Killington Stage Race 2012
05-02-12, 12:47 PM
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Killington Stage Race 2012
This will be my first year doing the KSR - I'm really starting to get quite excited for it! I'll be racing Cat 4.
I was just wondering if anyone has any tips from racing it in years past. This is this years race flyer - https://www.killingtonstagerace.com/F..._KSR_Flyer.pdf - I'm not sure if it differs from previous years in terms of length or course.
Also - who else out there will be racing KSR? Looking forward to seeing everyone out there!
I was just wondering if anyone has any tips from racing it in years past. This is this years race flyer - https://www.killingtonstagerace.com/F..._KSR_Flyer.pdf - I'm not sure if it differs from previous years in terms of length or course.
Also - who else out there will be racing KSR? Looking forward to seeing everyone out there!
05-02-12, 01:04 PM
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Just make sure you stay away from this guy, he's death in the field.
05-02-12, 01:16 PM
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05-02-12, 01:55 PM
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Wife's heading there...I'll be staying home...
It's her first time doing KSR, she's pretty excited...
It's her first time doing KSR, she's pretty excited...
05-02-12, 02:09 PM
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05-02-12, 02:16 PM
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i don't get the joke either...
allawayr: based on the flyer and distances, i'm going to assume the races are the same as last year, despite the damage from hurricane irene at the end of last summer. i think most of that has been repaired. i raced 4/5 last year so i'll tell you what i know based on that.
circuit race: neutral rollout a few miles down to the start followed by three loops. there's a climb in the middle. it's not too steep - maybe 5-6%, if i remember correctly? - but it lasts a couple of miles. the KOM point is at the top, but it's not really a climber's KOM. my field stayed together on the way up and then guys would just sprint the last 1-200m. there was a significant headwind going up the climb, which was partly why the field stayed together. after the KOM, there's a short, steep descent - over 50 mph last year - followed almost immediately by a right turn. from there, it's a long, gradual flat/downhill to the finish. after the finish, you take a right turn to start the next loop. very fast finish, but the pavement is a little rough, so watch out. many of last year's races ended in field sprints. with the layout of the course and the wind direction last year, it was tough to get away from the field.
TT: mostly flat, with a little power climb near the end. the profile will show you slight elevation gain, but i think there was a bit of a tailwind, so it kind of evened out. there's also one short hill in the middle for which i think i had to shift down into the small ring, but just for a few seconds. pretty straightforward. get as aero as possible and hammer for 11 miles.
road race: nothing happened for the first ~25 miles, at which point there was an intermediate sprint. shortly after that, there's a substantial climb that split the field. probably similar to the jericho climb in your race - somewhere in the 1.5-2 mile range at about 7-8%, IIRC. that was tough. be at the front going into that. then there's a descent that i think has a dirt section. after the descent, nothing else interesting happened until the final climb, at which point everyone just went into survival mode. 2 miles of pain at about 10%, a brief rolling/flat section, and then one last 800m kicker to the finish.
my biggest piece of advice would be to make sure you have appropriate gearing for the final climb in the road race. it's hard. i'm light and i like to spin, but still, i had 34x25 and wished i had a lower gear. might go with a 28 this time, although i'm stronger so i'm not sure i'll need it.
see you there!
allawayr: based on the flyer and distances, i'm going to assume the races are the same as last year, despite the damage from hurricane irene at the end of last summer. i think most of that has been repaired. i raced 4/5 last year so i'll tell you what i know based on that.
circuit race: neutral rollout a few miles down to the start followed by three loops. there's a climb in the middle. it's not too steep - maybe 5-6%, if i remember correctly? - but it lasts a couple of miles. the KOM point is at the top, but it's not really a climber's KOM. my field stayed together on the way up and then guys would just sprint the last 1-200m. there was a significant headwind going up the climb, which was partly why the field stayed together. after the KOM, there's a short, steep descent - over 50 mph last year - followed almost immediately by a right turn. from there, it's a long, gradual flat/downhill to the finish. after the finish, you take a right turn to start the next loop. very fast finish, but the pavement is a little rough, so watch out. many of last year's races ended in field sprints. with the layout of the course and the wind direction last year, it was tough to get away from the field.
