Cameroon Latest

Still very unclear as to how this even will take place, I have found an article online that claims 300 riders will be at the start. Bearing in mind that 200 is the UCI limit, that would explain the elimination crit on Friday. So I'm guessing 100 to 150 riders will be eliminated on this first stage. Interesting way to run a race when you are paying for riders to come in from all over the world.. that means there will be riders for whom they have paid flights and hotels who will hardly race at all. This also means it is going to be hectic and there will be a lot on the line in that first stage. The other obvious question is: what on earth happens to those eliminated riders? Do they still follow their teams to the next few towns the race goes to? Or do they get put up in a hotel in Yaounde (where the elimination crit takes place) and stay there until the race returns 2 days later. You wouldn't think UCI rules would allow this kind of thing... and my guess is that they don't; and that what is actually happening is that the first stage is not part of the UCI event and is actually just considered an "selection" event. Still, seems like there must be a lot of money being thrown down the drain... considering I somehow doubt the Cameroon cycling federation has buckets of money sitting around, I can't help but wonder if this is really the best way to run things. But regardless, this is how it is being run and this is a new format for me... and new means good. So I look forward to it, look forward to discovering something new and just making the most of everything.

Dropped riders will not get a second chance on stage1

The next 2 stages of the race seem normal however. 120k one day and 170k the next. So, quite a long final stage. I really hope I get through the Elimination stage, as the rest of the event looks really cool and full of proper, point to point road stages... like I love'em!!