mattm

+1

Wait, hack, you have videos?? Post 'em!!

hack

I have a few that I took using a virb. The quality is pretty lousy (OG virb is prone to shakiness) and the editing, or lack thereof, is worse.

Here is the last one I took from Folsom's winter crit. It's the last lap showing me burning matches and eating wind to get up to my teammate that leads me out. I lose the sprint cause I suck.

The Domestique

Not me, but a good buddy Eric put the cameras on and held great position and was in the right spot when it mattered.

Also, those of you who hate the cones course may get a better sense of what it's like from the air. Enjoy!

[video] [/ video]

Wylde06

From last weekend. Was feeling great until the crash split me from the field...still kind of mad about that.

mike868y

why not take a free lap?

Wylde06

Looking back, I should have tried to see if they would have let me. But as it was happening I was just mad and didnt even think about it until it was too late. Ive had crashes happen in front of me, but never to where I had to come so close to stopping. Should it happen again like that I will have to try remember to take one

mattm

I don't think you're technically supposed to take one if you didn't actually crash.

Putting a foot down doesn't count as crashing.

Of course it all depends on how lenient the official is feeling..

mattm

My crash video from the Davis crit today.


Luckily I didn't crash; came to just about a stop, but never put a foot down.

Didn't take a free lap, just caught back up.

mattm

That was pretty close tho!!

hack

Ouch ... Davis bike guy's hip must be roasted. You've not had much luck at that race.

It was frustrating for a few days afterward ...

mattm

I feel bad for the Specialized guy too.. he got slammed in the back with a pedal, that's never fun! I didn't see anyone on the sidelines afterwards or hear any ambulances, fwiw.

But yeah Davis is not my race - I was lucky not to go down this year, or last.. although last year I put my spokes in to a skewer, so maybe this race does have something out for me??

hack

Given your annual rate of improvement next year should be great.

Broken back in 2014-> spokes in skewer in 2015 -> sneaking past crash in 2016-> win in 2017

Wylde06

I think I could have gotten away with it. Over half of what was left of the P123 field took a free lap after someone crashed at the top of the hill like halfway through the race.

wktmeow

Last few laps of the Davis 4th of July Crit E4

mattm

sweet!!

is your garmin speed accurate? I was surprised to see 20-22 mph at some points in the vid.

either way, well done.

wktmeow

Probably not, it's an edge 500 using GPS for speed

Thanks!! Super stoked. 5 more points to go!

carpediemracing 

FYI in the Tues Night races I do I was shocked to see that on the last lap of the race I slowed to 22 mph in two turns out of three turns, and one of the two turns is really just a bend. I was following wheels at that bend turn but the following turn, a fast turn by all means, I was leading (technically about to catch and pass a couple guys but still well off their wheels) and trying to win the field sprint. I accelerated to 37 mph after the second turn, 35 mph after the third turn. At that point I looked back, I was clear, so I sat up.

Even in the A races, doing the same leadout (Aug 2015) I was dropping to 26 and 25 mph respectively (and in that leadout I rode the field off my wheel except for my teammate). My top speeds were lower, 33 mph after the first surge, 34 mph after the second. Because i was leading out I wasn't trying to sprint per se I did this sitting, hands on the tops, sitting up as high as I can, etc, so my teammate could stay on my wheel.

The massive speed difference in the first example, 15 mph and 13 mph, seems significant to me. I'll have to do some numbers plugging to see how weight would affect acceleration. This is the course where I tried the 3 lbs heavier aero wheels and could not hang on, then went to the 3 lbs lighter wheels and was sprinting for the win.

UmneyDurak

At Davis in CAT3s we averaged 26mph.

I don't know what it is about that course, or just yesterday, but I had hard time concentrating. Corners felt good, but I kept taking wrong lines, or messing them up. It was a really frustrating race. Also couldn't push myself out of the comfort zone. I think I could have moved to top 10 in last lap, but I just ****ing sat there mid pack.

