Gen Posted October 28, 2015 Posted October 28, 2015 Hell even the Swiss cycling federation are feeling the squeeze, and they seem to have much more funding than SA Cycling will ever have Quote from cyclingworld.com"Financial cutbacks have forced Swiss Cycling to cancel its women’s program, in order to save funding in the amount of CHF 500,000 for next year because of a lack of sponsors. The cutbacks will affect the support programs for elite women road riders, consisting of training camps and participation in races abroad, according to initial reports in Neue Zurcher Zeitung and CyclingTips". http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/swiss-cycling-drop-womens-program-after-financial-cutbacks/ I was so shocked when I saw that the other day. It's tough out there.. When the big teams aren't making money it's hard to believe that the smaller teams even stand a chance to survive from one season to the next. Perfect example was Europcar. I think the amount needed was 5m Euro's to continue next year.. and they battled to even get that.
JA-Q001 Posted October 28, 2015 Posted October 28, 2015 I really wish there could be something more like a club team system in SA. Clubs gather their elites (even ladies, juniors and vets) and pick teams of 6 to participate in races. These could be a club champs league that are either run alongside some of the classics and some specific league crit type races, with maybe 3 TTs and 3 Hillclimbs throughout the year. This all counts to points for the clubs, giving them a ranking. The clubs will have good buy in into this, as this will bring status to clubs. What CSA then can try and do is create a continental CSA team, the top 6 riders in the league can get selected for this and get sent to UCI races to race as a SA tea of sorts. Unfortunately I know its not as easy as it sounds, but I really think this is the type of model to look into.
Gen Posted October 28, 2015 Posted October 28, 2015 There are 2 young track ladies that are now training at the UCI hey.. so small steps are being made.. actually surprised admin hasn't caught the story yet.. okay.. Maybe they have and I missed it.. very possible User Actions FollowUCIWomenCyclingVerified account@UCIWomenCyclingUCI @WCC_cycling welcomes two of South Africa’s top women track cyclists. Read more http://buff.ly/1N2B5Wg #UCIHQ
rock Posted October 28, 2015 Posted October 28, 2015 develop juniors, for sure, lets not have a repeat of that 16 year old with the EPO case.
City Cycling Athletic Club Posted October 28, 2015 Posted October 28, 2015 Yes but all your races are flat crit type events. Suits a small handfull of riders at best the rest just go cause its a basic race of sorts to do. dont confuse crits with racing on a circuit. crits are fast and flat and on a short 1 - 2 km circuit - improve your crit skills and you can handle anything. circuit racing is the way to go. world champs/olympics/your bread and butter races in Europe and the States are on circuits of between 10 & 20 kms. if its flat its fast , if it has a few short steep climbs so much the better. find a circuit that will suit all types of cyclist and you'll find the holy grail . races with long 5 - 10 k long climbs will only be found in the grand tours or tours on the pro circuit - that the reality of development and its out of our control.
Zatopek Posted October 28, 2015 Posted October 28, 2015 take it back to basics - here in the WP we do it this way.we dont get involved with the ppa they want to be the mass participation experts so leave them to that.after the ARGUS is over the WP league kicks in. it had 12 events from March to end of June - events consisted of crits (1 - 2 kms) , circuit races (7 - 12 kms) and road races on a circuit.. distances for road races were all over 100kms. the WP did all the paperwork ie event permission, sanctioning etc etc (and its a lot of work). the wp clubs took responsiblity for on the day logistics ie registration,marshals and so on. wp had NO SPONSORS for the events so if a club came up with a sponsor then they had 'naming rights' to the event.if an event attracted 100 riders we knew we would cover all costs including a bit of prize money. this means we dont cater for the rider that is in the game to make a living from prize money but rather the cyclist who has made cycling his sport.the events weren't run on age groups but rather like the usa system of category racing and we used the ppa seeding system to filter riders into cat 1 , cat 2.we have moved to circuit racing because it is so much easier. most of the circuits were all left turns so you can get away with about 10 marshals and limited traffic cops. its spectator friendly as well. most of the circuits are 'flat' which means fast racing. most of the races average over 40 kph , bunch sprints and attempted break aways ie teams dynamics came to the fore at every event.i believe the wp model is working - the clubs actually want to host events and with the help of local gov they are taking racing into the suburbs. the event pays for itself so the club is not loosing money. there are enough clubs to host just one event.in 2016 the league will be expanding so its certainly looking up for road cycling in the WP.most of the riders that fill the mtn quebeka feeder team are from the western cape - coincidence! the u 16 road champ - WP , junior road and tt champ - WP This was what I experienced in Dublin as well: Summertime, with the long daylight, there would be once a week, afternoon (working day) racing called ‘club league'. This role is probably what Killarney play in CT, but here is some info anyway, some might work here.This is circuit racing (laps of 7-15 km)There are 2-3 circuits that is repeated at weekly intervals, a hill climb and a TT during the league.This is organised by clubs and limited to the club members. There are several ‘club leagues’ in the same city and the number of clubs in each league change slowly over time as club memberships (and participants) rise and fall - reason being to keep the number of riders in each of the 4 categories (abilities) safe. The clubs will each get certain weeks to organise the race and supply marshals. Every club member must marshal twice to participate in the league. (You do get certain amount of league points for every marshal that you do.)Your marshal dates are assigned randomly and if you can’t make it you organise replacement / change dates with other club members yourselves.If you (or your replacement) don’t pitch for your marshal date – you get named & banned from the league for the year.Every category (except the elite) get mentor/policing riders. This is riders that arrive late for the 15min before start time deadline – this way you can still ride, get a fixed ‘arrived’ league points etc, but must RIDE in a lower category, NOT allowed to race in that category and give advice/warning to less experienced riders that do silly stuff. (You get a bib to stand out) [i arrived late once, but also forgot to pack my bike in the car in my rush to leave. So I could not play the police role ] On weekends Cycling Ireland (clubs really) organised regional leagues with different point/score board. All CI registered riders can take part. *Note this notes is from a ‘none hard-core racer perspective’ - that I’m not a racer and could only hang around in the category 4. Recent Newlands Sport Institute testing confirmed I suck. I like the club concept instead of the PPA – it is more personal and its handy to meet people and make friends.
