The event organisers of the Fort William Downhill World Cup have posted a statement telling that the race is still on, at least for now.
As events around the world are put on hold, we’ve been speaking to people in the know about the possibility of more Downhill World Cup races being postponed.
So far it’s only the first round of the UCI Downhill in Lousã, Portugal, that has been confirmed as postponed, but there are concerns (as well as a few whispers) that this will extend to Maribor, Slovenia, and looking further down the calendar we’re worried about the Scottish round in Fort William.
Just yesterday, the Scottish Government announced a nationwide ban on events of more than 500 people and that this new ban would come into effect from next week. You can read about the ban here on the BBC News website, and after reading it you will probably wonder where that leaves Fort Bill?
Well, according to the organizers of Fort William, the race is still going to go ahead and fans of downhill racing can still look forward to watching their riding heroes race to the limit on the 6-7 June as scheduled.
But, and there is always a but, the Nevis Range will continue to monitor the spread of Covid-19 over the next 10 weeks. Obviously, this means there is still a chance our favourite round of the UCI Downhill World Cup might be postponed, but for now at least we don’t need to worry…. or do we?
You can read the full statement from the Nevis Range below:
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Where all going to die! Better stock up on big roll.
Cape Epic has just been another one to sadly bite the dust….
https://www.cape-epic.com/riders/the-2020-race/the-official-statement-regarding-the-cancellation-of-the-2020-absa-cape-epic
Seems many would rather listen to Chicken Little than to actually read thru the headlines and see the actual numbers of those killed by this virus.
CORONAVIRUS CAUTION VS HYSTERIA
Let’s put things in perspective as of 3/12/20
WHO and CDC websites as sources for the following stats. If you don’t agree, Google the numbers yourself!
CORONAVIRUS COVID19: As of the 12th there are 1,215 reported cases and 36 deaths here in the US. Between 100 and 200 cases are reported in California. The immunocompromised and senior citizens having more risk. Almost 125,000 cases have now been reported by the World Health Organization, with 4966 deaths, world wide. In the past two weeks, the number of cases reported outside China has increased nearly 13-fold, with the number of affected countries increasing nearly three fold. The good news is that Chinese outbreaks which were first recognized by the WHO Jan 31, 2020 were by March 7th reported to be coming under control. The number of new cases reported has fallen dramatically within 36 days of being recognized by the World Health Organization. Officials reported only 99 new cases on Saturday, down from around 2,000 a day just weeks ago.
It should also be noted that 90% of all cases are considered mild or not serious and more than half of worldwide 134,239 cases have already recovered. It appears the rate of transmission is high but the risk of mortality is low and containment can be dramatic within 36 days.
SWINE FLU VIRUS: According to the Centers for Disease Control between the months of April 2009 and January of 2010 approx 61 million Americans were infected, 12,469 died, with the H1N1 or Swine Flu virus which targeted infants and adults but was more sparing of seniors.Hospitals processed over 300,000 infected patients. deaths were report in the United States and Worldwide, up to 575,400 people died from pandemic swine flu. It was October of 2009 before the President declared a national emergency and travel restrictions were not imposed. Most Americans hardly recall this as a national threat when compared to the remembrance of 911. Media coverage and restrictions were minimal compared to the attention being drawn to Coronavirus.
ORDINARY FLU SEASON: Regarding ordinary flu virus as experienced with flu season, so far, 6,600 people have died and 120,000 people have been hospitalized during the 2019-2020 flu season here in the United States, according to preliminary estimates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of Jan 17, 2020. Deaths in the United Stages from the flu average 40,000 to 70,000 a year depending on strain and effectiveness of vaccine.
So far the ordinary flu has taken 6574 more lives this season than the Coronavirus and infected 10 fold more populous than COVID19 to date. Swine flu received much less media attention, and is potentially much more slowly contained with had risk to a younger populous. Unlike Swine flu Coronavirus appears to be following the typical winter months of flu season with a hopeful potential to fade as spring hits. Significant evidence of containment appears to be possible within 36 days while Swine took over 8 months.
When looking back at H1N1, and the ‘standard’ flu, oh and SARs, this bug is like Justin Beber, over blown and driven by the media.