hack

FTP! FTP! FTP? Seriously though, I appreciate the advice and am still learning the craft and ways of racing. I'm still more of a reactionary opportunist than an instigator when it comes to racing and am always looking for ways to increase the skill set.

aaronmcd

Yeah, not 35 for a few years.Hey, CCCX flier is up. Cat 3s get 3 races to choose from. And I say "choose" because it would be suicide to do all 3 - back to back to back with 1/2/3 at the end hahahahaha

hack

I did 3 crits earlier this year with each one getting progressively "harder". Not a wise choice as my performances got progressively worse. Cats 3/4, 3, 2/3.

aaronmcd

At least those weren't as hilly as CCCX, and in crits you can sit in and forget about any breaks. And a bit shorter.

I'm thinking 2/3, rest, p1/2/3. Or maybe 2/3 and 3/4 back to back and skip 1/2/3.

hack

Very true (was at Folsom), but still felt like crap. I'd lean toward doing what allows you the best shot at points. So...2/3 then 3/4?

Doge

Correct. Just that there was no rollout at the end as specified in the technical guide - so the juniors did not roll out and were not DQ'd

aaronmcd

Idk if 3/4 or 1/2/3 is a better shot. 3/4 is easier competition sure, but only 3s count toward filed size, and no rest. 1/2/3 might be a better shot depending on how I feel in 2 weeks.

Then again, I've only done one 1/2/3 race and it was flat...

tetonrider

to your other comment....basically, the organizers realized (wisely, IMO) that even in the "pro" field most riders are paying to play, so time cuts were very loosely enforced. i.e., in saturday's RR lots of stuff could happen in the broken pavement/gravel, and if a rider made the effort to actually complete the RR they were good for the next day. time cuts for thunder hill and the TT were more strict, but 30% (was that it?) was fairly generous, even in the TT.


chico: basically pack fodder for the weekend. i think i was the highest placed rider with 100+ days on snow so far this year, though.

i thought it was a great race. my first lap of saturday's RR was done blind, and based on many horror stories i'd heard i'd say i gave the gravel more respect than it deserved. you could really tell anyone who has, say, ever ridden a MTB simply by how they gripped their bars. i actually thought some of the potholes leading up to the gravel, and the broken pavement immediately before the gravel, were worse.

i only rode through it with 60, 65 riders who generally had ridden the gravel before and were pretty solid racers. while @mattm's field had full use of the road, this made no difference in the gravel as every field takes the full road anyway. the battle for position must have been pretty insane. i found it easy to move up. i'd say i was expecting the gravel to be an 8 out of 10 in terms of difficulty and it was more like a 3 out of 10 in reality, in terms of technical skills.

friday's race (pack finish for me) was fun, but i spent most of my race getting my head wrapped around riding in a group. i'd been on the trainer for 5 months. this was my 3rd outdoor ride since the fall. you'd think that a racetrack is flat and has wide-open turns, but there were some punchy climbs and the good racing lines on a bike were were only 2-3 riders wide, so that made it fun. i was floating uphill and fitness was good (nordic skiing!) but would lose spots until i started trusting my bike again.

saturday's RR was such a blast. lots of stars & bars and world champ stripes in my field, along with several teams that sent 5+ riders. experienced riders + team presence made the race very tactical. i don't feel like typing up a blow-by-blow of the race, but the gravel, wind, and team tactics made it a bike racer's dream. we passed through the start/finish on lap 1 (i saw it for the first time) and i got really excited about it. the way it played out i was 14th on the stage and able to animate the race, though my legs didn't quite have the snap i needed in the final 500m due to lots of battling in the last 3k. 4h on the bike was about 3h longer than i'd been in the saddle since october.

sunday morning's TT was a great one that rewarded someone who could nail their pacing and account for the wind. there were lots of opportunities to screw up. i'd say i was most excited for the TT as i hadn't ridden my TT bike much this winter and wanted to see where i stood. i'd been battling some form of slight cold or allergies the prior few days (even fully lost my voice thurs/friday). ironically, when i woke up on sunday my head was the clearest it had been in a week but my legs weren't as fresh.

i knew when i rolled out that it was about a 90, 95% day. No biggie. I got as aero as I could and put out the most power where i knew it would count. no stress....nothing much to do about it. i was in 14th in the GC after the TT.

the crit course -- in my opinion -- was a great one. many crits i've been to have something weird on the course, like some wavy pavement (cascade), a weirdly-placed barrier, strange curbs, etc. seemed like all the pavement was smooth, the turns were wide open, and you could just rail your bike. the top spots were super tight and the teams were going to do battle. i knew it would be fairly fast and strung out (i think we averaged 27.7 on a 6-turn course). i was riding OK but still getting my head back into the pack situation and easing up just a bit more than others in turns--totally unnecessary and i was shuffling back because of it. after 10 or 12 laps i was noticing that the few riders behind me had dropped off...and then suddenly 2 riders ahead of me just withdrew from the race. the small yo-yo gaps i had to close suddenly became 3 bike lengths just as we turned into the wind. i busted my ass alone for a bunch of laps but got pulled before the finale. still felt privileged to be out there and was hoping to push for as long as possible, alone--for the duration if i could. pro-rated time knocked me way down, but i didn't really care as i wasn't in a meaningful position going in.

