Southern California - Torrance Criterium race photos

Took a ride over to the Torrance Criterium race today took a bunch of photos here are a few.
http://www.jtgraphics.net/cycling/torrance.jpg

I'm expecting race reports people. I need to live vicariously through you guys this weekend, I was not allowed to race. (Rest weeks suck)

My not-so-hot race report: Cat 4, I got a good warm-up and felt good at the line, but once we started I was near the back and couldn't seem to work my way up. The frequent corners on the .4 mile course were killing me and I eventually went off the back and took a seat next to my teammate's (Jeff) girlfriend to cheer the others on. Jeff was in a good position most of the time, but we didn't see him cross the finish on the last lap. Turns out someone went down in front of him and took him (and others) out too. We went to turn 1 to find him being bandaged in all sorts of places, but nothing seemed broken... except for his carbon frame! His girlfriend took him to Huntington Memorial to get checked out and I'm waiting to hear back from him. In all the commotion, I didn't realize I had left my wheels in the pit until I got back home and something was missing. I emailed the race promoter and in hopes that someone found them at the end of the day.

+1 to leaving wheels behind. Me too. In all the commotion with the crash, they totally slipped my mind. I'll be e-mailing as well and looking for a phone number. The number on the flyer didn't do anything.

+1 to leaving wheels behind. Me too. In all the commotion with the crash, they totally slipped my mind. I'll be e-mailing as well and looking for a phone number. The number on the flyer didn't do anything.
Now I don't feel so bad. :D

Since I prefer not to commute down the rough roads to work on 16/20 spoke wheels, I'll be trying to pick them up tomorrow evening if I can. Would you like me to grab yours too if possible?

My not-so-hot race report: Cat 4, I got a good warm-up and felt good at the line, but once we started I was near the back and couldn't seem to work my way up. The frequent corners on the .4 mile course were killing me and I eventually went off the back and took a seat next to my teammate's (Jeff) girlfriend to cheer the others on. Jeff was in a good position most of the time, but we didn't see him cross the finish on the last lap. Turns out someone went down in front of him and took him (and others) out too. We went to turn 1 to find him being bandaged in all sorts of places, but nothing seemed broken... except for his carbon frame! His girlfriend took him to Huntington Memorial to get checked out and I'm waiting to hear back from him. In all the commotion, I didn't realize I had left my wheels in the pit until I got back home and something was missing. I emailed the race promoter and in hopes that someone found them at the end of the day.


Bummer, hope he's okay. That sucks for the bike, though.

Hey, that'd be great.

Took a ride over to the Torrance Criterium race today took a bunch of photos here are a few.


What, no love for the cat 5s? :p

Today I worked on moving up the field, inside and outside the pack, and I also learned that even though everyone always talks about lighting their last match here and there, I have only one match and should be even more selective on where I use it. It was my 4th race...I had a blast, and can't wait until next week. :D

I'm expecting race reports people. I need to live vicariously through you guys this weekend, I was not allowed to race. (Rest weeks suck)

Cat IV's Race
Field Size? anyone?

This race was all about position. It was a short course with not-so-great corners. I noticed many times I ended up over the manhole cover on Turn 2 and my back wheel would slip out from under me. On Turn 3 people on my left were gobbling up cones and on the inside (right side) they were doing the same. On Turn 4 there was a pothole that riders would try to avoid at the last second (knowing it was there from the other 20x) and change their line in the turn. There were times that riders were taking the turns wide and popping up on the sidewalk and trying to reintegrate into the field. Sketchiness was the word of the day.

I went out on a break just after a prime with 15 minutes left in the race. I was with a Kahala La Grange rider named Spencer. He didn't realize we were in the break he just got on my wheel. The third rider in the break didn't do any work. SO after 3 laps (with the biggest time gap being 10 secs) we got caught. No big deal for some reason I felt good and when I got back in the pack I didn't feel like I had spent any real energy out there.

Overall the race pace was SLOW barely 25 mph avg. We would begin to ride hard and string it out only to slow down and bunch up. I never felt tapped and when the laps began I still felt great. I was so disappointed with 16th place because I made a poor choice as to the wheel I was following into the last two corners. He is someone I know is a good sprinter from Eldo. After the race he and I commiserated on waiting too long. One thing I need to make sure is my positioning in the last lap. From 6 years of Ultras I don't have a sprint so it is something I have to work on.

Lesson Learned: If I ever feel that good again just go earlier.

There will be pictures later and maybe some video.

