Meintjes Wins The South African Elite Road Championships

[Wez-O]

Well done Louis!

This guy is the real deal and as far as South African grand tour GC contenders are concerned, he is a star in the making.

[rouxtjie]

Now I've always supported Daryl and really do feel for him after the cruel mechanical he suffered, but he sure has been whinging a lot since then (maybe due to hanging out with a team full of Aussies lately).

This tweet is a sign of bad sportsmanship if you ask me. Imagine the second fastest rider wearing the champions jersey? Now that would be a farce.

Agreed. Louis took it...end van prent...yes he didn't have a mechanical and he had the team but hey, those are the cards that got dealt...

[andydude]

My thoughts exactly... Next thing people will say that Quintana shouldn't have been the TdF King of the mountain as he was best young rider and too young and so and so...

 

The is only one GC cat in pro races. Young, green, polka are all sub jerseys for the different types of riders.

 

In yesterday's SAs there were clearly two different GC cats to start with. Apparently the reason they ride together is that u23 doesn't get UCI points if they race seperately and without those points they won't be able to go ride u23 international.

[SwissVan]

 

Now I've always supported Daryl and really do feel for him after the cruel mechanical he suffered, but he sure has been whinging a lot since then (maybe due to hanging out with a team full of Aussies lately).

This tweet is a sign of bad sportsmanship if you ask me. Imagine the second fastest rider wearing the champions jersey? Now that would be a farce.

 

 

Logically what you say is true about the first man over the line, however Daryl might have a point regarding U23's being allowed to win Elites from a rule perspective.

 

Personally I don't believe that the rules should allow an u23 to win Elites, they should be separate events held over different distances.

 

Nothing against Meintjies and good for him, wonder which event he will race at World champs later this year?

 

RR is a tactical affair and I'm sure he benefited from better support from his MTN team mates than Daryl who had no team, and who probably would have won if his chain did fall off.

 

If if if...I know I know....

[Squier]

This really sucks for Daryl, but that's racing. I have no doubt he's the best rider we have at the moment but Meintjies is a massive talent for the future! First over the line deserves it though.

 

I feel for Daryl. Just to put yourself in the position to win the race after riding alone shows your class. Can't do much without a chain though.

[Cellar]

 

Anudder question Darren.... Why were the elite men at SA's racing over 180 km, the same distance as the U23 men?

 

 

Because if the made the elites race over 250-oddkm, only Impey and the MTN pto conti guys (u23 riders included) would be there at the end.

[JA-Q001]

You can say first across the line is the winner, but then the winner of the bunch with the ladies in at the 99er, even if its a man, should win the ladies prize as well. One race one winner.

 

The thing is, previous years, it did not work this way, suddenly they change it, by their own discretion, on the morning of the race.

 

Consistency is key.

[JGR]

Surely first man over the line gets the Jersey? No argument could top that.

That's what Lance used to say ....

[andydude]

You can say first across the line is the winner, but then the winner of the bunch with the ladies in at the 99er, even if its a man, should win the ladies prize as well. One race one winner.

 

Exactly. It boils down to that a lady can then win the bunch and her lady cat, but a man can only win the bunch. And they start in the same group. Doesn't really make sense.

 

They start together for various reasons, but the rules are always quite clear that there are different categories in one starting group.

['Dale]

Louis must've woken up so happy with this new reality.

What a PRO!

 

 

[Squier]

This pretty much sums it up...

[andydude]

This pretty much sums it up...

 

They should've taken his photo throwing his bike against the fence and helmet on the ground after stopping!

[SwissVan]

They should've taken his photo throwing his bike against the fence and helmet on the ground after stopping!

 

Hehe

 

Like Peter Sagan at the recent Dubai tour...one of those if I could change anything in my life moments....

[Eldron]

I think deviating from the UCI rules by allowing U23 to be Eilte winner was silly. Now we have 1 SA jersey in the peleton instead of 2.

 

Racing U23 and Elite together is just as silly (UCI points aside). Louis had a whole team of Elites helping him. A bit like the ladies Aurgust where they sit behind men all day and the ladies race is reduced to a dash for cash. Ok not the same but similar.

