Bike Mob Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 Racing this weekend at Nitida Wine farm, it's a great flowing track, loads of fun but still some challenging climbs... Great venue and warm coffee for the spectators.
knippie Posted June 7, 2011 Author Posted June 7, 2011 A few things seems as you are asking for comments: a) a lack of advertising of the XCO events, which seems to have got better this year. B) website - no offence, but its not the greatest. Info isn't always updated etc. Hard to find results.c) not responding to emails sent.d) price - can be a factor for some as its more expensive than entering most fun rides. I did my first race in sub-vets ladies this year and it was an absolute blast. There was one really fast girl, but other 3 of us weren't that quick and there was a great social vibe. I have a friend who I will be dragging along so there will be another girl to come play in sub-vets. What I enjoyed is the more personal feeling to it than doing fun rides. You aren't just one of the numbers and you get to know the people you are "racing" with. I'm looking foward to doing more. And the more technical the course, the better for me :-) We stuggled last year with the advertising as we had to start this thing from scratch and didn't have a decent database to work from or the money for advertising.Now that the first season is behind us and we have the details of those riders plus the almost 1000 riders that registered on the wcmtb website it is easier to get the word out.We're also bringing in funrides to try and cover the cost, but it is truely an expensive series to run as you cannot make profit out of 120 riders and sponsors are hard to find.We're definately working on making it more technical and adding chicken runs for the less experienced riders.The overall complaint is that these events aren't technical enough, and I do agree!We're always looking for people to come aboard and help us!
Bike Mob Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 (edited) I would love an event held in Tokai... I'm willing to get involved to get one going if we can... that will be nicely technical Edited June 7, 2011 by Tarmac-SL3
knippie Posted June 7, 2011 Author Posted June 7, 2011 I would love an event held in Tokai... I'm willing to get involved to get one going if we can... that will be nicely technical Fantastic!i sent you a pm.
knippie Posted June 7, 2011 Author Posted June 7, 2011 I would like to know more about it - also the categories, cost etc. Can my 8 year old son participate as well? Hi please check out the website www.wcmtb.co.zaYes there is a category for almost all age groups.there is a sports class (fun ride ) section to all the events as well.
knippie Posted June 7, 2011 Author Posted June 7, 2011 There now even is a Single Speed category for provincial colours!
SwissVan Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 A few things seems as you are asking for comments: a) a lack of advertising of the XCO events, which seems to have got better this year. B) website - no offence, but its not the greatest. Info isn't always updated etc. Hard to find results.c) not responding to emails sent.d) price - can be a factor for some as its more expensive than entering most fun rides. I'm not sure how much effect these have on entries, I went to a local Swiss XCO race this weekend(part of a 8 race summer series held through out Switzerland) which has been extensively advertised and has an excelent web site http://www.racerbikescup.ch/rb-cup2011/index.php The ladies classes had the following number of entries:Elite (Licensed) 25 Fun (Unlicensed) 7 Juniors 13 A fair amount of the above entries especialy in the elite class were overseas riders. The amount of entries imo is quite disappointing considering the amount of mountain bikers there are here in Switzerland. IMO the fact that the course was quite challenging i.e. techinical decents and the racing hard i.e. international riders taking part, all contributed to "scaring" off the average mtbker. Even Burry rated it as quite hardCheck his blog: http://www.burrystander.co.za/ Quote from Burry's blog the course in granichen was harder than i expected.definitely on a much higher level than our national cup series back home.it was 4.5km long with 170m altitude gain per lap.we had 9 laps on the cards so that meant alot of steep climbing and alot of good tecnical descending mostly characterized by tight turns,drops and roots.
Danger Dassie Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 We stuggled last year with the advertising as we had to start this thing from scratch and didn't have a decent database to work from or the money for advertising.Now that the first season is behind us and we have the details of those riders plus the almost 1000 riders that registered on the wcmtb website it is easier to get the word out.We're also bringing in funrides to try and cover the cost, but it is truely an expensive series to run as you cannot make profit out of 120 riders and sponsors are hard to find.We're definately working on making it more technical and adding chicken runs for the less experienced riders.The overall complaint is that these events aren't technical enough, and I do agree!We're always looking for people to come aboard and help us! For XCO formats, never look at rider numbers for profit or attracting sponsors. It's about the racing and technically demanding nature of courses, which makes it more appealing for spectators. Rather than working in more chicken runs, work on perhaps building a route thats more accessible for spectators, especially on the gnarlier sections. These sections can be sold up for branding/naming rights etc .... Give it a season or two, sure you guys will make it a success!
