The QOM Wars: How One Strava Segment Changed Everything
What starts as a friendly Wednesday ride can quickly become something far more competitive when Strava bragging rights are on the line.
In the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, there’s a crew of ambitious, enthusiastic cyclists who gather every Wednesday for what has become known as… The Whip. Every Tuesday, a flyer confirming the meeting point and start time lands in the WhatsApp group, even though the details barely change from week to week.
Originally, The Whip revolved around a single ‘racing’ segment on Strava. We still all go head-to-head on that part of the ride, but the rest of it is normally quite chilled. Not recently, however. No. Over the last few weeks, things have started to heat up.
First, a bit of context: We’re all mates in this group, regardless of the bikes we ride, the kit we wear, how often we train, our ages and job titles. It’s a real community; one where I can get free medical advice, plumbing emergencies sorted and building alterations done at the drop of a hat. But I have a feeling that if I need marketing advice over the next few weeks, my options might be somewhat limited. I’ll explain why…
In December, we had a few holiday Whip rides planned. On this particular Wednesday, one of the normally more reserved members of the group piped up softly, saying she’d quite like to move up the leaderboard on a different Strava segment to the one we normally race.
My response? “Let’s go. Today!”
And off we went. That day I was on my gravel bike, with a textbook lead-out from our resident time-trialist. As we hit the segment, we were all shouting at our usually meek-and-mild contender, urging her to unleash. “SIT ON MY WHEEL!” I commanded. She duly did – and just like that, she crept up the leaderboard.
Afterwards, there were the usual debriefs and laughs, and some new tactics were discussed. A few internal fires were lit that day. However, what I didn’t realise at the time was that I’d taken the QOM! I only noticed later, when I uploaded the ride. And somewhere on a peaceful holiday break, my dear friend the marketer – living her best life – received that dreaded Strava notification: “Uh oh! Lauren just stole your QOM on [segment name]*”
Well. Roll on the following Wednesday, and we decided to give this particular sprint another go – this time on road bikes. Chains were lubed, tyres were pumped, road shoes were dragged out from the back of cupboards and dusted off. And off we went – again.
“What a time to be alive! I managed to drop a TT bike and gain another 12 seconds on the leaderboard, which might have secured my QOM title for a little bit longer.”
What a time to be alive! I managed to drop a TT bike and gain another 12 seconds on the leaderboard, which might just have secured my QOM title for a little bit longer. But I’ve since heard mutterings in the group; that I’ve created a monster or two. New training plans have been drawn up, some members have come out of the Strava shadows and made their efforts public, and the resident number crunchers have been analysing speed and power in a bid to ride a faster time.
But at the end of the day, The Whip isn’t really about titles and leaderboards; it’s about showing up, pushing each other and watching quiet ambition turn into results. It’s about friends becoming determined rivals for the sake of a Strava segment, but then sharing coffee and banter at the end. If this means the pace gets spicier and the WhatsApp group gets a little more unhinged, I wouldn’t want it any other way.
* Outdoor enthusiast and fitness fundi, Lauren van Wyk has deliberately omitted the name of the segment, in an attempt to retain her QOM title for as long as possible.