Not to mention my camera got knocked off the mount in first lap so was just dangling there for entire race.

spectastic

i think i'm doing ok. sprint still sucks, but i'll work on that

carpediemracing 

That's a tough one to call. When the guy that won went you were on his wheel, but it seemed like it was super fast at that point? I didn't realize you were approaching the finish when I first watched it because no one really jumped, it was like a wide drag race until about 100m to go. It seemed everyone was maxed out speed wise. There was a guy to your right in white (seems like he gets 4th or so), I thought for a moment he was in the small ring but then I realized it's probably a combination of a smaller big ring and a long rear derailleur.

Maybe a 54 or 55T, if you're already using a 53x11? Or shift up earlier? You had three shifts I think. I have a hard time accelerating hard at 120 rpm, I'm better at 100-110 rpm; you were at about 120 rpm at some point, dropping down to 110-ish as you shift up a few gears.

Part of the problem is the high heart rate? If you pedal slower your HR will be a bit lower, as long as you're not totally maxed out. Spinning really fast will zing your HR; you use extra energy just spinning your legs, even with little resistance. Think of how hard it is to sprint your 39x21 at 200 rpm. It'll be hard but you're not going anywhere, you might be going 30 mph but you'll be totally blown in 15-30 seconds. Roll your 53x12 at the same speed and, yeah, it's not easy, but you could hold it for much longer and not be totally blown.

When I'm waiting for a sprint I usually put it in a bigger gear, soft pedal, etc, and then as it gets close I shift into an easier gear. I used to look at what gears others were using so I'd intentionally do weird stuff to throw people off (use slightly off chainring sizes, have a custom/weird cog set, etc), but now I don't look and therefore I don't care if someone knows what gear I'm in. The big thing is that basically every jump I make I shift on the downstroke; I'll gear down in preparation for this. If I'm in the 13 I'll shift into the 12 as I jump. If the bike makes a loud shift noise then that's about right. I go in the next gear; the slightly lower rpm, the slightly longer duration that I can apply torque on that first downstroke, it all seems to help my jump. If I'm overgeared then it's not good, fine. I bog down and all that but done right it's a great feeling to rip away as I jump.

On faster downhill finishes (admittedly a weak point for me) I prefer to follow others and do a big jump as late as possible because so much of the lead rider's power/speed gets eaten up by the wind and it's so easy to draft. When I finally do go I have to use a huge gear in the jump because the high speeds mean that just to draw even with the next rider takes a huge effort, forget about passing him. Downhill sprints are more about sustainable speed and therefore some level of aerobic stuff.

I've been okay with leadouts in that same speed range or slightly higher with a 54x11 top gear. I'd jump in the 12T I think, I don't remember, but I'd definitely do most of the sprint in the 11T. My favorite sprints in that situation were actually a long slight downhill followed by a slight uphill sprint, which seems to be the case here. It's a short rise to the finish (?) so it's best to jump early so you only have to maintain speed rather than accelerate on an uphill.

spectastic

thanks for the input. my avg cadence on the last lap was 105. I tend to stay in a lower gear because I want to be able to respond to attacks, which is super important on bell lap. I worked hard throughout the race to do as little work as possible (they call that a paradox), and keep the hr down. HR didn't break 190 until 2 to go, and part of that was having to chase down the gap. after that, there was no stopping it. it was one surge after another, trying to find the best line for the finish. I think a lot of this has to do with the heat. I just need to ride more. but i'll keep the cadence thing in mind next time I'm in a lull.

mattm

Seems like the guy that won was the only one that really sprinted.

You started your sprint late, like in the last 20m?

spectastic

yea, I had him right on my wheel, and should've followed. I guess it just didn't click. it was 100 F out there, and i noticed that I wasn't as mentally vigilant as I was in previous races. had 2 close calls, one of them I accidentally swerved a good foot taking a drink from my bottle. gotta get used to the heat

carpediemracing 

The heat is significant.

Also I thought "well, it's not a pro race and jumping through those guys... any of them might have moved over because they had room to do so."

burger0014

The final lap of the 4/5 Marietta crit today. Ended up 3rd.