"Cooked Up" Results on the NISSAN TRAILSEEKER #2

[Bassman]

This is being discussed in the Nissan Trailseeker 2 Events forum, but i think this needs to be wider than that. What we know is that the pro's took the wrong turn on the 70 Km route whether is was bad marshaling, or bad sings is still a question. What happened further was that guy that won the 70km race dit it in a time of 2:55! He was the first guy over the line! He dit a TV interview, the lot! But here is where things get "funny", on the OFFICIAL results he is 9th with a time of 3:04:47 just a few seconds behind the "winner" Max Knox. There is 9 guys just a few seconds from each other. That means it was a sprint finnish, and that was not the case on Saturday.

I think the pro's put up quite a fight to get this results changed, and i don't think it is right or in the interest of our sport! If i took a wrong turn on a route, i get the time i finnish with, like some of the other riders experienced on Saturday!

I feel, give the actual Guy that WON the race the credit! We all want our sport to be credible!

Edited July 25, 2011 by Bassman

[The expat cyclist]

I agree. I feel sory for Knox and co. but I won't get special treatment if I took a wrong turn etc.

 

The organisers should take full blame. Knox and co should all get DNF's. Sorry, but that is the right thing to do!

 

C'mon organisers have some honour in you and do the right thing!!!

Edited July 25, 2011 by MJ the mountainbiker

[laparos]

where do i find the results?

[eyecandy]

http://www.spectrumsport.co.za/Portals/29/ResultDoc/NissanMTB_Series2_20110723.pdf

[kosmonooit]

This series always seems to be a mess-up in terms of routes - always a convoluted hotchpotch mishmash, even dodgy at times (Van Gaalens last year). Glad I gave it (and the series) a miss, not that I would be arguing about the top spots though. I like a route that takes me out there and back.

[Eldron]

There is something fishy about those results - Theresa Ralph 11th overall only 90 seconds behind Max?

 

Odd.

[intern]

Rules say it is the responsibility of the riders to follow the course. Deviation = disqualification. To bend the rules means to throw them out. Unfortunate, yes, but they have to be applied evenly or not at all.

[The expat cyclist]

Rules say it is the responsibility of the riders to follow the course. Deviation = disqualification. To bend the rules means to throw them out. Unfortunate, yes, but they have to be applied evenly or not at all.

Agreed, but would you argue with a marshall?

[nathrix]

There is something fishy about those results - Theresa Ralph 11th overall only 90 seconds behind Max?

 

Odd.

 

+ 1

 

Also, some people I passed ended up in front of me on the results

Edited July 25, 2011 by nathrix™ ® ©

[Ice Queen]

Agreed, but would you argue with a marshall?

When faced with three visible arrows showing different directions, and you ask the Marshall which direction and he shows you which one to take..... yes there will be no arguing. What interests me is the fact that most of the riders that took the wrong route or were mis-directed by marshals were in the A & B batch.In my opinion ( i was not riding, but an observer from the finish line) there WAS a fault with the marking & marshaling and Fritz and his team quickly sorted it out,that is why there in very few DQ's after the C batch.Pity the fornt riders in the 70km & 40km did not have a good race because of this!

[Woolf]

Does anyone have a GPS track for the 36/42km that I can look at. I would like to see where I went wrong on Sat.

[pezulu]

The uploader won't permit me to attach either a .gpx or a .gdb file.

[pezulu]

I have managed to get screenshots of what the route looks like in Mapsource, as well as the summary of the track.

Hope it helps...

[cheesey]

The problems were not confined to the A and B batch of the long course. I was in the D group and the whole group missed the turn to head across the road onto the other side.

 

Now the group was at fault for following like headless chickens (I'll count myself in that). But:

• 
   
  
• The signage should be completely unambiguous, which it wasn't.
  
• At route splits you should have a marshall
  
• The signs should be pegged into the ground so that they can't be brushed aside/rolled over.
  
• The signs should not say "1/2 marathon" when they are pointing direction on a 70km route, just an arrow will suffice.
  

 

When you get tired seeing "1/2 marathon" on a sign starts sowing in doubt in your mind as to whether you are on the right track".

 

It's all very well to place the onus on the rider to know the route - but you do need to provide them with adequate information about the route in advance - there was nothing handed out at registration about the route, no detailed route description - so all you are left with is the occasional 30cm red square to look for.

 

I did enjoy the race, but I wasn't really racing. I had a cold so I just wanted to turn the pedals to km's into my legs. I would be really ticked off with the organisers if I had been racing - it's just so easy to get right with a bit more preparation.

[kennyg]

I got a good one... I was the 10th person over the koppie, or first little climb in the 40 km race, only 3 guys passed me and I passed 3 guys, that means I should finished around 10th... but this aint the case. But who cares, it was still a fun ride, thats why we do it.

 

The race was over subscribed, and I reckon, smaller batches and capping at 1200 riders would have been the answer. As far as wrong turns and route marking, too many riders doing their own thing caused a few issues. There were often riders coming at me on single track... some retirements, but most confused.

[skidd]

i saw someone i passed "get lost" and he ended up finishing just ahead of me. the last few kms of the 70 were easily open to that