The 2013 Race Results Thread
05-25-13, 02:06 PM
#1376
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05-25-13, 03:29 PM
#1377
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i did the cyclonauts crit as well. pre-reg'd for the 3/4 and the 123. in the 3/4 a 3 man break (out of like a 15 man field) got away. I did as much as I could to put in work at the front the bring them back (was more using this race as training than anything else). But it wasn't working and I felt pretty slow/tight from the cold. ended up bailing on the 123. too damn late in the season to be racing in **** like that.
05-25-13, 03:30 PM
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i got a dnf. I am not ready to roll over 30 mph for prolonged periods of time at high cadence. Hopefully i can actually get back to racing/training consistently, and have some type of form for the summer.
05-25-13, 03:33 PM
#1379
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thats a bummer jsut. I have high hopes for you so suck it up.
05-25-13, 03:36 PM
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Superior Morgul Omnium, SW4
tldr:
TT:11
Crit:2
RR:14
Omnium:5 (or 4 depending on who you count, but too boring to explain)
TT- sucked it up and used the TT bike, on advice from all y'all. Thanks. 11th/30 is actually a good improvement for me, I really struggle with TTs.
Crit - finally stuck to the plan which was sit in and don't chase everything down. I found myself cornering a bit more efficiently than some others, sat in, didn't see any wind except for the first Omnium points prime, which I won. Didn't contest the 2nd prime, it was at 5 to go, too close to the end. Stayed in the lead pack of about 15, sitting farther back than usual, and didn't chase anything. Last lap, entered the last corner at about 10 back, railed it wide - for some reason people were taking it tight, but there were 2 more lanes we could use - and carried good speed into up the long, 2% uphill drag strip to the finish, passing everyone except my team mate who won.
Sunday morning standings: 3rd in the Omnium
RR - they changed the course from the normal "Morgul Bismark" of Coors Classic fame, because the traffic barrier company closed shop unexpectedly on Friday, and they couldn't use the highway with out the barriers. The promoter did a spectacular job coming up with a re-route on no notice, so the course was out-and-back on the big rollers and 3 trips up "the wall."
Headwind on the way out, tail on the way out, side on the wall, we had to descend the wall, which is not normal.
I was in front-ish of the main pack for the first 1 1/2 laps, but on the last tailwind-driven descent, I could not stay with the pack. I'm a poor descender, am working on it, but am not comfortable at high speeds, and I think I just left too much space and wasn't getting a good draft. I was tucked, spun out, and was getting speed wobbles from wind gusts, but I swear I did not brake. Still though, off they went. Can I pull the "I only weigh 110 pounds card here? No, there were other smaller gals in front of me. Descending skillz, I don't have 'em.
(47mph, i now see.)
I killed myself trying to catch back on on the next climb, had made it within 20 feet or so by the time we turned down the wall, and got dropped again. Chased back again. Right as I rejoined, two women in front of me touched bars (I think) and wobbled all over the road, looking like they were going down, and I braked to stay out of the expected carnage. They didn't go down, and I chased back yet again. At this point we were on a flat-ish section, and I rejoined right at the u-turn back into the headwind (still flat).... and then we turned left for some side wind and the last climb up the wall. As the pavement grade increased, I cracked, and suffered up the wall off the back of the front group. Passed and was re-passed by some other stragglers. 14th. Ouch. Bye bye omnium podium. My team mate who won the crit got 2nd in the RR.
tldr:
TT:11
Crit:2
RR:14
Omnium:5 (or 4 depending on who you count, but too boring to explain)
TT- sucked it up and used the TT bike, on advice from all y'all. Thanks. 11th/30 is actually a good improvement for me, I really struggle with TTs.
Crit - finally stuck to the plan which was sit in and don't chase everything down. I found myself cornering a bit more efficiently than some others, sat in, didn't see any wind except for the first Omnium points prime, which I won. Didn't contest the 2nd prime, it was at 5 to go, too close to the end. Stayed in the lead pack of about 15, sitting farther back than usual, and didn't chase anything. Last lap, entered the last corner at about 10 back, railed it wide - for some reason people were taking it tight, but there were 2 more lanes we could use - and carried good speed into up the long, 2% uphill drag strip to the finish, passing everyone except my team mate who won.
