We tapped into some of the most experienced brains in the Old Mutual Wealth Double Century database, and put together the most important strategies you’ll need for race day.

Hydration: Plan to ride 100km without stopping. Carry two big bottles, one with water and one with your favourite energy/electrolyte drink. 500ml an hour is a good target, upped to 700ml if it’s especially hot, alternating between the two. 

There are refilling options at 32km and 65km, full team stops at 145km and 160km, and a final watering hole after 176km at Drew, just when you feel like giving it all up. Stick to water and your preferred jungle juice at these stops; leave the Coca Cola Red Ambulance for the final stop. With ‘only’ 26km to the finish, the sugar rush should just about see you through.

READ MORE: What & When to Drink to Ride Longer

Nutrition: Unless you’re racing, you shouldn’t have a problem keeping down real food – alongside the carb-rich energy products you’ll be tempted to survive on. 

Generally, these are designed for short, fast events, as an easily-digestible way to get in the 60 to 90g of carbs you need to keep fuelled. So, for the five-hour finishers, gels and bars are the bomb. But for us mortals, the prospect of seven or eight hours of cramming all that hyper-processed gloop into our systems is often too sickly-sweet, so we end up just not eating. Which, obviously, is a bad thing. 

So make sure you pack ham-and-cheese sandwiches, banana bread, a bit of biltong, rice cakes, date balls and other ‘real’ food into the catering for your team at the two major stopovers, and you’ll find the variety palatable enough to actually want to keep eating, no matter how broken you are.

READ MORE: How to Fuel a Monster Ride

“The best DC experiences happen when you ride Tradouw as a group, cajoling the non-climbers with kind words and the odd push.”

Conquer The Hills: The first proper test of the Double Century is Tradouw Pass, and it’s a stinker. The key here, from a team perspective, is to practise a little cycling zen and avoid trying to break each other. Yes, you might be a bit bored, maybe even a little cold, after the slow roll to the foot of the climb from Swellendam… but there will always be people in the group for whom this is a major obstacle (even if they’re too proud to admit it). 

The best DC experiences happen when you ride Tradouw as a group, cajoling the non-climbers with kind words and the odd push. It’s a good strategy for the biggest climb up Op Die Tradouw at 63km, and the Three Witches in the final 30km.

READ MORE: Have you Picked the Perfect Team?

The Key Team Strategy: Ride together, train together, and discuss pace and fuel-stop strategies long before the event itself. On the day, if your team is riding too fast for your comfort, communicate this early, so there’s time for everyone to adapt. Chances are, they’re also riding too fast.

Be Prepared. Most teams share out the spares across the various team members, so there’s always a bomb, tube, plug or pump available and not everyone has to carry everything. In most teams there’s always one person who’s particularly good at changing flats; so appoint them as the official puncture specialist, and assist where you can so you can get on your way quickly.

Your Pre-Ride checklist:

• Timing chip. 
• Putting your bike into the car? You won’t be the first to leave your through-axle skewer on the bumper…
• …Ditto your front wheel. Double-check, before you leave home.
• Water bottles – remarkably easy to leave in the freezer at your B&B.
• Your cycling shoes, if you’re driving to the start.
• Ditto your helmet and sunglasses.
• All the identification bits you need for the day – stickers, bike boards, numbers. Lay them out the night before, and put your number board on the bike.
• SUNSCREEN. It’s easy to forget when you’re dressing in the dark.
• A notebook, for Saturday evening’s team fines meeting. A mental notebook will do.
• Real food for your pockets.
• Your sense of humour. It’s an early rise, followed by a long day.

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