bethel, cat 5, second group. my second race. 15th place, bah. did many dumb things; too much time in the wind, forgot to turn my powertap on at start (lcd was covered), waited too long during last lap to do anything.
still - stayed afloat, learned more, had fun. just need to apply..
anyone there notice how big the field was?
First Race...Complete 3-15-2009
To the point:
I got in a solid 6.5 mile warm-up to the start, checked in, stripped down and warmed up some more. By coincidence they called the start of the C-Race just as I was coming around so I ended up in the front. I took a solid pull up front, had to pull wide to force someone else to take over. I spent a lot of time in the drops (Thanks Botto)...one of the few in the drops it seemed.
Whenever I felt I was dropping back too far I would push up to the top 1/3rd of the group. I never dropped back past half the field (40~45 riders) which was good. I heard a rider go down behind, saw his head bleeding as we lapped. Ambulance showed and carted him away, sucks being this was the first race of the season.
4 laps or so neutralized to clear him with 6 to go on the board so I pedaled a high cadence to keep the heart rate up. 2 to go I started to move into position, found a nice hole and pushed through.
Final lap I had good wheel to follow but he pinched me to the curb as I went for the sprint. Actually had to ease up as my pedal struck the sidewalk curbing...took a nice chunk out of my pedal.
In the end I got 2nd on the day, so not bad for my first race. There's more FAST to be had for sure as they won’t always go this way.
Thanks to anyone who has offered sound advice directly or indirectly.
Murrieta circuit race: (note: ~4 mile laps) attacked from the gun, stayed away for a lap and a half... was obvious I would be caught soon so I sat up. Sat in for a while, attacked a few times, tried to get something going with some strong guys but nothing worked. They got in a break with another guy that stayed away for like half a lap but was caught. I stuck in the first 1/4 of the field for most of the race and started moving up with around 3 to go. It was hard to move up on the narrow course with a centerline rule (which most people didn't obey, which made it hard to keep position), but near the end of the penultimate lap I was caught in a crash near the front (semaj went down, I ran into the back of him) and came to a stop. Spent the rest of that lap and 1/3 of the last lap bridging back up but was at the back. Regained some position but was not where I wanted to be coming into the last few corners (exactly like a crit at that point), and only managed 19th out of about 100 guys.
Had my second race today. Rainy and cold (30s) this morning. I figured I might try to mix it up a little since I was feeling pretty good.
A few guys went hard right from the start and split the pack up in the first lap. I was staying towards the front of the front group of about 20 guys. Two guys broke off the front for a few laps. I tried to pick up the pace a little, and ended up catching them with the group behind me. That felt awesome, but really hurt and I had to sit back for a lap or so.
On the last lap, I tried to get good position going into the last turn that is pretty close to the finish line. Made my move probably a few seconds too late coming out of the turn. Managed to get 7th out of about 40-45 guys.
I'm lovin' this whole racing thing
Last edited by timster; 03-15-09 at 03:49 PM.
First race this morning.... first race ever. Great Forest Park Bicycle Race in St. Louis. Cat 4/5, 75 guys (registration max). 1 mile loop. 25 minutes + 5 laps. At our 9:00 start time, it was 40 degrees and sunny. A great day to race.
I got to the line early after a good warmup, which resulted in a great starting position. Following the advice of everyone and everything I've read on BF, as well as the advice of teamates, I kept 4 things in mind throughout the race:
1. Keep your nose out of the wind.
2. Stay in the top 1/3 of the field.
3. Find a wheel in front of you that's strong and own it.
4. Leave everything on the course.
The last turn leads into a roughly 600 meter, slightly downhill sprint that's wide open. I came around the final turn in 4th or 5th, staying patient while guys jumped early. I sucked a wheel until 200m to go, dialed it up to 150 watts, peeled off to the left, and squeaked out 2nd place by about 4 inches.
Second in a field of 75. Not bad considering my only goal was to not get spit out the back.
Oh yeah... I got a medal. I felt like I was 10 again, after a t-ball game, getting an "award" for participating. I should have gotten ice cream afterwords with my parents.
P.S. I too, am lovin' this whole racing thing
Nice job, that's a great result in a 4/5 field
Originally Posted by McTufferton
First race this morning.... first race ever. Great Forest Park Bicycle Race in St. Louis. Cat 4/5, 75 guys (registration max). 1 mile loop. 25 minutes + 5 laps. At our 9:00 start time, it was 40 degrees and sunny. A great day to race.
I got to the line early after a good warmup, which resulted in a great starting position. Following the advice of everyone and everything I've read on BF, as well as the advice of teamates, I kept 4 things in mind throughout the race:
1. Keep your nose out of the wind.
2. Stay in the top 1/3 of the field.
3. Find a wheel in front of you that's strong and own it.
4. Leave everything on the course.
The last turn leads into a roughly 600 meter, slightly downhill sprint that's wide open. I came around the final turn in 4th or 5th, staying patient while guys jumped early. I sucked a wheel until 200m to go, dialed it up to 150 watts, peeled off to the left, and squeaked out 2nd place by about 4 inches.