THABA TRAILS Posted June 10, 2011 Posted June 10, 2011 IMHO....XC should, I say should NOT be a form of racing that will dammage the "THREE BEE's"...Bones..Body..or Bike. We are striving to lay out race routes that are flowing yet challenging, and by that I mean we aim to challenge bike handling skills, such as in tight turns,drop offs,hill climbs,decents and speed.This does not need to detract from any riders technical skills, it gives him an opportunity to show these off even more so,as the speed will challange his skills to the limit. I enjoy the challange of my heart and lungs coming out my throat,my legs burning and my adrenalin sky high...I don't enjoy testing my bike's components..ie Frame,shocks,tyres etc, I trust the manufacturers to do that at THEIR expense not mine. I believe XC offers everyone an opportunity for exposure..SPONSORS, they get their return from having a platfoem for BRANDING and NEW PRODUCT EXPOSURE to the spectators for the full duration of the race/event.The UCI objective is a 15-20 minute lap time for the top riders.You can do the maths...Sponsor gets huge exposure with riders coming through regularly..SPECTATORS, get the opportunity of seeing the sponsors exposure as the race develop infront of their eyes. They get to know our top riders and can start a huge following for riders. RIDERS, THEIR EXPOSURE can result in being offered sponsorships and branding opportunities and so it goes on and can grow. Having been a track cyclist and event organiser, I have never quiet understood why track cycling has not appealed to big time advertisers. The six day events in Europe draws HUGE crowds and generates BIG income for everyone...SO why not MOUNTAIN BIKE CROSS-COUNTRY...It is an Olympic sport afterall. Mountain biking is the fastest growing sport. Marathon,trail riding and downhill riding all has it's place.It is definately more rider friendly with the sad state of our road threats. These however have logistic and safety problems whereas a cross country trail needs a few hectares,a passionate trail builder with imagination,a vision and an added help,be a rider himself. I invite you to come/go to a park near you...make use of the coaches/instructors on offer to just learn the basics of mountainbiking...trust me,you may be pleasantly surprised. I have a saying which I practise all the time.."NOTHING IS TOO DIFFICULT TO WALK" If you are not yet convinced, come along this week-end and watch/try cross-country at its very best and then to really make a pig of yourself..come watch the SARENS National on the 18th. Be swayed and be Blessed. Wendell Bole.
Frosty Posted June 13, 2011 Posted June 13, 2011 Hats Helmets off to Wendel and his team... I thought the route yesterday was absolutely fantastic.While I did manage to swap some skin for dirt on the only descent (lap 3, due to a loss of concentration), the course wasn't overly technical - amazing how quickly concentration slips when you're O2 deprived.The rainy weather earlier in the week did spice things up a little, so it will be interesting to see how racing this coming weekend shapes up if it rains again before then.The nice thing about XCO racing... the laps get easier as the race goes on, but they just take a little longer to complete (for me at least).I've done one XCO provincial race before this one at Northern Farm and while it was a little longer (distance) per lap, it was no where near as technically challenging as yesterday.a Race entry - R100Replacement hanger bracket - R120Living to ride another day - Priceless Average HR - 187bpmMax HR - 195bpm
cat-i Posted June 13, 2011 Posted June 13, 2011 I get the idea that there is a lot of myths around lapracing (xco) or is it just fear of the unknown?I would like to hear your ideas and fears or dislikes regarding lapracing.We're busy with the XCO series in the Western Cape and we have 8 ladies in total participating.What is up with that????? where i'm from, it's VERY difficult to get info.sometimes i would know that there's a race on, and still wont find info about it
The Smoovf Posted June 20, 2011 Posted June 20, 2011 Hi please check out the website www.wcmtb.co.zaYes there is a category for almost all age groups.there is a sports class (fun ride ) section to all the events as well. Hi there. I can't seem to find a lot of information regarding these races. I can see that there is a race on this weekend in Grabouw but can't find a number or e-mail to confirm that the race is happening or to find out what the costs are. This will be my 1st XCO race and am really keen to do the race with other first time buddies. We just need more info please!!
rock Posted June 20, 2011 Posted June 20, 2011 I for one would like to get back into lap racing, the family can come with and support which is now an important factor, when i started doing events it was WP champs series back in 1994, so much fun......anyone remember that huge roll in drop off that we all did fully rigid at paarl rock? the event definitely need more exposure - thehub is a great avenue to be exploited in this regard......
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