Incredible effort earns rider second spot in Emperors Palace Road Classic

In the thrilling whirlwind called the 2024 Emperors Palace Road Classic, amid the thundering cheers of spectators and the relentless clinking of bicycle pedals – Lisa Bone, a cyclist from Bryanston, emerged as a rider to note.

Bone’s journey through the labyrinthine race captured the hearts of her community members.

She took second place, missing the first-place mark by a few seconds. Her achievement is a testament to the indomitable spirit she displayed throughout the limit-testing course.

In an interview, she said that as she crossed the finish line, her initial thought was that she was ecstatic for her Sandton City teammate, who had crossed the line 10 metres ahead of her in the first place, and secondly, she felt pride as she realised that their plan for the race and teamwork had paid off for them to bag first and second place.

“The race was flat and very windy, with few places to attack the group. The plan was to try and attack around halfway to create a breakaway with me, teammate Jo, and another girl from another team.”

She highlighted that at about 48 km, the two of them attacked the group but ended up bringing two team-customised girls with them, which was not the plan as they did not have the numbers advantage.

“The most challenging aspect of the race was the wind; it was strong and created difficulty at the front of the group, but we had to try and use the wind to our advantage. Also, not having a numerical advantage in the breakaway was [another challenge].”

Bone explained why not having a numbers advantage for her team in the breakaway was tough because it meant the odds for both teams were even going into the sprint with four people, so they overcame this obstacle by attacking the other girls, making sure to have them tired by the sprint.

“I have been training consistently for just over a year now, and that realistically is where most of the preparation comes from: long-term consistency and commitment. On race week, I usually taper down my mileage slightly and do not have too many hard sessions.”

She pointed out that upon arriving at Emperor’s Palace, the atmosphere was full of excitement and nerves, which created a great environment to get herself in the zone to race.

“There were moments in the race where I doubted my ability, and that is the only thing I would change about the race, and I want to start believing in myself all the time. I am looking forward to trying out some gravel races over the winter.”

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Grace and athleticism on full display in Sandton