[Event] MEDIHELP Stellenbosch Cycle Tour 2020

[DieselnDust]

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.

 

 

 

Also consider that volunteers are lso costed in as a value and their time is lost. The headline sponsor also covers a significant portion of the costs, more than 50% in most cases

[Rouxenator]

I have been told first hand by PPA staff that their mandate states if they have an event that is not a profitable one they cannot host it again. 

[Pure Savage]

I dont think the people on the Hub are going to be too bothered about the cancellation. Heck most of us have probably already entered the Paarl Cycle Tour. Its the rest of the plebs that make up the numbers and that will be cross about a cancellation and not enter next year. Similar to those that have not entered the cycle tour this year because of the cancellations in the past. 

 

This really hits the event hard. Lets hope, people forget after a perfect Argus and enter for Die Burger in December! 

[Pure Savage]

I have been told first hand by PPA staff that their mandate states if they have an event that is not a profitable one they cannot host it again. 

No events, no PPA... So at some point if they want the annual subs they should probably host events that are not profitable. 

[Shebeen]

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.

i didn't think of the isue of getting riders back to the start if they had begun the race and cancelled after an hour. that would be a monumental exercise, and way tougher than Argus 2018 where the okes could downwind the M3.

 

i got no problems with the call they made

[Shebeen]

Hehe. tap tap tap.

Wind.png

Did you forget to use the comic sans?

That stat is meaningless, and most definitely not accurate anyway.

[Rouxenator]

[PhilipV]

82796046_3708132875894002_1402931662576156672_o.jpg

Jeez

What farm is this?

[DieselnDust]

No events, no PPA... So at some point if they want the annual subs they should probably host events that are not profitable.

 

 

The PPA, like any other event organiser doesn't want to waste time on non profitable events. Remember that they their main beneficiaries re the Cycle Tour Trust and Rotary club plus other small charities. they are committed to delivering the funds raised to those charities so events that are running at a loss simply aren't worth the effort.

the mandate of the organisers and sponsors is to host a successful event. Medihelp sponsors an event and sinks perhaps ZAR1Million into the event. An unsuccessful event is a loss because it did not meet target and they could have spent that ZAR 1million on an advert flighting on prime time tv.

 

Same for PPA. No event equals a loss because the costs are sunk and no event means unsuccessful marketing and Did not meet objective. This is a big deal because Medihelp may consider alternative avenues to market their products. I'm also pretty sure that Medihelp will have clauses in their contract with the event that stipulates reimbursement to a certain degree in the event of the event being cancelled similar to the way an ad agency would not get paid in full for an unsuccessful ad campaign

 

So don't get hung upon whether the statement that they made a loss is true or not till you have made an attempt at understanding how the contract with the sponsors works

[Spurs]

All I read was tailwind up Hels, did anyone give it a go? #PRDay

['Dale]

Wow what a race!

Break went early up Hels. I hung on for dear life. Crested with the leading $`a and stayed there all the way to the prison turn off. Mein got! THAT WIND !!!!

Lost a wheel by a few meters and had to burn half a box of Lions to get back on.

Then the rain really came down.

we started shedding riders like space shuttle breaking up on reentry. Absolute carnage.

hung on till the final corner then popped spectacularly. The boys warped off up the hill. Who won?

 

 

 

 

 

Then the smell of coffee roasting raised the bed sheets and I shuffled off to the loo

 

 

In your dream, you're supposed to vdPoel up the final kicker, catch up with the front runners and sprint away ala Amstel Race.

[Pure Savage]

The PPA, like any other event organiser doesn't want to waste time on non profitable events. Remember that they their main beneficiaries re the Cycle Tour Trust and Rotary club plus other small charities. they are committed to delivering the funds raised to those charities so events that are running at a loss simply aren't worth the effort.

the mandate of the organisers and sponsors is to host a successful event. Medihelp sponsors an event and sinks perhaps ZAR1Million into the event. An unsuccessful event is a loss because it did not meet target and they could have spent that ZAR 1million on an advert flighting on prime time tv.

 

Same for PPA. No event equals a loss because the costs are sunk and no event means unsuccessful marketing and Did not meet objective. This is a big deal because Medihelp may consider alternative avenues to market their products. I'm also pretty sure that Medihelp will have clauses in their contract with the event that stipulates reimbursement to a certain degree in the event of the event being cancelled similar to the way an ad agency would not get paid in full for an unsuccessful ad campaign

 

So don't get hung upon whether the statement that they made a loss is true or not till you have made an attempt at understanding how the contract with the sponsors works

Think we had moved on from the Stellies Cycle tour, was about a comment about the PPA mandate. The PPA is a beneficiary of CTCTT not the other way round. 

 

Long and short, no members no PPA. So if keeping your members costs R40K at a loss making event, so be it. Otherwise no PPA. Yes in an ideal world, events would all have to make profit but to keep members happy may have to do something different. 

 

I know there are a lot of people that if it wasnt for the events they would not be part of PPA. 

[Jewbacca]

Think we had moved on from the Stellies Cycle tour, was about a comment about the PPA mandate. The PPA is a beneficiary of CTCTT not the other way round. 

 

Long and short, no members no PPA. So if keeping your members costs R40K at a loss making event, so be it. Otherwise no PPA. Yes in an ideal world, events would all have to make profit but to keep members happy may have to do something different. 

 

I know there are a lot of people that if it wasnt for the events they would not be part of PPA. 

I agree

 

Without events there is very little reason, besides loyalty, for average cyclists to continue being members of the PPA.

 

So while the mandate stands and they cut events, chances are they are also cutting membership numbers.

 

Landing up in the hypothetical situation that you're paying R500 per annum to be a member, but they only host 5 events with a temp license fee of 20-30zar per entry.

 

Average Joe is going to quit globotec and just pay the temp fees if they are getting nothing back.

 

Hopefully it doesn't get to that.

Edited January 20, 2020 by Jewbacca

[Rouxenator]

Jeez

What farm is this?

Somewhere in the Helderberg area I was told.

[Boerklong]

Plums blown of in Wellington

[GroenHoender]

Jeez

What farm is this?

It is the farm Stellenzicht Wines - between Stellenbosch and Somerset West.

Was recently on the internet news, Netwerk24. 

 

Bit off-topic but on the next day, after the MediClinic race was cancelled, wife and I went to church at Stellenbosch High school and we passed Paul Roos school: one part of its border wall, was blown over/down (got photos).  A lot of houses, mine included, suffered roof damages. Lots of fallen trees everywhere as well.

Edited January 20, 2020 by GroenHoender