this was the move, Andrew tried to force the Bring It On guys to come through, but he was putting on a lot of pressure. At the top of Fox, Garth started to come through but his teammate was not. Andrew surged and I let the gap open. Garth jumped across but his teammate stayed. I let the gap open again, then went hard, getting rid of him.

The gap was now just under 1 minute, and the three of us started working hard to open it up. Next came Inchanga. Andrew drove the first half of the climb, then I took over for the second. Andrew dropped back to see how Garth was doing, and decided the time had come to attack him. So, on the next climb, just before Botha's Hill, Andrew jumped clear and Garth stayed with me. Once the gap was a reasonable size, I attacked Garth and bridged across to Andrew. Not an easy feat because the road was windy and Andrew did not see I was coming across initially, so he kept his head down and was going hard.

Now it was just the two of us, and the gap was up to about 2 minutes. No holding back, we went as hard as we could. Coming on to the M13, we got a time check that the gap was now 3:40, so we just needed to keep a good solid rhythm and baring any mechanical problems, we could do it.

On a couple of the rolling hills, I was struggling to hold Andrew's wheel he was going so well. No problems for the rest of the race, and we came across the finish about 7min ahead of the bunch. Andrew taking first place, and I took second. Gary Marescia took third place to round out the podium for Cyclelab.

Power-wise, this was my best ever race effort. We finished the race in 2h31, at a speed of 42km/h, and Normalised Power of 354w. Peak 60min NP was 377w.