I have done this event a few times and after watching 6 crashes last year on some flat straight roads I decided to give this year a miss.

My advice is, be very careful who you follow or ride near and don’t draft anyone you don’t know. A lot of groups have a bit of ego, have watch the tour de france on the TV a few times so try to ride like that. They weave through the group as fast as they can and really don’t care what carnage they cause, stay away from these groups, keep your line and let them pass. Give slower less experienced riders some space, not everyone understands the rules and the skill of group riding or has an entirely different set of rules they follow. As you come up to the sections where they let slower riders into the ride and especially the kids at the 10km to go mark, be prepared to slow down and give people some room because it gets a bit loose.

If you are about to do a race or a competition somewhere, give this event a miss. You don’t need to risk falling and getting hurt after months of training.

Simply take it easy, give people some space and be tolerant and it should be good. I haven’t fallen off in any of these events, I like to think because I followed those rules.