[Event] MEDIHELP Stellenbosch Cycle Tour 2020

[Jewbacca]

Problem is 99er isn't organised by PPA, it's organized by Al-Shaddai Christian School in Durbanville. So that's not going to happen. I reckon a discount to their own "Tour De PPA" would be a nice touch, But DEF won't hold my breath for that LOL

Like I said earlier, the Paarl Cycle Tour is a RaceTec event on the PPA website and is next weekend, the 2nd of Feb.

 

Get in there!!!!

[devocean]

Not sure you can really expect a refund or even a discount on another event. Whether the event goes ahead or not, their expenses are already outlaid, and If they're barely making money on the events in the first place and run the risk of having to refund people if the event needs to be cancelled, then I'm sure nobody will want to take on the risk and we'll have even less events soon enough. I just write it off as bad luck and move on.

[Eddie Stafford]

I am new to road cycling events. As part of the entry I also paid R140 for a RaceTec chip. I believe that the chip is linked to my race number.  Does anyone who to contact to get the RaceTec chip that I paid for?

Thank you.

[DieselnDust]

"We" obviously getting soft.

I prefer to use the term"wiser "

[DieselnDust]

I am new to road cycling events. As part of the entry I also paid R140 for a RaceTec chip. I believe that the chip is linked to my race number.  Does anyone who to contact to get the RaceTec chip that I paid for?

Thank you.

Contact the Racetec office. It will be ready for you to collect at the next Racetec timed event

[DieselnDust]

99er is also the same day as the WPXCO at Bloemendal...

[Jbr]

I am new to road cycling events. As part of the entry I also paid R140 for a RaceTec chip. I believe that the chip is linked to my race number.  Does anyone who to contact to get the RaceTec chip that I paid for?

Thank you.

you'll get the chip at your next race ?

[Pure Savage]

99er is also the same day as the WPXCO at Bloemendal...

Perfect, all the XCO racing cats will be away, mice can play.

[Jbr]

cool, I was almost considering for a second thinking about maybe possibly entering the XCO      Perfect excuse not to do it for this year, hopefully something comes up for next year 

[FootballingCyclist]

From the organisers

 

THE CANCELLATION OF THE MEDIHELP STELLENBOSCH CYCLE TOUR 2020

 

 

A decision to cancel a scheduled event is never an easy one – inevitably there is disappointment from all those who trained and prepared for the day. The one thing that any event organiser cannot do though, is put its participants at risk. That is the Pedal Power Association’s (PPA) number one responsibility and we will always put the safety of the riders first. It was for this reason that we were compelled to cancel the Medihelp Stellenbosch Cycle Tour on Sunday.

 

As an organisation we have spent many months and hours ensuring we would have a high-quality event in 2020 and we were also extremely disappointed to have to make this call. Given the extreme weather conditions experienced in Stellenbosch on Saturday, we are confident that this was the responsible thing to do.

 

When we announced the cancellation at 04:26 on Sunday morning, Helshoogte Pass had major tail winds, whilst the wind along the R44 was cross winds blowing at 40 knots (74 km an hour). These conditions made it impossible to erect visual safety signage such as markers and banners along the route. The roads along the route were covered in debris and there was simply not enough time to clear the roads, prior to the race even if we delay the start.

 

The race did not have full road closure and the traffic, combined with the weather conditions, would have made it extremely dangerous to send riders back to the start should the race have had to be cancelled after starting. There was also the risk of participants being exposed to weather elements for prolonged time whilst trying to get over 3 000 riders back to the venue safely. According to information received, the weather was also predicted to worsen throughout the day, with strengthening wind and rain.

 

Gusts were only set to get stronger and with the amount of debris on the road the rain would have caused a dangerously slippery event. This could cause potential mass crashes and serious injuries. We quickly realised that there will be no way around it and made the responsible call to cancel the event.

 

Naturally, there have also been questions around entry fee refunds and we trust that participants will understand that we are unable to provide any refunds as the PPA has already incurred expenses close to R2 million for this year’s event. All suppliers had been booked out months in advance and payment for their services had already been processed. All our suppliers arrived on Sunday morning and were ready to go and we truly appreciate our suppliers for supporting our decision.

