"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Ventura Stage Race

Who's in?

I'm still trying to decide whether or not to ride my TT bike or not. From some of the comments I've heard it might be a technical enough course to go with a road bike+ clip-ons+ disk. I'm thinking I'm going to bring the TT bike and make a game day decision. Can anybody give some insight? Either way it's going to be super short and super fast. I'm guessing winning times will be around 3.5 minutes.

Any insight into the Crit and road courses would also be helpful.

Who's in?

I'm still trying to decide whether or not to ride my TT bike or not. From some of the comments I've heard it might be a technical enough course to go with a road bike+ clip-ons+ disk. I'm thinking I'm going to bring the TT bike and make a game day decision. Can anybody give some insight? Either way it's going to be super short and super fast. I'm guessing winning times will be around 3.5 minutes.

Any insight into the Crit and road courses would also be helpful.

In for the 1/2s.

I've decided to use the money towards paying off my System Six and just do the Ontario 4/5 race. Good luck guys, my whole team is going to be there (PAA)

I am probably in for the 3s...

Ontario is more my speed. The only climb is that raised manhole cover coming out of T3.

wuss... hey did you get the pics?

Ontario is more my speed. The only climb is that raised manhole cover coming out of T3.

That will be turn 4 this weekend.

umd - I did indeed get the pics. Thanks again. I'll see those guys this weekend and hand everything off to the money guy.

redal - That's right, I forgot it was the short course this time.

the circuit looks no fun. i wonder if mapmyride's elevation charts are correct. it usually marks laurel canyon from the valley side as 11% when the sign posted says 7%

I hope it is hilly!!!!

From what I was told; no TT bike needed due to all the turns. You will not be on the aerobars enough to justify it. Again, this is what I heard so don't hold me to it.

Good luck everyone.

1.The TT starts on Main St which is a downhill slope

2.turns right on California St which is an out of the saddle big ring climb

3.left onto Poli which is a false flat

4.a sweeping right onto Cedar St.. Cedar has a knoll/hill in the middle which is short and can be done seated or out of the saddle. Once at the top of the knoll, it drops down quickly

5. slow down coming down Cedar and make a sharp left onto Prospect.

6. go down Prospect for 1/2 block and make the hair-pin U-turn.

7. Accelerate out of the hair-pin and make the right back onto Cedar.

8. the back side of Cedar is the longest "climb" in the TT. Its about a block long and you can do the whole thing out of the saddle.

9. once at the top of the Cedar climb, you have a sweeping left turn back onto Poli. In this direction, Poli is flat....maybe a 1-2% downhill.

10. coming off Poli you're going to make a right turn onto Oak St. This is a fast downhill grade.

11. at the bottom of Oak, you're going to make a left turn back onto Main St. This is going to be a very fast turn coming off the Oak St downhill.

12. now your on the 2 block finishing straight which is about a 2% 'ish grade.


My personal opinion is that the only place a TT bike might be beneficial would be on the straightaways on Poli St. My guess is that the road bike might cost you a couple of seconds (at the most) on the Poli straights, but you'll make that time up at the Cedar/Prospect intersection w/the hairpin turn. The road bike will probably corner better, have quicker shifting, and better acceleration. There is going to be a lot of shifting in and out of the corners.

This course will probably favor the power climbers in the bunch w/ good bike handling skills. Not enough flats for the pure TT'ers and the climbs are very short, so the climbers can't get away. Being that the course is only 1.7 miles, the effort will be painful, but short :D

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ca/ventura/158124207178318900

hope this helps :)

BTW, the above is my personal opinion of the coarse! Ride whatever bike you want :D My riding style might be different from yours :D

I want to know about the roadrace. Is it hilly?

I want to know about the roadrace. Is it hilly?

yes

yes

awesome!!!

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ca/ojai/972573298453

What's the gradient like on Thacher? I heard 9%, but the map says 7% for about .5 miles.

The only hill is on Thatcher, but its a long enough to hurt and drop riders. Once at the top you turn on McAndrew Rd.

McAndrew Rd (smooth pavement) is a steep downhill and Reeves Rd (rough pavement)is about a -1% downward slope. Turn right on McNell Rd.