Sunday morning standings: 3rd in the Omnium
RR - they changed the course from the normal "Morgul Bismark" of Coors Classic fame, because the traffic barrier company closed shop unexpectedly on Friday, and they couldn't use the highway with out the barriers. The promoter did a spectacular job coming up with a re-route on no notice, so the course was out-and-back on the big rollers and 3 trips up "the wall."
Headwind on the way out, tail on the way out, side on the wall, we had to descend the wall, which is not normal.
I was in front-ish of the main pack for the first 1 1/2 laps, but on the last tailwind-driven descent, I could not stay with the pack. I'm a poor descender, am working on it, but am not comfortable at high speeds, and I think I just left too much space and wasn't getting a good draft. I was tucked, spun out, and was getting speed wobbles from wind gusts, but I swear I did not brake. Still though, off they went. Can I pull the "I only weigh 110 pounds card here? No, there were other smaller gals in front of me. Descending skillz, I don't have 'em.
(47mph, i now see.)I killed myself trying to catch back on on the next climb, had made it within 20 feet or so by the time we turned down the wall, and got dropped again. Chased back again. Right as I rejoined, two women in front of me touched bars (I think) and wobbled all over the road, looking like they were going down, and I braked to stay out of the expected carnage. They didn't go down, and I chased back yet again. At this point we were on a flat-ish section, and I rejoined right at the u-turn back into the headwind (still flat).... and then we turned left for some side wind and the last climb up the wall. As the pavement grade increased, I cracked, and suffered up the wall off the back of the front group. Passed and was re-passed by some other stragglers. 14th. Ouch. Bye bye omnium podium. My team mate who won the crit got 2nd in the RR.
05-25-13, 05:57 PM
#1384
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First race ever today. 30-min Cat5 crit on a pretty mild 0.7 mile loop course. I went in with the following objectives:
-Don't crash
-Don't do anything that causes others to crash
-Finish with the pack
In preparation of the race I've spent as much time as possible working with group rides, working pacelines, etc (and I'm glad I did).
So, race day, get in plenty early to warm-up, buy a license (full license, not 1-day), get a bit more familiar with the course. I saw a few familiar faces from group rides and from out on the roads and went about warming up. The first challenge I had to endure was getting the number on without having it be a sail. Once that fiasco was resolved, it was time to line up. Needed more than the 4 safety pins, but I am sure there are better approaches.
On the line (~30 of us) we were told that we'd have a Cat2 mentor ride in with us to keep the group as safe as possible. We also started the race with a neutral lap and got some advice from the Cat2 as we worked our way around. This was a nice addition and I'm not sure if it is common for Cat5 races, but it was appreciated.
On to the race....In order to meet my objectives above I decided I'd hang out near the back behind some folks and get a feel for things. I quickly realized that the guys I chose to sit behind weren't the right ones as we were dropped after lap one. I spent the better part of the next couple of laps regaining some ground and joining the main group. There were a couple of minor breaks, but nothing that stuck and it seemed like most folks were just getting a feel for things. As an aside, there were a few teams with multiple riders, but no apparent team work (assuming due to it being Cat5, but I don't know...was my first race).
The next 10 laps or so I spent maneuvering about the group and getting a feel for how things felt. There is significant yo-yoing the further your back (as I read in all the tips) and that was pretty rough to handle as my "jump" is pretty much non-existent.
At four laps remaining a pretty major channel opened up in front of me and while I knew it wasn't wise, I took it up to the front and lead for about 1/2 to 3/4 of a lap. I had no thoughts of winning and thought I'd take the opportunity to get some experience up front. I hoped some of the folks would come around and pull a bit as well, but that didn't happen (probably good strategy on their part). So, I throttled back a bit and was reabsorbed by the group. It was fun, learned that I can work up the front and pull if needed, but should probably pull less hard and for a shorter period.
That effort above left me pretty sapped and I drifted toward the back of the group for two laps. On the last lap folks kicked it up quite a bit and just hung on near the back and rolled through the line. Pretty stoked, not last and with the group, but if I had raced smarter I could have done better. Oh well.
