Bestmed Jacaranda Satellite Classic 2012: 20.10.2012

[Agteros]

My second Satellite Classic, and I enjoyed the race - the surges in the massive AL bunch was annoying up until Hekpoort but then again the headwind was killing us up in front and it was virtually impossible to set a steady and consistent pace. Bunch obviously sorted itself out after hekpoort and it was a pleasant time trial to the finish .

 

However, I just came to realise again that this is really not one of the safest races on the road calendar and I agree with others that the start / finish really needs sorting out. Navigating a bunch of 20+ riders through heavy traffic, parked cars and pedestrians on the last stretch did not only cost us A LOT of time but it's also dangerous.

 

I also think that this race specifically needs to be thoroughly advertised within the area beforehand, and on the day other road users MUST be made aware that a race is taking place on the busy roads.

I was thinking about this thing.... A few years ago there was 3 events over the same weekend in the Cradle, and the residents were pretty much upset. This time round, with three event (two using the roads) in Harties I wondered how the residents and normal weekend visitor felt about the chaos that must have ensued, especially without motorbike marshals for most of the groups...

[Jeri]

Got this from Asg events

"Good day we announced yesterday that your times would be adjusted accordingly the same people that do the timing for argus and 94 were the people there yesterday and will adjust all persons affected accordingly"

Okay cool, thanks.

I wonder when they will do this? Cause i was seeding for the argus and will be so upset if my time isnt adjusted correctly.

[Krisvst]

I was in VA and made a rookie mistake - 2 minutes before the start I realised Ive left my bottles in the car.

I had two choices - go and get them and sacrifice my time or see how far I could get without any fluid. I opted for the second. At about +/- 40km another rider must have realised I am without my bottles and offered me a sip of his (by this time I really needed it) Just before we went up Hekpoort he gave me one of his bottles with about 1/4 left in it!

We got split up on Hekpoort but I would love to know who he is and thank him - he saved my life!! I still have a pretty expensive bottle of his aswell.

I managed a 3:04 with very little to drink. Im happy.

This riders number was VA155 - any help??

[Jeri]

Hey Guys, just got this email from racetec!

 

 

It is not possible to verify how long a person is kept waiting at an accident scene.

 

Therefore, we time from start to finish and are unable to amend results.

 

Regards

 

 

Call Centre Assistant

RaceTec

[Bianchisti]

Hey Guys, just got this email from racetec!

 

 

It is not possible to verify how long a person is kept waiting at an accident scene.

 

Therefore, we time from start to finish and are unable to amend results.

 

Regards

 

 

Call Centre Assistant

RaceTec

 

Makes sense really. They couldnt be expected to know how long riders are stationary and for what reasons.

[dracs]

Agree - its force majeure. Or put differently "S*** happens"

 

bad luck to those affected but hopefully the cyclist is OK.

Edited October 22, 2012 by dracs

[Wez-O]

Saw it, it was hectic! The start/finish area needs a lot of work. First suggestion would be to move the parking area so it is NOT on the route. Coming in towards the finish a few of us were squeezing in between a truck on the left and oncoming traffic on the right. Not ideal at all (being VERY polite!).

 

A darwin candidate at some point swerved HARD into the bunch, shortly before oncoming traffic went past. Can only guess that he was on the wrong side of the road. Trying to rescue himself he nearly took out a whole group of guys

Agreed, I had to swerve for a few cars and a mud slinging truck on the stretch just before the finish line. Otherwise a great race and super experience.

[Wez-O]

Looking at the timed results for the 94km race, are those times legit for the top 6 riders?

All coming from EM and FM group and being 40 minutes to half an hour faster than the A group winner.

51km an hour average, what are the odds? If so, respect.

 

http://results.racet...sic 2012 (94km)

I suspect that these are riders who entered the 94km race and cut over to the 40km race course.

If that's not the case, I suspect there to be at least six new South Africans in next years Tour de France and Tony Martin and co are in for a good hiding!

[Ibicam]

I suspect that these are riders who entered the 94km race and cut over to the 40km race course.

If that's not the case, I suspect there to be at least six new South Africans in next years Tour de France and Tony Martin and co are in for a good hiding!

 

Like many others, I opted to do this race for the Argus seeding benefit.

 

It seems no adjustment will be made for the delay some riders experienced, I can only hope that seeding uses the AM group winner's time as the baseline and not these times.

 

I would think it would do some damage to seedings if the winning time is 1h50?

[Escapee..]

Hey Guys, just got this email from racetec!

 

 

It is not possible to verify how long a person is kept waiting at an accident scene.

 

Therefore, we time from start to finish and are unable to amend results.

 

Regards

 

 

Call Centre Assistant

RaceTec

 

Okay so when is the next seeding event??!

