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June/July Winter Issue 2014, Vol 14
MOUNTAIN BIKE MONTHLY
Gear - ride in style
pg34
An international’s view pg10
MTB Tattoos
pg26
Bike Review - Giant Tours - Ride SA
pg20
pg16
PAIRS versus THE FUTURE OF STAGE RACING Kate Slegrova has done a fair bit of stage racing in the last few years. She’s ridden the Cape Epic twice, the Transalp, the Cape Pioneer Trek and a whole host of three day races, so she’s got a bit of experience when it comes to mountain biking team dynamics. Given that a growing number of races are offering the solo option we asked Kate to let us know what the pros and cons of each are.
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SOLO:
Riding as a team can be tough if your partner is significantly less fit that you.
S
outh African stage races are famous for being ridden in teams of two. It’s only been in the last two years or so that the option of riding solo has been offered at some races.
Why solo? This option seems to be offered by more and more races these days. From a rider’s point of view it’s not always easy to find a partner that has the same goals (race for podium or just to finish) and fitness. Or if your usual partner pulls out of race at the last minute because of work or sickness. Then what? Do you end up riding with someone you just met on the Hub not knowing what to expect (like me with this year’s Epic…) or do you rather ride solo?
Prize money and results There still seems to be more prestige in doing well, in terms of results, as a team, even though it may actually be harder to ride solo. For the pros, teams
get far better prize money. There was no prize, for example, for the first solo rider to reach the top of the Merino Monster on the Tankwa Trek, so although Urs Huber was well ahead of the first placed team his efforts weren’t monetarily rewarded while theirs was despite cresting behind two solo riders, Huber and Karl Platt. Teams get much better prize money for podium finishes than solo riders, but there is a slight trend towards evening out the prize money. Dryland and Garden Route Events should be commended as they seem to appreciate and encourage the solo riders more than most of the other event organisers. Prize money aside there is also confusion about whether to list the teams and solo results together or separately. Some organizers make separate results for teams and solo, while others put them together, a unilateral approach either way would avoid confusion for riders.
The Big Race… Will the Cape Epic ever offer the option of competing as a solo rider? I think not, as they are big on the team finish and seem strongly against the idea. Whether their reasoning is for rider safety, to add another level of difficulty or simply just because they don’t want to interfere with a system that’s worked for them, they’re unlikely to allow solo riders to challenge for victory.
Pros and cons of riding solo Pros: Being able to ride at your own pace is the biggest advantage. If you feel strong you push hard and don’t have to wait for your partner that may be having a bad day physically or mechanically. You can operate on your own time frame. On and off the bike your time is your own, allowing you to go to the start line when you feel like it, spend as much or as little time at water points
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