[Event] Tshwane Classic

[JA-Q001]

I'm just wondering, is National curfew still a thing at the moment?

First batches start at 6am, so if you want to be at the venue an hour before the start, then you cannot stay more than one hours drive away from the venue. Seeing as this venue is quite out of town, would a 7am start not have been a bit smarter?

 

bad luck to everyone staying in the southern Gauteng regions.

 

[Frosty]

2 hours ago, JA-Q001 said:

I'm just wondering, is National curfew still a thing at the moment?

First batches start at 6am, so if you want to be at the venue an hour before the start, then you cannot stay more than one hours drive away from the venue. Seeing as this venue is quite out of town, would a 7am start not have been a bit smarter?

 

bad luck to everyone staying in the southern Gauteng regions.

 

That's a reason we changed our start last week from 06:00 to 06:30, to allow the guys from PTA to get out in time.
The curfew is 00:00 - 04:00

[BouncingBrain]

Why am I busy checking the wind from 3 days out from the event? 

[RobertWhitehead]

36 minutes ago, BouncingBrain said:

Why am I busy checking the wind from 3 days out from the event? 

I also checked and decided to stick with the MTB rather than the road. It's going to be slower but I am way more comfortable on the MTB ????. And also, I sold the road bike this morning ????

[agilwolf]

59 minutes ago, BouncingBrain said:

Why am I busy checking the wind from 3 days out from the event? 

Wheel choices to be made... 

[RobertWhitehead]

Completed my first Tshwane Classic today. The wind was howling at 150km/h (at least - and I am being modest ????). It was fun, a bit far but I enjoyed it, I was soooo tempted to cut through the dirt roads ????. 

[jcza]

Where are the results for Elites, VA & VB? 

[Thornman]

1 hour ago, jcza said:

Where are the results for Elites, VA & VB? 

Their race got stopped at the 85km mark. Some saftey issue

Edited November 7, 2021 by Thornman

[eala]

The race was long and hard .Only 9 riders under three hours .

[W@nted]

So elite, va and vb bunches were disqualified due to crossing the middle line…

I would love to hear the inside scoop of what happened there!

Edited November 7, 2021 by W@nted

[Spinnekop]

12 hours ago, W@nted said:

So elite, va and vb bunches were disqualified due to crossing the middle line…

I would love to hear the inside scoop of what happened there!

The comm of the VB group did not bother to pitch up so they threw the VA and VB together.   BAD idea as the seperate groups were already horribly big.
Seeding was done like a dog's ass and you had these 200kg dudes riding 20km over a weekend (no offence towards anyone but you have to have a bit of skill and LOADS of experience to ride in racing groups in SA.)
Then ONE Comm in a bad mood that did not want to be there (In an UCI illegal car higher than 1.6m) trying to control a 200+ race hungry vets bunch dodging potholes every 50m with massive cross winds.  Add drunk drivers (I was offered a beer from out a VW golf road user sitting behind the bunch after I got dropped ????) and loads of traffic..........Bad situation.

Did the VA/VB group deserved to get DQ?  In my opinion.....YES.  They crossed the white line.  Period.  Did everyone cross the white line?  *$#%()#% no.  So is it fair?  No.
Lazy CSA official not writing down the numbers of riders crossing the line?
I have seen MANY comms MANY times realize that it is a race with egos and testosterone and hard training and effort behind it and the wind is blowing like this or like that and then setup a rolling road closure on the fly with the bike and car, keeping the racing hard core and the riders safe.  
Could the Comm have had a better attitude and handled the situation better?  For #()$%_$_+#%$@ sure.  The impatience and attitude and number of shitfits was laughable.  Scary stuff.  But that was just my personal experience.  Each to their own.  Not her job to keep us safe on the route.  She just needs to stamp down authority and enforce the rules.  And the rules were broken.  By her too.

Will I ever take out a racing license ever again?  No.  They have lost a customer that have been loyal for 24 years.   

[dardo82]

1 hour ago, Spinnekop said:

The comm of the VB group did not bother to pitch up so they threw the VA and VB together.   BAD idea as the seperate groups were already horribly big.
Seeding was done like a dog's ass and you had these 200kg dudes riding 20km over a weekend (no offence towards anyone but you have to have a bit of skill and LOADS of experience to ride in racing groups in SA.)
Then ONE Comm in a bad mood that did not want to be there (In an UCI illegal car higher than 1.6m) trying to control a 200+ race hungry vets bunch dodging potholes every 50m with massive cross winds.  Add drunk drivers (I was offered a beer from out a VW golf road user sitting behind the bunch after I got dropped ????) and loads of traffic..........Bad situation.

