Skidorienteraren Thomas Löfgren vann efter en spurt Glasriket 22 mil i helgen...han var tvåa över mållinjen och vann efter en protest som enligt allt inkl målfilmen visar att det var helt korrekt dömt. Mycket prat nu ute i SWE angående detta ¨så teamcoach Aike Visbeek Cykelcity.se har bett mig att lägga ut hans förklaring här på bloggen....detta är hett men viktigt att det kommer ut och att det blir en förklaring på alltdåså...här kommer Aikes egna ord:
Glasriket Racen
Where do we draw the line…….?
On Saturday the new Glasriket Racen finished in a controversial fashion but it could have been a lot worse…. The race was to be a serious test for riders, bikes and fairplay!
To clear up any misunderstandings on what happened I give a report from the CykelCity.se teamcar. We where the first car riding 20 meters behind the sprinting duo Tomas Lofgren and Christoffer Stevenson.
What led up to the sprint: The race was a hard but also tactical race. In the final a group of about 20 riders began the last 40km. In this group 3 riders from Capinordic Lucas Persson, Christoffer Stevenson and Andreas Linden. And 3 riders from CykelCity.se. Tomas Lofgren, Sebastian Balck and Patrik Stenberg. 3 riders escaped Christoffer Stevenson , Tomas Lofgren and Alex Wetterhal. With one of the favourites Chirstoffer Stevenson being part of the break we where not totally happy since Christoffer is the better sprinter. So behind this break Sebastian Balck and Patrik Stenberg attacked and got 4 other riders with them. Among them Lucas Persson. Andreas Linden dropped making the situation a lot better for CykelCity.se. With the 6 riders chasing Tomas Lofgren did not had to work because he had 2 fast teammates coming up. Christoffer Stevenson rode very strong and managed to hold of the chasers with Tomas Lofgren on his wheel. But he spent a lot more energy than Tomas doing this.
The sprint:
With Tomas on the wheel of Christoffer Stevenson the sprint started. Coming through the last turn the sprint started at précis 250meter. From that moment the road went a bit down, meaning it would give the riders a lot of speed. I told Tomas to start sprinting there but Christoffer saw aswell that he had to start sprinting. On that moment the riders where in the middle of the road. Both accelerating equally fast Christoffer moved up to the left side of the road. Leaving Tomas no other choice than to pass Christoffer on the right side through the wind. Since Christoffer had been doing all the work he was clearly not as fresh as Tomas any more. Tomas start to advance on him. Then at about 120 meter christoffer moved suddenly very strongly to the right side. Because he was moving so fast to the right Tomas at first could only react and did not had the time to brake. At 80 meters before the line a bus was parked about a meter on the road. Christoffer did not leave any space between him and the bus causing a very dangerous situation. On the very last moment Tomas got control of his bike and manage to brake causing his back wheel to lift up in the air (!). My hearth stood still those seconds I can tell you….. Seeing your rider almost crashing in to the back of a bus with a speed of about 60km hour is not good for your hearth…
Because of this Christoffer had to stop pedalling for a second, and than Tomas tried to pass Christoffer on the left side. Than Christoffer moved to the left side crossing the middle of the road by doing this. Since the distance to the finish than was so short Tomas lost the sprint with I guess about 10cm. leaving us in disbelief of what just happened.
From all sprints I have done and seen this was one of worst ever.
Immediately after the finish I filed in a protest. There was no doubt in our minds this was a 100% disqualification.
Why did I file the protest?
Do I dislike Christoffer Stevenson or Capinordic? No, the contrary, in june we, team CykelCity.se took Christoffer Stevenson and Lucas Persson to a pro race in the Usa where he finished 7th . Before the Glasriket race and during the race I even had fun with them.
Was the first prize of 60000 krones the reason? No, all the prize money goes to the riders. I as a team manager or the team get nothing of that.
Did we want to win the race in any way we could? No, during the race we gave 4 times a wheel to riders from Vallentuna, Vallhall, Uppsala and Capinordic. Andreas Linden from Capinordic punctured while being in the escape group. Since his teammanager was not there we tried to help him by giving him a wheel of us! Just a few kilometres earlier I gave Christoffer Stevenson a bottle since he did not have any drinks left. In total we gave about 12 bottles to riders from other teams.
I would have filed this protest even if this would have been a sprint for 5th place.
There were 2 reasons:
1- When Christoffer moved very strongly form the left side to the right side and almost causing Tomas to crash in the back of Bus. He put one of my riders in serious danger. Chirstoffer was very lucky Tomas did not crash otherwise Tomas would most likely have been dead now. If you ride head first with 60km an hour in to a parked bus your chances to survive is very slim.
2- Christoffer did not leave Tomas the space in the last 200 meters to pass him. So Tomas did not get a fair chance to win the race. If the sprint would have been sprinted in a straight line Tomas would have won no question about it.
Evaluation:
Does this mean Christoffer Stevenson is a bad person? NO, this was a sprint after a very hard race of 220km. Christoffer was determined to win this race, he is a winner. This time he crossed the line. Which line? Well I dont care if you don’t hold a exact straight line. But you can not move from one side of the road to the other in the last 250 meters.
Very important is that as a cyclist you also have the shared responsibility over the safety or your fellow cyclists. Without this shared responsibility cycling would be very dangerous sport. You can not put other riders in a dangerous situation.
Does this mean Christoffer did this on purpose? No he did not, his winners instinct did… Christoffer was very tired, giving everything he had and sprinting with a hearthbeat of 200.
Can the jury than leave this unpunished? Well in my opinion not. If my riders would see the film of the sprint and would see that Christoffer would get away with his way of sprinting, they would sprint the next time in the same way moving from left to right. Causing more very dangerous situations! Than the next time the sprinters of for example Vallentuna would do the same and than sooner or later people will get seriously injured or die while sprinting to the finish.
The jury at Glasriket where very determined in their decision. And infect they where mild for Christoffer. A similar sprint in Holland where I come from, would be at least 2 months suspension if they have it on tape.
After the finish some people from Vallhall came to me. They stood about 100 meters from the finish and told me aswell that this was a 100% disqualification.
Does this make me a happy person? To be honest NO, Christoffer deserved to win, he was the strongest man in the race. But Team CykelCity.se was the strongest team and smartest team in the race. Tomas was simply fresher at the end because of all the work Christoffer did to not be catched by the group with Sebastian Balck and Patrik Stenberg of Team CykelCity.se.. So I can understand even more the disappointment of Christoffer. He worked very hard to win this race. Also he missed the first prize of 60.000 krones, but that can never be a reason to put somebody else in a dangerous situation.
Does this make Tomas an undeserved winner? No he had 2 punctures in this race and still managed to be in the decisive escape. With all the bad luck, sickness and injuries he had this season he deserved this win. With combining a 40 hour job a family life with a small child and riding on this high level it’s already a wonder he was up there with a professional rider! But he did not deserve to win this race after a protest!
Is it understandable that Christoffer Stevenson has a different version of this? Yes off course when you sprint after a 220km race and a heartbeat of 200 you only have eyes for 2 things: the finish line and the rider you are trying to beat. Not where exactly you where on the road for the last 250 meters…
Let’s hope the film of the sprint will be put on internet soon!
