The organisers of the National Road Championships have moved to defend how the races were run following criticism from some quarters (All Photos: David McVeigh - The Belgium Project)
The organisers of the National Road Championships have defended the promotion against some negative criticism, pointing out the races were action-packed and produced worthy champions.
Race director Derek Webb said he was disappointed with some of the negative comments on social media.
They focussed on the women’s race being required to pull in to let the men’s field pass, as well as some other issues.
Webb said he and the rest of the organisers in Wexford Cycling waited until the women had completed more than 18km of their opening 20km lap before allowing the men’s race start.
He added while that gap should have been enough for the women not to be caught, their race was much slower than even the slowest projection.
Advertisement
And he said those in the women’s peloton were warned they would need to pick up the pace or risk being caught.
“People seem to forget there were three races on exactly the same course the previous day and nobody caught anyone,” Webb said.
“The women did a fast first lap but then it was much slower for the next two laps. The men’s race was fast but no faster than expected. But they were lapping 10 minutes faster than the women.
“The women were warned to get going or they were going to be passed. They are there to race and race organisers always have a schedule to keep.
“You have the gardai for a certain period, trains held up and residents held up for set periods.
The women's race was pulled in to let the men's field pass. But the organisers said the women were warned they needed to pick up their pace or be caught by the men.
“Some people are suggesting (the women’s road race) be run on a separate day, but that’s a whole new ball game; new management plan, new set of marshals, the works.
“You simply can’t run a promotion like that on a day of its own with a field of between 30 and 40 riders; a lot of money to do these things comes from the sign-on fee.
Related News
“The women’s race has to piggy back on the men’s race. You just won’t get all the bells and whistles; the cooperation of the councils and a venue like Johnstown Castle for one smaller race on one day.”
He pointed out that running the women’s race on Saturday before the men on Sunday was not possible. Three masters races were now run as part of championship weekend meaning Saturday was congested as it was, he said.
On Saturday, when the three Masters road races took place, Webb said there was a much higher volume of traffic than normal in the area.
There were a large number of vehicles in the vicinity on the early laps of the Masters races that made for a tighter race setting.
However, the only real issue was a lorry coming down the Codd’s Lane climb during the race. Though it did not cause any crashes, Webb said it was unfortunate.
“We had marshals either end of the climb and there were about 15 properties in the area, farms and houses. We visited all of them several times to inform them about the race,” he said.
However, in one field that was not owned by any of the locals an agricultural contractor drove in very early in the morning. He apparently worked in the field for most of the day and then drove out and onto the climb.
Webb said the driver had no knowledge the race was going on and that he had appeared with no warning as nobody knew he was in the field and working out of sight.
He was guided off the climb by the marshals and other members of the race organisation
“The cyclists handled it well and the cars also got by,” he said of cavalcade and peloton.
On Sunday he pointed out the races had been run off without incident and produced fantastic racing; the women’s event having to pull over the only incident of note.
And while some of the riders had complained about the road surface on the TT course last Thursday night, Webb said the course was the organiser’s third choice.
About six weeks ago their first choice route was denied them due to logistical reasons that were unexpected and arose late in the day and out of their control.
While another course from Enniscorthy to Wexford was considered, one village along the way was deemed a potential hazard.
And with time constraints becoming a factor, the course that was actually used last Thursday – based from Johnstown Castle – was settled on.
Webb said the council had made repairs to some of the roads, though he accepted the surface in stretches was not ideal for flat-out riding on rigid TT bikes.
“The setting at Johnstown Castle was fantastic, we would have liked a better surface but the race went perfectly,” he said.
And while the disqualification of Ian Richardson (UCD-FitzCycles.ie) was “very unfortunate” the commissaires, he said, deemed it unavoidable under the rules.
Topics
