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2018 racing stories

Old 05-14-18, 06:21 AM
  #376  
topflightpro
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Raced my first Madison this weekend. It was interesting.

I was rather nervous going in. I had done a clinic awhile ago, and it was kind of a mess. But the race went fairly well. We missed one early exchange, and fell off as a result, but still we did well.

Despite getting regular rest periods, it wore me out. It's a hard event.
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Old 05-14-18, 11:46 AM
  #377  
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Originally Posted by furiousferret
Since there are so few road races my guess is the 1/2's with a flat power profile (i.e. high ftp meh sprint) that are going to gun it from the start. Seems like that's exactly what happened. At least you're not acclimated!

I caught about 3" of air on one of those corners after hitting a bump, a ton of people did. Did not care for the descent / ascent portion either, that turnaround screwed everything up.
Yep, exactly! And since it was such a small field it really shattered.

I actually enjoyed the course when I was chasing, worked on my lines through the techy section and tried to gap the other chaser in the corners and at the turnaround (and then go back to working together, just having some fun taking the turns)
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Old 05-14-18, 12:08 PM
  #378  
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Originally Posted by topflightpro
Had you done any P/1/2/3 races before this one?
Just a couple of crits, but never as my only/primary race of the day, always after racing at least once before.
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Old 05-19-18, 06:35 PM
  #379  
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Short time trials suck..although I did improve, surprisingly, by 4 seconds over last year.

Road races suck. I suck at them and I don't know why I keep coming back to this one...I guess I will try again next year?

Crit tomorrow...ive done well here, hoping to be able to redeem the ****ty road race
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Old 05-20-18, 02:40 PM
  #380  
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Road race. Not as fit as I once was.
8x9 miles laps with I think 10 turns and wind picking up towards the end.

Matt went in the first break at the start and the pack hung him out there for 3 laps. I spent the first 2 laps covering stuff and then realized why I typically wait half the race before sniffing the front. Recovered for a while.

Followed a couple guys off the front with 3 to go, hung out there for 5 minutes and the pack came charging by. Latched on and was trying to recover as the obvious winning move went. We had a guy in it but he can't sprint. The break was 6, but a couple groups made it across and it was a dozen. Thought it might be too big and fall apart but the one team chasing wasnt doing a good job. I was pretty beat by then and didnt bother trying to help. Got gapped off just before the field sprint by the team that wore themselves out chasing. So I duked it out with one other dude for 20-somethingth.
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Old 05-22-18, 11:17 PM
  #381  
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B crit - low wind day. Tried to get in one break. Break failed. Sat in. 3rd.

A crit - my 2nd ever. At the end 2 got away, there were secondary breakaways that were all caught. The rest of us in a bunch finish. 5th. Finishing 40th in the C crit earlier in the season now feels like a distant memory.
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Old 05-23-18, 09:35 AM
  #382  
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Second crit of the year, 17 days post concussion. B Pack, and we went 10 laps 60 minutes. I felt good the whole race, stayed near the front, there was a four man break I was part of but it only lasted about 1 lap, nobody really wanted to work together so we got caught. As soon as we got caught another guy went solo off the front and I led the pack around for 3/4 lap to chase him back, because I'm an idiot.

No real attacks other than those two, I was well positioned in the final almost 180 degree corner and really pushed hard to stay up front. First time in all of my races I attempted to "sprint". Held about 1000 watts for 5 seconds and that was all she wrote. They don't put placings up for a few days, but I know I was in top 10. Which was my goal for this year in these local crit races, last race I got 12th so I'm improving. Last year I only did 3 crits, one I was dropped on the last lap, another one was windy and I was dropped after a few laps, and the last one I did I was towards the back but not dropped. My goal was top 10 in this local series. Typically about 30 racers in the B pack.

