"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Helmet Cam: Rentschler Field Training Crit, East Hartford CT June 2, 2009 A-Race

I don't finish this race - I get shelled pretty hard. You can see the progression as the gaps get bigger and bigger throughout the clip.

http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.com/2009/07/helmet-cam-race-therent-june-2-2009.html

cdr

Another great vid. Thanks. I enjoy watching them.
How big was the turn out? It did not seem that large.

The training races typically get 20-30 riders. Anything more than that would be huge. I'd think the course would support 50-60 at a comfortable max.

I think that night was in the 25 rider range. More than 20, less than 30.

The small field sizes is one of the reasons I enjoy the races. It offers much less protection so I have to work much harder, i.e. more wattage, less hiding. The race is extremely relaxed so you can hop back on after you get lapped. One week I got lapped 5 times I think, hopping back in 3x (once I let them pass twice before getting back on) before finally quitting.

I'd say the races are separated into two parts - the "main" race, i.e. attacking, chasing, the first 45 minutes, and the "final" race, i.e. when the 5 laps to go card comes out, and therefore the last laps for the sprint. Your lap standing (i.e. are you lapped more than 1x?) has less to do with contesting the sprint than whether or not you want to work on doing a good sprint.

Since nowadays I rarely "participate" in the middle of a regular race (by attacking, bridging, etc, because I'm groveling at the back), I use the Rent races to play around with that stuff. Often these experiments see me shooting off the back after the fact, but sometimes I can hang in there. If, by chance, I'm sort of in the running for the last 5 laps, I'll save whatever I can until the sprint.

Usually I either place reasonably well (say 5th or so) or I get lapped/shelled. I guess that mirrors my finishes in real races lol.

cdr

You see CDR doing this in the race, and then out of nowhere he's in a break one week.

Go figure ;)

Love the videos cdr and of course the blog as usual!

Cool vid, thanks for sharing.

Cool vid, thanks for sharing.

+1 Great video.

great vid. enjoyed it.

anyone else have good helmet cam racing vids? i race vicariously through these

Cool. Loved it!