[Event] Tshwane Classic

[Underachiever]

Great race, just like last year.  Venue is a breeze!!

 

The R511 bumps were a great addition, but we want Wonderboom back, bunch was too big at TJ.  And it makes for better racing. 

 

The portion thru town needs changing, metro police tried in vain to controls the taxis. and those yellow protruding plastic bus lane partitions caused a nasty crash in VC.  

 

It should have been easy to get the route distance right?

 

But this race is actually much nicer than the 947.   

[Rick Sanchez]

Was a good race. Was impressed with the organisation and I found the route enjoyable (except the soul destroying N14  )
Will be back next year and great prep for the 947 

[JCA12]

Great race, quite scenic. Tom Jenkins caught me again. But a bit disappointing that it's advertised as total road closure. Nearly taken out by a couple of taxis at about 30km mark. Then again at the hills near hartebeespoort, some of the motorbikes and cars were far too fast and far too close.

 

Otherwise a great race. Will be back next year with more fitness and better seeding.

[MudLark]

(However I did think that the cyclists who fell in behind the Duracell bunny was not playing cricket though?)

 

Huh? What's that all about then? What Duracell bunny are you referring to?

[Jehosefat]

Punctured on the on-ramp to the freeway and lost the group. Ended up picking up a fairly big group as I passed people on the way back in but they all seemed happy to let me pull the whole way 

 

Was aiming for a 2:40 - 2:45, ended up with a 2:50 which I'm pretty happy with considering I rode almost half the race with no group and had to stop and fix a puncture.

Edited November 4, 2018 by Jehosefat

[Pieter-za]

Huh? What's that all about then? What Duracell bunny are you referring to?

E-bike

[Forthelove]

<p>

 

All in all I had a lekker day, but I think the organizers could definitely do with some constructive criticism from the riders to improve the event. There were way too many seemingly simple things that I think were overlooked. It seems the organizers checked this thread at some point, so maybe things can change for next year if we make some suggestions of what we think could be better. Really enjoyed the race though, so I'll be back next year even if nothing changes

 

My 2c on what could be done better in future:

• Instructions as to which roads would be closed and which to use to access the venue would have been great. It seemed like loads of people (including me) went to fountains, and then didn't know where to go from there due to the road being blocked. Literally an A5 piece of paper in the "race pack" would suffice.
• An indication as to where the water points are going to be. Maybe I missed it, but I had no clue how many water points there were, or where they were situated. Again, A5 sheet in the race pack with a route map and water point locations would be perfect.
• Signage at the venue. I had no clue where the start was from where I eventually parked.
• A demarcated walkers lane on Tom Jenkins. I almost couldn't ride up due to the amount of people walking all over the road. People are moeg. They need help with common sense like keeping to one side of the road if they're walking.
• Dustbins at the venue. I didn't see any, and when I left I saw that people had randomly made piles of empty bottles on the side of the road so I'm guessing I'm not the only person that couldn't find a place to chuck stuff away.
• An indication of which roads aren't fully closed. I wasn't expecting to see any cars on the route, but quite a few came past me on the section on the R511. I think it's pretty dangerous to tell people there's full road closure when there's not.
• Maybe a route change to avoid some of the chaos of the CBD? The traffic cops did their best, but I reckon they had their work cut out for them trying to control all of the taxis and cars and pedestrians on the road. Even with all of their efforts, I still saw a few cars that managed to get onto the closed off roads and had to be chased down by motor bikes and escorted off the road.

[Forthelove]

Yes good points and more toilets at the start shoots. But overall a great day out.

[Mongoose!]

what was the distance of the race? 90km?

 

Racetec overinflates the ave speed quit a bit with the distance as 98km?

Edited November 5, 2018 by Mongoose!

[Karooryder]

 

My 2c on what could be done better in future:

• Instructions as to which roads would be closed and which to use to access the venue would have been great. It seemed like loads of people (including me) went to fountains, and then didn't know where to go from there due to the road being blocked. Literally an A5 piece of paper in the "race pack" would suffice.
• An indication as to where the water points are going to be. Maybe I missed it, but I had no clue how many water points there were, or where they were situated. Again, A5 sheet in the race pack with a route map and water point locations would be perfect. 
• Signage at the venue. I had no clue where the start was from where I eventually parked. 
• A demarcated walkers lane on Tom Jenkins. I almost couldn't ride up due to the amount of people walking all over the road. People are moeg. They need help with common sense like keeping to one side of the road if they're walking. 
• Dustbins at the venue. I didn't see any, and when I left I saw that people had randomly made piles of empty bottles on the side of the road so I'm guessing I'm not the only person that couldn't find a place to chuck stuff away.  
• An indication of which roads aren't fully closed. I wasn't expecting to see any cars on the route, but quite a few came past me on the section on the R511. I think it's pretty dangerous to tell people there's full road closure when there's not. 
• Maybe a route change to avoid some of the chaos of the CBD? The traffic cops did their best, but I reckon they had their work cut out for them trying to control all of the taxis and cars and pedestrians on the road. Even with all of their efforts, I still saw a few cars that managed to get onto the closed off roads and had to be chased down by motor bikes and escorted off the road.

