Ontario Race Reports 2-24-08
 

Post em if you got them.
Field of 75 to start.
I had a decent race this week. Didnt make any of the mistakes of last week at Long Beach. Arrived early, had plenty of time to do a one hour warm up, so was feeling great at the starting line. Me and my teammate both got spots right one the line. (its much easier to get to the front early than to try to move up through the race). Pack handling on the other hand was downright horrible. There were something like 6 crashes, and most of them were on the straight-a-ways. Really ridiculous mistakes, overlapping wheels, trying to move up the inside of corners when there is obviously no room. I bumped shoulders with people a few times and had someone leaning on me in one of the turns once or twice. Said person then freaked out and didn't know what to do. I would expect better from a 4-5 field.
So on to the race report. First two laps one guy goes to the front and just drills the pace, pretty much everyone is content to just let him go. After two laps we never saw him again. I spent the majority of the race in the top 10 or so, never really going below 20th. No real breaks to speak of, every time someone would get a gap the would look back and see that no one went with them and sit up. Computer is out right now so no idea how fast we were going but I do know my heart rate was up at about 190 most of the race.
Two laps to go and the pace finally starts to pick up, the field gets strung out and people are fighting for wheels. Coming into the last lap, I'm sitting 2nd wheel until about 250 to go and the sprint starts. Guys jump from both sides, and my sprint being as pathetic as it is, got passed by about 5 people, coming in 7th from what i could see. Dave, me teammate disappeared for most of the race but was there when in counted, coming in right behind me for 12 or so.
All in all I'd say it was a pretty good day. Didn't crash and had a decent placing. That's all you can ask for.

Took 13th in the rain soaked 30+ 4/5. Despite the rain, the poor visibility, and the wet roads it was a very safe crit. The 4/5 later in the day was the exact opposite. I counted 5 crashes in 40 minutes!! On the last lap I had 3 people go down right in front of me and had nowhere to go but up and over. I couldn't believe how unsafe that crit was with people crashing for no apparent reason.

I hope you're being sarcastic... I really do.

The 4-5 field was worse than any 5 field I've ever been in crash wise. There were only like 15 5's too. Most of the 75 were 4's. Aren't handling skills supposed to go up as you go up in category?

Let me put it this way. Last year in the 4's at San Luis Rey, there were two 5 man pileups... going uphill.

When you get to 2's, maybe 3's to some extent, yes. I'd say 4's are more dangerous than 5's because so many of them THINK they know what they're doing, but they don't. At least the 5's know they're clueless, and ride far, far away from each other. The crash 4's is simply a case of overestimation of one's own ability.

/gross, but often true, generalization

So true, so true ^^^^^

That is one thing i love about the 5's though, you can drive a mac truck through some of those gaps. Very easy to move up

Yup - Idiot #4(or 5?) here...

First dry race course, first with 4s included, first crash.

It was my first chance to actually challenge someone for a wheel. It has been so easy to get wheels in the 5s, in the wet, it's hard to call it racing. So when the chance arose to work for a wheel it was pretty exciting. Well after the last turn of lap 5, 15minutes in, the fella in blue was 20 pounds and 6-8 inches better off than me and I tried taking the wheel by attrition, bars slightly behind his, real close, waiting for him to move up or flinch. Well a new buddy started commenting how lucky we were not to get in involved in the last crash, then I noticed my target in blue moving up but in my direction (or did I drift into him?) and whoops I'm tangled and going down.

Thankfully only took myself out!

So that method is getting crossed off the list (at least for now). Back to good ol leaning and elbows and taking from the front not from behind :D (oh, and paying attention too. :rolleyes:)

Any suggestions for the dumkoph are welcome :p