2015 Race Results
#601
Senior Member
First crit, got pulled 9 mins in, ona 0.6 mile course with 6 turns and one really quick but hard climb coming out of a turn. Somehow managed to get 32/44, I think some guys thought they were getting pulled but really weren't, hence the DNFs. My downfall was going into a punchy climb overgeared and quickly lost any possibility of staying with the group. But of 44 riders starting, only 9 actually finished without getting pulled, so it's not like I ever really stood a chance. Two guys from what I presume to be one of the stronger local teams were basically in a break by themselves the whole way, really solid stuff. I'll be possibly doing a less technical and flatter crit next week, but an inauspicious start to the season. On the plus side, I did meet grolby.
#604
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Been mostly lurking here for a while, started racing my first season as a cat 5 this year. This past weekend was the Race Du Lac Omnium/Stage Race in Lake Charles, LA.
Road Race - 5th place
2 loops on a rectangular 15-mile course. Solo break occurred right from the start. Was suprised when nobody seemed interested in chasing (this is Cat5, after all). I decided to attempt to bridge, nobody came with me. I was closing at first, but then the gap was holding constant and I was stuck in no man's land for about 2 miles, eased up and ended up back in pack. Chase never really got organized, only a few of us were willing to pull through and work. Breakaway guy stayed away for the win. Coming into the field sprint things got pretty bunched up; by the time I found a way to squeeze through was playing catch-up and ended up 4th in sprint, 5th overall.
Time Trial - 5th place
Got some clip-ons last week, this TT was my third time using them. 3 miles, pretty flat, no real turns. My pacing wasn't quite as smooth as it could have been early on, and I went all-out a little too far from the finish. Pretty happy considering it was my first TT. This is something I want to work on and improve, there are a couple more stage races with slightly longer TT's that I'll be doing later in the season.
Criterium - 1st place
Was a bit nervous going into this, as it was my first crit and I've heard a fair amount of talk about Cat 5 crits in particular being crash-fests. Course was .75 miles, with 7 corners and a roundabout. I was about 8 riders back on first lap, pace was fast enough right from the start that the field was stretched out, so the turns weren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be. Moved around a couple of riders who were getting gapped early in 2nd lap, ended up in 6 man break which was down to 4 after the prime lap. Things slowed a little with a few laps to go, break was back to 6. I was fortunate to be 2nd wheel behind a very strong rider starting the last lap (guy who won the RR & TT day before). He made a couple of attempts to drop me (including a brake check), but I stayed with. Coming around last turn into the headwind on finishing stretch I attacked, maybe went a little early but managed to hold onto the lead and take the win.
Cat 5 was run as an Omnium, thanks to crit win ended up 2nd in overall points.
Road Race - 5th place
2 loops on a rectangular 15-mile course. Solo break occurred right from the start. Was suprised when nobody seemed interested in chasing (this is Cat5, after all). I decided to attempt to bridge, nobody came with me. I was closing at first, but then the gap was holding constant and I was stuck in no man's land for about 2 miles, eased up and ended up back in pack. Chase never really got organized, only a few of us were willing to pull through and work. Breakaway guy stayed away for the win. Coming into the field sprint things got pretty bunched up; by the time I found a way to squeeze through was playing catch-up and ended up 4th in sprint, 5th overall.
Time Trial - 5th place
Got some clip-ons last week, this TT was my third time using them. 3 miles, pretty flat, no real turns. My pacing wasn't quite as smooth as it could have been early on, and I went all-out a little too far from the finish. Pretty happy considering it was my first TT. This is something I want to work on and improve, there are a couple more stage races with slightly longer TT's that I'll be doing later in the season.
Criterium - 1st place
Was a bit nervous going into this, as it was my first crit and I've heard a fair amount of talk about Cat 5 crits in particular being crash-fests. Course was .75 miles, with 7 corners and a roundabout. I was about 8 riders back on first lap, pace was fast enough right from the start that the field was stretched out, so the turns weren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be. Moved around a couple of riders who were getting gapped early in 2nd lap, ended up in 6 man break which was down to 4 after the prime lap. Things slowed a little with a few laps to go, break was back to 6. I was fortunate to be 2nd wheel behind a very strong rider starting the last lap (guy who won the RR & TT day before). He made a couple of attempts to drop me (including a brake check), but I stayed with. Coming around last turn into the headwind on finishing stretch I attacked, maybe went a little early but managed to hold onto the lead and take the win.
