Matt2.8NJ

Improve W/kg to where I was when the kids were born in 2010. 310/165lbs.

Change teams... Riding for an out of state team, solo 98% of the time. Find a nice local outfit here in NJ.

Enjoy training again... Seems like such a chore when too many miles are on the trainer.

And have a great season of commuting, making it productive training time.

hubcyclist

Simple goal, finish in the top half of a race lol I'd like to do at least one of the stage races around here, but we'll see

Of course I'd want to see an increase in FTP but no real target (currently 260), I'm happy with any improvements during the winter and eventually focusing on really improving 5-8 min power, which is prob my biggest weakness among many

grolby

Sure, but the point is more to actually go and do one. 8 seasons of road racing under my belt and I've still not done a single one.

mattm

I meant recovery between efforts in the same race, not recovery between training days weeks.

echappist

perhaps i'll get to race with you a few times as i foresee myself doing races near Philly and NJ. Almost did the Skillman circuit last year (basically 5 miles from where my Dad's is).

carpediemracing 

Not if the rider gets eliminated in the RR due to time cut.

Not that it happened to me EVERY TIME I DID A STAGE RACE. I never got cut in the TT because no stage race I did had a cut off on the TT.

Okay I did two 8 race (10 day) stage races where you didn't have to finish each stage and they were all 25 mile crits in Michigan (no hills). I finished those "stage races".

mattm

Indeed; but with a 20% time cut, that's 36 minutes for a 3 hour RR.

if you can't make that cut, don't go to Europe.

Blackdays

Pretty simple since I'm only about ~2 months back after a 4 year hiatus:

-Get a feel for the bay area/NorCal racing scene by participating in at least 15 races. I think it will be very different compared to Cleveland.
-Get serious about my training and hit certain numbers.
-Train/ride as much as I can with my new team (thanks for the tip Fudgy)
-Corny, but I really want to make sure I'm having fun. I don't want the bike to become another chore.

carpediemracing 

20% or whatever, that's about right. Never went anywhere outside the Northeast for stage racing. Just NY and MA. Never made it to the crit at the end.

Point is that finishing a stage race isn't necessary a given, at least for someone like me, even when I was "fit". 120-135 lbs, training, etc.

*edit I wasnt' sure if I missed something about Europe but I don't think there was? Also, this is me as a 3, not as a 2. Can't imagine doing a RR as a 2. /edit

tetonrider

most amateur stage races that i've done (OR, UT, AZ, NM, NV, CO, AR, and some i'm probably forgetting) do not publish or enforce a time cut below whatever the pro field is (p, p/1, p/1/2). in fact, i can only think of one where a time cut was enforced for amateurs -- and that's mainly because so many fields are on the short circuit race course at the same time that they *pull* riders. (san dimas)

could just be the ones i've done, but i think finishing an amateur, 3-stage stage race is not so much of a thing *today*, as @mattm said. might have been different years ago or in other areas of the country.

globecanvas

Catskills has a time cut. Or had, the race is now defunct.

dz_nuzz

Results Related

1. Win something that has some strong Cat 1s (or Pros) in it (This is probably a pipe-dream)
2. Get to Cat 1 (2 damn points away. GRRRR)
3. Build a competitive Elite team

Training Related

1. Actually diet this off season and race 10 lbs lower (May or may not be a good idea, we will see)
2. Improve my 30 seconds - 2 minute power
3. Improve my ability to respond to attacks when red-lined.

hack

Cascade enforced the time cut post TT this year. We lost a teammate as a result. He only came up because he wanted to do the crit ... sadly, that didn't happen.

notwist

Not shooting high at all

Racing:
Get some points towards 2
Do a stage race

Training:
More sprint and vo2max workouts
Maintain Core/weight routine throughout season

mattm

I definitely came close to the TT time cut when I did Cascade (was otb but safe in the RR), but I don't think it was enforced anyway in the years I did it.

Did your team mate soft-pedal the TT, or actually try?

Anyway, the p/1 field at cascade & San Dimas has a 5% time cut.. harsh.

hack

He "tried". It wasn't 100%, but he wasn't dogging it. Crit kid on a non TT setup with his A crit later in the day, so he was being conservative. I think he missed it by like 5 seconds or something absurd like that. He ended up driving home that night and podiumed the Berkeley crit the next day.

tetonrider

data driven cat 3's right? the last place (reported) finisher in the TT was >30% behind the winner (25' for <9 miles) and started the crit.

you can't win your goal race if you can't start....he MUST have been dogging it pretty seriously.

tetonrider

5% in the RRs, too (cascade)? that is harsh.

seems like SDSR has the legit issue with lapped riders on the circuit, and cascade has the problem with too many riders on the crit course (though 2 years ago the sprint leader would have been time cut before the crit, so they decided not to cut anyone). i'm definitely surprised it was 5% on the RRs for cascade p/1. i'm sure i couldn't make that and would be going home early.

hack

To be honest, I'm not 100% sure. We didn't talk too much post TT, but it seemed like he was trying. In the end, it doesn't matter, he missed the cut and we had enough guys to keep our GC'er in the mix for a good overall finish. Just offering up an add'l incident where time cuts were enforced.

edit: our biggest mistake in that whole darn race was not pulling the three man break back on day 1. We led a brief charge, but let them stay away thinking they'd burn out on or before the climb. We elected to keep our guy fed and hydrated to the base of the climb (he took 4th). They stayed away and that was the difference between him getting 2nd in GC and 6th.

tetonrider

is the story maybe a bit different than you remember? in all the amateur editions of cascade that i've done, they've never published a time cut outside of the p/1 field. i just bothered to look up the tech guide from last year to make sure i wasn't talking out of my @$$.

all you have to do is COMPLETE the stage (which is pretty much how it is in amateur stage races, with a couple exceptions).

your post made me curious...did your guy maybe DNF the TT...or just not show up for it? he's not listed in the TT results (even as a DNF) and all the riders who finished the TT raced the crit.

it's pretty darn rare for time cuts in an amateur stage race to be enforced because the officials and promoters understand it's pay-to-play...and cutting someone who paid their $$ and drove 10h to race is pretty rare. (and if it truly was 5"....a short convo with an official would probably fix that.)

anyway, back to @mattm's point, finishing a 3-stage amateur stage race is usually NBD for the above reason.
SDSR's fairly unusual due to the short course. it's still 10% for amateurs (i bet @mattm's right about the 5% for p/1's), which is non-trivial if you're dropped.

(i could be wrong about who you're referring to, but there were 5 on your team in the 3 RR & 4 started the crit...)

hack

Remember it quite clearly. Tech guide says you must finish within 130% of winner. Amateur Tech Guide, Page 6, Timing Procedures. "Finishing Time Limits". He emailed the director after not appearing on the results. Director said that's because you got cut for being outside the cut and for being slow poke.

tetonrider

you are correct--i apologize. the 2013 tech guide did not have any time limit listed, and the 2014 cat 2 guide did (while the 3/3/masters did not).

it is very weird to not list him in the results.

what's also strange is that the last rider listed did not make the cut and yet rode the crit. maybe your buddy was MUCH slower?

honestly, though, how could you ride that TT at 18mph even if you were riding endurance on a road bike?

i'll still stand by the statement that finishing most amateur 3-stage stage races (of which cascade is NOT..it's 4 stages, but semantics) is not that big a thing. we're not talking being within 5% of zirbel's TT in the pro field....it's 130% in an amateur field. that's like a request to "just finish up reasonably quickly so the officials can get to the crit."

sorry for what happened to your buddy. i wonder just how slow he really rode it! was he a junior ("^")? someone should have given him a tip!

shovelhd

Try and enjoy retiring from racing. Upgrade to officials Category B so that I am eligible to work any USAC and UCI race in the US. Pull off a clean Tour of the Hilltowns as Race Director. Work the New Haven Grand Prix again, if it is not upgraded to NCC or I upgrade myself first. Stick to my current 2x gym, 3x bike weekly schedule. Have fun riding with friends and keep swiping the town lines from the young punks.

spectastic

come out on top on one of the 3/4 driveway series
upgrade to a 2 mid season and start developing in p/1/2 fields
join a team
win something
stay upright
develop my sprint


and not be late for ANY of my damn races

globecanvas

I think it was last year that USAC changed the upgrade rules to remove the requirement that all points be earned in a single season. I think this coming season we are going to start seeing some category inflation. Anybody who is capable of earning upgrade points at all can now be somewhat confident of upgrading if they just keep at it long enough. I don't think this is necessarily a good or bad thing but it is a big change from the past.

Just thinking it through, the category inflation will have two components. Racers will cat up who would have been unlikely to upgrade under the old rules, and as fields get populated with these racers, there will be a secondary effect of upgrade points out of those categories being easier to get, if for no other reason than there being more racers in those categories to score points against.

I'm not complaining, just musing.