Compared to last year I'm night and day, with the weight loss and actually using TrainerRoad for a few months over the winter. My CTL is a tad bit higher than it was last year, but I'm so much stronger (comparatively). Also, set a new Max HR at 200bpm. I think my threshold is still around 175, I guess my little heart just runs fast in my fat body. Certainly doesn't make me faster on the bike and at 47 years old I'm hoping I don't blow the old thing up.

3 more crits, and then the State Championship RR and Crit are in eastern Washington this year so I'm going to do those.
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Old 05-25-18, 09:06 PM
  #383  
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Did a mtb race last weekend. First time ever doing an xc race which was a good change of pace. Everyone told me to sign up for the "expert" category (cat1?) and I'm glad I did. 2nd in the hole shot and lead the first climb. One person dangling after first single track. I was brining them back when I got passed into a hard siwtch back and the guy who passed me had to put a foot down. Which means I had to get off and push. Lost about 5 places then I'm bad at descending on trails so I lost a bunch of time and had to chase. I caught one or two and ended up in 6th out of 10?

Takeaways..
I need to shut my brain off so I can go downhill fast. I know I pedal better than most anybody in a cat1 xc race, but jeez I lose so much time descending and cornering.
MTB community is way bigger and better than road. Lots of people. Everyone races. Mom, dad, son and daughter all would race in the same day. Friendly people. Didn't get sworn or yelled at. Good community after the event. Everybody was cool. Something road could learn from.
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Old 05-26-18, 05:11 AM
  #384  
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Won our Wednesday night crit. Bridged up to a group of 3, eventually swelled to a group of 10 so then a few started attacking again because half the group wouldn't work. Ended up lapping the field while all this was happening, then won the field sprint when the two guys in front of me swung wide on the last turn and I cut inside.

Still struggling a bit, but definitely better. 282 AP/ 332 NP, which is the highest I've seen in a while, so legs are hopefully coming around.

Doing Snake Alley in Iowa today, and then the rest of the Memorial Day races tomorrow and Monday. Holloway and Ramirez and a whole bunch of other top crit racers are all here, so going to be a very hard one. I registered the minute registration opened in Feb., though, so I'll get to line up on the second or third row, which is immensely better than the last row I was on last year. Hopefully I'll have as good of legs.
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Old 05-26-18, 07:39 AM
  #385  
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...and he's back!
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Old 05-26-18, 11:46 PM
  #386  
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Raced twice at Ontario last weekend, lost both times

3/4: Kept trying to get away but nothing really materialized. Probably b/c it was fast! 28 mph for the 30 min, first race of the day for both fields.

3: Did get away for a few laps at a time (once solo) and grabbed a couple primes, so that's cool. Plus I set a super strong teammate up for a hard counter w (3???) to go and he nearly held it solo - got second.
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Old 05-27-18, 05:13 PM
  #387  
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Raced a crit yesterday. Cool venue in city park. Weird line rules that weren't really enforced. Anyways, I've been sick / fighting allergies so had low expectations. Would have raced very differently if I was healthy but I sat in for the (uphill)sprint.

Had a guy hit me from behind with about 5 laps to go. I leaned in to his bars(to counter his momentum) and he made the mistake of trying to steer out of it. He crashed and took me and many others out. Somehow I argued with the official to let me back in the race with 3 to go. Moved well but was on the wrong side of the road for the finish. Sprinted some of my best I've done this year, but hard to win when you're so far back.

Oh well. Next time.
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Old 05-27-18, 05:42 PM
  #388  
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Mt. Hamilton Stage Race

Stage 1 - circuit, took the KoM (couple points) and took 2nd in the race. 1st in GC.
Stage 2 - Hamilton RR - Gave my teammate the KoM and I won the race, he was 2nd. Should put us equal on the GC or close.

Crit and TT tomorrow. Will try to get him the win in the crit, and I'll probably win the TT. Hopefully he wins GC.