enjoyed the chico area (we were <1 mile from sierra nevada's facility!), had a great trip with a teammate, got to ride with many friends in my pack, and got to soak in that cali sunshine. weather was basically perfect--especially considering the iffy forecasts leading up to the races.

i'd love to go back sometime. beautiful country, talented riders, and lots of rolling terrain. some things went great and others less so; i was grateful to identify some of them in february rather than in april or may.

nordic racing this weekend!

Doge

Nice report.
I was not complaining just noticing. I guess my preference is they take the time cut wording out of the technical guide, as your description makes total sense.

shovelhd

I haven't worked a TT with Juniors, however the only reason I could think of why they would not have rollout is if they inspected every bike. Bigger gears could definitely be an advantage in a TT, I don't understand why they would not check.

tetonrider

i agree with you--i feel like if they publish a rule they should enforce it, so if they're not going to enforce it don't mention it. i find selective enforcement to be a bit annoying. this has happened at masters nationals.

the TT was a bit weird and seemed understaffed to me. they didn't have a start ramp or even a start house...or someone to hold your bike--just a line on the ground.

there were no marshals at the corners, either. the course was very well marked, but it was a fairly big race so this was a bit surprising.

i think this was because they were running the crit simultaneously (which was run very well and had tons of volunteers), so i think that caused the TT to be short-staffed.

not checking the juniors is a bit weird, though.

mattm

i wish they would've applied the 20% cut to the RR; it would've shed like 30 guys from our field.

some of us worked our asses of to make the time cut then it didn't even matter.

i'm sure people would complain, but those are the rules... (or supposed to be). especially for the p1/2 field.

in the TT i would've been on the edge of the time cut, but would've accepted the verdict, swallowed my pride, and brought clip-ons next year.

hack

I get the sense that with Merco disappearing, Chico has grown substantially over the past two years and they're in the process of catching up. Overall, I enjoyed it, but talking with others and reading some race reports there are a few things needing attention. One that caught my eye was Jr parents taking on wheel car duties, but spent their time motor pacing the dropped juniors and drove past a rider(s) that flatted.

Doge

I think it was an over-site. In the RR the roll-out was 2-3 miles from the finish (by the start) and generally happened 20 min after the finish as riders would finish and hang at the finish - then roll to the start. Anyone that wanted to could very easily change a wheel. In the CR - they did a 3 mile lap and were all out of site before roll out. A few juniors went right to roll-out. I know that is not how its supposed to be done.
Despite the other thread and suggestions otherwise I doubt any kids on any teams in the P12s are riding anything but the approved gears - spare wheels from a neutral car being a possible exception. These kids mostly know each other and reputation is a bigger deal than winning and in this race sans Adrian Costa, no sane junior was thinking they would win, not that they would have used illegal gears then either, just that it was a much lower pressure race than VOS, Sea Otter, Nationals for juniors.

Ygduf

I did three races at CCCX once. Had to take the next day off work.

Doge

I was not driving - so not me. Many riders in the P12 were getting paced back. The precedent was set in the CR when we saw the SRAM car do it in front of all the judges - several times for some pro riders.

I'm of the opinion that many of those drivers are junior parents. A typical junior will bring 1-2 "support" people to a race venue while a non-pro racer normally does not bring mom and dad, or friends to watch. When your kid is not riding, it gets pretty boring. Several parents I know drive for several races and its rare to find a parent in a feed zone feeding just one rider and often they are dealing with several racers.

mattm

This shot gives one a good idea of just how big the field was; beyond huge!

https://acaurora.smugmug.com/2015-Rac...12/i-xJVhfHP/A

hack

The report I read was from the 3/4 race, so not you.

UmneyDurak

You all missed an apex at T6.

That is a pretty big field, but course is super wide and not technical. Except for T5A maybe, but it's at a top of a hill so not that bad.

Ygduf

Sure. Get out of line and lose 50 spots ASAP.

UmneyDurak

Dude, I was joking...

Ygduf

mine was a comment more on the ridiculous field size and how difficult that is to handle, regardless. I wasn't trying to correct you or anything.

UmneyDurak

Ah I see. How big was it? Looks like around 100-120 people?

shovelhd

All well and good, but intent is only part of the equation. There is a group of Junior riders in CT that do triathlons and forget to change their wheels or lock out. They have a pretty well known reputation for doing this. One of them tried to grab a screwdriver from Dad once they figured it out in the rollout line. Another thing I saw last year was guys going from 23c tires to 25c with gearing on the edge and failing. It doesn't have to be intentional, although intent makes judgement easier.

mattm

about 170.