Tour of Soweto

[Team SL]

VB Winners Team SL2007-03-05 02:12:54

[frensch]

Maar hoekom het die pro's nie almal opgehou nie???

en sowaar na die 3de lap was die prysgeld nogsteeds gegee aan die wenner/ of kom ons noem hom die eerste 'survivor'

Dit was 'n baie wyse besluit van almal wat nie verder aan die sirkus wou deelneem nie- na die Maluti storie- klink hierdie werdren amper- "heel normaal"/ "so tipies"

...Fietsry..beplanning... raak nou regtig belaglik in ons land.

Mnr LEMMER....help tog hierdie spul om nugter te dink en besluite te neem.

Nie veel IK is nodig om te weet dit kan nie daar in Soweto werk nie- almal was skrikkerig om te gaan ry, maar die prysgeld was baie. En natuurlik die borge het gehoop ....die risiko was nie so groot.

 

Hoop die GIRO gaan almal weer moed gee en baie sterkte aan al die pro's wat gaan deelneem...hoop die naweek se tydmors is gou vergete en hoop die ryers wat onnodig geval het, voel sommer baie beter.

[rad006]

The true spirit of the Soweto Ride

[Team SL]

The KM ladys, the best ladies team, congrats on yet another win

Team SL2007-03-05 02:15:25

[Team SL]

As a first time event, yes everthing did not go according to plan. Yes there were some incidents of stone throwing that crackled over race radio as the two PP's would say and taxi's etc on the route. Koos van Tonder was knocked down by a bakkie that first stopped and then pulled away again as he was in the intersection.

The route itself with the laps was not bad and i think that should they get the road closure sorted the event can grow.

[Groot Lem]

Team SL, if you think it will grow after these reports, imagine how an event will grow if theres NO stuff up.

 Tour of Maloti will also grow, even if they have 1 rider next year.

Lets hope there are no f ups on Giro.

[Frosty]

Yes' date=' was there and confirm all of the above... I decided after the first neutral lap that I wasn't going to risk it. I was off my bike for about 15 minutes and then the race was called off... [/quote']

 

That would explain why I saw some of the pro-teams (with bikes mounted on the roof of their team car) on the highway (M1) heading North a lot earlier than expected.

 

Thank goodness I decided against taking part, and to rather hand-over my bike in to the transporters.

[Mr Giant]

In all fairness, the event was BRILLIANT. I enjoyed the 96km event. I agree that the taxi's are a major pain. If the event is going to take place next year, I strongly suggest that Metro be more firm, vigilant and stern with them. I always wanted to see what the rest of Soweto looks like and damn does it look better than some of the suburb's that I have been to.

To the race organizors and planners - Well done! I give you 8 out of 10 for a first time event. Should you have the event next year, just do a little more advertising inside the township so that the motorists are aware of the evnt. Soon (hopefully) you can have a ride equal if not better than the 94.7! Well DOne!

[Wheelsuck]

The 92km Race for some reason went better than the Licensed and Elite's. I knew it was gonna be an interesting day when I got out of my car in Soweto and heard De La Rey blaring out of a another car. So myself and Seawolf started off and then first surprise: no Timing mats, looks like all Timing companies dropped the ball this weekend. So I decided to take it easy and enjoy the sights and sounds. Got heaps of encouragement from kids, churchgoers and party animals. Was even offered  a quart of Amstel. Then I had a puncture and next moment aspiring mechanics, held my bike, equipment and asked questions. Then left the newly acquired  pit crew with a bomb and a stuffed inner. Couple of nasty little 90 degree turns and avoid dikwile racers bike just left in the road at the waterpoint, the 2  uphills and the klaar, was defintely interesting, but some serious issues with taxis and marshalling. 

 

Mrs Wheel was at the end and she told me about some of the cyclists that she saw that makes one  realise how priviliged we are.

 

So here's my take:

 

1. Get the marshalling right

2. Get the timing mats there on time.

3. Educate the community 

4. Look at the route, some nasty little turns and risky crossings

5. Do not give up on this race, it might have started quite shakily but there are too much positive intent from the organisers to not have it again.

6. Have the dikwiel race again, saw some real beauts 

 

Rhalim, I did not c u. Mallo were u in NH kit? 

[Mr Giant]

I was talking to Mallo but i was inthe T-Mobile kit. Have we met before?

[Wheelsuck]

I bought your Ksyriums.

[RABUBI]

A complete and utter f*up, I will never in my life ever again go there unless there is a gun to my head or in the boot of my car.

 

Keep your race...

[seawolf]

Right on Wheelsuck.

It can only get better.

[Pantani]

 

A complete and utter f*up' date=' I will never in my life ever again go there unless there is a gun to my head or in the boot of my car.

 

Keep your race...

[/quote']

 

Niiiceeee... And you told me to stop complaining... When we finished that first lap and I almost ended up on the island and then went through a bottle store of glass I decided that was enough for me and began my warm down back to the start...

 

[narra]

BlueIQ Johannesburg City Challenge, ring any bells ? Some runners on the hub will know it, also started of with bad press and ended after the second year

[Colin Hegter]

Championchip this is a first that I witness a race start without you there' date=' what happened guys,please ensure this is the last as well. 

   [/quote']

 

Hi Mallo,<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

ChampionChip was in fact at the event and we did time the race and produce results.  I assume that your comment refers to the fact that you did not go over a mat at the start line. Many people seem to think that a mat must be at the start of a race for us to record results, however this is not the case, as all results are always produced based on the gun time. We do however place mats at the start of many races for the purpose of determining which batch a rider is starting in. This information however can also be obtained from the entry data although the entry data is not normally that accurate from most events.

 

In an event like the Tour de Soweto, with a start and finish at different locations it would have needed equipment at both locations which we could supply at the appropriate cost to the event. It was however arranged that we would have one system on the finish line and the riders would start at the arranged start line and have a neutral zone until they crossed the mats on the finish line which would effectively give us the same information. I understand that this did not take place and the riders did a full lap before crossing the mats for the first time. In this case we would rely on the entry data for determining the the riders start batch.

 

Your post seems to suggest that we did not arrive at the race on time??? You can view the results on our site at www.championchip.co.za

 

Regards

Colin