This is a sparse 35s field, so don't get too excited.
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Old 05-27-18, 07:55 PM
  #389  
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Snake Alley Crit. 105ish dudes. 98 degrees. In Iowa. WTF? I registered the minute registration opened so was number 11 and was lined up on the outside of the third row (after callups and all). And then by the fourth time up the hill I was dropped. And then by the 9th lap they pulled me. Didn't even make it halfway through the race. Seriously depressing. Danny Summerhill won. .He went from UHC last year to Texas Roadhouse and just rode half the race solo to win $1500 bucks. A bit of sandbagging, it seems.

Went back to the hotel and ate donuts and candy all night and morning.

Melon City Crit today. Another 110 or so dudes. 40 miles. 27.3 mph. 2400 feet of climbing and a speed hump we hit at 35 mph 40 times. Like a bunny hopping clinic. Got 8th. Daniel Holloway won. Was just a wheel or two back of him at the bottom of the hill but got a bit swarmed and behind some guy who couldn't shift and lost some places. Always some story, though. Got some money. On to Quad Cities tomorrow.

Have videos but they seem to take a while to upload. Maybe sometime soon.
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Old 05-28-18, 08:11 PM
  #390  
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Originally Posted by Ttoc6
Raced a crit yesterday. Cool venue in city park. Weird line rules that weren't really enforced. Anyways, I've been sick / fighting allergies so had low expectations. Would have raced very differently if I was healthy but I sat in for the (uphill)sprint.

Had a guy hit me from behind with about 5 laps to go. I leaned in to his bars(to counter his momentum) and he made the mistake of trying to steer out of it. He crashed and took me and many others out. Somehow I argued with the official to let me back in the race with 3 to go. Moved well but was on the wrong side of the road for the finish. Sprinted some of my best I've done this year, but hard to win when you're so far back.

Oh well. Next time.


Video of your crash. I was in a different field so can’t say a lot, and crashes happen as we all know, but not seeing any contact from behind, definitely looks like you moved right unprovoked and initiated unnecessary contact/caused the pileup. Luckily everyone was ok but there were broken wheels, derailleurs, and tob tubes.


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Old 05-28-18, 08:20 PM
  #391  
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Originally Posted by AERO63




Video of your crash. I was in a different field so can’t say a lot, and crashes happen as we all know, but not seeing any contact from behind, definitely looks like you moved right unprovoked and initiated unnecessary contact/caused the pileup. Luckily everyone was ok but there were broken wheels, derailleurs, and tob tubes.

https://youtu.be/H_yU-qA1Y4I

Thanks for passing this along. Not attempting to defend my actions or anything. Glad I was able to see what happened from behind because (as I described above) my mental state as to what happened is very different from what I see captured on film (what actually happened).
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Old 05-28-18, 09:42 PM
  #392  
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40+ 1/2/3/4 cri. 9th. My 2nd time to do 40+. First top 10. This is so much more fun that the 4/5 stuff I used to be doing.
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Old 05-28-18, 11:27 PM
  #393  
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Originally Posted by Ttoc6
Thanks for passing this along. Not attempting to defend my actions or anything. Glad I was able to see what happened from behind because (as I described above) my mental state as to what happened is very different from what I see captured on film (what actually happened).
Looks to me like you drifted a bit right, felt contact, and then leaned into it like you're taught to in every bumping clinic I've ever done. Unfortunately the dude next to you had either not practiced that, or forgot, as he seems to pull away, which would have caused you both to keep going right, so then the 3rd guy got hit with the weight of 2 guys, he leans into it, and everyone gets tangled up. Bumping happens, it's a bad reaction to it that can make it dangerous. Don't think it was wholly your fault
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Old 05-28-18, 11:35 PM
  #394  
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Raced 2/3 yesterday at Barry Wolfe. Kind of frustrating. Bridged up to the winning break of what eventually became 10 of us, helped drive the pace, felt great, and then sabotaged myself by trying to jump the group at the worst possible moment (everyone looking around at each other coming into 2nd to last corner). No momentum, nothing. Of course, got caught after the last corner and got last from the break, d'oh.