The nice part was getting a rundown as a group from the mentor after the race. He pointed out some key things that he was discussing during the race: hold lines, don't overlap wheels, don't brake during the turn, etc. The demoralizing part was having him rolling with the group and being able to jump throughout the group with ease, but I suppose that comes with time and practice.
Overall outcome:
-didn't crash
-didn't cause anyone to crash
-finished with group
Bonus:
-got quite a bit of experience working in different parts of the pack (back, middle, front, off the front).
Good stuff and I look forward to some more races in the near future. I need to work on the following:
-more group rides
-work in more short burst sprint interval work with recovery, etc
Pretty long story, but I had a good time.
-Don't crash
-Don't do anything that causes others to crash
-Finish with the pack
In preparation of the race I've spent as much time as possible working with group rides, working pacelines, etc (and I'm glad I did).
So, race day, get in plenty early to warm-up, buy a license (full license, not 1-day), get a bit more familiar with the course. I saw a few familiar faces from group rides and from out on the roads and went about warming up. The first challenge I had to endure was getting the number on without having it be a sail. Once that fiasco was resolved, it was time to line up. Needed more than the 4 safety pins, but I am sure there are better approaches.
On the line (~30 of us) we were told that we'd have a Cat2 mentor ride in with us to keep the group as safe as possible. We also started the race with a neutral lap and got some advice from the Cat2 as we worked our way around. This was a nice addition and I'm not sure if it is common for Cat5 races, but it was appreciated.
On to the race....In order to meet my objectives above I decided I'd hang out near the back behind some folks and get a feel for things. I quickly realized that the guys I chose to sit behind weren't the right ones as we were dropped after lap one. I spent the better part of the next couple of laps regaining some ground and joining the main group. There were a couple of minor breaks, but nothing that stuck and it seemed like most folks were just getting a feel for things. As an aside, there were a few teams with multiple riders, but no apparent team work (assuming due to it being Cat5, but I don't know...was my first race).
The next 10 laps or so I spent maneuvering about the group and getting a feel for how things felt. There is significant yo-yoing the further your back (as I read in all the tips) and that was pretty rough to handle as my "jump" is pretty much non-existent.
At four laps remaining a pretty major channel opened up in front of me and while I knew it wasn't wise, I took it up to the front and lead for about 1/2 to 3/4 of a lap. I had no thoughts of winning and thought I'd take the opportunity to get some experience up front. I hoped some of the folks would come around and pull a bit as well, but that didn't happen (probably good strategy on their part). So, I throttled back a bit and was reabsorbed by the group. It was fun, learned that I can work up the front and pull if needed, but should probably pull less hard and for a shorter period.
That effort above left me pretty sapped and I drifted toward the back of the group for two laps. On the last lap folks kicked it up quite a bit and just hung on near the back and rolled through the line. Pretty stoked, not last and with the group, but if I had raced smarter I could have done better. Oh well.
The nice part was getting a rundown as a group from the mentor after the race. He pointed out some key things that he was discussing during the race: hold lines, don't overlap wheels, don't brake during the turn, etc. The demoralizing part was having him rolling with the group and being able to jump throughout the group with ease, but I suppose that comes with time and practice.
Overall outcome:
-didn't crash
-didn't cause anyone to crash
-finished with group
Bonus:
-got quite a bit of experience working in different parts of the pack (back, middle, front, off the front).
Good stuff and I look forward to some more races in the near future. I need to work on the following:
-more group rides
-work in more short burst sprint interval work with recovery, etc
Pretty long story, but I had a good time.
05-25-13, 10:37 PM
#1388
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Folsom Crit. Won a nice prime:
05-26-13, 02:26 AM
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i did the cyclonauts crit as well. pre-reg'd for the 3/4 and the 123. in the 3/4 a 3 man break (out of like a 15 man field) got away. I did as much as I could to put in work at the front the bring them back (was more using this race as training than anything else). But it wasn't working and I felt pretty slow/tight from the cold. ended up bailing on the 123. too damn late in the season to be racing in **** like that.
EDIT: Oh, nevermind I get it now.