13th in the 4's. i think i was just happy to have moved up before the big crash. that one sounded NASTY with a capital N-A-S-T-Y.
i sprinted up from about mid pack at one point to "help" close down a little two man break. i say "help" because no one else did. and once we pulled them back, everyone tried their best to fit in the same spot right behind me. i wasn't going to let that happen, so i sat up, looked at the guy behind me and said "you can go ahead..."
i thought i'd locked up a good spot for the sprint, but some guy who was on the same team as the winner was nice enough to sit up right in front of me in the final corner. rad.
again, 13th place. nothing special. i'm just glad i wasn't involved in that wreck. yuck.

good seeing everyone today!

Hi,

First of all I see one of my teammates in the 3rd photo -- the guy with the red shoe covers. Now if you're thinking, "Gosh, he doesn't have a pink and blue kit," you're right. More to follow.

OK, excuse number 1: Yesterday I rode with some of the BF folks who have ex-communicated themselves from this forum. Distance was 62 miles with 6,300 ft of climbing. For those of you old enough to know what this means, it was a LSD ride.

So for the first time in 20 years, I raced in colors other than pink and blue. Our club pick up Kings as our bike shop sponsor last year and this year Derek (the owner) decided that he wanted to have a race team within Lightning Velo. So today was the debut of Team Kings / Lightning Velo. The team kit is red and black (if you couldn't figure that out from the photo.

Six of us started the Masters 45+ race and four of us finished. Unfortunately, one of my teammates crashed on the back straight. He was out cold for a few minutes. When I spoke to his wife last, he was still being evaluated in the emergency room after he drove himself home. :eek: Still waiting to hear the final results. :( BTW, I was right at the front at the starting line and promptly missed clipping in my foot at the whistle. Hope that none of you saw that. :o

One of my teammates was something like 12th. I was DFL. :o Race stats: 44 minutes, 19.5 miles, 26.5 MPH average. The course was listed as 1/2 mile in length but my Garmin consistently showed it as 0.4 miles. (Save this bit of info for later.)

Rode a warm down lap after the finish, got my 45+ number cut off, and went to the start line for the Cat. 3 race. Sucked down a gel while they were giving us instructions. I was near the back for the start so this time I got my foot in very nicely. :p This was my first 3s race in about a year and I was not too crazy about the bike handling. Went to the front once but spent more of the race from mid-pack to the back. I was generally feeling OK, but not great. Going into turn 3 with 2 to go, there was another cornering fiasco. I can't believe that no one crashed but when we got 1 to go I decided to sit up and watch from a distance. Unbelievably, my spider sense was wrong and everyone stayed upright. I was DFL again.

So for this race, Team Kings started five riders (including the owner, Derek) and finished with four. The good news is that everyone stayed upright. :) Race stats: 60 minutes, 25.9 miles, 26 MPH average. So that's 45 miles on a 0.4 mile course. You do the math to figure out how many laps. I was definitely a bit dizzy by the end.

Category 4 Race

I wasn't sure how this race would go. It had been at least a month since my last race (LAX Circuit Race) and there I wasn't feeling too good. Th course today was fun. Fast and tight. ABout 0.4 miles per lap, so we seemed to be flying. I have fun on courses like this, or at least courses that mix it up and are a bit technical (like Dana Point last year). They can be problematic, though, as they're so fast, moving up can be hard.

My goal before I got here today was to attack when I could, try to get a small group going, and all-around put the hurt on. I was hoping this would jump-start my motor for next weeks Pontius Crit, more of a target for me than today. Then I got to the course. Windy. There go those plans :rolleyes:

It was just as well. The first 2 or 3 laps I was not feeling good. I was thinking, "Oh, great, another wasted race." Guess I was having trouble getting my sea-legs back, so-to-speak. I was back a bit during these laps, at least half-way back in the field. This wouldn't do. I've got to move up. This would be hard as the course was small. So, if I wanted to be near the front for the finish, I would have to start moving now because it'll be a slow process. So after about 3-4 laps, I started moving forward.

I saw Billy (teammate) up front, where he would remain through most of the race. So I set about trying to get near. Eventually, I was successful. The best opportunity to move up seemed to be on the back stretch, between turns 2 & 3. The slight rise in the road, combined with a pretty rough headwind, slowed everyone else down, and I could move to the inside and crank it up. I repeated this a couple times as the pack is always moving and you're either gaining or losing spots. So, I would move up, find a wheel and recover a bit, slowly drift back, and repeat. For the most part, though, for the 3rd quarter of the race, I was near the front with Billy. He worked a couple times, chasing down a break we weren't in, or I would close a gap. It was nice.

