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Lost City MTB Race


daBlingKing

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My first "big" race - previous longest was Lionman 40Km. 

 

I wanted to better my crappy seeding "up" (only started MTB racing end January) and the advice on SA Seeding was to do longer/more popular events. I heard on the start line that Racetec (really who uses chips in races in 2015?) and SA Seeding are in competition, so this result probably won't make a difference to my seeding (seriously?)

is this a fact, if it is shouldn't riders be informed?

 

The climbs were a challenge, but I loved the knarly downhill sections, that suits an ex Enduro dimwit like me!

 

I've never seen so many lost water bottles in any race ever  :eek:

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Unfortunately it's up to you to make sure who is timing the event. I think they use the Racetec system for both the road and mtb events because then they can get some sort of discount.

 

There are plenty of MTB events that use the SA Seeding system so just look out for those events. 

 

Ashburton Investments National Series ,Trailseeker Series, USN Series are but a few that I can think of now. But you can always visit SA Seedings event calendar then have a look at what races they time/use

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I was not sure about writing this , because I was worried I might sound like a bitching parent , but thought I have to ask what you guys think .

My daughter entered the 55 km MTB race as a youth . She has an A batch seeding with SA Seeding and has won a few half marathon's this year . She was seeded in B batch for this race though , and was told that she could not be moved up to A batch when we asked . Not a problem , we thought , just ride harder through the traffic . So she started the race in B batch and caught the leading ladies in the last couple of kilos . When she crossed the finish line , she was told she was the 3rd junior , and 5th lady overall to CROSS the finish line . I went to the commissaire on duty , and asked him how can they ignore the fact that she started in B batch ( 5 min after A batch ) . He told me that he was only there to apply the rules of the organizers , and that they had decided the first person to cross the line was the winner , regardless of what your time was ??? 

So at the prize giving and subsequent press releases ( even here on the hub ) she got no recognition .

When the correct times were published on racetek , it confirmed that she was the first junior , and 2nd lady overall .

Is this normal in races where the first person over the line is the winner of the race ( and therefore if you are not seeded in A batch you're screwed )  , or should we feel cheated ?

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My view:

Cheated.

If race timing shows her as #1, then she is #1.

Not having been part of race organistion before but logically they should wait until some B riders cross the line to confirm #1 - so it would only be provisional until then. I am sure people crossing the line first may argue that they don't know who they are racing then, but that comes to being in the wrong batch......

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May be worth reading the detail in the rules etc. to see if they specify how #1 is determined.

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I was not sure about writing this , because I was worried I might sound like a bitching parent , but thought I have to ask what you guys think .

My daughter entered the 55 km MTB race as a youth . She has an A batch seeding with SA Seeding and has won a few half marathon's this year . She was seeded in B batch for this race though , and was told that she could not be moved up to A batch when we asked . Not a problem , we thought , just ride harder through the traffic . So she started the race in B batch and caught the leading ladies in the last couple of kilos . When she crossed the finish line , she was told she was the 3rd junior , and 5th lady overall to CROSS the finish line . I went to the commissaire on duty , and asked him how can they ignore the fact that she started in B batch ( 5 min after A batch ) . He told me that he was only there to apply the rules of the organizers , and that they had decided the first person to cross the line was the winner , regardless of what your time was ??? 

So at the prize giving and subsequent press releases ( even here on the hub ) she got no recognition .

When the correct times were published on racetek , it confirmed that she was the first junior , and 2nd lady overall .

Is this normal in races where the first person over the line is the winner of the race ( and therefore if you are not seeded in A batch you're screwed )  , or should we feel cheated ?

My 2cents to this and the organizers opinion as well most probably, this is also the same in road racing. If a lady does not start for example in the ladies elite bunch in road racing then no matter if her time is half an hour quicker than the elite ladies they will not recognize this. Reason in road racing would be that the majority of the bunch in the open seeded category would be men and thus riding with them is an unfair advantage, maybe they apply the same in this MTB event? The organizers don't know whether she might have drafted behind someone else giving her an unfair advantage(and I am not saying she did) but if all the "leading" ladies start in the same batch it is more easily noticeable if they don't have their own start. Also the 55km at Sun City is seen or marketed by them as a full marathon not half thus her seeding. 

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My 2cents to this and the organizers opinion as well most probably, this is also the same in road racing. If a lady does not start for example in the ladies elite bunch in road racing then no matter if her time is half an hour quicker than the elite ladies they will not recognize this. Reason in road racing would be that the majority of the bunch in the open seeded category would be men and thus riding with them is an unfair advantage, maybe they apply the same in this MTB event? The organizers don't know whether she might have drafted behind someone else giving her an unfair advantage(and I am not saying she did) but if all the "leading" ladies start in the same batch it is more easily noticeable if they don't have their own start. Also the 55km at Sun City is seen or marketed by them as a full marathon not half thus her seeding. 

Thanks , makes more sense to me now .

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Unfortunately for prizes in racing, this is how it works. So if you are not seeded in the correct group and you know you should be, then fight the fight before the start, after the start you are in their rules.

 

You could have inquired before hand what the seeding index is supposed to be and if your daughter was in her rights to be in front, then they had no leg to stand on, but unfortunately if her seeding index (According to racetec seeding, not SAseeding), then there is not much you can do. This works the same in all the category races. Her seeding will also be influanced by the fact that all elite riders are in this distance, meaning her half marathon seeding is of little value.

 

this is unfortunately how the system work at the moment and you should learn how to work with the system. I also know this is not what you wanted to hear and I also feel she deserved recognition, but try and sort these things out beforehand next time.

 

Don't let this discourage her as well, she knows what she has accomplished and can build on that.

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Unfortunately for prizes in racing, this is how it works. So if you are not seeded in the correct group and you know you should be, then fight the fight before the start, after the start you are in their rules.

 

You could have inquired before hand what the seeding index is supposed to be and if your daughter was in her rights to be in front, then they had no leg to stand on, but unfortunately if her seeding index (According to racetec seeding, not SAseeding), then there is not much you can do. This works the same in all the category races. Her seeding will also be influanced by the fact that all elite riders are in this distance, meaning her half marathon seeding is of little value.

 

this is unfortunately how the system work at the moment and you should learn how to work with the system. I also know this is not what you wanted to hear and I also feel she deserved recognition, but try and sort these things out beforehand next time.

 

Don't let this discourage her as well, she knows what she has accomplished and can build on that.

Thank you . 

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