Stretch Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 It was, and yeah. But they would still have to apply for it to be held there, and that's an exercise in and of itself. I know that Jan was looking into it for the future though. yup you have to have someone dedicated to the cause. I cant recall the number...but the application fee alone is ridiculous...like a million bucks or something stupid. waits patiently for nige to chip in..............
nigelhicks Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 Nigel has discussed this at length before. Cape town does not have a site that meets all the criteria required for a DH course - drop over distance, proximity to a hub etc etc etc......unless you can build one down table mountain The issues for SA isnt the length of the tracks but the access and logistics that go into hosting a DH race. Although Jonkers has a lot of elevation the access is fire/forestry roads and is slow if i recall. Under the rulings you need to have shuttle/lift access that will allow 100 riders per hour up the hill. Then the issue is having a venue with a large enough finish area to accommodate the teams etc. If there is a dual event (XCO and DH) the venue needs to have a centralised service/pit area as this saves costs (they can be seperate but at major costs) The other issue is that when Stellenbosch hosted the world cups in the late 1990's the riders also complained that the tracks were to straight forward and not technical enough. So again I dont think there is the natural tracks that the UCI are looking for in SA. So DH is a bit of a non-starter and although I dont see why it couldnt come back, I think the UCI teams (and UCI co-ordinators) will shy away from SA due to the previous comments about Stellenbosch and PMB - where the riders etc said the course was not World Cup standard. .... XCO however makes perfect sense and its great to see this coming back. I think Cape Town will be the perfect venue to host the racing and with the Argus and Epic in teh mix it makes perfect sense to have bid for the event. Good luck to the organisers - I think its going to be a cracker Stretch, banna, Danger Dassie and 6 others 9
Stretch Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 AH right, interesting to know. Helderberg could accommodate 500m drop over 2.5kms which I think is on par with many of the DH courses. And it's close to stellenbosch which is more of a hub than fort william. I'm not disputing you, I'm just curious. Was this discussion on a thread somewhere? where exactly is that? I think the criteria is an hour from an international airport. Pmb was right on the edge
Warren_G Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 Was at the one in PMB 2014, saw Yenny and Miss Frizz in action! What a vibe, so stoked it's in CPT this time, there like a bear!
DJR Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 ................. where the riders etc said the course was not World Cup standard. ...................Whattabout using the Table Mountain Cableway and letting them drop in via India Venster, will that be technical enough? Oh, wait, that will take SANParks to give the go-ahead, and that means it will only come through in 2098, and by then we'll have flying bikes anyway. Damn! Gramevloen, Captain Fastbastard Mayhem and MTBeer 3
dev null Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 (edited) where exactly is that? I think the criteria is an hour from an international airport. Pmb was right on the edge Helderberg is the mountain against which Somerset West resides. About 20 minutes from Cape Town International airport and 35 minutes from Cape Town by car. And there are more than enough hotels and B&Bs in Somerset West, with one world class hotel 5 minutes away. There are 2 issues with Helderberg though. One is getting riders in masses to the top, and two is a big enough finishing area with good access by the public. The actual trails are very good. Just ask Andrew Neethling. Edited January 30, 2017 by Moridin Danger Dassie 1
NickGM Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 where exactly is that? I think the criteria is an hour from an international airport. Pmb was right on the edgeJust north of somerset west, off the R44 between somerset west and stellenbosch. It's 30 minutes form Cape town International, and 40min from CT and, 15 mins from stellenbosch. Google steilte trails.
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 where exactly is that? I think the criteria is an hour from an international airport. Pmb was right on the edgeJust outside Slumerset, on the R44.
Headshot Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 Good news on the XCO front! Hope they dont make it pricey to spectate - if so I'll save the hassle and watch on TV. I think Helderberg would require a serious amount of work to turn it into the kind of DH track the UCI would approve. It definitley has the elevation. The biggest problem there will be access for the riders. As it stands its a torturous bakkie shuttle that takes several minutes. That said, not every venue has Fort William gnar - La Bresse is back in this year and its apparently rather short.
jimmy hardtail Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 Helderberg might have the elevation but not the gradient. Look at last years world champs dh track. It was an absolute monster of a track . Very few local riders would even attempt it, never mind make it down cleanly. We have the mountains for it, we also have the infrastructure, they just arent in the same place unfortunately. Captain Fastbastard Mayhem and Stretch 2
Stretch Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 Good news on the XCO front! Hope they dont make it pricey to spectate - if so I'll save the hassle and watch on TV. this is really critical and i will relay this story to you....the last XC event at cascades I saw a FB friend of mine complaining about the cost of the tickets (a mtb'er himself)..and how it would be more cost effective for him to stay at home and watch it on Supersport! This from someone who lives 50km from cascades and spends 800/month on DSTV but cant be arsed to spend R100 a ticket for the XC. It being the first event, I think you can safely say that all involved in the sport will pitch up...but the organisers should not expect that in years 3 and 4...should it ever get to that
nigelhicks Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 (edited) Okes cant complain about R100 to get in to a world cup. I think PMB was very reasonable if you compare with other world cups... here are the prices from AndorraPROMOTIONSForfait Bike: 29, 30 and August 31thAdults 15€ | Children 10€Partially open.Price per day. Forfait Saison World CupAdults 60€ | Children30€Valid for the gondola from 1/9/16.Valid for the circuits from 5/9/16. --------- And then Fort William:see the image Edited January 30, 2017 by nigelhicks Captain Fastbastard Mayhem, Danger Dassie and Wil6 3
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 Yeah, Nige. People are just cheaparses, mostly. Patchelicious and Danger Dassie 2
Duane_Bosch Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 I don't care what it costs. I'm not going to miss Nino hucking those log stairs. Captain Fastbastard Mayhem 1
Headshot Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 Yeah, Nige. People are just cheaparses, mostly. Yourself included I assume? I think R100 is still reasonable but to put it in perspective. Thats a 80km round trip by car and if the whole family goes - maybe R300 for tickets - I assume a 6 year old might be free, failing which its R400. Plus food and drinks - could be close to R750 by the time you are done.
Headshot Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 this is really critical and i will relay this story to you....the last XC event at cascades I saw a FB friend of mine complaining about the cost of the tickets (a mtb'er himself)..and how it would be more cost effective for him to stay at home and watch it on Supersport! This from someone who lives 50km from cascades and spends 800/month on DSTV but cant be arsed to spend R100 a ticket for the XC. It being the first event, I think you can safely say that all involved in the sport will pitch up...but the organisers should not expect that in years 3 and 4...should it ever get to thatGood point. I watch fro free on RB TV, so cheap is properly cheap! No DoosTV in my house.
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