UmneyDurak

Clearly. lol Well at least from that place. Now that I think about it, I felt meh when I ate there night before, but I thought I was just super tired and something I ate earlier in a day.

Anyway. I hope they find that driver who got on a course during one of the races. When I saw that car drive on back straight in reverse direction at high speed, then avoid martial at left turn my heart sank. Sure enough heard bikes crashing soon after. I believe it then cut through some parking lot and pulled out where I was, and got in the middle of the pack. What is the point of all the police they hired, if they can't even keep a car from entering a course.

himespau 

Yep

Or pack finish. Don't forgot pack finish. (that's what happened this week)

cmh

cmh

Race three, 50+, in the same series was really hard off the line forming a break of 6 on lap one. This race I had a teammate who also made the front group of 6. He attacked with a lap to go intending to make the rest of the group chase so I could sit in and take the win in the final sprint. Turns out, he stayed away and won, and I took second, winning the sprint from the remaining 5 a couple bike lengths behind him.

I also doubled up doing the 40+ race afterwards. I attacked with 2 laps to go to bridge up to another rider that had been up the road for 1/2 a lap. Unfortunately, he had almost nothing left when I caught him. He got on my wheel but couldn't come through and I dropped him as soon as we started uphill. I got swallowed by the field with about 200m to go and finished mid to back of the group. It was a fun effort.

Yep

Came back this week and picked up a 4th in a crit. Teammate and I really tried to make it hard after a lacklustre race last week. I only just missed the last solo move. I bridged to a group of 4, then he snuck off as we were getting caught. Good move on his part and he stuck it.

wktmeow

I raced CBR on Sunday. The dynamic was interesting without L39ion there. Dropped my chain with 4 laps to go but was feeling good otherwise.

See, I even took a pull!



Still didn't crack 200w average, I really need to learn to push myself during crits and stop trying to save every last bit for nothing.

Hermes

I must be the only guy running white bar tape on round handlebars anymore. Now I know why I am slow.

himespau 

White tape and white hoods here. Love the look (for the first few rides).

ntnyln

I have white bar tape and round bars on my Cervelo. Now, I haven't ridden it in 5 years, but still. :-)

Yep

Ben Forsyth Crit (3/4) on Saturday outside Edinburgh. Came 7th in a field of 25, which was good for a few more upgrade points. I was really active again and felt like one of the strongest riders in the group. Had a 2 or 3 lap break with another ride about 2/3rds of the way through, which was something I'd been working at doing for the series so far. The finish has turn right before the line, so it's classic "position in = position out". Nailing it 1st or 2nd wheel seems to be the key.

In hindsight, I probably should have conserved more energy and improved on 7th, or poured more into the efforts to get away, and barely finished.

cmh

Red Criterium, 50+ (but field was combined with 35+ and 60+), 40 min, very non-technical course. Great race for my team, ok for me. I had a teammate that got away in an early break of 4 and stayed away for about 15 minutes. I did hop on to a couple moves during that didn't get much of a gap, intending to either shut them down or (preferably) get pulled to the break since I had a teammate in it. The middle third of the race I sat in 10th wheel or so and wasn't very active when there were attacks because it seemed like I always had a teammate that was the attacker or responded before I did. Then a teammate of mine did get away with about 15 minutes to go and stayed away for the win. Nobody seemed to want to chase, so laps 5 through 1 to go were pretty slow resulting in a fast and hectic last lap. I didn't do a great job holding my position in that last lap and ended up coming in 16th/50 overall, 6th of 20 in the 50+.

My 17 yr old son did his first crit, (cat 4/5) and hung in to finish with the pack. I'm super happy for him, and proud.

cmh

Race 4 of the Wednesday 50+ Mt. Tabor races - 3rd place. The field was smaller this week with several stronger riders skipping it to do a stage race this weekend, so I favored my chances for a 2nd win. But, the race was slower, and nobody wanted to make it harder but me. As a result, I guess I did a bit too much work on the front, and also sprinted for a t-shirt prime. In the end, I still felt strong, but got impatient and went a bit early on the final sprint and was passed by one guy that I beat pretty easily in previous weeks, and another guy that hadn't raced the series yet this year. I'm sitting in 1st place in series points with 2 races to go.

In the 40+ there were plenty of attacks making the race hard enough that I didn't work and sprinted in for 6th in the end. My best finish in 40+ this year but a little boring compared to trying to go alone with a lap or two to go and blowing up (like the previous two races).

All great fun.

Yep

I raced another crit last night. Rainy, but not too cold. It's a purpose built circuit, so the camber is right and there's not oil or grit on the roads; you hardly notice it's wet.

It started fast, but no biggie really. About 15 minutes in a guy with 4 teammates went up the road and jumped on his wheel. As we came into a turn, the bunch was right back on us, and I half turned to see who was coming. It was the guy's teammate!

I threw my arm up and went a little wide in the turn and started to yell at the teammate. What I didn't do was watch where I was going... No harm done, but I did ride off the track, and it was, of course, massively embarrassing.

Anyhoo, didn't catch back on after that and entry fee down the toilet. I was feeling good and angling for a top 5. Better luck on the next one, and I'll keep my coaching advice to myself.

