Dome to Dome – 4 September 2011 - By Emile Fouche

After the Margate South coast challenge has been canned for the second year in a row, we decided to head to Johannesburg to do the Dome to Dome which took part on the 4th of September. The team members going up were Werner Venter, Mike Viljoen, Andrew Reeves, Gwyn Pine and me. Gwyn , being the Ballie between the 30 plus year old laaities raced in the 40+ category. We weren’t allowed to race with the licensed VA category as we were registered as a Top club team.

We lined up in the start pins with the Pro/Elite/u23 bunch. You know, it is that category where the paid riders and those with the prospect of being a paid rider start (Those who can train while the not so lucky sit at work). At 6h15 the shout was given by the commentator to start the race and there we went. The Dome to Dome, which should now be called “Back to School”, is not an easy event and it turned out to be a hard morning of sucking wheel. It was a new route this year, starting at the top of Sterkfontein heading out past Tarlton, up past Maropeng, a lap of the Cradle and back to the top of Sterkfontein. The race started off on a drag from Protea Rif School and then a bit of a breather until you turned right onto Robert Broom Drive. We encountered a climb and unfortunately we lost Werner there as he had a bad day. We got onto the R24 and then turned right onto the T7 where the bunch was going at a high pace over a drag that made me almost spit my back teeth out. This is where Mike decided he had enough and only Andrew and I were left. Unlike me Andrew can handle himself at the front of the bunch with the Pro teams. A break of ten riders strong formed where most of the Pro-teams were represented and the bunch went into cruising mode, which was still at a speed of between 45 and 50 kilometres an hour at stages.

There was a long drag before we reached the actual climb towards the finish line and the pace of the bunch was high, too high for me and I popped off. Going up the climb, I could maintain a good pace and saw Andrew just a couple metres ahead of me. Andrew crossed the line as the 5th (No chip) Vet with me in 6th with a time of 2h15:07. The race was won by Reinardt Janse van Rensburg from MTN Qhubeka in a time of 2h11:33.

After the race we made the decision that we would be withdrawing from the Top Club team status, as we want to be able the race. An established Sub Vet racing format was destroyed to help get the country’s top and Pro cyclists used to racing in bigger bunches. Maybe a good idea at a time, but Top Club failed. We want 30+ racing back and we want to be able to compete against riders in the same situation as us, working for a life and cycling as a hobby (Although we don’t always want to admit it).


Bring back Sub Vet racing! We are not the only team that feels this way!