Why do you say there is only one component?
How do you know that the recurrence isn't composed of an initial REQUEST and a subsequent ADD to add in the recurrence?
Plus, why do you make the assumption that recurring events aren't stored as separate components?
Certainly, neither iCalendar nor iTIP presume this. CAP drafts don't presume this, do they. So where do we have the dogma that recurring calendar components MUST BE defined by a single calendar component?
-- Frank