 

Allow the U23 their own race with their own tactics and their own winner.

 

Ironically CSA has caused the reduction of exposure of SA cycling to the world which is exactly the opposite of what they say they are all about. Own goal!

[andydude]

I think deviating from the UCI rules by allowing U23 to be Eilte winner was silly. Now we have 1 SA jersey in the peleton instead of 2.

 

Racing U23 and Elite together is just as silly (UCI points aside). Louis had a whole team of Elites helping him. A bit like the ladies Aurgust where they sit behind men all day and the ladies race is reduced to a dash for cash. Ok not the same but similar.

 

Allow the U23 their own race with their own tactics and their own winner.

 

Ironically CSA has caused the reduction of exposure of SA cycling to the world which is exactly the opposite of what they say they are all about. Own goal!

 

I agree. In my own experience riding VA and VB together at Gauteng Champs made life interesting, because tactically it's difficult because you don't have to chase done or cover any attacks from the category riders you're not riding in, but it's difficult to tell who's who. And if VB won the whole group he only would've won the VB cat and not both VB and VA.

[andydude]

I received the following email from CSA now, but to be honest, I still don't quite understand the part underlined (by me). It might be me being tired late in the day, but can somebody please explain in simple terms?

 

Rulings regarding U23 and Elite Road Championship Jerseys

11 February 2014 – The 2014 Time Freight SA Road Cycling Championships delivered a spectacle of racing hardly seen before in South Africa. Louis Meintjes (Team MTN-Qhubeka) just snuck past Daryl Impey (Orica GreenEdge) after 180km of gruelling racing. It was a massive disappointment to Daryl that his bike developed a mechanical in the sprint finish. Unfortunately, the prize giving was delayed by opinions regarding the result as to who should be wearing what jersey and why.

Firstly, credit must go to the riders who enthralled the spectators with some fascinating racing and showed the public how brutal the sport is. Credit must go to the younger rider, Meintjes, for taking on the likes of Daryl right down to the final sprint. So what is all the controversy about?

The issues raised are around the fact that Meintjes is an under-23 rider and Impey is an Elite (over the age of 23 years). Therefore, one would think that one receives the U23 jersey, the other the Elite Jersey, end of story. Not so. Here in lies the complexity of road cycling. Louis is an U23 rider, and a member of a Pro-Continental Team (Team MTN-Qhubeka), andnota UCI Pro Team. If he were part of a UCI pro-team, he would then be considered as an Ipso Facto Elite (rule 1.1.036), and would not be able to compete for the U23 national, continental or World Championship titles irrespective of his age.

So why not separate the categories and have two clear champions?

One then needs to take rule 2.11.014 into consideration. This rule states that should a national federation have a combined event (u23/Elite), participants will earn UCI points. If a National Federation holds a separate event for U23, no points will be provided for the event.

So why are UCI points so important?

To be able to field a complete 5-man team in the Olympic Games. Cycling South Africa needs to be ranked number 1 on the African Continent, as per UCI Olympic qualification criteria. Therefore, we need both our U23’s and Elites to earn as many UCI points as possible. Furthermore, in terms of qualification criteria for UCI World Championships, we also need our U23’s to earn points at our National Championships, or else we are in danger of not qualifying any riders in this category.

It would have been really great to see our National Championship jersey in the Tour De France for 2014, but as Team MTN-Qhubeka were not invited to participate, the only other option was with Impey, as he is part of a UCI Pro team (Orica GreenEdge), who automatically qualify for the Tour De France. We will still see our SA Elite Championship Jersey in Europe during the 2014 season. Team MTN-Qhubeka has been invited to participate in the many of the one-day classics in Europe, on the shoulders of young Louis Meintjes when he races these for MTN-Qhubeka.

As South Africans, we can all be proud of the depth of cycling talent we have – our athletes are world class.

Daryl Impey’s Orica GreenEdge team has approached the UCI for clarification of the rule, as there is no definitive ruling regarding jersey distribution per se, that we can find in the rule set. As Cycling SA, we will accept any decision of the UCI, provided that the ruling is backed by clear, established rules.

ENDS