Speaking as a person having worked in the Events Industry for over 9 years now; Events Companies will be instructed by Disaster Management on what would be the best and safest option available to them as a result of the recent fires . Whilst many say it is poor planning on behalf of the Organisers, they cannot control Mother Nature and the devastation that the fire has caused over the last 5 nights. Yes the event is not what a lot of the cyclists here on the hub and across the country and world have been training for but based on Risk Assessments undertaken by Disaster Management there unfortunately is no other option available Yes lot of money will and has been spent on the event by Organisers , Sponsors and competitors to stage the race and whilst it has been shortened ; the alternative could have been complete cancellation of the event and in this case the competitor's would have been the most financially affected. Lets take a step back and think about all those people who have lost all their worldly possessions, their homes , pets , cars , loved ones and reflect. Its not going to be a competitive race and while I can state this without anger due to the fact that I am not partaking in the race ; I probably would have felt exactly how most the members here on the Hub would have felt if I had trained and spent money on fights accommodation on. Anyways gents and ladies enjoy the race / ride make it an enjoyable one.
