Wine 2 Wales called off

[Trackz]

If the Freedom Challenge (www.freedomchallenge.org.za) had to cancel riding due to weather and safety the race would probably never even start. Temperatures of -15C, whiteout snow conditions, rain for days, portgaging over mountains for full days more than once, riding through the night, getting lost, no water points, no massage girls, etc.

 

PS: I am not a FC rider but it kind of sets the standard for me. Personally I only ride if the temperature is between 15-20C and if it doesn't rain and if there is cloud cover and cell phone reception so I can access Facebook. Please excuse me now, my bubble bath is ready.

 

[Mackie]

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

Comparing to a pro who gets his races paid for him....

[Shebeen]

Then Burry needs to HTFU

People have been lynched for saying less!

[Jurgenbike]

And so starts the storm in the teacup. I would imagine that if there was a majority unhapiness, the cheers in the tent when the announcement was made should have been boo's.

 

I agree that it is dissapointing, but, ultimately safety

 

But, lets grab the popcorn and see where this goes.

 

W2W is a premiere MTB event in the country and I am sure thet the organizers would not have done this if they had another option. It was not just about the rain, it was about getting 800 odd people over a mountain that looks like a river and I am sure that by tonight at 7 people would still be struggling on the course.

 

Anyway, like I said, grab the popcorn.

 

 

I was shocked to hear the cheers in the tent, I was so looking forward to riding in the rain, it would have been an adventure. In my opinion W2W has allot to make up for, I don't feel like i have done the w2w this year and i still have some lunches and a breakfast that they owe me. The problem is that non MTB personal made the decision to cancel, these are people that did not want to get wet. I have ridden in mountain where rivers have burst there banks etc. We were doing the race and so 90% of the riders were experienced. W2W seams far to nonchalant about this whole thing, I was and am deeply disappointed.

[Jurgenbike]

Hi,

 

You have 2 of the most experienced comm,s making a decision on race saftey. it is not so much about riders riding in the rain but more to do with if help can get to them if something happens?

 

At this years National DH in PMB the final round was cancelled because the medic,s could not get to the top half of the hill.

 

It is very easy to sit at home and make comments when you are not there.

 

If something bad did happen? then what a post about why they did not stop the race?

 

The rules will always err on the safe side of racing.

 

I was there and it was a little rain shower,I had a bigger shower the evening before in their hot cold hot cold etc showers. I think the medics did not want to get wet. And the more difficult sections could have been closed. I was riding with a doctor who was more disappointed than me. They could also waited until 08h30 when the rain stopped, any way it is what it is, but I think W2W has some making up to do.

[kandui]

I believe we are all getting a credit for the 2012 event

[nickelass]

last year the sani2c was forced to use an alternative route for day 2,as it was to dangerous,so they had a back up route

and cut out the section which was so wet it was considered unsafe to even walk,dirt roads were used and even that could have been considered "unsafe",at the end of the day I dont think there were any complaints,Im sure there was extra work to use the alternative route,the answer is to make the decistion early,in this case the decision was made 12 hours before the start of day 2.

[Shebeen]

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 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.

 

Good for you for following it up. In my books a decision like this has to be weighed up properly, and if it was then they can definitely back it up with solid reasoning. From the little I've seen there is still some confusion. Was it rain/rivers/flooding/traffic/medic access on singletrack or a combination of it all?

 

They took the decision away from the rider, so need to back it up properly. For instance, I would like to see photos of a swollen river if that was the problem.

 

I believe we are all getting a credit for the 2012 event

Would be surprised to see that, there was a similar sh1tstorm after this happened last year.

 

http://www.mytrainingday.com/news.asp?id=800

 

Organisers of South Africa’s most exciting multi-stage trail running event, the ProNutro AfricanX Trailrun presented by New Balance, opted to cancel the third and final stage of this adrenaline pumping event after wet and windy weather conditions experienced in the early hours of Sunday morning (09 May 2010) caused havoc en-route.