With about 9 laps to go, I found myself on the front. I didn't want to be doing any work, so I came around turn 4 and eased up on my pedals, waiting for someone to come around. He did. Big guy (not as big as me--no one is!!), black-ish kit & bike. I jumped on his wheel. We worked together a bit, pulling, sliding back, drafting, etc... The field was on our wheels, but that was okay. We did this for a lap--a prime lap at that. I was surprised no one else was upping the pace like normal on a prime lap. We go through turn 4--I'm 2nd wheel--and he starts moving for the prime. I decide, "Well, I can play that game too," so I start moving a bit to his left. A third rider moves up on my left, also going for it. I think, "No way am I going to put this effort out and not get it--I had the perfect lead-out!" So I put a little more into it and throw my bike at the line--nip him by a little less than half-a-wheel. This was a good trial run at the finishing sprint, and I didn't feel as if I had put out a lot of energy. I looked back and saw I had a good gap. But, I didn't want to continue alone into the headwind. So, I fall off the front a bit and try to shelter and recover.

I'm now about 15-20 riders back, trying to recover without losing too many spots. That's when the bell rings for 5-to-go. I thought we were moving before, but after this, I noticed a most definite jump in pace. Took me a lap or two to get used to it. By then, I was too far back. I could only move up about 2-3 spots as the pace was too high.

Last lap: we round corner #1 and are starting to go through #2, I hear a loud crash behind and to the outside (near the curb--I'm on the inside). Then, 2, 3, 4 more crashes, a loud exploding tire, and a couple more crashes. Amazing. Sounded awful.

Up to the top, turns 3 & 4, sprint for the line...nothing in the tank. In fact, my right quadricep started cramping as we came out of #4. 29th spot. Good practice run. Hope to do better next week.

^^^ i think you were right next to vireo and me when we lined up. i was wearing the celo pacific kit. wasn't sure it was you, so i didn't say anything. you're on the kuota, right?

Hi,

I just looked and saw how late the 4s and 5s were racing. No wonder I didn't see any of you. Oh, I did forget to mention that I was talking with zzzwillzzz a bit after the 3s race. He said he finished in the top 5 or so in the Cat. 3 race.

yeah, the late start was a little bizarre, but it was nice to be able to sleep in and veg all day before driving up there.

^^^ i think you were right next to vireo and me when we lined up. i was wearing the celo pacific kit. wasn't sure it was you, so i didn't say anything. you're on the kuota, right?

Yep, red Kuota. Sorry I didn't say hello.

cat3 race

like mark, it was my first race since lax and had three really crappy weeks but the last couple of weeks have been pretty good although i didn't feel completely on top of it at the rose bowl but was getting better. the race was pretty typical a bunch of attacks that really didn't look too serious and a couple at the end that were a little more concerning. a liquid fitness guy was off the front solo at the end and we weren't chasing very hard. it looked like he might stay away but we were slowly reeling him in and we caught him right before the sprint just like the pros always seem to do. watching the finish of the 45+ race right before our race i knew that it was important on the backside to be in the top 3 coming out of turn 4. down the backside i moved into pretty good position but got held up a little in turns 3+4 and ended up about 7th or 8th out of the final turn and didn't have a clear shot at the line but i was able to get around enough riders for 4th, just and inch or two behind third and not much more than a bike length or so behind the winner. i feel okay with fourth but i know i could have done better if i just fight a little harder just before the sprint

the fourth photo is the finish of the 3s race, you can just see my black helmet behind the helens guy right in the middle of the frame

13th in the 4's. i think i was just happy to have moved up before the big crash. that one sounded NASTY with a capital N-A-S-T-Y.

Reading these reports solidifies my 'no more cat-4 crits' pledge... glad I missed this race.

I went to Sea Otter and did the Cat 4, 35+ RR and Circuit race. They are great races and strong fields. In the RR I was going off the front on the climb with the same few guys, but not getting away. In fact, even though we were hitting the climb hard, the group of 20 or so guys who made it over the first time were all there. I realized a little late that there were a bunch of strong guys sitting in and waiting for the final climb. I cramped on the last lap and *suffered* for 10th. Dumb race on my part. Didn't realize just how much climbing we were doing -- after the race I had 54 miles and 5500+ ft of climbing.

The circuit race is an awesome course - the Laguna Seca racetrack. Our race was 1 hour and the front group just got smaller and smaller. One guy went off the front super strong and stayed away. Managed 5th... It also is about 1000' of climbing per 10 miles...

Couple of socal guy s I saw there in my races who did well: Dave from Fast Friday (7th in the RR and 2nd in Circuit) and Gabriel from Chicken Ranch (9th and 4th). Allan Z. from La Grange was also in our circuit race (10th I think) and was top-10 in the straight-4s RR I think. Steve W. was in the straight 4s both days... NorCal guys were top-6 in my RR... Strong guys...

