Race Fail: Ashburton Meerendal 2016

[Godzilla]

RESULT.....!

https://www.saseeding.org/participants/event-results/ashburton-1-2016-01-30

what am i doing wrong ? I cannot find mine even after typing in my SAS number or surname ?

[Pure Savage]

lol...gotta love when someone enters the 40km and does 1hr 30min and SECOND place is like 30min slower...Enter the longer one

 

Maybe they had a family lunch that if they miss they would be no riding until June!

[Thermophage]

what am i doing wrong ? I cannot find mine even after typing in my SAS number or surname ?

I think the website has tanked with all the people suddenly trying to access it. I managed to get mine, but now niks is working.

 

Just give it a little time

Seems things are being changed...perhaps I'll rather check on the morrow

[Oakley360]

Yahh, seems like we have some results

[karlito]

So what about all the other races that happened during the last two months? These guys are seriously dropping the ball.

[Gravel Travel]

 

Living in Paarl I have done a few races in the Cape, Tulbagh, Hemel-en-Aarde, Wellington, Paarl, etc, some by ADVENDURANCE. They were all fine but the Meerendal experience was bad.

I thought the bad experience was due to my lack of fitness and the heat on Saturday until I stumbled across this forum in search of the race results.

 

I fully support the complaints.

1. Following the Epic for some time now, I always wanted to ride the Meerendal/Durbanville trails, so I entered the overpriced 40km event at R240. It is not about the extra R100 or so, it is about the feeling of being ripped off. No gun against my head, this was my choice, my mistake. Just saying.

2. I was the 4th person in line at registration on Friday. It took me 15 minutes! Usually this is a 2 min job.

3. The route was so bad that I questioned the "amazing trails" that everyone speaks about. The Paarl routes are better. Sorry TMTBC, apparently this is not your fault, I am sure we just missed the lekker parts!! For me riding my MTB is all about having fun with my mates, chat and banter. This route did not allow 1 minute for this. It was either heavy climbing or heavy downhill.

4. The water points were well stocked (not great compared to other races) when I passed them, but the placing sucked!!!! WP 1 at 8km, no one stopped. WP 2 on the hill, no issue. WP 3 way to late in the race with many riders arriving and cursing the event. Flückiger caught up with us at WP 3 and he had to empty 5 Coke cups to fill his bottle, he was not happy. Getting the WP's and water stock wrong in the Western Cape summer is the biggest school boy error out there, it is dangerous and negligent.

5. The distance and total ascend was spot on.

6. Race times should arrive in your inbox before you arrive home.

 

- When you are so well established in the MTB event industry, you need to keep respecting the riders supporting you.

- Social media is a bitch, you can loose more support in 3 days than what you established in 3 years.

- Never ever underestimate the riders intelligence by hosting under par events, there are lots to choose from these days.

- Don't make us MTB riders become like the old golf club members, complaining all the time. We don't want to be like that, please.

 

"The route is king and the riders come first" - Gary Green

[Godzilla]

Maybe they had a family lunch that if they miss they would be no riding until June!

 

I think the website has tanked with all the people suddenly trying to access it. I managed to get mine, but now niks is working.

 

Just give it a little time

Seems things are being changed...perhaps I'll rather check on the morrow

Thanks very much Thermophage

[Vega]

Question: Does the MTB National Series belong to Advendurance or are they managing it on behalf of CSA? Or something else?

[lukelockie]

Er, wasn't that Nedbank?

It was Nedbank, you are correct.

[Skubarra]

It was Nedbank, you are correct.

 

Getting a bit sidetracked but Sani2C have a new sponsor now - if events like Sani2C don't have those annoying corporates with their intrusive branding a lot of us won't be able to afford stage races at all. So try to be nice to them 

[tubed]

Living in Paarl I have done a few races in the Cape, Tulbagh, Hemel-en-Aarde, Wellington, Paarl, etc, some by ADVENDURANCE. They were all fine but the Meerendal experience was bad.

I thought the bad experience was due to my lack of fitness and the heat on Saturday until I stumbled across this forum in search of the race results.

 

I fully support the complaints.

1. Following the Epic for some time now, I always wanted to ride the Meerendal/Durbanville trails, so I entered the overpriced 40km event at R240. It is not about the extra R100 or so, it is about the feeling of being ripped off. No gun against my head, this was my choice, my mistake. Just saying.

2. I was the 4th person in line at registration on Friday. It took me 15 minutes! Usually this is a 2 min job.

3. The route was so bad that I questioned the "amazing trails" that everyone speaks about. The Paarl routes are better. Sorry TMTBC, apparently this is not your fault, I am sure we just missed the lekker parts!! For me riding my MTB is all about having fun with my mates, chat and banter. This route did not allow 1 minute for this. It was either heavy climbing or heavy downhill.

4. The water points were well stocked (not great compared to other races) when I passed them, but the placing sucked!!!! WP 1 at 8km, no one stopped. WP 2 on the hill, no issue. WP 3 way to late in the race with many riders arriving and cursing the event. Flückiger caught up with us at WP 3 and he had to empty 5 Coke cups to fill his bottle, he was not happy. Getting the WP's and water stock wrong in the Western Cape summer is the biggest school boy error out there, it is dangerous and negligent.

5. The distance and total ascend was spot on.

6. Race times should arrive in your inbox before you arrive home.

 

- When you are so well established in the MTB event industry, you need to keep respecting the riders supporting you.

- Social media is a bitch, you can loose more support in 3 days than what you established in 3 years.

- Never ever underestimate the riders intelligence by hosting under par events, there are lots to choose from these days.

- Don't make us MTB riders become like the old golf club members, complaining all the time. We don't want to be like that, please.

 

"The route is king and the riders come first" - Gary Green

Proper post - well said

[ChunkyMonkey]

Wow.. People did they do the timing with a freekin Sundial and an Abacus?

The Ultra amateur results are all bamboozled..?

Some of those guys bailed so early and then they clock super fast times in the the Ultra? They even whipped most of the pros?

 

SASeeeding.. Get your act together..!!!

[MarcL]

what am i doing wrong ? I cannot find mine even after typing in my SAS number or surname ?

The SAS website needs some serious work....

The results don't search.

Some riders are there twice or have multiple profiles (poor database design)

The results don't tally up to the actually course riden - ok maybe that's not a big deal, but I entered the Ultra but only rode the Marthaton. On finishing, I told them and the girl wrote it down.

Imagine my surprise at getting a marthaton time for the Ultra distance, beating many pro's along the way....

 

Good for me seeing but a joke!

 

Maybe he should borrow the Ractec program - it just works

 

Come on SAS, pull up your socks.

[Skubarra]

Maybe he should borrow the Ractec program - it just works

 

All the timing systems get this one wrong ie people riding shorter routes than what they entered for.

 

It's usually manually fixed after provisional results are posted.

[GLuvsMtb]

All the timing systems get this one wrong ie people riding shorter routes than what they entered for.

 

It's usually manually fixed after provisional results are posted.

Surely if you have scanning on the course (3 scanners, a unique scan point on the short, medium and long routes) you should be able to create an exception list. Some events do this and you get a DNF if you complete a shorter course than what you entered for.

[Skubarra]

Surely if you have scanning on the course (3 scanners, a unique scan point on the short, medium and long routes) you should be able to create an exception list. Some events do this and you get a DNF if you complete a shorter course than what you entered for.

Yes. I wouldn't imagine it is something that would be that hard to get right with multiple scanners.

 

But I changed to a shorter route at the Burger mtb (with this system) a year ago, obviously missed the scanners on the long distance but still got a top 10 finish on the marathon provisional results...