2/3 and P12 today at CBR. Made an early break to test the legs and snag some primes, one guy bridged up after a couple of laps and we shared some of the primes. Would have come back to the field sooner, but they kept ringing the bell, so I think we were out there for like 6 laps. Got back in the field, recovered for a few laps, another break went, and the pace rocketed up to chase. I wasn't far enough up to counter it immediately, but I did about a half lap later and the field still seemed to be in recovery mode. Got 2 guys with me and we started working well together and had about a 20s gap at one point. Peloton came pretty close and a couple of guys jumped across, and they were a bit fresher, but was able to keep rolling with them with group of 6-7 at this point, but started thinking about recovering for a sprint and not screwing up like yesterday. Unfortunately, we ended up getting caught coming into the last lap. On the bright side, teammate won the field sprint and the race.

P12 - missed the move but learned more. Still feels like the P12 is a whole different game than Cat 2/3 stuff. Burried myself trying to get our sprinter up to the break but it was a lost cause, too many fast guys up the road. Finished this one though, and felt like I was doing OK maneuvering through the pack and through the corners. Not great, but better than before.
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Old 05-28-18, 11:45 PM
  #395  
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Originally Posted by Ttoc6
Thanks for passing this along. Not attempting to defend my actions or anything. Glad I was able to see what happened from behind because (as I described above) my mental state as to what happened is very different from what I see captured on film (what actually happened).
Sorry you crashed - that was you in orange right? Didn’t seem like your fault..

Also did you put your arms in the air right after the crash?
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Old 05-28-18, 11:55 PM
  #396  
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Originally Posted by wktmeow
Bridged up to the winning break of what eventually became 10 of us, helped drive the pace, felt great, and then sabotaged myself by trying to jump the group at the worst possible moment (everyone looking around at each other coming into 2nd to last corner). No momentum, nothing. Of course, got caught after the last corner and got last from the break, d'oh.
I dunno seems, like the perfect time to attack a break! Of course it can depend on who is in it (you have teammates, or any groups of teammates in the break etc).

Sticking the move is another matter, but it sounds like a well-time attack to me. Unless you attacked from the front or something.
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Old 05-28-18, 11:57 PM
  #397  
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Did the Folsom p1/2 crit on Saturday, it was a blast. We had good team representation (5 of us), even if two were tired from masters racing, and another crashed out..

I tried to get in The Break, but nothing ever stuck. Did a big leadout for my teammate, but had to drop him off a tad early, so he ended up 2nd. Still, it was solid teamwork and a fun day!!


(his video, with me in it towards the end)
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Old 05-29-18, 06:17 AM
  #398  
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To me, it looks like the guy in orange (TTOC6?) drifted right into the small guy in black. You two leaned against each other, but due to the size advantage of the guy in orange, you continued moving right into the third guy, colliding with him in his bars, causing them to turn and him to lose control of his bike. He may have stuck his elbow out too, which didn't help the situation.
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Old 05-29-18, 06:24 AM
  #399  
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Originally Posted by rubiksoval
Danny Summerhill won. .He went from UHC last year to Texas Roadhouse and just rode half the race solo to win $1500 bucks. A bit of sandbagging, it seems.
i'm gonna go out on a limb and say his move from UHC to TR wasn't exactly voluntary...

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Old 05-29-18, 08:52 AM
  #400  
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Originally Posted by mattm
Unless you attacked from the front or something.
guilty 😑 I was on the front towards the outside, it was fanned out about 3 wide and going like 20 mph at that point. I had a good moment after corner 2 that would probably have had a better shot as it was a tailwind section. Think I just got nervous and antsy after passing that up. There was a strong sprinter in the group who won it, though I think if I was more patient I could have followed and possibly come around because it was a long headwind finish. Oh well, I'm just glad I'm learning to recognize and become part of good moves. It seems like most p12 crits here end up with a select group up the road, so it'll be critical to get good at that if I want results
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