TT: mostly flat, with a little power climb near the end. the profile will show you slight elevation gain, but i think there was a bit of a tailwind, so it kind of evened out. there's also one short hill in the middle for which i think i had to shift down into the small ring, but just for a few seconds. pretty straightforward. get as aero as possible and hammer for 11 miles.
road race: nothing happened for the first ~25 miles, at which point there was an intermediate sprint. shortly after that, there's a substantial climb that split the field. probably similar to the jericho climb in your race - somewhere in the 1.5-2 mile range at about 7-8%, IIRC. that was tough. be at the front going into that. then there's a descent that i think has a dirt section. after the descent, nothing else interesting happened until the final climb, at which point everyone just went into survival mode. 2 miles of pain at about 10%, a brief rolling/flat section, and then one last 800m kicker to the finish.
my biggest piece of advice would be to make sure you have appropriate gearing for the final climb in the road race. it's hard. i'm light and i like to spin, but still, i had 34x25 and wished i had a lower gear. might go with a 28 this time, although i'm stronger so i'm not sure i'll need it.
see you there!
05-02-12, 02:21 PM
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The finish in the circuit race is really fast, and IIRC is preceded by a long descent into a sharp turn--the course isn't selective enough to really break things up, so you're likely to have a big field at the end, and wherever you are at going into that turn is most likely where you'll be sprinting from.
The TT is pretty flat and straight. Aero-stuff helps for this one.
The first 30 miles of the RR are extremely flat and boring. The rest of it is extremely steep and awful(ly fun). The finish is brutal.
It's a great race.
The TT is pretty flat and straight. Aero-stuff helps for this one.
The first 30 miles of the RR are extremely flat and boring. The rest of it is extremely steep and awful(ly fun). The finish is brutal.
It's a great race.
05-02-12, 08:27 PM
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For those that aren't getting the joke - that character from family guy is "Buzz Killington."
this is disappointing to hear!
Hopefully it will be different this year...I'm a fan of the early break, personally...much more comfortable with that
I guess it's time to buy/borrow some aerobars now that it's not collegiate!
thanks for the pointer....glad to hear it's similar to jericho - I'll make sure to hit that up a couple of times in the next month (did it today!)
I'm comfortable with grinding, but prefer not to if possible. I'll look into gearing...I have a 34x28 and a lot of steep long hills to get used to it so I should be fine.
See you there too, cheers!
i don't get the joke either...
allawayr: based on the flyer and distances, i'm going to assume the races are the same as last year, despite the damage from hurricane irene at the end of last summer. i think most of that has been repaired. i raced 4/5 last year so i'll tell you what i know based on that.
circuit race: neutral rollout a few miles down to the start followed by three loops. there's a climb in the middle. it's not too steep - maybe 5-6%, if i remember correctly? - but it lasts a couple of miles. the KOM point is at the top, but it's not really a climber's KOM.
allawayr: based on the flyer and distances, i'm going to assume the races are the same as last year, despite the damage from hurricane irene at the end of last summer. i think most of that has been repaired. i raced 4/5 last year so i'll tell you what i know based on that.
circuit race: neutral rollout a few miles down to the start followed by three loops. there's a climb in the middle. it's not too steep - maybe 5-6%, if i remember correctly? - but it lasts a couple of miles. the KOM point is at the top, but it's not really a climber's KOM.
my field stayed together on the way up and then guys would just sprint the last 1-200m. there was a significant headwind going up the climb, which was partly why the field stayed together. after the KOM, there's a short, steep descent - over 50 mph last year - followed almost immediately by a right turn. from there, it's a long, gradual flat/downhill to the finish. after the finish, you take a right turn to start the next loop. very fast finish, but the pavement is a little rough, so watch out. many of last year's races ended in field sprints. with the layout of the course and the wind direction last year, it was tough to get away from the field.
TT: mostly flat, with a little power climb near the end. the profile will show you slight elevation gain, but i think there was a bit of a tailwind, so it kind of evened out. there's also one short hill in the middle for which i think i had to shift down into the small ring, but just for a few seconds. pretty straightforward. get as aero as possible and hammer for 11 miles.
road race: nothing happened for the first ~25 miles, at which point there was an intermediate sprint. shortly after that, there's a substantial climb that split the field. probably similar to the jericho climb in your race - somewhere in the 1.5-2 mile range at about 7-8%, IIRC. that was tough. be at the front going into that. then there's a descent that i think has a dirt section. after the descent, nothing else interesting happened until the final climb, at which point everyone just went into survival mode. 2 miles of pain at about 10%, a brief rolling/flat section, and then one last 800m kicker to the finish.
my biggest piece of advice would be to make sure you have appropriate gearing for the final climb in the road race. it's hard. i'm light and i like to spin, but still, i had 34x25 and wished i had a lower gear. might go with a 28 this time, although i'm stronger so i'm not sure i'll need it.
see you there!
see you there!
See you there too, cheers!
05-02-12, 08:28 PM
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The finish in the circuit race is really fast, and IIRC is preceded by a long descent into a sharp turn--the course isn't selective enough to really break things up, so you're likely to have a big field at the end, and wherever you are at going into that turn is most likely where you'll be sprinting from.
