Jock Cycle Race 2014

[Patchelicious]

Some good feedback:

To those who completed our post event survey, thanks so much for doing so.

In future you will receive a request for feedback after every ASG event and we urge you to please complete the survey.

It’s important for us to know where we need to give more attention for the next year and what to change – and what not to change!

Firstly, congratulations to all of you who completed the Jock. It remains a tough challenge and the bragging rights that come with a Jock medal remain unequalled.

This year the road surface on the Brondal Road on stage 1 was the topic of a lot of the feedback. We have already engaged with local government on the road to try and repair the road surface in time for next year, if the Jock continues on the same route.

The markings on the road were difficult to spot because of the sun rising over the mountain in the morning on that section, and shining directly into cyclists eyes at a very uncomfortable angle. And it was on a fast downhill.

We are waiting to hear whether we will be able to return to the “old route” and will engage with participants should we be afforded the opportunity to return.

In this regard the majority’s views will determine the outcome, although we feel that the Mbombela Stadium provides a wonderful new hosting venue for the Jock. Should the old route become a possibility, there is clearly a strong school of thought amongst participants that the event should still start and finish in Nelspruit, albeit on the old route. This will make Hilltop a real challenge on the last stage!

While the sumptuous breakfast in White River is still clearly a favourite, the food stop for lunch at Sabie was a noteworthy topic of conversation.

It’s tough to try and cater for everyone’s needs, but in the past the vast majority of participants wanted a “cold” lunch and something that provides energy yet is easily digestible, along with something sweet.

If you have any ideas on what would work nicely for lunch, please go and post them on our facebook page @jockcycle. A lot of riders wanted something less starchy and we’d also like to hear your suggestions on what would work as a hot lunch.

We apologise for the quality of the “Spectator busses” on this year’s ride. There simply is no excuse for this.

This function of the event was a necessary addition when we were still on the old route with especially the last stage congested with supporter’s vehicles following the race on a very narrow road.

For the route that we’ve used over the past two years the need for spectator busses has decreased dramatically, and we’ve seen it in the almost insignificant uptake. The route on which the event takes place now is on wide roads that boast a very low traffic load. Hence, most loved ones get around to the various venues with their own vehicles quite easily.

Hence, we are considering doing away with this service. We will, however, keep “Oom Dries’” tog bag service going, which is proving to me more and more popular every year!

Then, last but certainly not the least, is the entry fee for the event.

We echo the sentiments surrounding the Jock entry fee. It most certainly is also a point of concern to us that we've had to increase the entry fee year on year.

There is some good news that with a slight increase in the current sponsorship commitments we’ll now be able to keep the entry fee for 2015 the same as it was this year, while also having a bit extra to put into race organization.

The problem with the Jock is that we needed (and still need) a substantial investment from a sponsor to be able to decrease the entry fee and offer the amount of value to participants that we feel would do the event justice. These elements include free Fleece Jackets, more and varied food at waterpoints, better quality T-shirts, better goody bags etc.

As our biggest cross-event sponsorship partner, Bestmed was an "ambulance" sponsor who came on board four years ago when the Jock club approached us and said they can't present the race anymore because it's not financially sustainable.

Because of our contract provisions with Bestmed we obviously can't divulge any sponsorship amounts, but to put it in perspective the Jock's title sponsorship amount isn't a third of what the Silverstar MTB sponsorship is, for example.

When we tackled the event four years ago, ASG invested substantially in the race with the hope that a marked increase in entrants over the following four years would take care of the budget shortfall in time.

Although the entries in the event have increased by a couple hundred every year, the increase hasn't been as substantial as we've hoped for. The result is that, added with dramatic increases in race presentation costs, it' remains a challenge for the event to run sustainably.

The fact that the event runs in the middle of winter when fewer cyclists are in the sort of shape to be able to ride, coupled with the recession and a huge increase in petrol, toll, accommodation and food costs all contributed to the event's slower than expected growth.

We took over the administration of the Jock because we believe that it's a pillar of the sport in South Africa and, now in its 31st year, cannot simply fade away.

We will continue to run the event in conjunction with the club for the sake of its future existence. Hopefully we can attract bigger sponsorship in time, which will inevitably lead to the entry fee coming down and the value offering increasing.

Remember, to try and beat the credit crunch, we’ve made 500 early bird entries available for next year’s event at R520 each, which is a saving of R200 on this year’s fee.

This offers stands until 31 August and you can take it up at www.asgevents.co.za

Thanks again for your feedback regarding the event.

With every Jock medal worn, again a cyclist is born!

[2 X 2]

If ASG says that they had to up the race entry fees because of poor sponsorship, then it seems that all the races that they organize have poor sponsorship, because all their races are more expensive than non-ASG races.

 

Maybe put a little less money into your pockets ASG and more into cycling.

[2 X 2]

BTW, did not ride this year because of the fee and the road conditions.

 

They won't see me again at any of their races

[RastaMan]

BTW, my St. 3 result is missing. Hopefully Racetec can correct!!

 

did you log a query with them?

[Underachiever]

did you log a query with them?

 

Yep, gave them your contact details to verify my time/position.