Race Report and Vlog : Velddrif 222 (2022)

Fueled with one of the best Risottos I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating courtesy of soigneur Trevor, I mooched along with Group 2 until the hills before Piketberg where for once, courtesy a slightly slower group than I’m usually seeded in, and the kind of hill (stays below 7% and has flat ruskansies at key moments) I ended up in a somewhat dysfunctional group of 4 riders off the front of the main peloton.
There was one guy who solo’d from the start and another that dangled in front of us (why I don’t know) and so this crew of 4 mamils occupied positions 3 to 6 in the group. I had one of those glory moments when I realised I was in a break off the front rather than the back for a change and I had my eye on the podium. 3rd in group 2.
AND I was sure I would catch at least some of the people from the slower group that started half an hour before us.
At 90 I punctured and was just using the last warmth in my hands to unfreeze the bomb from the valve when the main group 2 peloton whizzed by.
I set about chasing them back (optimistic I know) when another puncture 2km shy of the first refreshement point at Redlinghuys put paid to that dream.
This time I removed the tyre completely and inspected it more thoroughly than the first one (I stopped looking as soon as I found a tiny filament of wire embedded in the rubber on the first one) and finding nothing, reinflated the tyre convinced that it would deflate again.
It didn’t although to be frank I wouldn’t have really minded if it had because that would have given me a valid reason to stop and send the SOS whatsapp – and I solo’d 130 km to the end.
The hill at Redlinghuys is horrible. I saw one rider climbing into the car with his wife and another into the ambulance shortly after the hill.
The wind was tame on the 70km stretch back to Velddrif from Elands bay by South Easter standards but nagged just enough to make efforts to increase speed futile and painful.
Couldn’t have finished it without my soigneurs.
Tough riding out there on a beautiful day. Nowhere to hide and no free kilometers at all.
To the organisers – super event, great spirit on the road, I’ll do it again if you offer it again.
BUT – no water available between km 126 and the end means if you don’t have people supporting you or can rely on the kindness of the larger team’s support, the day could become unpleasant, bordering on impossible. Easily remedied by having a table with 2 people and 3 50 liter kegs.
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