Dirt-junkie

Today my husband (Open category) and at least one other from Johanesburg were kicked out of the race at the start line of the time trail after riding stage 1. The reason given - "can't ride with disc brakes, those are the rules". This was not made clear anywhere on the website. The bicycle he is riding came stock standard with disc brakes and he has ridden 2 previous tours with the same bike. Personally i think the information should have been highlighted and not assumed.R5000 and 5 months of training for this event down the tubes. There are just way too many rules and regulations and politics governing sport for it to be fun for the amateur anymore.

I have been attending mountain bike races with my husband for the past 7 months and all except the "Die Hell" ride only made a fuss of the first few top riders that came in. If you are rider 120 that crosses the finish line you can forget about any welcome from spectators other than your own spouse/girlfriend. Not even the judges acknowledge your arrival. The Attakwas Extreme Mtb Cahllenge was a prime example of that. The judges had their back to the finish line and they had a 5yr old wandering up and down handing medals to riders as they rode in. I was not impressed at all. Every rider that finished that race deserved recognition - it was tough and finishing was noteworthy for each rider. Not only were they not noticed arriving back but the evnt was so poorly catered for that there wasn't food available to buy for those that arrived after 9 hours of riding! These mountain bike races are not just about the top riders - there a hundreds of others that pay the same entry fee and ride the same route and who also deserve a fuss being made when they cross the finish line!!!!!