Second in a field of 75. Not bad considering my only goal was to not get spit out the back.
Oh yeah... I got a medal. I felt like I was 10 again, after a t-ball game, getting an "award" for participating. I should have gotten ice cream afterwords with my parents.
P.S. I too, am lovin' this whole racing thing
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]"it doesn't get easier, you just get faster"
I have Umd on ignore, you should too.
Entered my first race today...first a little rider profile:
Age: 37
Cycling: 9 mo.
2 mile circuit race (Cat 5) in Auburndale, Florida...at the start, it went off much faster than Id expected. Instantly there was some ruckus when a guy flatted in the first 50 yards, I avoided him but got shuffled toward the back...spent a bit too much energy trying to move forward, then a guy crashed. When he went down, to my left going around a fast right turn, a bunch of riders swerved my direction and a few of us had to slow drastically. This was the beginning of the end as the pack was now well up the road. And it just so happen there was a stiff headwind on this stretch of the course so, for me, there was no catching them. So I rode the rest of the way alone for the most part...there were a few other guys OTB but no more than 1 of them at a time wanting to work together. Oh well, had fun (I think), didnt crash or do anything stupid, and didnt finish last, 41 of 51. Going to Tampa curcuit race next weekend for another beating.
Thank You. I can't really think of anything I would have done differently. Besides, maybe, getting first
Two collegiate races -
Saturday: Crashed out of 4th wheel on the last lap by a moron trying to fit himself into a non-existent gap. Crushed helmet, rolled a few times, but just lost some skin. More pissed about losing the opportunity to win.
Sunday: clusterfck finish, sprint for 4th.
Velo Magazine/VeloNews.com tech guy — get in touch or hit me on the tweeter @CaleyFretz
Also my first ever race...
Same race with you and JoesinBoston but completely different experience. Tactically, did a lot of things wrong: stayed out in the wind way too much, kept coming up against people dropping back and went way, way too early in the last two laps. Half the laps were neutralized which made it a complete clusterfrak the entire time. I was in the middle of the pack trying to find ways to move up but got squeezed out in all my attempts. Made a go of it the second to last lap and got as far as the fourth rider in the lead group, but nobody followed me or wanted to share the work so I redlined and got swallowed up again.
Could not find a single wheel that could move up to contest the sprint (not that I had any to contend, but would have probably finished better)... ended up finishing about #15.
I had a lot of nervous energy and was ultra conservative (have to say seeing the crash to that guy rattled the s out of me). Fitness wise, I was pretty much right there... But I was less confident and comfortable than I thought I would be.
Definetely a few sketchy riders in the pack...like the guy with Hanes underwear and Champion Socks, or that kid that looked about 14 and kept swerving. I'll probably race again next Sunday so it'll be interesting to see what happens to the pack with sustained pressure.
I'll definetely need to work on my sprint a bit more. I should have gone to bigger gear before I started...I think I pedaled out the gear I was in. I showed 31mph max on my computer after the race, that must have been the sprint. That should creep up a bit as the season go's on.
I can look this up for you but I have to be home to do it. You can always post comments through my blog to ask questions and such, or use the bikereg's contact link on the race's registration page. For Mar 15, you can ask questions at:
http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...9-tour-de.html
cdr
You literally almost made me spit up my lunch. I was redlining, pumped up on sodium bicarbonate and caffeine that could stop a horse and halfway through the race I see the guy with his champion briefs sticking out from out of his tights. Didn't think anything of it at the time, but in hindsight that is a gas... goes to show how preoccupied I was.
Yeah, talk about sketch. The starting line was like the Cantina at Mos Eisley.
Yes, he took quite a few pulls at the beginning, bonked, came at me like a wall and impeded a clear path for me to the top ten riders. Had to grab a handful of brake to keep from slamming into him.
Exactly. I don't think it would have been such a ridiculous mass sprint at the end if it wasn't for the 7-8 neutral laps. I'm thinking of doing the Charge Pond Crit Saturday for a change of scenery (and hopefully less carnage.)
Looking at my files, I sustained 28-30 on the one lap I tried to bridge over to the leaders, the other non neutral laps were around 25-26 avg.
No surprise here that you got second. I've seen you take monster pulls on the group ride... Should be an interesting summer!
Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'll take a look at Charge Pond as well, but I think I'm doing the Michael Schott Memorial Circuit Race April 5th for sure. 2.2 mile rolling course, just under 20 miles total for Cat 4/5, my power/weight ratio should suite this course. I'll be breaking out the Toyota United for that one
Crap...closed
Last edited by FormerBMX'er; 03-16-09 at 12:11 PM.
OK, I wasn't DFL but 16th out of 22. I'm not too upset about averaging 23.4 mph for 7 miles without aerobars and riding in sneakers on the back of my clipless pedals. That must have been a sight.Flat course, smooth surface, and just a light breeze made for fast times.
I'm the world's forgotten boy. The one who's searchin', searchin' to destroy.