TMonk

Yep did the teammate actually manage to come across solo, or was he pulling the field?

Yep

Pulling the field.

Doge

I run white bar tape. Just a data point for you :-)

J.Owen

Cat 5 story since I feel like the veterans can commiserate (if you can remember back that far). Been steadily improving and I am just trying to get some time in before requesting my Cat 4 upgrade. I started off well, placed myself out of harms way toward the front, and even took some pulls/ tested a break to see if could stick. Came across the line ~10th out of 64 starters in a bunch sprint, with two other riders, one on each side.

After the race they were taking their time with the results as I chatted with some of the others in the race. Finally gave up and went back to the car to get changed. When I returned to get a picture of the results, I wasn't listed anywhere as a finisher. I'm guessing the camera didn't pick me up between the other two riders, and during my time at the car I missed the window bring it up to the stewards.

In the long run 10th place in Cat 5 race means nothing, but I was looking forward to seeing the results of my improved efforts, but Cat 5 does Cat 5 things.

carpediemracing 

First, congrats on actually starting the race, then finishing and even "participating" and placing in the race. Great job!

On results... 15 min protest period after results are posted, to make sure results are correct.

When I started racing my friend gave me his rulebook (it was long ago) and told me to read it. I sort of skimmed through it, seemed sort of boring honestly. I gave it back to him the next day. He looked at me pointedly.

"Let me ask you some questions. What's a free lap? What is a Junior gear limit? What part of you or your bike counts when you cross the line?" He asked me a few more questions but I had no idea what he was talking about - I was super embarrassed. He gave me the rulebook again and told me to read it, and specifically told me to read certain sections. For an 8th grader he was pretty smart. And I think someone else did the same to him.

I suggest all new racers read the rulebook, particularly about the discipline they're partaking in. So for you maybe skip the track stuff, or maybe the time trial stuff, but read the mass start crit/rr stuff.

carpediemracing 

I have white-ish glow in the dark tape. I am unable to finish most of the races I start, at least this year. So there's that.

cmh

Race 5 of the same Wednesday series of my earlier reports. 50+, small field (15-20 riders). I was beat in the finish by two riders last week that were both in this race. Last week's winner beat me by quite a bit, so I assumed he could outsprint me if it came to that. So, I knew I had to try to drop him from the group, or get away alone. Given that, I attacked pretty hard halfway up the hill and over the top the every lap until 1 to go. This whittled the field down to 4 of us (or we were a break of 4?), but I couldn't shake either of the two that beat me last week, and neither would get in the wind for even a second despite the fact there were only 4 of us in the front group. The last lap I stayed out of the wind, and it was quite slow with nobody wanting to work, so a couple more riders caught us. In the end, last weeks winner beat me in the sprint again and I took 2nd. I gave it all I could and can't think of much I'd do differently, so I'm happy with that. (Maybe I'd try to get more of an alliance with one or two of the other riders to attack the winner and make him chase).

The 40+ race was really hard so I mostly stayed tucked into the pack. At one point there was a break of 5 up the road, and I went with a move to try to bridge to it and was briefly in the wind doing some work. In the end, the pack caught us and that just helped bring the break back and a couple other guys countered and stayed away until the end. I think I came in 6th or so in the finish, so maybe 8th or 9th in the race (results are not out yet).

Another fun night of hard racing.

Edit: I forgot to mention my 17 yr old son finished with the pack in Cat 5s for the first time in this race. He was dropped in the previous 3 that he raced, but later in each race. Great progress for him.

J.Owen

This was probably my biggest mistake of the day. It was the first race of the day and they were taking their time getting the results posted, and I got impatient. By the time I got to the car, changed, and back, i missed the protest period. Either way, it was for a 10th place finish so i'm not too concerned, just would have been nice to see some work in black and white.

cmh

Last race of the Mt. Tabor series. Small field this week in 50+ that started really slow for the first lap and a half - nobody wanted to work. So I attacked, and got away with 5 others. Two of us would work, and the the other 4 seemed fine with it coming back together. My best chances in the race were probably to just stay out of the wind and wait for a bunch sprint (small bunch, about 15 starters), but I had enough points to win the series, so I wanted to try something different. I attacked our group of 6 with a lap to go, when we had only 5-8 seconds on the next group and got a good gap. Alas, I got caught with about 100m to go and passed by 3. 4th place in the race, 1st in the series.

After my race there was a crash in the Cat 5 that left a rider concussed pretty badly on the course. I didn't see the crash or the aftermath as it was opposite of the start/finish area and I haven't seen any update on it. I sure hope the rider is OK. It set the races back about an hour so the promoter shortened the 40+ race and combined it with Cat 4. So, I and few other 50+ guys decided to skip the 40+ race that we usually do after 50+ and go have food and a beer at a nearby cart pod to celebrate the fact that we got to race this summer.

My son was in the cat 5 field but flatted out after the first lap.

Next race: PIR racetrack circuit next Tuesday.

Hermes

cmh Congrats on winning the series.

ntnyln

That's always the best part.

Congrats on the series win!