Race Ethics Lacking in "Developement Cyclist"

[splat]

That's the way most of us started and learned our bunch skills or are still learning and moving up through the groups.

 

Having said that, there are still crashes in the Tour de France, where you think these guys are the best bike handlers out there.

 

But to get chucked into the top groups with no learning process is crazy.

[FowlStArt]

Why not contact Acsis Cycling club directly?

Here is their photo album: http://www.acsis.co.za/acsisalbums%202008/photos.aspx?albumID=1022 Maybe the culprits can be identified?

Contact details (taken from the bottom of their application form at http://www.acsis.co.za/Knowledge/pkDownloadDocument.aspx?docid=2478:

Elton Davids on (021) 683 2831 - applications (proof of payment)
Robyn Adami on (021) 670-7800 or robyn.adami@acsis.co.za - further info

http://www.acsis.co.za/RunTime/POPContentRun.aspx?pageidref=1558# states
"...The aim of the club is to provide a fun environment where members are encouraged to improve their fitness levels' date=' increase their ?time in the saddle? and learn essential cycling and safety skills..."

[/quote']

 

 

That will not help. At the Paarl league event 3 of the Acsis guys held on to their team verchile for the first 15 km. When we reported them at the end, their manager said, they started late and had to get to the bunch somehow....

 

I hear your pain Pickels, the one rider EL19 tried to switch me as well, but he failed, and when the one guy in the bunch tried to talk to him his comment was; " Jou ma se .....".

Hey Beth, was this in the ride for sight the other weekend?

[Velouria]

 

A lot of the younger junior's are out of their depth and are struggling to keep with the pace of the elite riders' date=' leading to mistakes and wild attempts to stay in the group.

 

[/quote']

 

And it is not just them - I could barely keep pace with the Elite riders when I was racing there

 

I think the idea is a good one - get the youngsters used to hard racing every weekend, but ultimately, if you haven't been through the ranks, riding Elite could be quite daunting - resulting in some of these crashes.

 

[KlapperKnop]

Should other clubs absorb these youngsters into their clubs? This way at least they can learn the ethics of racing, the culture around cycling and it will be easier for them to change the way they were brought up and blend into the "norm of cycling"?

[Trubie]

There is not much more that can be said after all of this, what's it now, already 11 pages long thread.

Fact is these cyclists who are being given opportunities that few others have/will ever have, need to be taught how to ride a bike in a responsible way (this includes bunch skills, ethics, conduct etc etc etc), BEFORE, they are let loose in races etc.

A lot of cyclists ride irresponsible, irrespective of their colour. Fact is anyone who starts of needs to go through the mill of learning the mentioned skills. A lot of riders pitch up at group rides with little or no experience and the consequences are many times disastrous, not only for themselves but fellow riders who actually know how to ride.

I will state some examples to clarify what I am trying to get across.

In 08 Race f Victory, there was a guy who would be classified as a development rider - we were going down Swartkoppies at close to 50kmph, he decides to have a conversation on his cellphone,

 

At the Fast One - starting group E, we had done max 2km, when a development cyclist crashed, without anybody causing it - still not sure what he did, but he was scaring me BIG time in those first 2 k's.(It could have been 1km)

 

On a training ride in Jan this year , going up the Walkerville hill (long drag past Lido), some of the Med something development team riders joins the bunch. Up that hill , passing on left hand side, causing a stirr in the bunch a couple of times, I had a notion something bad was to happen. Couple k's further one of these kids going downhill way to fast for his own ability - when all is slowing down, because we are about to go through a couple of very narrow concrete blocks used to cordon the road of (People riding in the south would know this section, coming out of Aloe Ridge), the guy hits the steel pole and goes down hard, almost (thankfully not) taking out 3/4 other riders with him.