McNell Rd (good pavement) is a 2% up hill grade. Turn left on Grand Ave.

Grand Ave is a -2% on new pavement. Right on Fordyce

Fordyce and Carne are a 2-3% grade

Turning off of Carne Rd onto Thatcher its a a false flat to a slight -1-2% downhill grade. If I remember correctly, the Thatcher climb starts after the McNell Rd intersection.

thanks for all the great info, phoshizzo. now i just need find a place to stay up there. anyone looking to share a room or carpool, feel free to pm or email me. i'm coming from irvine.

The start times are out and one of my teammates is the minute-man for Landis :p

It's a short course though so hopefull nobody will be caught by their minute man

My one and only wish for that race was to not have a pro starting behind me. Glad that didn't happen.

I just got back from pre-riding the prologue and crit courses. It's going to be hard. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the crit will be the hardest all year. You start with a 2% grade through the start finish, turn left and go up a hard ~15 second kicker. I'd say it similar (but maybe a little longer/steeper) to the kicker at Red Trolley but without any momentum at the bottom. Make another left, long flat stretch, left downhill, BALLS OUT super fast left at the bottom then a block and a half of 2% to the finish.

The prologue is going to be tricky. I've decided that the straightaways are long enough and the technical sections are just barely easy enough that a full TT setup will be the best option. That being said, gear selection is going to be critical. The section before-during-and-after the turnaround will make or break the race. You've got to make sure you don't over gear the descent because you'll be on the bullhorns through the left onto Prospect followed immediately by a turnaround, right hand turn, and climb. You'll then need to meter your effort up the hill so that you maintain enough speed over the top but don't completely blow up when it flattens out. The last right into the descent will be easy, but the last left before the finish is the same as the last corner of the crit. I'm guessing 40-45mph on the bullhorns and rail the corner as hard as possible before the finish. Everything can be done in the big ring.

For the most part the course is wide open so corners can be taken at speed. The notable exception being the left onto Prospect near the turnaround. It's narrow and there's a bad stretch of pavement right where you want to setup for the corner. My suggestion is arrive plenty early so you can watch the early racers and find the best lines through all the corners. Definitely not a course you can take blind and expect to do well. I pre-rode it 3-4 times and I'm still thinking about how to set up for some of these corners. It's going to be hard but fun.

Jonzin for updates!!!

(Guessing it was some good tough racin')

I posted my updates in the race report thread...

I didn't write today's yet. It sucked. The climb on the third lap (of 8) was for KOM points and the extra juice really hurt. But I made it over the top with the group and lived for another lap. Just. The fourth time up I had nothing left and despite climbing at threshold they just rode away. I rode by myself for a lap and then was joined by some local guys who had been dropped earlier and we worked together for two laps but then they dropped me and I rode by myself to the end, cramping and light-headed. It was fricken hot and I'm sure I didn't drink enough and I was crusty-white which is unusual for me :(. It was basically an hour of VO2max intervals followed by an hour of threshold climbs followed by 15 minutes of looking for someone to shoot me to put me out of my misery. I finished 25th. Not sure how many started but they only put 30 as finishing. There were 47 listed as finishing the crit and eligible to start today although I'm pretty sure that one of them was Danny who was out with a broken collarbone from the crash. 40 would probably be a good estimate.

I posted my updates in the race report thread...

I didn't write today's yet. It sucked. The climb on the third lap (of 8) was for KOM points and the extra juice really hurt. But I made it over the top with the group and lived for another lap. Just. The fourth time up I had nothing left and despite climbing at threshold they just rode away. I rode by myself for a lap and then was joined by some local guys who had been dropped earlier and we worked together for two laps but then they dropped me and I rode by myself to the end, cramping and light-headed. It was fricken hot and I'm sure I didn't drink enough and I was crusty-white which is unusual for me :(. It was basically an hour of VO2max intervals followed by an hour of threshold climbs followed by 15 minutes of looking for someone to shoot me to put me out of my misery. I finished 25th. Not sure how many started but they only put 30 as finishing. There were 47 listed as finishing the crit and eligible to start today although I'm pretty sure that one of them was Danny who was out with a broken collarbone from the crash. 40 would probably be a good estimate.