Did the VA/VB group deserved to get DQ?  In my opinion.....YES.  They crossed the white line.  Period.  Did everyone cross the white line?  *$#%()#% no.  So is it fair?  No.
Lazy CSA official not writing down the numbers of riders crossing the line?
I have seen MANY comms MANY times realize that it is a race with egos and testosterone and hard training and effort behind it and the wind is blowing like this or like that and then setup a rolling road closure on the fly with the bike and car, keeping the racing hard core and the riders safe.  
Could the Comm have had a better attitude and handled the situation better?  For #()$%_$_+#%$@ sure.  The impatience and attitude and number of shitfits was laughable.  Scary stuff.  But that was just my personal experience.  Each to their own.  Not her job to keep us safe on the route.  She just needs to stamp down authority and enforce the rules.  And the rules were broken.  By her too.

Will I ever take out a racing license ever again?  No.  They have lost a customer that have been loyal for 24 years.   

This is 100% Accurate.

[dardo82]

17 hours ago, jcza said:

Where are the results for Elites, VA & VB? 

They are all on Strava...

[JA-Q001]

2 hours ago, Spinnekop said:

The comm of the VB group did not bother to pitch up so they threw the VA and VB together.   BAD idea as the seperate groups were already horribly big.
Seeding was done like a dog's ass and you had these 200kg dudes riding 20km over a weekend (no offence towards anyone but you have to have a bit of skill and LOADS of experience to ride in racing groups in SA.)
Then ONE Comm in a bad mood that did not want to be there (In an UCI illegal car higher than 1.6m) trying to control a 200+ race hungry vets bunch dodging potholes every 50m with massive cross winds.  Add drunk drivers (I was offered a beer from out a VW golf road user sitting behind the bunch after I got dropped ????) and loads of traffic..........Bad situation.

Did the VA/VB group deserved to get DQ?  In my opinion.....YES.  They crossed the white line.  Period.  Did everyone cross the white line?  *$#%()#% no.  So is it fair?  No.
Lazy CSA official not writing down the numbers of riders crossing the line?
I have seen MANY comms MANY times realize that it is a race with egos and testosterone and hard training and effort behind it and the wind is blowing like this or like that and then setup a rolling road closure on the fly with the bike and car, keeping the racing hard core and the riders safe.  
Could the Comm have had a better attitude and handled the situation better?  For #()$%_$_+#%$@ sure.  The impatience and attitude and number of shitfits was laughable.  Scary stuff.  But that was just my personal experience.  Each to their own.  Not her job to keep us safe on the route.  She just needs to stamp down authority and enforce the rules.  And the rules were broken.  By her too.

Will I ever take out a racing license ever again?  No.  They have lost a customer that have been loyal for 24 years.   

 

I agree with you on all levels and feel half the same.

I even went to the front and asked the guys nicely to rather keep it safe and try and keep left, pacing on the white line just got everyone DQd.

But this is where SA cycling gets me frustrated. Cycling SA has to decide if they want racing or fun riding. I have been cycling for 25 years and the issue of racing bunches crossing the white line has been there forever. Guess which races does not have this problem? Races with full road closure and races that give racing bunches rolling closure, keeping them safe while allowing racing. With a bunch that big there is no way in containing 100+ riders in one lane, especially with the wind as it was.

The Elite races are struggling with this now for a few races, they want racing on a world class level, but offer nothing in return. They threaten you with fines if you just want to discuss the situation, but bend the UCI rules to their will.

If they want to encourage safe cycling at a high level, contribute to the safe part at least.

Edited November 8, 2021 by JA-Q001

[Spinnekop]

4 minutes ago, JA-Q001 said:

 

I agree with you on all levels and feel half the same.

I even went to the front and asked the guys nicely to rather keep it safe and try and keep left, pacing on the white line just got everyone DQd.

But this is where SA cycling gets me frustrated. Cycling SA has to decide if they want racing or fun riding. I have been cycling for 25 years and the issue of racing bunches crossing the white line has been there forever. Guess which races does not have this problem? Races with full road closure and races that give racing bunches rolling closure, keeping them safe while allowing racing. With a bunch that big there is no way in containing 100+ riders in one lane, especially with the wind as it was.

The Elite races are struggling with this now for a few races, they want racing on a world class level, but offer nothing in return. They threaten you with fines if you just want to discuss the situation, but bend the UCI rules to their will.

If they want to encourage safe cycling at a high level, contribute to the safe part at least.

Agree 2000%.

They are part of the problem that has a VERY easy fix.  They CAN be part of the solution if they wanted to be.
It's that easy.

I saw some amazing racing at the Mauritius Tour this past week.  Now....THOSE officials know what they are doing and as a result the racing is by FAR harder than what we have in big old South Africa.
 

[Danger Dassie]

4 minutes ago, Spinnekop said:

Agree 2000%.

They are part of the problem that has a VERY easy fix.  They CAN be part of the solution if they wanted to be.
It's that easy.

I saw some amazing racing at the Mauritius Tour this past week.  Now....THOSE officials know what they are doing and as a result the racing is by FAR harder than what we have in big old South Africa.
 

I covered that tour in 2017/2018. Amazing what they accomplish in that space and they can teach us a few things about rolling road closures, SA should be sending more youngsters to that race as part of their development/training imho. 
Also Africa's oldest cycle tour for just over 30 years.