Last year in August a development rider almost caused a major accident on the old Vereeniging road , shortly after this section which is mentioned above - also on a straight road , only him going down on a Sunday morning early. (He was wearing Adverture Tours kit if I remember correctly)

 

 

I am sure many others can relate and tell their own similar stories. Fact is someone (CSA I suppose), needs to address these issues with the relevant clubs/sponsors etc. If not , it will continue and always be more than just an annoyance - I for one gets very twitchy when I see them in the same bunch....

 

 

 

 

[GoLefty!!]

this topic again, and always the same people.

 

Bicycle racing is a dangerous sport. Simple. We take risks to get on the bike especially for League events. Simple. This needs to be accepted.

 

Singling out ACSIS continuoulsy is really missing the point. If riders are inexperienced then they should be biven a wide berth and avoided in the peloton.

Bringing values into it is quite hypocritical because asssumptiuons are being made which illustrate bad values on the part of the accuser. Get control of your emotions or keep the accusative dialogue confined to the involved parties.

 

Solution:
In Go Kart racing, newbies have to start at the back of the field and carry a huge "X" on the back of their helmets to identify them inexperienced.

 

many other cycling federations require that inexperienced riders wear a racing jersey of primary colour to identify them.

Also inexperience riders should not be given a full race license until they have ridden at least 6months without being convicted by the governing body, of intentional dangerous riding.

 

With a proper protest system in place nd with a unbiased disciplinary committee in place, then the riders casuing regular accidents will be weeded out. I'm pretty sure that it will emerge that the skin colour of the riders will be irrelevant because all be represented.

 

 

[KlapperKnop]

Nuwbie I think you single out development riders! I can also quote on races; yesterday doing also around 50km/h experience racers in the VB bunch had casual chats even looking at each other .... yes and they were not development riders; point I am trying to make is that racers sometimes take safety in the bunch for granted!

 

Have it ever occur that the development riders have no reference to racing protocol; yes now some may argue that they can reference the CSA site etc. etc ... which responsible team/s - racers took it upon themselves to "educate" these development riders? waiting for the CSA will never happen; some hubber mentioned that these guys swear in the bunch; ever occur that maybe these development riders feel unwelcomed in the bunch/racers, hence why they "cheat" etc.. make them feel welcome; in JHB it appears that "colour" barrier is not an issue in the bunch ....

[Montblanc]

When I started cycling I had a temp number.....meaning I had to start at the back' date=' that was very comfy because no big bunches and it let you get use to the environment where you are surround by cyclists.

Few months later I got get a better seeding and I am getting use to the cyclists around me and forming "small" bunches of 3 to 8 guys riding together. I use to screw up there in the beginning because I had no idea of how to ride in a "bunch". Those old toppies shouted at me if I was going to hard, screwing up the pace line or swerving "out of line". I have learned from them and mastered the basics of keeping my line and be a bit more steady in the bike BUT with still a lot to learn.

ANOTHER FEW MONTHS went by and my seeding went up a bit.....now I was with the big boyz, around the seeded H bunch. To ride in a big bunch was a bit scary because I was not use to ride in a bunch of 30 - 40 riders. A bit nervous so I ride a bit more "aware" leaving more space than usual between myself and other cyclists, causing me to yo-yo more when the speed of the bunch go faster or slower, my hands was always on the brakes(a big no no) and brake suddenly when I see a wheel approaching to fast causing other guys to tell me to be m,ore careful. These guys in the lower bunches was a bit more tolerant because they not too competitive and warned me or the odd shouting that I am gonna cause an accident. As I got use to riding with the big boyz in the lower big bunches my skill got more up to it. This means I felt more comfy with more riders around me, keeping a better line because I am aware that there is actually rides behind me, riding a bit closer to a rider and not leaving a gap(by leaving a small gap a riders always move into that gap to get better slip).