Cat 5 was run as an Omnium, thanks to crit win ended up 2nd in overall points.
__________________
Regards,
Chuck
Demain, on roule!
Regards,
Chuck
Demain, on roule!
#605
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I'm actually from Houston, not sure I'll be going much further east than Lake Charles to race, at least not this year.
#606
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I might be doing Ft. Hood this year, so there's still a chance we'll get to meet.
__________________
Regards,
Chuck
Demain, on roule!
Regards,
Chuck
Demain, on roule!
#607
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Been mostly lurking here for a while, started racing my first season as a cat 5 this year. This past weekend was the Race Du Lac Omnium/Stage Race in Lake Charles, LA.
Road Race - 5th place
2 loops on a rectangular 15-mile course. Solo break occurred right from the start. Was suprised when nobody seemed interested in chasing (this is Cat5, after all). I decided to attempt to bridge, nobody came with me. I was closing at first, but then the gap was holding constant and I was stuck in no man's land for about 2 miles, eased up and ended up back in pack. Chase never really got organized, only a few of us were willing to pull through and work. Breakaway guy stayed away for the win. Coming into the field sprint things got pretty bunched up; by the time I found a way to squeeze through was playing catch-up and ended up 4th in sprint, 5th overall.
Time Trial - 5th place
Got some clip-ons last week, this TT was my third time using them. 3 miles, pretty flat, no real turns. My pacing wasn't quite as smooth as it could have been early on, and I went all-out a little too far from the finish. Pretty happy considering it was my first TT. This is something I want to work on and improve, there are a couple more stage races with slightly longer TT's that I'll be doing later in the season.
Criterium - 1st place
Was a bit nervous going into this, as it was my first crit and I've heard a fair amount of talk about Cat 5 crits in particular being crash-fests. Course was .75 miles, with 7 corners and a roundabout. I was about 8 riders back on first lap, pace was fast enough right from the start that the field was stretched out, so the turns weren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be. Moved around a couple of riders who were getting gapped early in 2nd lap, ended up in 6 man break which was down to 4 after the prime lap. Things slowed a little with a few laps to go, break was back to 6. I was fortunate to be 2nd wheel behind a very strong rider starting the last lap (guy who won the RR & TT day before). He made a couple of attempts to drop me (including a brake check), but I stayed with. Coming around last turn into the headwind on finishing stretch I attacked, maybe went a little early but managed to hold onto the lead and take the win.
Cat 5 was run as an Omnium, thanks to crit win ended up 2nd in overall points.
Road Race - 5th place
2 loops on a rectangular 15-mile course. Solo break occurred right from the start. Was suprised when nobody seemed interested in chasing (this is Cat5, after all). I decided to attempt to bridge, nobody came with me. I was closing at first, but then the gap was holding constant and I was stuck in no man's land for about 2 miles, eased up and ended up back in pack. Chase never really got organized, only a few of us were willing to pull through and work. Breakaway guy stayed away for the win. Coming into the field sprint things got pretty bunched up; by the time I found a way to squeeze through was playing catch-up and ended up 4th in sprint, 5th overall.
Time Trial - 5th place
Got some clip-ons last week, this TT was my third time using them. 3 miles, pretty flat, no real turns. My pacing wasn't quite as smooth as it could have been early on, and I went all-out a little too far from the finish. Pretty happy considering it was my first TT. This is something I want to work on and improve, there are a couple more stage races with slightly longer TT's that I'll be doing later in the season.
Criterium - 1st place
Was a bit nervous going into this, as it was my first crit and I've heard a fair amount of talk about Cat 5 crits in particular being crash-fests. Course was .75 miles, with 7 corners and a roundabout. I was about 8 riders back on first lap, pace was fast enough right from the start that the field was stretched out, so the turns weren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be. Moved around a couple of riders who were getting gapped early in 2nd lap, ended up in 6 man break which was down to 4 after the prime lap. Things slowed a little with a few laps to go, break was back to 6. I was fortunate to be 2nd wheel behind a very strong rider starting the last lap (guy who won the RR & TT day before). He made a couple of attempts to drop me (including a brake check), but I stayed with. Coming around last turn into the headwind on finishing stretch I attacked, maybe went a little early but managed to hold onto the lead and take the win.
