Race Report - Tour De Boland

Report by Sipho Mona, Team Manager: Team GT/Velokhaya/PPA.

Wednesday, March 17 to Saturday, March 20, 2010

Stage 1
The first stage of the 2010 Tour De Boland started just outside Wellington on the R45, the route was 11 laps of 13 km each which totaled 143km.
The bunch was a mere 60 riders on route, and the racing started immediately after the bell. A couple of riders went away and established a reasonable gap in the first lap. By the time they started the second one it had grown to 50sec, a couple of our riders started chasing the break. After numerous attempts from other teams another break went away with the team being represented this time around by Ayabonga Ophila, who would unfortunately last not more than a lap and was dropped by the break back to the bunch.
The team was now on the back foot as it had no representation in both breaks, and did all the chasing but it was a little bit too late as the break forged ahead and increased the gap to 4min on the chasing bunch. By the last lap the gap had grown to more than 7min and the team was left to only do damage control, as there was no way they would bring back the break of 8 riders while they were doing the chase with only 3 riders.
The day surely did not belong to the team as they also showed signs of fatigue in their lackluster performance today due to last weeks tour (Giro Del Capo).

Stage 2
After yesterday's dismal performance, the team was destined to make amends at the second stage which was 133km. The racing from the team was evident after 25km into the ride as Songezo Jim was in a nine man break. The break was making headway until the other riders from the move refused to work together to make it a success. Then after the break was inevitably caught, Siyabonga Mnqwazi countered with Songezo and established an immediate gap which grew to 40sec in the first 5km of the break and the gap increased to 1min 50sec after 60km into the race and the couple was determined to make time with the bunch.
The couple steadily increased the gap and after 75km the gap had grown to an astonishing 3 minutes and the pair was really riding as a team as they were giving each other turns and conserving each others energy by their camaraderie.
When the race reached the 110km mark the gap was an insurmountable 2min. The guys had one foot over the finish line as they were only left with over 30km to go, but the labour of being in the front for over 90km of the race was beginning to tell. One of the riders showed signs of fatigue and was fading as the German Team Kuota Indeland was making it their mission to bring back the pair.
With just over 20km to go Siyabonga could not withstand the pace and surrendered to the pack which swallowed him. In turn Songezo was left alone to keep the chase from reaching him before the line. The gap was reduced to 45sec and Songezo made an effort up the wave going to the finish and regained 15 sec on the bunch. With a mere 10km to go the pack could see the solo rider and increased the pace to catch up to him.
And with just under 10km to go he was caught by the bunch and Wandisile Mahlombe countered and was chased back into the pack with the finish in sight. The race ended in a bunch sprint.

Stage 3
The third stage of the tour was a 90km criterium which did loops around a 4.4km circuit. The race started with a neutral lap to get the riders familiar with the route. Racing began with two riders in a break and with the team not represented in the break.
Ayabonga Ophila tried bridging the gap to the couple in the first two laps but could not and was forced to drop back to the chasing bunch. After seven laps Siyabonga Mnqwazi and Ayabonga tried breaking away and could only manage a gap of 100m from the bunch until they were caught.
With three laps to go and the break still away the bunch increased the pace and they were caught before the last lap, from then nothing was allowed to get away. All the teams were getting ready for ewas, the bunch sprint which was won by Team Medscheme and our closest competitor being Wandisile who managed a top 10 position.

Stage 4
The fourth and final stage of the tour started at the Taal Monument on the top of the 3km climb. The 140km that was going to be very exciting, as every rider wanted to show their ability and have a moment to shine in the tour.
The team had its own tactics on the day but within the first 9km of the race Songezo and Siya saw themselves in a break. They didn't hesitate to push for the break and establish a sensible gap between themselves and the bunch. And after the race reached the circuit section the pair was once at it again as they performed the same wonders as the second stage. The bunch was very aware of the dangers of the two and wanted to bring them back as soon as possible, but with them determined to stay away and grinding away the kilometres the pair increased the gap to two minutes with over 50km and 5 laps to go.
One rider from Team EMG formerly known as Team Neotel rode away from the pack chasing the pair 2min up the road. After being caught in the middle of nowhere for about 20km Siyabonga punctured and with no time he got back to his teammate and they carried on where they left.
With just under 30km to go Siyabonga felt the heat of the break and surrendered back to the chasing rider and was then swallowed by the bunch with 20km to go. Songezo on the other hand was grinding his way to the finish and as all the teams were working together to bring him back he was persistent not to be swallowed by the pack, but with literally 7km to go to the finish he was unfortunately caught by the bunch.
With the teams performance this tour evident to the other teams and their managers it was meant for the team to make a mark for the individuals involved in the tour but after losing a lot of time in the first stage, we were left no choice but to take as many chances as we could and gamble with our riders, this was however made easier by the team as their self confidence was very evident and made things easier in the end.