05-26-13, 09:20 AM
#1392
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Tour de Frankenmuth this morning. Cat 5 road race. 32 miles.
Second ever road race. Got to the start line late and was dead last. Easy rollout. First corner. Had to sprint after to catch up. Dealt with the rubber banding effect at the back all race long. Had trouble moving up. 50 riders on narrow road with narrow lanes. So congested. There were either not very many opportunities to move up...or my lack of experience made me unaware of the opportunities that were there. I tried just blasting past people out of frustration once...passed a dozen or more riders. But I was out in the wind all by myself. Felt my strength start to wane, so I let riders pass until I could squeeze in behind a wheel...probably only 2 places above where i started. Fail.
Four major wrecks in the cat 5 race. I was bonkers. All of them happened no more than 6 bikes in front of me. Avoided them all...two of them only just barely. One of them, I locked up my wheels and was skidding towards them but skidded just by one of the falling bikes. And avoided tipping over while my bike fishtailed for a sec.
Coming around the last corner before a short straight to the finish, I was at the back of the lead group again. In that corner, another crash that took out at least one other rider. Myself and a couple others were slowed through the corner as a result and the group up front lost us. So I wasn't part of the final sprint. Out sprinted all but one rider near me in a half hearted seated sprint effort.
19th out of 50. All in all, a resounding success as I avoided crashing. Aside from the four crashes in my cat 5 race, we heard about all sorts of crashes in a bunch of the other races. And one of the higher cats going by while I was chatting with friends had a major bike flipping, human flying wreck. Just nuts. I think the course was just too crowded and certain sections too fast.
Full, overly long blog post here: https://www.slowvelo.com/2013/05/tour...-is-crazy.html
Second ever road race. Got to the start line late and was dead last. Easy rollout. First corner. Had to sprint after to catch up. Dealt with the rubber banding effect at the back all race long. Had trouble moving up. 50 riders on narrow road with narrow lanes. So congested. There were either not very many opportunities to move up...or my lack of experience made me unaware of the opportunities that were there. I tried just blasting past people out of frustration once...passed a dozen or more riders. But I was out in the wind all by myself. Felt my strength start to wane, so I let riders pass until I could squeeze in behind a wheel...probably only 2 places above where i started. Fail.
Four major wrecks in the cat 5 race. I was bonkers. All of them happened no more than 6 bikes in front of me. Avoided them all...two of them only just barely. One of them, I locked up my wheels and was skidding towards them but skidded just by one of the falling bikes. And avoided tipping over while my bike fishtailed for a sec.
Coming around the last corner before a short straight to the finish, I was at the back of the lead group again. In that corner, another crash that took out at least one other rider. Myself and a couple others were slowed through the corner as a result and the group up front lost us. So I wasn't part of the final sprint. Out sprinted all but one rider near me in a half hearted seated sprint effort.
19th out of 50. All in all, a resounding success as I avoided crashing. Aside from the four crashes in my cat 5 race, we heard about all sorts of crashes in a bunch of the other races. And one of the higher cats going by while I was chatting with friends had a major bike flipping, human flying wreck. Just nuts. I think the course was just too crowded and certain sections too fast.
Full, overly long blog post here: https://www.slowvelo.com/2013/05/tour...-is-crazy.html
05-26-13, 11:01 AM
#1394
Senior Member
Seriously, narrow roads obviously add to the difficulty of moving up, and as a Cat 5, you're unlikely to have the confidence or experience (nor other riders the handling skills) to move through the gaps that are there. Nor do you really have the experience, at this point, to learn much in that situation. But that doesn't mean it's too crowded or too fast. How sketchy and crashy a given race is seems to come from a combination of the mood of the peloton and the course, weather conditions, etc. I've seen enough crash-fest races on wide-open courses and relatively crash-free races on tight twisty courses, and vice versa, that I think it's hard to predict. But, no matter what, the more motivated and nervous people are, the more they are likely to make questionable moves of the sort that can cause crashes. So, start from there. Put that excitement and nerves on a narrow, twisty course and I think the effects will be worse than on a big wide course, but it really depends on more factors than just the roads.