 

For full transparency in our decision making, here is the timeline that led to the PPA cancelling the event:

 

On Saturday,18 January 2020 two route vehicles went out on the route to sweep the route and to put up 80 cautions cyclists boards for extra safety along the 97km route. Suppliers such as fencing, toilets, tents all came onto site to add additional security to the structures in order to be able to withstand the strong winds.

 

At this stage, all event preparations were in place to continue with the event with the only concern being the crosswind gusts. Later that afternoon, a final route drive took place and sections on the route that had debris and fallen branches were taken note of to be cleared on Sunday morning.

 

At 03h00 on Sunday,19 January 2020, the route marking team and official vehicles were sent onto the route to evaluate the situation. The VOC operator had briefed all on the scaling system to be used: 1-4 being safe to continue; 5-7 being able to continue by implementing neutral zones on course; and 8-10 being too unsafe. All feedback and visual images coming back to the VOC was on the 8-10 scale.

 

The event management team, safety officer, VOC operator, ER24 events manager, ER24 head of risk management, Stellenbosch traffic and Medihelp representative had a long discussion to weigh up all the options regarding the possibility of continuing in the conditions and the safety of all riders in the conditions. At 4h26 on Sunday, the difficult decision was made to cancel the Medihelp Stellenbosch Cycle Tour

 

As suppliers and crew left the venue between 07h00 and 09h00, we received additional feedback that there were sections where trees and big branches fell on the road causing additional havoc to the route.

 

We trust that you understand that this decision was not taken lightly and we hope to see your participation in future PPA Events. Thank you for your continuous support.

[FootballingCyclist]

So the PPA incurred expenses close to 2Mill according to their press release.

 

My question is this, 3000 entrants and R350 a head R1050000(One Million Fifty Thousand).

 

I highly doubt PPA would organize and run and event where they make almost a 100% loss of 1bar because I doubt they would make 1bar profit on the day from vendors etc. Poor attempt at trying to tell people there will be no refunds or discounts for future races etc.

[Starchboy]

So the PPA incurred expenses close to 2Mill according to their press release.

 

My question is this, 3000 entrants and R350 a head R1050000(One Million Fifty Thousand).

 

I highly doubt PPA would organize and run and event where they make almost a 100% loss of 1bar because I doubt they would make 1bar profit on the day from vendors etc. Poor attempt at trying to tell people there will be no refunds or discounts for future races etc.

Theer will be some sponsorship form Medihelp and possible others. Not sure if thet will cover the difference of course.

[Jbr]

So the PPA incurred expenses close to 2Mill according to their press release.

 

My question is this, 3000 entrants and R350 a head R1050000(One Million Fifty Thousand).

 

I highly doubt PPA would organize and run and event where they make almost a 100% loss of 1bar because I doubt they would make 1bar profit on the day from vendors etc. Poor attempt at trying to tell people there will be no refunds or discounts for future races etc.

Medihelp Stellenbosch Cycle Tour

[Skubarra]

So the PPA incurred expenses close to 2Mill according to their press release.

 

My question is this, 3000 entrants and R350 a head R1050000(One Million Fifty Thousand).

 

I highly doubt PPA would organize and run and event where they make almost a 100% loss of 1bar because I doubt they would make 1bar profit on the day from vendors etc. Poor attempt at trying to tell people there will be no refunds or discounts for future races etc.

 

They have a headline sponsor - (handy hint - their name is in capital letters in the title of the thread) which will cover a large portion of the expenses.

 

Very few events can survive financially on entry fees alone, which  I suspect is also the main reason the Sportif series is no more

[Slowbee]

Then cancel the event for people with a start group lower than 2E. 

 

The cycle tour, what used to be the largest timed cycling event in the world cancelled 2 events out of 3 and people got gatvol and reflects in the diminished size of the event. Pretty sure those back markers with lawyers are not going to enter the next version of this event as they will be afraid it will be cancelled.

At this rate there might not be an event!

[FootballingCyclist]

They have a headline sponsor - (handy hint - their name is in capital letters in the title of the thread) which will cover a large portion of the expenses.

 

Very few events can survive financially on entry fees alone, which  I suspect is also the main reason the Sportif series is no more

Understand that yes, you reckon it's over R1M though??

 

Look I agree to cancel was the right decision, I def wasn't complaining when I was in Stellenbosch on Sunday morning, I'm just reading their press releases and playing devils advocate.