[vigilant]

The organisers need to have a serious rethink about the route and/or start group size. AM was hair-raising at times, with cars and trucks trying to get past such a big group. Especially within the first 30k's, and again in the last 10, the road width and heavy traffic make it quite dangerous for big groups of cyclists in those areas. I think restricting group size would be a good start, but the start/finish area is always going to be a problem. Not to mention that there were no motorbike marshals ~ wtf was the story with that? I'm still trying to work out what my 200 bucks entry fee actually bought. I hope the airlifted cyclist is OK, but that brings me to another point ~ I didn't see a single ambulance or paramedic anywhere on the route. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention and I missed them, but I'm pretty sure there weren't any apart from at the start.

 

Hi Falco, Thanks for your feedback and observations. There were motorbike marshals on duty at the event and they were tasked as per the ops plan with the organisers. Think Bike Marshals were requested at late notice on Wednesday of last week to cover the event and we had 15 marshals on duty for the event.

 

The accident scene sucked in a handful of marshals for traffic and accident scene control duties as per our standing orders which places the participants and other road users safety as a priority over and above the event itself.

 

We would have liked to have more on duty for the race as the route, start and finish areas and the group numbers would have welcomed a higher coverage.

 

Ride safe!

[MaxUmis]

I have a soft spot for this race (It was my very first proper road race 3 years ago) and I'm very pleased with my result on Saturday. But it's impossible to deny that it's a dangerous race and that the start/finish has gotten worse every year.

I kept on telling myself to not make a move to get to the front it's too dangerous and just not worth taking chances.

 

I'm of the opinion that the only reason this race is still on the calendar is the fact that it's an Argus seeding race.

[President]

Hi Guys

 

Sorry to report the rider that fell sustained very serious injuries-broken ribs, broken collar bone, facial fracture, head trauma.

He is still in a coma and the doctors cannot say at this stage what the prognosis is.

 

If I get more news I will post it. In the mean time we can only pray for his full recovery.

[Falco]

Hi Falco, Thanks for your feedback and observations. There were motorbike marshals on duty at the event and they were tasked as per the ops plan with the organisers. Think Bike Marshals were requested at late notice on Wednesday of last week to cover the event and we had 15 marshals on duty for the event.

 

The accident scene sucked in a handful of marshals for traffic and accident scene control duties as per our standing orders which places the participants and other road users safety as a priority over and above the event itself.

 

We would have liked to have more on duty for the race as the route, start and finish areas and the group numbers would have welcomed a higher coverage.

 

Ride safe!

 

Don't get me wrong, my comments are not intended as a negative reflection on bike marshals in general, those guys do a great job (when the organisers have enough of them there).

I personally did not see a marshal at the start of AM, nor did I see one on the route. Maybe they were there, but I didn't see them, hence my comment. It seems that most of the L groups had bike marshals, and that's great for them.

With regard to the accident, if I'm not mistaken that was a backmarker group, and the accident happened around 11am? By then most of the front groups had finished, so drawing marshals off the race to handle the accident would obviously be perfectly understandable. My group, AM, started at 7.30 and most were finished by 10.30, so we weren't affected by the accident.

I'm not knocking the race in general, overall it was ok, but there are definitely areas that can be improved, as per my original post.

What I'm saying is we all pay the entry fee, so we should all be made to feel as safe as possible, and we should all get equal treatment. That didn't happen on Saturday (in my opinion)

[Columbia Sportswear]

I was in VA and made a rookie mistake - 2 minutes before the start I realised Ive left my bottles in the car.

I had two choices - go and get them and sacrifice my time or see how far I could get without any fluid. I opted for the second. At about +/- 40km another rider must have realised I am without my bottles and offered me a sip of his (by this time I really needed it) Just before we went up Hekpoort he gave me one of his bottles with about 1/4 left in it!

We got split up on Hekpoort but I would love to know who he is and thank him - he saved my life!! I still have a pretty expensive bottle of his aswell.

I managed a 3:04 with very little to drink. Im happy.

This riders number was VA155 - any help??

 

It is Hannes Wessels - TCS

Hannes.Wessels@za.hsbc.com

[Escapee..]

Hey Guys, just got this email from racetec!

 

 

It is not possible to verify how long a person is kept waiting at an accident scene.

 

Therefore, we time from start to finish and are unable to amend results.

 

Regards

 

 

Call Centre Assistant

RaceTec

 

 

Hi Guys

 

Sorry to report the rider that fell sustained very serious injuries-broken ribs, broken collar bone, facial fracture, head trauma.

He is still in a coma and the doctors cannot say at this stage what the prognosis is.

 

If I get more news I will post it. In the mean time we can only pray for his full recovery.

 

That`s terrible news, I really hope he pulls through and makes a full recovery