City Cycling Athletic Club Posted October 28, 2015 Posted October 28, 2015 This was what I experienced in Dublin as well: Summertime, with the long daylight, there would be once a week, afternoon (working day) racing called ‘club league'. This role is probably what Killarney play in CT, but here is some info anyway, some might work here.This is circuit racing (laps of 7-15 km)There are 2-3 circuits that is repeated at weekly intervals, a hill climb and a TT during the league.This is organised by clubs and limited to the club members. There are several ‘club leagues’ in the same city and the number of clubs in each league change slowly over time as club memberships (and participants) rise and fall - reason being to keep the number of riders in each of the 4 categories (abilities) safe. The clubs will each get certain weeks to organise the race and supply marshals. Every club member must marshal twice to participate in the league. (You do get certain amount of league points for every marshal that you do.)Your marshal dates are assigned randomly and if you can’t make it you organise replacement / change dates with other club members yourselves.If you (or your replacement) don’t pitch for your marshal date – you get named & banned from the league for the year.Every category (except the elite) get mentor/policing riders. This is riders that arrive late for the 15min before start time deadline – this way you can still ride, get a fixed ‘arrived’ league points etc, but must RIDE in a lower category, NOT allowed to race in that category and give advice/warning to less experienced riders that do silly stuff. (You get a bib to stand out) [i arrived late once, but also forgot to pack my bike in the car in my rush to leave. So I could not play the police role ] On weekends Cycling Ireland (clubs really) organised regional leagues with different point/score board. All CI registered riders can take part. *Note this notes is from a ‘none hard-core racer perspective’ - that I’m not a racer and could only hang around in the category 4. Recent Newlands Sport Institute testing confirmed I suck. I like the club concept instead of the PPA – it is more personal and its handy to meet people and make friends. i cant talk for other regions in the RSA but road cycling here in the WP went just about belly up when one person took it upon himself to do all the work a few years ago. the clubs got lazy and within 2 years lost the expertise to organise events. this co-incided with new legislation for 'events' as well as the advent of 'sponsored teams'.new legistaltion meant that you couldnt just pick up the phone and call the local council and tell them there will be race around fesantekraal (as an example) on sunday. you now had to complete documents 6 weeks in advance and apply to host an event - this meant no-one from the local clubs wanted to go through these hassles. at the same time league racing took off with the ppa and all the 'best riders' from clubs formed sponsored teams hence the clubs lost their best riders. sponsored teams just rode ppa league , did not host events or contributed to local cycling. this was still not a problem as the club racing scene did not clash with the ppa events .so club road racing marked time for a few years with only regional champs taking place. and guess who were the biggest moaners? the sponsored teams. but things tend to go in circles. a lot of social cyclist have rejoined clubs and club racing has taken off again and it is sustainable- clubs are thriving and are active every weekend. i know that next year the wp league will be expanding to cat 3i like certain aspects of the Irish model and will certainly suggest that the WP take some on board.would love to know what happens in other regions and countries iro road cycling
pe3nguin Posted October 29, 2015 Posted October 29, 2015 would love to know what happens in other regions and countries iro road cycling Belgium (and the Flanders area to the North in particular) have a fantastic model. Between the months of March and October there is racing daily. It goes something like this. The town has a festival (Kermis) on say a Tuesday afternoon. This means a beertent is erected and some live music plays. Some food for sale and generally a festive atmosphere. The townsfolk also pitch in (financially and through organizational power) for the day's main attraction - the KermisKoers (Bike racing on a circuit throughout the town). The circuit is usually between 5-10km in length, totaling 100-120km of racing over 2.5-3hours. Anyone can enter. 3 euro to race and a 5 euro refundable deposit on the race number. Prize money rewards 20 deep so there is a bit of incentive for most of the field. The Flanders region has enough tiny towns that there are literally more races than days available. The racing is brutal. The townsfolk love it and they keep supporting it. Each town will usually host two Kermis a year. With that much racing, the learning curve is steep and even Cat1 cyclsists from the US feel the burn. And these KermisKoers are just the beginning. Fan favourites are asked to hang out with the locals because cyclists are considered working class superstars (and if you get asked to stick around and party after the race, you damn well do it or enjoy your future visits to that town). Perform well, get noticed and it's time for... Interclub. It is a whole different level on the mainland.
