SA champs is a joke !

[Notleh]

We have just ridden the 2011 S.A. road champs, the so called pinnacle of cycling in S.A. Having travelled with our team from Cape Town, Taking time off work and renting accommodation getting to this event comes at a cost. Needless to say your event was nothing short of totally disappointing, unorganised and an embarrassment to S.A. cycling. As a group we would not usually complain but let us give you some reason for complaining: -

1. The race was supposed to start at 7am, the time then changed to 8am this was communicated to us through the grape vine at 11pm before the night of the race. We arrived at the start and waited till 8.40am until someone announced that we would eventfully start at 9am. We eventually started at about 9.30am.

2. Further to the above and after a rider protest we were granted a neutral lap to ensure that the new revised course was safe. Safety was debatable !

3. Surely the organisers must have realised that a race course that utilises parts of the city district , high density areas and main arterials would present them with some serious challenges. Perhaps the event should have started at 4am to avoid traffic.

4. The commisaire following the leading group of the 40 to 49’s made a point of announcing to them that this was the last lap. The riders asked the commisaire to reaffirm this and her answer was positive. The riders sprinted to the finish, only to be told by the announcer that there was a further lap to go.

5. Apparently a 50 to 54 age category rider was pulled of the course whilst lying in third place.

6. Prize giving still remains a mystery !

7. We have just heard that the ladies is about to start , but the police have just gone to lunch.

We understand one or two slip ups, but honestly this is nothing short of a joke.

In summary these are just a few of the pointers that we are aware of. It seems that CSA has started to create quite a slick image for themselves through marketing. It however seems that there must be a bunch of Muppets running there events. Come on… we can host a world class soccer world cup, surely our national cycling champs could be better than this. An explanation is due ?

Concerned cyclists

Elton, Tim, Neil and Marius

Edited February 4, 2011 by Notleh

[xamnam]

I am not suprized. These guys can't organize a piss up in a brewery.

 

Amatuers!!

 

And they want to organize tour of SA

[Trubie]

shocking

[MariusL]

So we all have to pay to belong to CSA whether we ae fun riders or serious riders that do SA's... where does our money go? Shocking that they can't even organise SA's...

 

I'm disgusted!

[Trubie]

how big is CSA's involvement in the organisation?

maybe the host province is at fault?

2010 did not experience any of this bacause the organisers knew what they were doing?

[LeTurbo]

This is seriously ***. I get pissed off at a badly organised funride, I can't imagine how frustrating this must be to the riders.

[eggsovereasywithteandtoast]

I'm really sorry to hear of this for your part.

[Mellow]

how big is CSA's involvement in the organisation?

maybe the host province is at fault?

2010 did not experience any of this bacause the organisers knew what they were doing?

so you want to blame the police? or PE? or the motorists? CSA have to make sure that everything is in place. The guy taking the money is responsible!

[butafly]

ep cycling organise, take the money. they are responsible for the event. they should be suspended from their affiliation t

to csa.

[Trubie]

ep cycling organise, take the money. they are responsible for the event. they should be suspended from their affiliation t

to csa.

 

what I thought

ultimately though CSA needs to ensure all is in place before race day..........

 

@mallow - I don't see yr point brother. I merely asked for clarity.

[Brighter-Lights]

If this is EP Cycling's F_up I would not be surprized at all... They can't even apply the rules correctly at a small local race...

[Mellow]

ep cycling organise, take the money. they are responsible for the event. they should be suspended from their affiliation t

to csa.

do you pay ep cycling ?

[gummibear]

The safety of cyclists is the one thing the board of Cycling South Africa (CSA) will never ever compromise on even if it means upsetting a lot cyclists and spectators.

 

 

 

That is the reason why today’s road races at the South African Road Championship in Port Elizabeth were delayed and the route changed.

 

 

 

Hendrik Lemmer, CyclingSA’s director of road cycling “I want to reiterate that there is no way we as CyclingSA will ever compromise the safety of our cyclists. We are even prepared to go to such extreme measures like cancelling the whole event or move it to another venue if we feel we cannot guarantee the cyclists safety."

 

 

 

“There is no way that we will allow another of our riders to be killed in a car accident" Lemmer added.

 

 

 

"The venue and route was specifically designed to bring the sport to the people. The decision to change the route was not an easy one and though we are aware of the inconvenience it may have caused safety is our number one concern."

 

 

 

According to Lemmer to ensure the riders safety it was decided to basically use only the part of the course that where they could get partial road closure.

 

 

 

“Unfortunately it led to most races being shortened, but don’t be fooled by the kilometres. The racing is going to be tougher, especially for the pro-elite men.

 

 

 

Barry Austin general Manager of road cycling for CyclingSA said: “In their 18 laps the elites will do about 4 500metres of vertical climbing this is more than riders will do at a World Championship."

[Mellow]

what I thought

ultimately though CSA needs to ensure all is in place before race day..........

 

@mallow - I don't see yr point brother. I merely asked for clarity.

 

i read you post again, sorry jumped the gun. Yes, ep cycling probably made the stuff up and i bet my lance nut on it they will blame the local authorities. the reality is that CSA is our "client".

 

to put it simple. if one of my employees/sub contractors/suppliers stuff up, who is responsible for damages to my client? Works the same here. Easy to pass the buck

[Mellow]

if the organisation wasnt a FA cap then the "Safety of our cyclist" wouldnt have been in danger.

 

The safety of cyclists is the one thing the board of Cycling South Africa (CSA) will never ever compromise on even if it means upsetting a lot cyclists and spectators.

 

 

 

That is the reason why today’s road races at the South African Road Championship in Port Elizabeth were delayed and the route changed.

 

 

 

Hendrik Lemmer, CyclingSA’s director of road cycling “I want to reiterate that there is no way we as CyclingSA will ever compromise the safety of our cyclists. We are even prepared to go to such extreme measures like cancelling the whole event or move it to another venue if we feel we cannot guarantee the cyclists safety."

 

 

 

“There is no way that we will allow another of our riders to be killed in a car accident" Lemmer added.

 

 

 

"The venue and route was specifically designed to bring the sport to the people. The decision to change the route was not an easy one and though we are aware of the inconvenience it may have caused safety is our number one concern."

 

 

 

According to Lemmer to ensure the riders safety it was decided to basically use only the part of the course that where they could get partial road closure.

 

 

 

“Unfortunately it led to most races being shortened, but don’t be fooled by the kilometres. The racing is going to be tougher, especially for the pro-elite men.

 

 

 

Barry Austin general Manager of road cycling for CyclingSA said: “In their 18 laps the elites will do about 4 500metres of vertical climbing this is more than riders will do at a World Championship."

[andretraut]

Glad I am not that good, cause I would have been very pissed off!