 

According to event organiser Michael Meyer, athlete safety was the driving force behind the decision to call off Stage Three. “We knew that bad weather was on the cards for Sunday, but we decided to wait till 02h00 on the morning of the race before making the decision to cancel the stage. Once our route scouts confirmed that the weather had rendered the route unsafe for runners, the decision was made. We are sad that runners could not complete the final stage, but we are positive that the routes experienced during Stage One and Stage Two will leave runners with an awesome feeling of accomplishment and we look forward to having them back next year,” says Meyer.

[Ratty]

last year the sani2c was forced to use an alternative route for day 2,as it was to dangerous,so they had a back up route

and cut out the section which was so wet it was considered unsafe to even walk,dirt roads were used and even that could have been considered "unsafe",at the end of the day I dont think there were any complaints,Im sure there was extra work to use the alternative route,the answer is to make the decistion early,in this case the decision was made 12 hours before the start of day 2.

 

 

There were actually loads of complaints about Sani changing the route, think there was a thread on the hub as well about it.

[Tumbleweed]

Two rain-affected races I can think of…the Rietvlei 24-hour that had to be neutralised becuase if a storm then rerouted when the vlei was near-unrideable. No one moaned. Then the Avianti 12-hour that was curtailed two hours before the end. No one moaned*.

 

*Okay, that may have had something to do with the bottle of Jaegermeister produced by a certain Grant Usher…

[Climate]

I had picked up a stomach bug, so was suffering from nausea on the 3rd morning. But after forcing down some breakfast, I'd already fitted mudguards to our bikes and was replacing our resin disk pads with metal in anticipation of some mud, when my partner broke the news that the organizers had pulled the plug. Have to admit, I was relieved at the time, but only because I was worried about keeping my breakfast down ... my partner was really disappointed. We were both dressed appropriately, with proper rain jackets (it's easier to keep warm if you stay dry).

 

But after having completed numerous Sani2c events in serious mud and cold, I was not expecting to be kept from getting to the finish. It was after all the longest of the 3 days, so we'd ridden conservatively for the previous 2 days, with the aim of finishing strong.

 

We will be getting medals at a delayed presentation, but that doesn't work for me ... I collect my medals at the finish line. There's unfinished business right there, even if the decision to stop the race was the right one. But in order to complete that business, I reckon the organizers need to grant us first option at entries for 2012. Since the race is over-subscribed and I've already paid for a third of the race, which I haven't ridden, I think that's the least they can do.

[slowpoke]

So the general feeling is that rider safety is unimportant (and medical/support crew, many of

whom are volunteers, should endanger themselves)?

 

If you felt that your safety was that irrelevant why didn't you just go ride the route on your own?

[Flea]

I was not there, but agree that I would not take a medal for this. To quote Oscar Chalupsky when they cancelled a day of the Texan Challenge (surfski from PE to EL), it is a challenge, not a ride in the park. I did the 2nd Sani where they changed the route due to the mud, and whilst I was happy that I at least completed the 3 days, I felt I had not completed the Sani2C, so had to do again the following year.

Agree that they should at least give entrants from this year preferential enties for next year - difficult to give discount, as they probably already incurred costs or day 3.

[Climate]

So the general feeling is that rider safety is unimportant (and medical/support crew, many of

whom are volunteers, should endanger themselves)?

 

If you felt that your safety was that irrelevant why didn't you just go ride the route on your own?

 

If rider safety wasn't important, we wouldn't wear helmets (don't know where you got that from). And I know of numerous occasion, when organizers of other events have been out in the middle of the night, in the pouring rain, changing route markers, to enable those that wish to ride, to get to the finish.

 

I was lead to understand that permission to cross certain properties was requested from landowners for this event. The entire route is not open to riders and the general public. Since the race had been cancelled, the event was effectively complete, so we'd have been trespassing, to ride the route on our own. But by the time we'd made alternative arrangements to get collected, it was already 11 o'clock ... and the sun was shining!

Edited November 21, 2011 by Climate