Why was Walker at Ontario? I meant to ask him but forgot once the race was over.

One of my friends got 11th in Cat 4
:innocent: useless input

Why was Walker at Ontario? I meant to ask him but forgot once the race was over.

I don't know... it seems like he would have been good at it, it turned out to be a climbers race for sure. Or maybe it was stacked with enough big names he thought his chances would be lower. He seems to pick the races with the highest likelyhood of payout.... I mean, he has to eat.

I don't know... it seems like he would have been good at it, it turned out to be a climbers race for sure. Or maybe it was stacked with enough big names he thought his chances would be lower. He seems to pick the races with the highest likelyhood of payout.... I mean, he has to eat.

Yeah, I've had this discussion with Marco Fanelli. I just figured since it was sponsored by your guys' team he would do it. I could tell from the flyer it would favor the climbers. I would think there has to be a cost benefit too. He drove 2.5 hours each way to make $100.

Yeah, I've had this discussion with Marco Fanelli. I just figured since it was sponsored by your guys' team he would do it. I could tell from the flyer it would favor the climbers. I would think there has to be a cost benefit too. He drove 2.5 hours each way to make $100.

All I could think of is that he didn't want to go up against Floyd and the OUCH squad, but it seems only one showed up. Of course when I left the race him and Neil Shirley had a few minutes on the field. Gary and Seth finished solidly behind it seems. When I left there was a chase of 3 and the largest "pack" was about 10 guys with them in it. Gary finished 8th and Seth was 9th in the GC so he must have finished well up there as well. I'm sure Walker would have slotted right around there somewhere as well.

All I could think of is that he didn't want to go up against Floyd and the OUCH squad, but it seems only one showed up. Of course when I left the race him and Neil Shirley had a few minutes on the field. Gary and Seth finished solidly behind it seems. When I left there was a chase of 3 and the largest "pack" was about 10 guys with them in it. Gary finished 8th and Seth was 9th in the GC so he must have finished well up there as well. I'm sure Walker would have slotted right around there somewhere as well.

I doubt it. You saw Punchbowl. Walker was constantly off the front and Floyd was with us in the group, until he dropped out. Your other guy Seth just rode smart and conservative in the group since Walker was constantly up the road.

That's a good point... I'll ask him when I see him.

Ahhhhhhh, got my fix - thanks! :D

Read my Ventura race report in the race report thread. I am not a happy camper. :( Oh, well that is racing.

One of my friends got 11th in Cat 4
:innocent: useless input

one of your friends must be e-rock

wow that crit course was something. Team chicken ranch owned the 5s. looking at the crit course on a map was the biggest mistake. The unofficial results placed me 22nd overall with 11:08 behind the leader, though on the crit course, a couple of riders i lapped got better times than me. my only goal was to make it past the halfway mark to get a time for the next day. which didn't help much neither.

i got dropped on the hill the very first lap, caught up on the descent, and got dropped again, second time around, i caught the lead group again on the descent but by this time i had gone too hard too early.

Pictures are up on my blog. Not very complete since I was racing and kuf was away. Most were taken with my little P&S camera except for the tail end of the P/1/2 and women's circuit. I gave my camera to a teammate's father to take while I was racing...

Prologue (http://www.photoscene.com/kimandsteve/460/ventura-stage-race-prologue-pictures)

Crit (http://www.photoscene.com/kimandsteve/461/ventura-stage-race-crit-pictures)

P/1/2 circuit (http://www.photoscene.com/kimandsteve/462/ventura-stage-race-p-1-2-circuit-pictures)

Women 1/2 circuit (http://www.photoscene.com/kimandsteve/463/ventura-stage-race-women-s-circuit-pictures)

Cat 3/masters circuit + some extras (http://www.photoscene.com/kimandsteve/464/ventura-stage-race-more-circuit-pictures)

Pictures are up on my blog. Not very complete since I was racing and kuf was away. Most were taken with my little P&S camera except for the tail end of the P/1/2 and women's circuit. I gave my camera to a teammate's father to take while I was racing...