05-26-13, 11:15 AM
#1395
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Originally Posted by teamtrinity 
You could have a point to point Cat 5 race on a closed dead straight 6 lane interstate and there would be at least 4 crashes. In a pro race you might get one too. And I've watched people crash into each other on 6 MPH climbs.
Crashes happen because people
a) are not paying attention
b) are taking a bad line
c) are poor bike hadnlers
d) panic
05-26-13, 11:52 AM
#1396
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First Race of Dallas today
Cat 4/5 (im cat 5)
Arrived about an hour and a half early. Found the team jersey I was supposed to wear. They called juniors to the back for rollout when everyone was already lined up so I had to do that then started dead last. Passed the people who couldn't clip in. Then was on the back of the main group. Forgot to say, it was really wet and rainy on the course. On the 3rd corner, .5 miles in to the race. A big crash took out about 8 people and the road was somewhat blocked. I slammed on the brakes then slowed to a crawl to maneuver around the wreckage and sprinted back up to try to catch the main field. They had about 30 seconds on me and I just couldn't close the gap by myself. About 2 laps later someone began working with me and we tried to catch the main group but no use. I finished 20/26 approximately.
Could I have gotten a free lap because I was affected by the crash? Or do you have to actually crash to get the lap??
Regardless, junior race in 4 hours.
Cat 4/5 (im cat 5)
Arrived about an hour and a half early. Found the team jersey I was supposed to wear. They called juniors to the back for rollout when everyone was already lined up so I had to do that then started dead last. Passed the people who couldn't clip in. Then was on the back of the main group. Forgot to say, it was really wet and rainy on the course. On the 3rd corner, .5 miles in to the race. A big crash took out about 8 people and the road was somewhat blocked. I slammed on the brakes then slowed to a crawl to maneuver around the wreckage and sprinted back up to try to catch the main field. They had about 30 seconds on me and I just couldn't close the gap by myself. About 2 laps later someone began working with me and we tried to catch the main group but no use. I finished 20/26 approximately.
Could I have gotten a free lap because I was affected by the crash? Or do you have to actually crash to get the lap??
Regardless, junior race in 4 hours.
05-26-13, 12:43 PM
#1398
Senior Member
Fort4Fitness Twilight Crit, Cat 4
Taken out on the 2nd lap going into the first turn when the guy in front of me hit his brakes.
Cracked my helmet, bent derailleur hanger, a little bit of road rash on my knees, scraped a good sized patch of handlebar tape off and scraped my saddle.
Taken out on the 2nd lap going into the first turn when the guy in front of me hit his brakes.
Cracked my helmet, bent derailleur hanger, a little bit of road rash on my knees, scraped a good sized patch of handlebar tape off and scraped my saddle.
05-26-13, 02:34 PM
#1399
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That stinks Wylde :/ sorry to hear.
Wells Ave A/B Race (40 laps, .8 mile loop): Well the light rain in the morning made the officials almost call off the race and because of the low turnout we had a combined field (A is normally 1/2/3/4, B is normally 3/4). Race was pretty small to start (Pay attention to this) probably like 25 or so guys. We get going and about a lap in Sam R. a REALLY good sprinter and Cat 2 ends up getting a gap to the field of maybe 50 feet. I ride another lap or two and finally shoot out after him, bridge up and start to try to get a break going. He does not seem to feel it and half a lap later we are "caught" only thing is that after they catch us they almost immediately sit up so I just drill it.
Basically this starts me on a solo break. As I am going I notice they I am starting to lap riders who have been shelled from the main group and the officials start to give me time gaps that grew to 47 seconds at it's max. Then I started passing riders who I couldn't remember from the start. After that the time gap starts to shrink. So 32 laps and 6 primes later they drag me back. Now as soon as I re-integrate to the field I immediately notice that there are people here that were definitely not here at the start of the race. At this point it is 7 laps to go and I am gassed so I tried one feeble attempt at a break and once I realized that basically everyone was just sitting on my wheel I just sat up for the rest of the race.
The end was actually pretty funny. I found a friend who had been lapped and I offered to give him a lead-out. So we come into the final lap and that is exactly what I did. I think he got 4th or 5th and I managed 8th. The thing that was funny was that he was just coming off a rest week and was saying he felt horrible, couldn't get any power down and he still did great. Overall I didn't care about my placing since I was happy with my break. I would say that 55$, Drink mix, and a mango made me happy enough.