March 15th, the second group was minimum 33 riders. If we had a late registrant or two, a couple more.
cdr
My race report for Mar 15th 2009:
http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...our-de_16.html
Cliff Notes - I actually stayed in the first half of the field for much of the race. Won. A bit tight, although I didn't see anyone when I checked just before the finish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJLrcm7X7i4
Half hearted bike throw.
cdr
cool, thanks - that means i was in top 50%, woo
congrats on the win! definitely sorry i didn't stick around past the 4s race.
Polk County Cycling Classic - Cat5 Crit at Lake Alfred, FL
Placed 10th out of 48 on the unofficial printout. The uploaded results on Florida Cycling put me in 1st place. Mmm kay. Are most Cat 5 race results so goofy? I've only done three races so far and 2 have had placed me incorrectly.
I got to the race with no time to spare. I just finished pinning my number on when Cat 5 was staging. I still had my training tires on (Armadillos).
The first turn was messy. I braked before the turn, picked a line, but was approaching the riders in front of me like a wall. Nothing but locked up rear wheels, a couple bikes hitting the ground, and some riders going off the course. I stayed up, but subsequent laps on this turn still had many people unable to pick a line without braking mid turn and losing it. On the third lap I started taking the outermost line possible and going around everyone hugging the inside of the turn and grabbing brakes.
I chased a lot, hoped that something would stick, but nothing did. I should have been more aggressive on getting towards the front of the pack for the last surge to the finish. I did well grabbing wheels and jumping from rider to rider to get more places.
Overall a fun race with good speed. 24 mph over 35 minutes.
Last edited by fetad; 03-17-09 at 12:47 PM.
91' Bridgestone RB-T
"You want it to be one way...but it's the other way" Marlo
I did pretty well on this race and got some sweet pictures. I just wanted to share them.
even though the second picture makes it look like I got first, I really placed 10th. (not bad for a second race in a field of 35) The race was a lot of fun! I soloed for 18 miles, never caught the first few riders, but I never got over taken by the main pack. I am pretty proud of that.
Eu faço da dificuldade/A minha motivação/A volta por cima/Vem na continuação/O que se leva dessa vida/É o que se vive/É o que se faz/Saber muito é muito pouco
http://sizemorebicycle.com/
Well first race done, CAT3 (we have no 4 or 5 category in ireland) so was reasonably hard going...just intended on finishing the race which was just shy of 70km with speed topping out at 86 kmh...reckon next time I will push harder and try and position myself better in the pack as towards the end I finished near the front of pack but was not in position to contend for the sprint.
Land Park Criterium, Cat 5.
Cliff Notes version: Came into the finishing straight about 20 riders down, found a gap through the field and pushed it for 7th place. Avoided the 3-rider pileup on the left side by virtue of being on the right side.
Slightly more detail: It was a pretty slow crit IMHO even though we probably averaged 24 mph or so for the 35 minutes. Kept accidentally going off the front since people would slow down randomly. Tried pushing it once for half a lap, realized I didn't feel like doing it. Ended up pushing the pace for half a lap another time. Sat in at the back and recovered, went back towards the front.
Everybody went for it with 1 lap to go, the pace was finally decent but I didn't do as good a job as I would have liked getting position (would have liked to have entered the finishing straight 10th instead of 20th). Just happy with the top 10 and not getting crashed out since some people were pretty sketchy through the chicanes.
I finally got out this season after a few weeks of hideous weather. It was cool but dry and partially sunny for my race.
It might as well have been my first race because it was my first race in 15 years or so. Didn't grab a very good starting position, and stayed in the back playing the accordion for the first half of the race. Things were really jammed up and it was difficult to move anywhere in the pack.
In the last 10km of the race, things opened up a bit and I was able to move into the top 1/3 or 1/4 of th pack. I stayed basically there as the sprint started, but my right quad cramped with 100 meters to go and I got passed by quite a few riders.
Overall it was a blast and I had a middle of the pack finish. That was right in line with my goal for the day, so I guess you can chalk that up as a success.
San Dimas Cat 3 Race Report: The suck.
I did ok in the TT on friday, putting in a 16:44 for 49th out of 95 on Glendora Mountain Road. Was hoping for 16:30 and top half of the field, but I got about what I expected.
The road race today is a 7 mile circuit with a long gradual ascent and a rudely steep but relatively short hill. We were doing 8 laps for 56 miles and with a lot of talk of fields ripping apart and 5% time cuts I was getting a little worried.
I got dropped finishing the fifth lap and did the sixth completely solo. Worked with another guy for the last two but finished 10 minutes back from the field, about 2:30 past the time cut. The suck.
Oh man, I was in the same race. I was sprinting for a top 10 on the left side where the crash happened (my 3rd race ever). The 2nd bike to go down slid into me but I went over the the back wheel and stayed up..The guy to my left in the gutter thanked me for not taking him out. I finished 15th. Sad thing is... those were my friends that went down. One suffered a broken clavicle and scapula, the other... road rash to the face and 4 broken teeth
I'm having a hard time getting pumped about tomorrow's race but I'm doing it for them.
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