Patchelicious Posted October 29, 2015 Posted October 29, 2015 Belgium (and the Flanders area to the North in particular) have a fantastic model. Between the months of March and October there is racing daily. It goes something like this. The town has a festival (Kermis) on say a Tuesday afternoon. This means a beertent is erected and some live music plays. Some food for sale and generally a festive atmosphere. The townsfolk also pitch in (financially and through organizational power) for the day's main attraction - the KermisKoers (Bike racing on a circuit throughout the town). The circuit is usually between 5-10km in length, totaling 100-120km of racing over 2.5-3hours. Anyone can enter. 3 euro to race and a 5 euro refundable deposit on the race number. Prize money rewards 20 deep so there is a bit of incentive for most of the field. The Flanders region has enough tiny towns that there are literally more races than days available. The racing is brutal. The townsfolk love it and they keep supporting it. Each town will usually host two Kermis a year. With that much racing, the learning curve is steep and even Cat1 cyclsists from the US feel the burn. And these KermisKoers are just the beginning. Fan favourites are asked to hang out with the locals because cyclists are considered working class superstars (and if you get asked to stick around and party after the race, you damn well do it or enjoy your future visits to that town). Perform well, get noticed and it's time for... Interclub. It is a whole different level on the mainland.You had me at beer tent!
pe3nguin Posted October 29, 2015 Posted October 29, 2015 You had me at beer tent!Come for the beertent. Stay for the beermaids :3
Nibali Posted October 29, 2015 Posted October 29, 2015 I tried to get Varsity Sports involved with starting a crit racing series for the University teams. You basically use the campus grounds for the circuit (so a short, technical route) and try and get the residences of the hosting University involved to get a party (kermis) vibe to it. Think it will be awesome to have a series like that around SA. With the exposure you get through Varsity Sports it will hopefully become more mainstream and we will see races like that for clubs and the like. But ja, I got all the way to the CEO, but no response after that. Hopefully they are planning something and just never said anything about it.
pe3nguin Posted October 29, 2015 Posted October 29, 2015 I tried to get Varsity Sports involved with starting a crit racing series for the University teams. You basically use the campus grounds for the circuit (so a short, technical route) and try and get the residences of the hosting University involved to get a party (kermis) vibe to it. Think it will be awesome to have a series like that around SA. With the exposure you get through Varsity Sports it will hopefully become more mainstream and we will see races like that for clubs and the like. But ja, I got all the way to the CEO, but no response after that. Hopefully they are planning something and just never said anything about it.That sounds amazing. I would go back to Rhodes for this. You know...once the students stop their fee hike shenanigans.
Pure Savage Posted October 29, 2015 Posted October 29, 2015 Times are so tough even Pure Savage lost their sponsorship this year We now a privateer team again. Having said that, since becoming a privateer team again we have had two offers of sponsorship for next year. (Our costs include, kit, entry fees, training weekends, coach, some promo stuff, facebook adverts and beer after races.)
Shebeen Posted October 29, 2015 Posted October 29, 2015 Times are so tough even Pure Savage lost their sponsorship this year We now a privateer team again. Having said that, since becoming a privateer team again we have had two offers of sponsorship for next year. (Our costs include, kit, entry fees, training weekends, coach, some promo stuff, facebook adverts and beer after races.) hope you don't sweat over that one too much.
Cheese Posted October 29, 2015 Posted October 29, 2015 Yes in at least one case this year a corporate sponsor (and one of their cyclists) had this idea and thought they could do better by themselves. Look at how long that lasted... This thing about team owners making a killing is a complete myth. I know the riders may feel that way and its true that most of them don't earn a decent salary in SA, but I promise you there are much easier way to make money than by trying to run a pro cycling team in SA.George Stroebel from Bloemfontein , not on same level but also organises around a six week tour where he takes u/16's and Juniors to race in Europe for around six weeks in June July each year(last three years). Has achieved great results for the youngsters and it would be a shame if none of them have a team to go to. I think Wailon Young has some real talent from is group as some others as well.
Pure Savage Posted October 29, 2015 Posted October 29, 2015 hope you don't sweat over that one too much.R75.57 well spent, its what the sponsor wanted. If you do not have a high enough ROI they just give the money to someone else to spend.
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