Cat 5 was run as an Omnium, thanks to crit win ended up 2nd in overall points.
I have the video from these races and moved 10 seconds before the guy wrecked in lap one. I'm pretty disgusted with Lambra not upgrading people. The cat 5 road race averaged 24.1mph as pack, last year was 22.7mph and both years road races have had someone end over the bars and with a hospital ride. The guy that solo'ed off did a lap 30 seconds faster than the fastest cat 4 lap.
Road race break? So much for starting us in a stupid parking lot lined far back and neutral start? Sure the guy is a tt pro and it is his first road race but the same thing happened last year. Upgrades from 5 to 4 to 3 in three races then proceeds to not know how to handle at all.
Also the crit had half pulled before 10 minutes and all but 8 people pulled by 20 minutes. I got pulled with 4 people with no warning and could have placed 4 higher in the crit had I known. This teaches nobody how to handle and is a failing of the league manager imo. There are about 8 people between cat 4 and 5 that haven't been upgraded that should and is making such a high entry to racing that it is going to frustrate people.
#608
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Not really following. You want people to be upgraded sooner so they stop winning races, or you want people to be upgraded later so they learn how to handle their bikes?
#609
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This was my first time down there. It was in the Kenosha business park, just off of I-94 & hwy 158. If I had to guess I would say that back in the 80's that was all farm land where they are held now. I tried a few races last year, and did terrible, these are my first results that I am actually proud of!
#610
Senior Member
#611
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I have the video from these races and moved 10 seconds before the guy wrecked in lap one. I'm pretty disgusted with Lambra not upgrading people. The cat 5 road race averaged 24.1mph as pack, last year was 22.7mph and both years road races have had someone end over the bars and with a hospital ride. The guy that solo'ed off did a lap 30 seconds faster than the fastest cat 4 lap.
Road race break? So much for starting us in a stupid parking lot lined far back and neutral start? Sure the guy is a tt pro and it is his first road race but the same thing happened last year. Upgrades from 5 to 4 to 3 in three races then proceeds to not know how to handle at all.
Road race break? So much for starting us in a stupid parking lot lined far back and neutral start? Sure the guy is a tt pro and it is his first road race but the same thing happened last year. Upgrades from 5 to 4 to 3 in three races then proceeds to not know how to handle at all.
Also the crit had half pulled before 10 minutes and all but 8 people pulled by 20 minutes. I got pulled with 4 people with no warning and could have placed 4 higher in the crit had I known. This teaches nobody how to handle and is a failing of the league manager imo. There are about 8 people between cat 4 and 5 that haven't been upgraded that should and is making such a high entry to racing that it is going to frustrate people.
#612
commu*ist spy
I'm probably one of those 8 people. I should be a cat 3. I wish I were a cat 3. But I'm fine going by the system, because it works, and if you let one guy cat up faster, it's only fair to change the system for everyone, and that's just not going to happen.
also, yes there are tri athletes with incredible endurance, but it's quite likely they've never raced in a group, and letting them shoot up the ranks is a disservice to both the rider and the pelotons, because he doesn't get the practice he needs, and the racers don't want a guy who doesn't know how to handle packed tight corners in cat 3 or higher.
lastly, lambra isn't responsible for upgrading people, usacycling is. it's possible for someone in cat 5 to upgrade to a 4 without 10 races, provided he/she does well with podiums and/or wins. (that's what I did). but it's the individual's decision to cat up or sandbag. It's not lambra's responsibility
also, yes there are tri athletes with incredible endurance, but it's quite likely they've never raced in a group, and letting them shoot up the ranks is a disservice to both the rider and the pelotons, because he doesn't get the practice he needs, and the racers don't want a guy who doesn't know how to handle packed tight corners in cat 3 or higher.
lastly, lambra isn't responsible for upgrading people, usacycling is. it's possible for someone in cat 5 to upgrade to a 4 without 10 races, provided he/she does well with podiums and/or wins. (that's what I did). but it's the individual's decision to cat up or sandbag. It's not lambra's responsibility
Last edited by spectastic; 03-30-15 at 11:40 PM.
