Wine 2 Wales called off

[kandui]

Emergency vehicles would not have been unable to reach any crash victims and the helicopter was not able to fly in yesterday's conditions. More than enough justification to call the day off. Hermanus Traffic were also not allowing the race to come through their jurisdictions to due the adverse weather conditions. To have Plan B routes in place in case of bad weather is probably not always possible ( mark another route, remove the other markers to avoid confusion, move water points and support infrastructure etc). Think about what you need to do and I think you will agree that it is not so simple. To lose one day of the W2W was not ideal, but it's part of the package. The trails in Grabouw would have been super slippery and destroyed by some many riders. The organisers should leave the markers up for a week and let us have a go in our own time

[Velouria]

Initially I was really p***ed with the decision as we were hoping to have a good day and get into the top 10. Today, I feel like we haven't really completed the race As somebody has already said, it's not about the guys in front, the back markers are the ones that suffer and could have got into serious trouble. I would think that the rain wouldn't have been the big problem, the risk of hypothermia would have been the big risk.

 

A big call to make but I reckon they made the right one even though we'll never live it down as mtbers!

On the plus side, the trails would have been properly trashed if 1000 riders had ridden them in that weather-much better for us all that they are still there and rideable for the future.

While I was quite prepared to ride, I was quite happy that I didn't HAVE to. By delaying it by an hour they were already running out of time and any further delay because of the weather would have turned a slight annoyance into a major inconvenience - flights, lifts etc. And then there is the safety aspect - unless they rerouted several sections, there would have been no way for the medics to get in and out.

 

Burry and Christoph seemed to be the most relieved - I don't think they fancied the idea of spending 5+ hours out there.

 

A brave call to make, but in the end it was the right call.

[theHED]

Dirt roadie decision. Ridiculous! RT @shangwilson: Race called off due to rain...absolutely disgusted!!!

 

Seriously? It's MTB, not club cricket. Rain, mud are part of MTB. RT @w2wmtb: @Mr_TREAD Depending (cont) http://t.co/FlYIQShF

 

This must have been a back line decision from the touch rugby squad!!! Riders signed indemnities!! @shangwilson

 

@w2wmtb why no backup plan for bad weather? What about doing day 2 over or farm roads to Hermanus? A great race like this needs a finish.

 

SA MTB OFFICIALS JUSTIFY CANCELATION OF CONTEGO WINES2WHALES FINAL STAGE – full story here: http://t.co/685QqI4Y @ Mr_Tread

 

@neilgreyling @Mr_TREAD To paraphrase Chopper Reed 'Grow a moustache and Harden the F%^& Up'. Fear for mtb in this country.

 

I find it strange that only the negative tweets get mentioned... what about Burry saying "7deg with wind and pissin rain. no thanks. #dodgedabullet"

[flyluis]

maybe the medics were roadies.....

[HowellingWulf]

Last year with the Sani2C we had really bad weather. Lots & lots of rain which made the Umko valley really unsafe. Guess what? They changed (not cancelled) the route on the afternoon before the day 2... Was still able to ride all 3 days. Feel sorry for the dudes who dropped a lot of cash to do the race.

[amoryns]

having done the adventure a week before, I can defintely say you guys missed the best day of all 3 days.....sometimes it works in your favor not to race... :-)

[Hephaestus]

The last time I did S2C they had a "wet" route marked on the course for this very reason. Maybe W2W can learn something from it. It isn't like this weather is unusual for this time of the year. Last year it bucketed down on the Thursday evening before the race turning Day1 into a mudbath. I recall flooding in November before the DC that washed bridges away. It was touch & go for the DC to be run.

[Caerus]

I find it strange that only the negative tweets get mentioned... what about Burry saying "7deg with wind and pissin rain. no thanks. #dodgedabullet"

 

 

Then Burry needs to HTFU

[amoryns]

I am glad I didn't 50K to ride ith Christoff

[Headshot]

:clap: :clap: :clap:

 

(you can guess which one I am)

You're 6 little yellow faces waving your stubby arms?

Edited November 14, 2011 by Headshot

[Tiny K]

You're 6 little yellow faces waving your stubby arms?

 

Nope. I am the second little yellow face waving my stubby arms... the rest are my roadie buddies

 

Edit: I see you couldn't count the first time

Edited November 14, 2011 by Tiny K

[JasonW]

You also can't forget about all the people that have the man the marshalling points, water points, etc.

[Headshot]

Nope. I am the second little yellow face waving my stubby arms... the rest are my roadie buddies

 

Edit: I see you couldn't count the first time

yes, tears in my eyes laughing so much

[Edgar]

I for one was very disappointed with them cancelling the stage, I felt robbed. Considering I then drove to Tokai and had a great ride. Yesterday I was fuming with the decision and i'm still not happy with the outcome.

 

I took the time today to call Micheal from Stillwater Sports and he was happy to take my call. We spoke at length about the situation and he had some very good points, he did have some others the were not so good. He did seem to genuinely feel they made the right decision and ultimately they flourish or flounder on these decisions. He engaged me on the various points that were contentious. I will be submitting a letter to him and the committee for consideration and he will return further comment on those points.

 

The things that disappoint me still are things such as:

The weather was not a surprise, the forecast had been out for over a week. They had the opportunity to get a contingency plan in place. Route wise, even if it had been on district road all the way in. Trails getting damaged or medics access is not relevant. Other races can and do.

 

Rider preparedness: The cold and wet. If you go to a stage race as a rider be prepared for bad weather. so an excuse of being cold or wet or hypothermia just does not cut the mustard. Nobody is forced to ride.

 

Organizers Choices: They seemed to call it off to easily, the decision not to continue to delay till the weather cleared which they acknowledged was a few hours later. It seems they took the easy decision for an organisational stand point. I will concede that people have flights to catch etc, but for those that want to ride there should have been an option to ride. I had to catch a flight to JHB. It came across to me as, race off we are out of here.

 

Justifying the decision because there were cheers in the tent and some top riders saying they got away with one. Those that did not want to ride never had to ride and had already handed in their number boards, did this influence the decision? Nobody forces the anybody to get on the bike a peddle. I can understand why Pro riders that are not racing did not want to be out in the cold for several hours at a speed way below tempo riding risking getting sick, but that is their choice. If I had started booing, throwing naartjies etc would that have been appropriate?

 

Hiding behind rider safety and liabilities and indemnities is a soft defense. They should of had an alternative for those that had paid the cash for a 3 stage race and were prepared to ride.

 

I look forward to the response from Stillwater and the organizers. I mentioned to Micheal that the pre race admin such as late entries, re-seeding etc was some of the best I have experienced in any sporting event and the trails we rode for 2 days are some of the best and they do deserve a lot of credit for that.

[Thug]

You make some very valid points Stu and the fact that the weather lifted a couple of hours later just adds to the sense of injustice.

 

You should have joined Wappo and ridden the last stage later on.

[zeepee]

You guys should try riding The Roof, those palookas will let the stage go on if a volcano erupted in Lesotho.