Prologue (http://www.photoscene.com/kimandsteve/460/ventura-stage-race-prologue-pictures)

Crit (http://www.photoscene.com/kimandsteve/461/ventura-stage-race-crit-pictures)

P/1/2 circuit (http://www.photoscene.com/kimandsteve/462/ventura-stage-race-p-1-2-circuit-pictures)

Women 1/2 circuit (http://www.photoscene.com/kimandsteve/463/ventura-stage-race-women-s-circuit-pictures)

Cat 3/masters circuit + some extras (http://www.photoscene.com/kimandsteve/464/ventura-stage-race-more-circuit-pictures)

Awesome pics! Are you racing state tt this weekend?

Awesome pics! Are you racing state tt this weekend?

I don't tt unless I have to :p

one of your friends must be e-rock

wow that crit course was something. Team chicken ranch owned the 5s. looking at the crit course on a map was the biggest mistake. The unofficial results placed me 22nd overall with 11:08 behind the leader, though on the crit course, a couple of riders i lapped got better times than me. my only goal was to make it past the halfway mark to get a time for the next day. which didn't help much neither.

i got dropped on the hill the very first lap, caught up on the descent, and got dropped again, second time around, i caught the lead group again on the descent but by this time i had gone too hard too early.


Did you race the 5s? I was the lone guy with the tats in the blue and white kit. It was a great course and boy you are right; it got broken up and lots of Team Chicken Ranch guys. I was pretty upset about my terrible screw up in the RR missing the turn. I went into the RR wiht the KOM, Sprinters and Leaders Jersey but lost them all because of the volunteer course marker not telling us to take a right. I have been pretty depressed, but that is racing.

How did you do?

Did you race the 5s? I was the lone guy with the tats in the blue and white kit. It was a great course and boy you are right; it got broken up and lots of Team Chicken Ranch guys. I was pretty upset about my terrible screw up in the RR missing the turn. I went into the RR wiht the KOM, Sprinters and Leaders Jersey but lost them all because of the volunteer course marker not telling us to take a right. I have been pretty depressed, but that is racing.

How did you do?

pretty sure that there were only two chickens in the 5s. They are both pretty strong mountain bikers. They both with another guy who is now a 4 pretty much swept the 5s at pine flat and cantua creek in feb, but they haven't raced road since then.

A friend of mine was in the fives in the front with you guys, in gray on a cervelo. I watched the whole cat 5 grit mostly from the top corner and you guys shredded the field pretty quickly and established the lead group in the first few laps.

pretty sure that there were only two chickens in the 5s. They are both pretty strong mountain bikers. They both with another guy who is now a 4 pretty much swept the 5s at pine flat and cantua creek in feb, but they haven't raced road since then.

A friend of mine was in the fives in the front with you guys, in gray on a cervelo. I watched the whole cat 5 grit mostly from the top corner and you guys shredded the field pretty quickly and established the lead group in the first few laps.

I thought there were a few! Yeah, it fell apart pretty fast! It was suprising, that by the second lap there were already people way off the back but that is how the 5s are. The refs, etc struggled to keep up with who was getting lapped etc. It was an awesome course and fit me perfectly. They actually cut us about 4-5 min short because it was such a mess! LOL.

How did you do?

I thought there were a few! Yeah, it fell apart pretty fast! It was suprising, that by the second lap there were already people way off the back but that is how the 5s are. The refs, etc struggled to keep up with who was getting lapped etc. It was an awesome course and fit me perfectly. They actually cut us about 4-5 min short because it was such a mess! LOL.

How did you do?

Keeping in mind that my race was a bit longer... I got involved in a crash early in the race and used the free lap to get back in. I survived all of the "selections" that cut the field in less than half but started to cramp with 4 to go (the KOM lap) and got gapped a few bike lengths to the top. It was pretty much over at that point... but I dropped a chain with 3 to go and at 2 to go the field was getting close to me but I managed to hold them off and started my last lap watching the sprint behind me. Good thing I missed it though because there was a nasty crash in the sprint that broke the collarbone of a friend of mine.

Regarding the time of the race though, crits almost never run as long as on the flyer. It's pretty typical to be 5 minutes or so short because of the way they calculate when to start counting laps.