Die Burger Cycle Tour

Suddenly it's December and time for the last race of the year - the 97km Die Burger Cycle Tour hosted in Stellenbosch. After the Cape Argus this is the biggest road race in the Western Cape and also my favourite road event on the calender. I'm usually fit this time of the year and while lacking the razzmatazz of the Argus, the vibe at the front end of the field is more relaxed and the wider roads & smaller field generally makes for safer cycling.

I was lucky enough to be seeded in Group %, among with the Elite Ladies, it was a privilege to be have a front row seat to see how its done by the biggest names in woman's racing in SA like Anriette Schoeman and Jennie Stenerhag.

The race starts with a neutral zone (which I have learned the hard way last year is anything but...) and then a 5km climb up the Old Helshoogte road (where I got dropped last year after falling too far behind in the "neutral" zone). The pace up "Helz" is always ferocious and if you have any ambitions of being with the group when they summit, you have to make sure you are in the front 1/3rd of the group when they hit the climb because a big portion of the group will be dropped on the climb and the last thing you want is to be caught behind a "dead" wheel at the back of the bunch while the front half of the bunch break away.

As I expected the pace up Helshoogte was murderous, we averaged about 25km/h on the 4.4% gradient climb which is just crazy. You can literally feel your heart climbing up your throat as you punish yourself trying to keep up. I managed to stay with the group up until almost the top, but at the summit the pace just increased again and I was left in no-mans land, behind by the front-runners but ahead of the other dropped riders.

Gasping for air up Helz

Luckily a bunch of dropped riders formed just after the descent on the other side of Helshoogte, and we managed to catch the front-runners again when they turned into the wind on the Franschoek road after Boschendal. Sitting snugly in the group I managed to catch my breath again as the pace slowed down considerably.

The breather was not to last though, and as we turned left at Wemmershoek suddenly the wind was at our backs and the pace increased to more than 50km/h. Peddling furiously I managed to stay with the group, I saw a rider with deep sections blown clean off the road by the wind (he seemed ok) and two other riders hurt next two the road (also victims of wind gusts I assume) but luckily I managed to stay out of trouble.

We were still going fast on the section between Paarl and Wellington but I was getting more relaxed and drifted towards the back of the group, I knew the next turn off on the R44 back to Stellenbosch would be tough as we head into the wind but backed myself to stay with the group as I'm usually a fairly strong rider in windy conditions and its hard to do a break-away in such conditions (or so I thought).

The R44 after Wellington is a long gradual climb, made even tougher when the south easter is blowing head-on, its also right here where the front-runners in the group unexpectantly (to me at least) made their next big attack and caught me napping at the back of the group. Suddenly the group stretched out like a long snake and the leaders broke away! I tried to chase them down but being at the back of the group, the headstart they had was just to big, I gave everything I got, gained some ground on them but just couldn't breach the gap. I started tasting the metallic taste of blood in my mouth and my chest started to tighten and then I realised the chase was over, there was no way I was catching them today. 

Desperately chasing the front bunch

To further my frustration a group of dropped riders reformed after the breakaway but nobody was keen to pick up the pace. I was working in front but everybody else was (wisely in hindsight) content to relax a bit, recover and wait for the front-runners of "A group" to catch us, which they duly did right after Klapmuts on the Lievland climb.

A group climbing Knorhoek (me barely hanging on at the back) - Photo by Brakkies Sport Photos 

By now I have burned too many matches, and staying with the 50kg front-runner kids of A group flying up the climbs was too big an ask, but luckily us heavy riders caught them every time again on the downhills At the last turn-off from the R44 back on the Helshoogte road the little guys flew away again and by now I had literally nothing left in the legs, I was content to ride the last 3kms on my own and rolled over the finish line at a time of 2h46, about 5 minutes behind the winners of elite ladies.

Leading ladies showing how climbing is done - Photo by Brakkies Sport Photos

I can't say being dropped from a tough group where a lot of the riders were stronger than me was a big disappointment, but being dropped due to tactical naivety at a time when I was still feeling strong stung a little. I think on the day I had the legs to stay with the group at least till Klapmuts, but it was a good lesson learned!

Now it's time for a rest and the next big goal is to make another attempt on that Sub-3 Argus in March, hopefully my time in Die Burger will mean a better seeding which would go a long way!