It was cold and windy -- "cyclovets windy" for our circuit race...

good job at sea otter, man. i've always wanted to go up and race there. i used to go up and watch races a couple/few times a year for WSC, CART, and ALMS.

i hear ya' a bout the 4's races. it's amazing how dangerous it seems. i remember when i was a 5 and would always hear about how much safer it was, and for the first few races it seemed true. but now it seems like there's a crash every week and they just keep getting bigger and more violent. it's cutthroat out there. i may also switch over to 35+.

There is a crash every week in the 4s. Maybe later in the season it'll calm down some, I hope so, anyway. After this weekend I'm thinking I'll be out until June, perhaps July.

Did the 4's race and it seems like every time we're out there, there's some terrible crash. My team mate snapped his seat stay clean in half. It's his second frame that he's broken in a month. Broke the other in a crit of course. Both times weren't his fault. Hopefully we can all move up soon and get a little civility in our racing. Thanks Vireo for letting me sneak in on Ziffy Pop's wheel. It's nice to know that there's a few decent folks out there who are looking to have fun and be able to go to work the next day. We shoulda gone sooner!

Well, there wasn't a crash at Santa Barbara, the crash at Long Beach was 2 people being stupid after the race, and I only recall one guy going down at LAX.


There is a crash every week in the 4s. Maybe later in the season it'll calm down some, I hope so, anyway. After this weekend I'm thinking I'll be out until June, perhaps July.
Wait, did you crash too?!

Well, there wasn't a crash at Santa Barbara, the crash at Long Beach was 2 people being stupid after the race, and I only recall one guy going down at LAX.


Wait, did you crash too?!

I went over the bars when I ran into a pile of Cat 4's that crashed in front of me and I couldn't avoid hitting. Redlands had a pretty big crash, too.

...and anthill...

Did the 4's race and it seems like every time we're out there, there's some terrible crash. My team mate snapped his seat stay clean in half. It's his second frame that he's broken in a month. Broke the other in a crit of course. Both times weren't his fault. Hopefully we can all move up soon and get a little civility in our racing. Thanks Vireo for letting me sneak in on Ziffy Pop's wheel. It's nice to know that there's a few decent folks out there who are looking to have fun and be able to go to work the next day. We shoulda gone sooner!

No worries on the wheel. You guys are teammates and I don't mind seeing an organized train--it would actually be safer.

About the broken frame I feel really bad for your teammate. There was another broken frame I saw on a previous post. I can't believe the amount of carbon bikes I see out there. We are racing 4's which is just last week's 5's. Go to the garage and dust off your aluminum frames and get them race ready. How many more broken frames do you have to read about?

Remember this thread? (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=396448&highlight=) I really wish I could race them but I can't risk crashing them.

So I race this..

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2311/2390044713_7cece5cb4d.jpg

I went over the bars when I ran into a pile of Cat 4's that crashed in front of me and I couldn't avoid hitting. Redlands had a pretty big crash, too.
That sucks since you just recovered from that shoulder. How did you come out? Jeff isn't doing so well. His carbon Kestral is toast, too.

Hi,

I just looked and saw how late the 4s and 5s were racing. No wonder I didn't see any of you. Oh, I did forget to mention that I was talking with zzzwillzzz a bit after the 3s race. He said he finished in the top 5 or so in the Cat. 3 race.

Hi Cleave,
I took my family to watch the race. We came in about the last 3 laps of the 45+ and I called out your name but you didn't hear me.

I then saw you again lining up for the second race....oh yes, you were re-fueling on the gel at the time.

Anyway, we didn't stay long b/c my oldest was bored after awhile...you know how short kids attention span. I hope all of you have a good time. Sorry I didnt recognize more faces...but I was sure I saw JP was there with the Incycle bike..

Hi Cleave,
I took my family to watch the race. We came in about the last 3 laps of the 45+ and I called out your name but you didn't hear me.

I then saw you again lining up for the second race....oh yes, you were re-fueling on the gel at the time.

Anyway, we didn't stay long b/c my oldest was bored after awhile...you know how short kids attention span. I hope all of you have a good time. Sorry I didnt recognize more faces...but I was sure I saw JP was there with the Incycle bike..

Hi Wkend_Warrior,

Sorry that I didn't have a chance to say hi. Also glad that my memory is holding up at my old age -- typically I would have forgotten that I had the gel in my pocket. :o

I'm surprised that you could pick me out in my red and black kit. There were a lot of red and black teams out there on Sunday. However, it was easy to find me in the 45+ race -- at the back. :D

Actually,
I recognized your Serotta bike. :)