Tour de Boland 2011

The Le Coq Sportif Tour de Boland (TdB) has taken over from the Giro de Capo in 2011. This would be my first road racing multi-stage race. As it is classified as a professional event I would have to race for a team, in which case the Marties Team kindly gave me a spot on their team. This race was included as part of my ambitious week of racing 8 out of 10 days. Therefore after only one days rest since the third and final day of the Grape Escape I would start stage one of the TdB with three days of mountain bike racing already in my legs.

Stage 1: 147km, Paarl-Bainskloof pass-Wolseley-R44 loop

Soon after the start in Paarl, after a few incidences in the first few kilometers due to the slick road surface from light rain we were to start climbing Bainskloof. This was going to be the first real test for my legs to assess their condition and set the stage for the next 4 days. Unfortunately they weren't feeling quite up to what they should be and therefore I took strain trying to hang on to the main bunch towards the top of the climb. However, with taking a few risks on the decent, a few other riders and I were able to catch back on to the main bunch. A fairly large break away group of about 10 riders managed to get away. As we headed back towards Wellington along the R44 the wind came from the side and resulted in some hard "gutter" riding as the main bunch split into 3 groups. However, everything came back together before Wellington except for the breakaway bunch whom still held about a 2 minute gap on the main pelaton, which is how the stage ended after 3hr38min of racing in Paarl.

Stage 2: 135km, Paarl-Du Toits Kloof pass-Worcester-Bainskloof pass-Paarl

Only 6km from the start of todays stage 2 we approached the bottom of Du Toits Kloof pass and then it would be a long 14km climb to the summit. I knew today's stage was going to be a tough one especially after how my legs performed yesterday on Bainskloof pass. None-the-less I took major shots going up the pass and got dropped by the main bunch about half way up. This meant that there was still another 7km to go to the top! This was unusual for me as I normally like the long climbs and this was one of the reasons why I always wanted to do this race. However, having done the Grape Escape before hand my condition starting this race was definitely worse off than most of the other riders. There was still a long way to go to the finish of the stage after Du Toits Kloof but fortunately for me there was a decent bunch of riders who were also dropped up the climb and we could therefore work together. We did so for a long way until we almost caught back up to the main bunch at the bottom of Bainskloof where unfortunately there was a minor crash as the bunch entered a narrow bridge section. This resulted in the convoy of backup vehicles behind the bunch coming to a standstill and blocking the bridge for us to get through and join onto the main bunch. After getting through and across the bridge we had already put in a big effort in trying to catch up to this point and it was difficult to make up the further lost time on the main bunch from then on up the climb of Bainskloof. From there it was a relatively easy run in to the finish where I finished with a group of guys in a time of 3hr41min, 14min after the main pelaton.

Stage 3: 125km, Paarl-Franshoek pass-Villiersdorp-Franshoek pass-Paarl

This stage was supposed to consist of a loop of 167km from Paarl to Franshoek, over the pass through Villiersdorp to Worcester and over Du Toits Kloof pass back to Paarl. However, shortly after the neutral zone just before we reached Franshoek, racing came to a halt and we were informed that we could not go over Du Toits Kloof pass because it was closed due to a fire. The organizers and everyone quickly discussed a new route for the day and it was decided that we would carry on through Franshoek, over the pass and then in to Villiersdorp where we were to make a u-turn and come back the same way. Well done to the organizers and traffic department for coming up with a quick solution such that we could continue racing! I felt a bit better today but I could also see that some of the other riders were starting to feel the effects of the last two days of racing. This was good for me as I then ended up having a much better day of racing than the previous day. A small group of riders had got away on the return trip over Franshoek pass and I found myself within the main pelaton. We rode very hard from Franshoek to the finish in Paarl where we were doing speeds in excess of 60km/hr on the flat roads with a tail wind. I was hanging on for dear life to the wheel in front of me as some guys towards the back of the bunch were getting dropped (it's not often you see riders at this level getting dropped along a flat road with a tail wind!). We ended up finishing the stage about 2min behind the front breakaway group.

Stage 4: 65km, Paarl 5x15km laps

Lets just say that stage 4 simply didn't happen for me. Together with the level of fatigue I was experiencing at this stage after 6 hard days of racing prior and a very difficult intense lap race ahead it was never going to be easy. I was very happy to make it through each stage and get to this point of the race as in the beginning on Tuesday morning there was just over 110 riders starting the tour and on this, the 4th and final stage of the race saw only a little over 60 riders on the start line! (There is a time limit where you have to finish in a percentage of the winners time each day otherwise you get eliminated and you're not allowed to continue the following day). What actually made this final stage not happen for me was that there was about 3km of pure gravel on the laps! Now I would normally like this sort of thing as I am a mountain biker, however, I had just purchased a very nice and pricey set of wheels! After the first lap, feeling the way I felt and not wanting to ruin my nice new wheels I called it quits. Along with this decision was the Argus Cycle Tour in two days time, which I had in the back of my head. I wasn't to feel too bad about this 4th stage as out of the 60 odd starters, less than 30 riders finished all 5 laps without being eliminated from lap to lap!

At the end of the 4 days of racing I can at least say that I got some good experience along with an extremely tied body! I finished 55th in the overall classification, 31min23sec behind the winner Darren Lill (DCM). Now it was time to put the legs up and recovery before Sundays Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour!