Chucklehead

As of right now, the turnaround is right by start/finish, so the most difficult part of the climb is gone at least for this year. This will change the dynamics of the race for sure.

1265 Lombardi

Hey Pat, hope your racing has been going well. I am sure I'll see ya in some of the races this season.

Chucklehead

Nice job. I wasn't too far behind and saw you raise your arms and thought "I bet that's ted ward.." Then I hear the announcer saying something like "Whoa, we don't do that for 3rd place, buddy!" Good times.

I felt terrible for most of the race until they called laps, then suddenly the field just opened up for me and I was able to move forward at will. From that point I felt like I had a chance to at least podium(I had no idea there was a break either), but a couple of tactical errors on the last lap - and especially in the run up to the final corner - cost me a solid top ten when I chose to go inside and stab the brakes to avoid the inevitable pile-up that didn't happen. Exact same thing I did last year when I finished 4th. So I crossed the line 17th.

As for the crashes - The ones that happened in the 3's were the kind that happen in any race. They didn't happen because of stupid mistakes or an inability to handle a bike. From what I could tell, people were just racing hard and got tangled.
I was right behind both of them and could see them as they were happening. Typically when I see a crash, I can call "idiots" or "bad luck," and these were definitely bad luck. A product of a big field on a fast and technical course.
There were little bumps leading into the final corner which, on several occassions, caused my fingers to slip off of my brakes, so I can definitely see how a split second of someone losing their brakes could cause a pile-up there. Bad luck.

umd

Who were the two that were OTF in the 3s?

Edit: I just looked at the results online. I shouldn't be surprised Devan won. He won by going OTF at punchbowl as well. I haven't seen anyone as dominant as him and move up so fast through the ranks since Nate English...

Crash716

Devan looked like he could have done that all by himself. who does he race for...he didn't have anything on his skin suit. either way dude was an animal.

Ryon

I was there. I got 4th of 50 in the 2nd cat5 field. 2 laps to go I felt the time was right for a breakaway, but that didn't work as planned. There were plenty of pedal hits in my field and I am very surprised that there were no crashes in cat5, considering every other field had some carnage.

chefxian

I was 5's A no crashes either. Thank God.

wattsup?

I got 13th in Cat IIIs, Chucklehead (aka SnackPack) was right behind me. Some stats:

259AP/278NP @ 77kg
26.7MPH Average Speed
43.5 minutes

Yes, I beat you. I think they had to sweep up your mangina on the last turn before the next race started.

Chucklehead

No, believe me, my mangina was still firmly attached as I crossed the line. As soon as I cleared that corner without seeing or hearing a pile-up, I was kicking myself. But that was only one of a few different mistakes I made in the lead up to the final corner. I just had too many options and too much time to think about it. The lack of racing on a regular basis has taken a toll on me, because I'm just not feeling sharp yet. I guess I'm going to have to be out there every week until after Manhattan Beach.

captnfantastic

Hey Nick.

I was there too. First 4 race as well. I got dropped 30 min in. Got stuck behind the first crash and worked HARD for 3-4 laps to catch the main group, but burned out a couple laps after I caught them. 130 guys was WAY to many for such a thin course with 6 turns. Too much grabbing brakes and crappy riders for me to stomach. I am coming off a pretty bad crash at dominguez hills and when the group rolled out sunday and three guys around me couldn't manage to clip in the fear returned. I'll get over it. Lemme know the rest of your race schedule.

captnfantastic

I watched it. Kinda funny, but third place is still an awesome showing.



I didn't think it was THAT amazing. He latched on the rider who broke away and just held his wheel for the entire break away, letting the other rider do ALL the work... then around the last corner took off and won it.

That's racing for you. I'm sure that guy who got second was pretty pissed but hey...

Ryon

What the hell? Are you serious? Pretty much every lap they came around I saw the big guy in front. And he always looked composed and solid. The other guy looked like he was huuurting. I thought it was a fair win, and the other guy got a well-deserved second place.

Brandy

Sorry to hear about the accident, but I'm glad to see you back again! You're right, the so cal forum has died a slow death and many people migrated over to a spin off site. I post rarely...I'm more of a loner these days. I'm going to try to make it out to see at least one of Chucklehead's races coming up, so hopefully we'll cross paths soon!

Chucklehead

Suck it all of you out-of-state Brandy stalkers! She's coming to watch ME!

Crash716

false.

if you were on the start finish straight it looked like that but i assure you the guy on the felt did as much or more work than the other guy. That's why you have to walk around the course and see what's really happening. If it hadn't been for devan (the guy on the felt) they would have gotten caught. They were visibly slower with the other guy on the front than they were when the winner was pulling.

and btw...winning the field sprint is pretty awesome!

Crash716

what about me

Sommando

I guess it just depends where you were watching the race from. From what I saw, the Felt Beast let the other rider in front of him between turn 6 and 1 (for the audience), but took over on the back side of the course. The rider who got second was strong too, but from where I was sitting, after turn 1, I could see and hear who the dominant rider was.

One thing I don't understand is how people forgot/didn't know the two riders were off the front at the end-not knocking anyone, just wondering how that happens as I'm new to racing.

Crash716

they went off the front on the first lap...and opened up a considerable gap in the first 3-5 laps, enough to get out of sight. if you were mid-back pack (as most sprinters are in crits) you would have had no idea that they were gone.

Chucklehead

It was a very big field. I was far enough back in the early part of the race that I couldn't see anything that was going on up front. The only thing I was worried about was avoiding crashes for the first 2/3 of the race, then by the time I got near the front, there was no indication at all that a break had gone. Never once did I hear the announcer - who apparently is a good friend of Felt guy - mention the fact. There were also no primes being offered to the field, which is pretty standard practice in a race this size, so there were two pretty big sources of motivation that were missing, as far as I could tell, for the pack to chase.

umd

If you are not on the front when somone goes off you may not know. The people on the front at the start are not necessarily the people on the front near the end, and if the break is out of sight...

Crash716

echo....echo.

captnfantastic

That's exactly where I was watching from.

I got a chance to talk to Floyd right before the pro race.

He really does look that dorky in real life.

BTW Bahati is an animal.

Brandy

Who are you?

Brandy

Anything for you! Now send me your race schedule, puh-lease!

Oh...and I meant to text you from the library last night. I picked up the book you recommended.

Crash716

starts with a B....




rhymes with....