 

 

The parts red were elaborately explained in the race brief mail as well as on the website.

 

I do agree about the total-road closure; was both dangerous and confusing on the R511 with some real near-misses.

 

What a cool race all-in all. A true contender for the 94.7. Scenic with enough climbs, downhills and Tom Jenkins to make it really memorable (btw - that last climb to the finish was tougher than TJ for me...). Riding past the Union Buildings, looking left down on our pretty city and passing Oom Paul in true Le Tour style really gave me goosebumps.

 

Participation and the demographics of riders was heart-warming and I couldn't help but feel Proudly South African when we were cheered on by vendors, church goers, taxi drivers and even vagrants in the CBD. 

 

Thanks to the organizers for a super event! Will be back next year! 

Edited November 5, 2018 by Karooryder

[s14phoenix]

The parts red were elaborately explained in the race brief mail as well as on the website.

 

I do agree about the total-road closure; was both dangerous and confusing on the R511 with some real near-misses.

 

What a cool race all-in all. A true contender for the 94.7. Scenic with enough climbs, downhills and Tom Jenkins to make it really memorable (btw - that last climb to the finish was tougher than TJ for me...). Riding past the Union Buildings, looking left down on our pretty city and passing Oom Paul in true Le Tour style really gave me goosebumps.

 

Participation and the demographics of riders was heart-warming and I couldn't help but feel Proudly South African when we were cheered on by vendors, church goers, taxi drivers and even vagrants in the CBD. 

 

Thanks to the organizers for a super event! Will be back next year! 

 

Yes me too - especially since I thought I was already on the small ring - 53/25 was tough up that.

[Pieter-za]

 

All in all I had a lekker day, but I think the organizers could definitely do with some constructive criticism from the riders to improve the event. There were way too many seemingly simple things that I think were overlooked. It seems the organizers checked this thread at some point, so maybe things can change for next year if we make some suggestions of what we think could be better. Really enjoyed the race though, so I'll be back next year even if nothing changes

 

My 2c on what could be done better in future:

 

Many of your questions were answered on:

 

https://tshwaneclassic.co.za

https://tshwaneclassic.co.za/2018-tshwane-classic-rider-brief/

http://tshwaneclassic.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Vehicle-Access-Tswhane2018.jpg

 

wrt  road closures, parking map, starting line location, finish line location, water points location etc.  

 

(Apologies Karooryder, saw your response stating more or less the same too late)

Edited November 5, 2018 by Pieter-za

[Long Wheel Base]

The parts red were elaborately explained in the race brief mail as well as on the website.

 

I do agree about the total-road closure; was both dangerous and confusing on the R511 with some real near-misses.

 

What a cool race all-in all. A true contender for the 94.7. Scenic with enough climbs, downhills and Tom Jenkins to make it really memorable (btw - that last climb to the finish was tougher than TJ for me...). Riding past the Union Buildings, looking left down on our pretty city and passing Oom Paul in true Le Tour style really gave me goosebumps.

 

Participation and the demographics of riders was heart-warming and I couldn't help but feel Proudly South African when we were cheered on by vendors, church goers, taxi drivers and even vagrants in the CBD. 

 

Thanks to the organizers for a super event! Will be back next year! 

 

 

Yes me too - especially since I thought I was already on the small ring - 53/25 was tough up that.

LOL so last year with it being the first time, my toppie took a days leave a few days prior, trekked all the way out there and drove the route. BUT when he got to that entrance he thought, ok no need to go in and home he went. So now we cruising along and were leading the mens tandem category with a small gap to 2nd and my toppie was telling what to expect. After TJ he sommer tunes it's fast flat TT till the end to keep the gap. We were in the big blade and turn left onto that SOB. Had to change so quickly. Then after that climb we stayed in the small blade till the end because we then didn't know what to expect. Were spinning out so badly. Luckily we kept the gap and no sprint was needed.

[Craai]

E-bike

Could be worse.... some guys in DL decided to sit behind one of the marshall's (motor)bike

[Spinnekop]

Loved the race.  

Hard.  Fun.  Pretty

 

I would route it away from the lawless taxis though.  

 

Other than that.  

Good day out on the bike.  

[Mountain Bru]

The parts red were elaborately explained in the race brief mail as well as on the website.

 

 

Many of your questions were answered on:

 

https://tshwaneclassic.co.za

https://tshwaneclassic.co.za/2018-tshwane-classic-rider-brief/

http://tshwaneclassic.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Vehicle-Access-Tswhane2018.jpg

 

wrt  road closures, parking map, starting line location, finish line location, water points location etc.  

 

(Apologies Karooryder, saw your response stating more or less the same too late)

 

 

Shucks I see I didn't pay enough attention to the emails they sent and didn't check the website after I entered (riders brief only went up on the 30th of October)

 

I guess it's always easier to blame someone else for your own incompetence. My bad.