Clássica de Namaacha

Namaacha done and dusted, so to speak.  Well, actually there was very little dust, thanks to the rain the whole week, which cleared the air.  And although we had as usual many predictions of rain on race day, thankfully there was none.  We assembled as usual at the Galp Petrol Station in Boane, with some riders arriving just before the start time, as well as the support vehicle,  which waited till 6:20 for riders who needed a lift but in the end didn't show.. 

The race started at 7:20.. a 20 minute delay, something we definately need to improve on.  The Peloton set off at a sedate pace which quickened slightly on the Pedreira hill.  On the way down Artur put the hammer down, killing any hopes of anyone dropped on the hill from rejoining the group.  On the flats Miguel took up the pacemaking, keeping a steady but manageable pace into a slight headwind, with Niall and Artur doing some pacemaking as well.  Once the climb started at Mandevo Miguel went back to the front, where he stayed till the end of the race.  The Peloton lined out and broke apart on the first section, with first Mario, then Nial and then Ricky dropping back to their own pace, and only Artur and Grichone managing to hold Miguel’s wheel. But they in turn lost his wheel further up the climb.  Miguel reached the summit with a 5 minute advantage over the chasers, with Artur and Grichone next, then Mario and Ricky, with Niall, Emil and Cesar following on their own.   On the descent Artur and Grichone were descending in hot pursuit, followed two minutes later by the next group, Mario and Ricky, also trying to catch the front groups on the descent.  However one of the little bumps proved too much for Mario and he detached from Ricky who then went on his own on the descent.   Meanwhile Niall, just behind was trying to come back to their wheel but the fast descent kept the groups apart.  

On the flats Miguel powered on, putting yet more time into his pursuers before crossing the line in the same record time as the 2012 edition.  Artur and Grichone worked together and crossed the line in joint second place.  Behind Mario finally managed to catch Ricky on the pedreira hill descent and they came into the finishing stretch side by side, but Ricky had the stronger legs in the sprint. 

Here's a link to a video by Miguel showing the race start.

Race results:

1^st Miguel Duarte 2:45:46

2^nd ArturSimoes & Sergio Grichone +10:31

4^th Ricardo Trinidade +14:32

5^th Mario Traversi +14:36

6^th Niall Tierney +24:10

7^th Emil Levendoglou +30:54

8^th Cesar Rosário +40:00

Thanks again to our support vehicle sponsored by MRO driven by Januario, who made sure our riders on the road were safe, and acted as broom-wagon as well as water point at the top of Namaacha.  Thanks also to the other vehicles that showed up at the race and gave support as well. And lastly thanks to Miguel Duarte who ensured rider times were recorded at the finish line.