Oh yeah and when I get back to the reg table I am told that they allowed people who showed up late to join in. That explains why the bunch of people I passed seemed like new faces and why it seemed like the time gap immediately started dropping after I saw them. It's always nice when the peloton gets fresh legs injected into it that know what the break looks like I guess.
Wells Ave A/B Race (40 laps, .8 mile loop): Well the light rain in the morning made the officials almost call off the race and because of the low turnout we had a combined field (A is normally 1/2/3/4, B is normally 3/4). Race was pretty small to start (Pay attention to this) probably like 25 or so guys. We get going and about a lap in Sam R. a REALLY good sprinter and Cat 2 ends up getting a gap to the field of maybe 50 feet. I ride another lap or two and finally shoot out after him, bridge up and start to try to get a break going. He does not seem to feel it and half a lap later we are "caught" only thing is that after they catch us they almost immediately sit up so I just drill it.
Basically this starts me on a solo break. As I am going I notice they I am starting to lap riders who have been shelled from the main group and the officials start to give me time gaps that grew to 47 seconds at it's max. Then I started passing riders who I couldn't remember from the start. After that the time gap starts to shrink. So 32 laps and 6 primes later they drag me back. Now as soon as I re-integrate to the field I immediately notice that there are people here that were definitely not here at the start of the race. At this point it is 7 laps to go and I am gassed so I tried one feeble attempt at a break and once I realized that basically everyone was just sitting on my wheel I just sat up for the rest of the race.
The end was actually pretty funny. I found a friend who had been lapped and I offered to give him a lead-out. So we come into the final lap and that is exactly what I did. I think he got 4th or 5th and I managed 8th. The thing that was funny was that he was just coming off a rest week and was saying he felt horrible, couldn't get any power down and he still did great. Overall I didn't care about my placing since I was happy with my break. I would say that 55$, Drink mix, and a mango made me happy enough.
Oh yeah and when I get back to the reg table I am told that they allowed people who showed up late to join in. That explains why the bunch of people I passed seemed like new faces and why it seemed like the time gap immediately started dropping after I saw them. It's always nice when the peloton gets fresh legs injected into it that know what the break looks like I guess.
Last edited by dnuzzomueller; 05-26-13 at 04:55 PM. Reason: Added the funny thing
05-26-13, 03:22 PM
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How do you figure? They race bikes in Europe, too, and I promise you that the roads there are narrower than they are in Michigan.
Seriously, narrow roads obviously add to the difficulty of moving up, and as a Cat 5, you're unlikely to have the confidence or experience (nor other riders the handling skills) to move through the gaps that are there. Nor do you really have the experience, at this point, to learn much in that situation. But that doesn't mean it's too crowded or too fast. How sketchy and crashy a given race is seems to come from a combination of the mood of the peloton and the course, weather conditions, etc. I've seen enough crash-fest races on wide-open courses and relatively crash-free races on tight twisty courses, and vice versa, that I think it's hard to predict. But, no matter what, the more motivated and nervous people are, the more they are likely to make questionable moves of the sort that can cause crashes. So, start from there. Put that excitement and nerves on a narrow, twisty course and I think the effects will be worse than on a big wide course, but it really depends on more factors than just the roads.
Seriously, narrow roads obviously add to the difficulty of moving up, and as a Cat 5, you're unlikely to have the confidence or experience (nor other riders the handling skills) to move through the gaps that are there. Nor do you really have the experience, at this point, to learn much in that situation. But that doesn't mean it's too crowded or too fast. How sketchy and crashy a given race is seems to come from a combination of the mood of the peloton and the course, weather conditions, etc. I've seen enough crash-fest races on wide-open courses and relatively crash-free races on tight twisty courses, and vice versa, that I think it's hard to predict. But, no matter what, the more motivated and nervous people are, the more they are likely to make questionable moves of the sort that can cause crashes. So, start from there. Put that excitement and nerves on a narrow, twisty course and I think the effects will be worse than on a big wide course, but it really depends on more factors than just the roads.