The TT is pretty flat and straight. Aero-stuff helps for this one.
The first 30 miles of the RR are extremely flat and boring. The rest of it is extremely steep and awful(ly fun). The finish is brutal.
It's a great race.
The TT is pretty flat and straight. Aero-stuff helps for this one.
The first 30 miles of the RR are extremely flat and boring. The rest of it is extremely steep and awful(ly fun). The finish is brutal.
It's a great race.
Good to hear about the second half of the road race. Looking forward to it. Thanks!
05-03-12, 08:26 AM
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The RR actually isn't all that consistently hilly, it's just two very steep climbs, and the intermediate one was where my field blew apart last year. We had some fun going into the sprint to keep my teammate in the sprinter's jersey, but unfortunately the sprint point is RIGHT before the first climb, which made life suck for those of us doing work at the sprint.
05-06-12, 07:58 PM
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Dang I would love to do this! If anyone from Boston is going to this and would like to help out a Cat 4 racer/Cat 3 hopeful, get at me!
05-12-12, 07:18 PM
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I will be there.
05-13-12, 11:34 PM
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If anyone would be coming from as far as Pittsburgh, I'm still trying to figure out a ride. being a young, hip, carless urbanite is really a drag when it comes to getting to races...
05-14-12, 10:31 AM
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Thinking about entering... it'd probably be my first race... in Men 3 ( I've been told to enter in that category )
I'd have 2 weeks to prepare.. this sounds like a terrible idea but hey, the steeper the learning curve.. the.. more ... learning.? Or dying.
Btw, anyone know anything about travel insurance for racing? I'm from Quebec so if I crash in the USA now I'd have no insurance and it would cost me infinity billion dollars.
I'd have 2 weeks to prepare.. this sounds like a terrible idea but hey, the steeper the learning curve.. the.. more ... learning.? Or dying.
Btw, anyone know anything about travel insurance for racing? I'm from Quebec so if I crash in the USA now I'd have no insurance and it would cost me infinity billion dollars.
05-14-12, 10:59 AM
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If this is your first race ever, do not enter the Men's Cat3 race...Bad idea...
Getting travel insurance is just like any other time you travel. Only difference is I would not say I was racing. You are simply on an organized bike ride...
Getting travel insurance is just like any other time you travel. Only difference is I would not say I was racing. You are simply on an organized bike ride...
05-14-12, 11:16 AM
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Thinking about entering... it'd probably be my first race... in Men 3 ( I've been told to enter in that category )
I'd have 2 weeks to prepare.. this sounds like a terrible idea but hey, the steeper the learning curve.. the.. more ... learning.? Or dying.
Btw, anyone know anything about travel insurance for racing? I'm from Quebec so if I crash in the USA now I'd have no insurance and it would cost me infinity billion dollars.
I'd have 2 weeks to prepare.. this sounds like a terrible idea but hey, the steeper the learning curve.. the.. more ... learning.? Or dying.
Btw, anyone know anything about travel insurance for racing? I'm from Quebec so if I crash in the USA now I'd have no insurance and it would cost me infinity billion dollars.
You could contact USAC: https://www.usacycling.org/usa-cycli...-directory.htm
Here's some license info, but doesn't seem to address non-U.S. racers: https://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=6784
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Last edited by Homebrew01; 05-14-12 at 08:15 PM.
05-14-12, 12:16 PM
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Coach said to enter Men 3 category. He's also got a bunch of pro / cat 1 guys already registered in the race so I guess... I trust him? Personally I'd feel safer doing it cat 4/5. Seems wiser.
I'll contact USAC anyway, good idea.
In Canada, there's only senior 1-2-3 in my age range ( I'm 27 )
3 being just about anyone. It does sound insane that they'd let anyone who's senior 3 enter all the way up to cat3 events no matter what.
I'll contact USAC anyway, good idea.
In Canada, there's only senior 1-2-3 in my age range ( I'm 27 )
3 being just about anyone. It does sound insane that they'd let anyone who's senior 3 enter all the way up to cat3 events no matter what.
05-14-12, 07:38 PM
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Haha I got an email from the USAC guy, he said I could enter the cat 3 if I wanted.
There is a serious flaw in this system. Move to Canada for your free instant cat 3 upgrade guys!
There is a serious flaw in this system. Move to Canada for your free instant cat 3 upgrade guys!
05-14-12, 09:56 PM
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In cat 6 your dad still gets to give you a big push in the back to start off the race. Training wheels are of course, mandatory, however baseball cards are no longer allowed in the spokes since the 2009 Tim Hortons parking lot crash that caused Derek Charbonneau to scrape both of his knees.
His cookie monster bike horn was totaled.
His cookie monster bike horn was totaled.