Seeding got better so move up another few bunches, NOW I AM NERVOUS!!! F bunch, these guys go quick and they lot more serious. My skills has developed A LOT since I started and feel that I can handle the bunch riding and have the skill to ride with them. I hanged on because I was not use to the quicker pace these guys were going. I was not looking behind me, swerving when ever I feel like it, hold a similar pace than the bunch and not break dead still every time someone in front slows down or when I actually went in front I went through smoothly to keep the pace up. I really started to enjoy the cycling thing because I feel comfy and learned to ride.

To put all this in a nutshell....I had to start RIIIIIIIGHT at the back working my way up to the better bunches, you get seeded better as you improve and also your ability to ride with the group you are suppose to. It took me almost 2 years to get in to high seeded bunches!!!! Imagine I could just ride in th elite bunch from the day I started, CHAOS!!!!. Never underestimate how much you can learn by starting with the lower bunches. Those riders do tolerate a bit more than the Elite riders because they know or can see if you still new in the sport.
[/quote']

 

Well said, agree 100%

[slowpoke]

Nuwbie I think you single out development riders! I can also quote on races; yesterday doing also around 50km/h experience racers in the VB bunch had casual chats even looking at each other .... yes and they were not development riders; point I am trying to make is that racers sometimes take safety in the bunch for granted!

 

Have it ever occur that the development riders have no reference to racing protocol; yes now some may argue that they can reference the CSA site etc. etc ... which responsible team/s - racers took it upon themselves to "educate" these development riders? waiting for the CSA will never happen; some hubber mentioned that these guys swear in the bunch; ever occur that maybe these development riders feel unwelcomed in the bunch/racers' date=' hence why they "cheat" etc.. make them feel welcome; in JHB it appears that "colour" barrier is not an issue in the bunch ....

[/quote']

 

ok, so maybe i was guilty of contributing to this by giving up on trying to keep them to the left and instead playing "chicken" with oncomming traffic to get that out of the way so that the VBs could race... or so i thought... now i hear it was so that they could CHAT!!!!

[KlapperKnop]

slowpoke i was mentioning about people talking to each other whilst a high speed .... i did not mention about oncoming traffic???

I am responding on the topic about development riders etc.

[FowlStArt]

A me' date=' myself and i mentality!

!

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Struggling to c what ur getting at here Holy

the bold bit.

Hahahaha my bad, didn't even notice that! hahaha well spotted

[droo]

My 2c worth, even if it is a bit late:

 

 

 

Many accusations of racism seem to be surfacing here. The point, as far as I'm concerned, is that if someone is riding dangerously they should be told where to get off. Whether they are pink or green, doesn't matter. When a green rider tells a blue rider he's behaving like a tjop, and the blue rider says "racist", it's crap. The point is, you're a danger to yourself and others, no matter what shade you are. And there are examples on all sides. So to all concerned, take the constructive criticism from where it comes, which is to make the bunch a safer place to be. Otherwise, it's just going to be a war. And, as we see from the pics in the first post, that's really no fun.

 

 

 

And to the clubs condoning this sort of behaviour, get your act together, you're not making it any easier for your riders or anyone else. If this continues I'd like to see CSA taking firm action against not only the individuals but the teams concerned too.

[Dirt*girl™]

Eish, that looks eina!!

 

Thank goodness I am on a single track by myself.

 

Hee heee...Play nice holy....

[KevinV]

Having scanned through most of the pages of this thread (it digressed at one stage to a discussion on wound treatment), all I can say is that I am glad that somebody else is making noise about this. Somebody PLEASE give us a contact number for someone in charge of the acsis riders.

[BigGuy]

Sheet, those roasties brings back painful memories! And here I am feeling sorry for myself having a few bruised ribs. Hope they heal fast, I am going to do some situps now.

[jmaccelari]

 

Having scanned through most of the pages of this thread (it digressed at one stage to a discussion on wound treatment)' date=' all I can say is that I am glad that somebody else is making noise about this. Somebody PLEASE give us a contact number for someone in charge of the acsis riders.[/quote']

 

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