SA Road Championship 2025

[karma]

“Disgusting “ 🤦‍♂️

[binxc]

Tangentially related to SA Champs: we found a ring. Smeagol need not apply.

It is a shame there isn't much coverage. CSA seems to have done marginally better than 2024 with social media updates. Last year there was a spelling error in the banner for prizegiving and they didn't even have an official photographer on day one of the ITT (which is a slap in the face for people who bother to pitch up and race their heart out, at an event that is already quite niche). Obviously some live video coverage for the elite races would be great but likely prohibitively expensive for what a sponsor would get out of it.

Congrats to Daniyal and S'annara on their elite wins - I was expecting the overseas riders to walk it. Great to see that locally based riders can still hold their own and win. 

[betaboy]

Anybody know what kind of numbers we attracted to our National Champs?🤔

[Spinnekop]

Well.
I was there on Sunday.
I was pleasantly surprised. 

Negative: 
The route is FLAT and fast and helps the sprinters.  
With the Vets I sat in the bunch and did nothing.  Just got sucked along.  The local Rooiwal race which is about 30% shorter gives you a better workout.  
The flat easy route then basically aids in making the race negative.  Everything gets chased down with no real challenge for the strong guys to get clear.

Positive
The organisation was perfect.  Faces took over this year and it showed.  Markings was good.  Route was one of the safest I have done.  The racing bunch could use the full road, gutters, attacks etc.  Marshals kept us safe all the way.
There were quite a few supporters along the route which was very nice to see.  Feed zone was packed and cheering etc.  I quite liked it.

 

@DieselnDust hit the nail on the head I think.
The hub these days pretty much consist of MTBing and stage racing and funride events.
I go through all the "new" threads each morning and road cycling in SA does not feature on chat forums.  We in SA are 'participants'.  
Compare the Hub with Weight Weenies and it is just the opposite.
News on  product launches and leaks (not the marketing articles we get on here).  News on world tour riders.  Technical questions around bikes and components.  Totally different.  On WW I learn something every week.

The fact that Saffas and hubbers in general are obsessed with 50km funrides in the dust(or the the opposite 500km gravel ****)  does not mean road cycling is spiraling downward.  
It just means that is what people on Hubland are interested in and what they talk about on here.

[Spinnekop]

54 minutes ago, betaboy said:

Anybody know what kind of numbers we attracted to our National Champs?🤔

 

[J Wakefield]

14 hours ago, Jimmy 2.0 said:

From what I heard it was heavy negative racing in the elite men's bunch. Riders ganging up and kept on blocking Alan, Stefan and Reinardt. No one did their turnsnon the front except those 3

If you let a group of 13 go up the road with 6.5min thats not negative, thats not being able to read a race.

If you have a team mate in the break of 13, why do a turn?

Edited 9 hours ago by J Wakefield

[Furbz]

didn't someone end up in ICU again after hitting a truck in the ITT?

[warick_wrx]

29 minutes ago, Furbz said:

didn't someone end up in ICU again after hitting a truck in the ITT?

Not sure, but I can confirm there where trucks going up and down the TT route the whole time. 

Edited 9 hours ago by warick_wrx

[Shebeen]

14 hours ago, me100 said:

Vaalweekblad has an article: https://www.citizen.co.za/vaalweekblad/news/news-news/2025/02/09/matthews-wins-sa-road-cycling-title/

Does any country have live coverage and big news reports for their national championships? Not sure calling it disgusting is warranted.

I know we're not Colombia level, but they clearly had coverage.

 

 

on the PCS rankings as a country we're 25th, in between Canada and Kazakhstan. a 2min youtube search does not have the recent Looney champs and pretty sure the Kazakh one is not aired if Vino jr doesn;t win.

[W@nted]

I have fond memories of the SA champs held in 2009 (I think) on the lap circuit around the union buildings in PTA. It was crazy, such an awesome atmosphere with many spectators, especially at the union buildings climb. I think Ryan Cox (Barloworld) won the elite race that year. We were racing juniors with Burry Stander and the Barloworld development/junior team including J jv Rensburg, JL Augustyn etc. If I remember correctly, there were at least 3/4 full SA pro teams at the time (Barloworld, Microsoft, HSB etc), which made the elite racing interesting. 

 

Not sure if it is just nostalgia, but it just seems the participation numbers and atmosphere just declined from that "Era". 

[Spinnekop]

6 minutes ago, W@nted said:

I have fond memories of the SA champs held in 2009 (I think) on the lap circuit around the union buildings in PTA. It was crazy, such an awesome atmosphere with many spectators, especially at the union buildings climb. I think Ryan Cox (Barloworld) won the elite race that year. We were racing juniors with Burry Stander and the Barloworld development/junior team including J jv Rensburg, JL Augustyn etc. If I remember correctly, there were at least 3/4 full SA pro teams at the time (Barloworld, Microsoft, HSB etc), which made the elite racing interesting. 

 

Not sure if it is just nostalgia, but it just seems the participation numbers and atmosphere just declined from that "Era". 

The SA champs in Pretoria was special.  Very.
Nothing that I have ever experienced before or after.
Maybe the Giro del Capo hill climb.......that was also awesome with the crowds opening up the road and screaming next to you, running faster than you can pedal.  🤭

Edited 8 hours ago by Spinnekop

[Jbr]

15 hours ago, Jimmy 2.0 said:

From what I heard it was heavy negative racing in the elite men's bunch. Riders ganging up and kept on blocking Alan, Stefan and Reinardt. No one did their turnsnon the front except those 3

Sounds like the SV race, except we never gave them more than 2 mins

Edited 8 hours ago by Jbr

[DieselnDust]

7 minutes ago, Jbr said:

Sounds like the SV race

looked like a lot of tactics was employed in the game. Happen when team tactics outplays provincial strategy. Was there even provincial strategy employed?

[Spinnekop]

On that note.
I have mentioned it to a lot of people and constantly get dismissed.
Would it not be beneficial for CSA to host SA's based on Provincial selection?

Each province gets to select 50 riders.  Or perhaps 10 in each age cat.  
Based on your best performance in any one of two provincial races.
That way the provincial champs get riders and that way you "earn" your spot in SA champs and not just buy it.

[DieselnDust]

21 minutes ago, Spinnekop said:

On that note.
I have mentioned it to a lot of people and constantly get dismissed.
Would it not be beneficial for CSA to host SA's based on Provincial selection?

Each province gets to select 50 riders.  Or perhaps 10 in each age cat.  
Based on your best performance in any one of two provincial races.
That way the provincial champs get riders and that way you "earn" your spot in SA champs and not just buy it.

it' probably a good thing to marry the current concept to what you propose. Big advantage is it give guys not on a team, a provincial team and therefore support, a strategy etc

[J Wakefield]

1 hour ago, Spinnekop said:

On that note.
I have mentioned it to a lot of people and constantly get dismissed.
Would it not be beneficial for CSA to host SA's based on Provincial selection?

Each province gets to select 50 riders.  Or perhaps 10 in each age cat.  
Based on your best performance in any one of two provincial races.
That way the provincial champs get riders and that way you "earn" your spot in SA champs and not just buy it.

Then Boksburg cleans up no??