#613
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I'm probably one of those 8 people. I should be a cat 3. I wish I were a cat 3. But I'm fine going by the system, because it works, and if you let one guy cat up faster, it's only fair to change the system for everyone, and that's just not going to happen.
also, yes there are tri athletes with incredible endurance, but it's quite likely they've never raced in a group, and letting them shoot up the ranks is a disservice to both the rider and the pelotons, because he doesn't get the practice he needs, and the racers don't want a guy who doesn't know how to handle packed tight corners in cat 3 or higher.
lastly, lambra isn't responsible for upgrading people, usacycling is. it's possible for someone in cat 5 to upgrade to a 4 without 10 races, provided he/she does well with podiums and/or wins. (that's what I did). but it's the individual's decision to cat up or sandbag. It's not lambra's responsibility
also, yes there are tri athletes with incredible endurance, but it's quite likely they've never raced in a group, and letting them shoot up the ranks is a disservice to both the rider and the pelotons, because he doesn't get the practice he needs, and the racers don't want a guy who doesn't know how to handle packed tight corners in cat 3 or higher.
lastly, lambra isn't responsible for upgrading people, usacycling is. it's possible for someone in cat 5 to upgrade to a 4 without 10 races, provided he/she does well with podiums and/or wins. (that's what I did). but it's the individual's decision to cat up or sandbag. It's not lambra's responsibility
The crit course was very tame with slow turns and no elevation change. However last year at the vuelta they let a much tighter course with elevation continue with people lapped and double lapped with hardly anyone pulled. This is the same race director but varying application of the rules?
The crashes i was just throwing out there for the race and had no determination based on category or upgrade. Every single category had a wreck in the road race and the 1 in the 5 the guy hit someones wheel looking back grabbing a bottle for no reason and only had another guy looking at a cow run into him.
#614
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Your local association is responsible for upgrades until Cat2. Upgrades to Cat1 are done by USAC headquarters in Colorado.
#615
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The race director does not determine the policy for pulling riders at any particular race. The Chief Referee does. Changes from year to year could be due to different Chief Referees or based on learnings from the year before. Officials do talk amongst themselves. There could also be a directive from Colorado, a point of emphasis, although I have not heard of anything like this at this point in the season.
#616
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This is LAMBRA not the texas or west coast, request an upgrade and you'll probably get approved. Taco went from 5 to 4 with 1 race and 4 to 3 with 1 race. If guys are racing solo in cat 5 and have no pack history then they aren't going to get it riding by themselves either and pulling the whole field isn't helping anyone else either.
The crit course was very tame with slow turns and no elevation change. However last year at the vuelta they let a much tighter course with elevation continue with people lapped and double lapped with hardly anyone pulled. This is the same race director but varying application of the rules?
The crashes i was just throwing out there for the race and had no determination based on category or upgrade. Every single category had a wreck in the road race and the 1 in the 5 the guy hit someones wheel looking back grabbing a bottle for no reason and only had another guy looking at a cow run into him.
The crit course was very tame with slow turns and no elevation change. However last year at the vuelta they let a much tighter course with elevation continue with people lapped and double lapped with hardly anyone pulled. This is the same race director but varying application of the rules?
The crashes i was just throwing out there for the race and had no determination based on category or upgrade. Every single category had a wreck in the road race and the 1 in the 5 the guy hit someones wheel looking back grabbing a bottle for no reason and only had another guy looking at a cow run into him.
As for the Vuelta d'Acadiana vs. Race du Lac - the race directors are different people for each. Also, the decision about when to pull racers during the crit is made by the officials, not the RD. And lots of people got pulled in the Cat 5 crit at the Vuelta last year.
ETA: @shovelhd beat me to it on the decision for pulling.
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Regards,
Chuck
Demain, on roule!
Regards,
Chuck
Demain, on roule!
#617
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It is the same guy at each race doing it. I don't know his name but he is at every lambra race making the decision and has been for three years.
As for the one thing I enjoyed was the Cat 4 crit being won by a guy on a $500-600 bikesdirect windsor aluminum bike he probably got used by breaking away with three people and out sprinting the other two on carbon bikes with deep carbon wheels.
As for the one thing I enjoyed was the Cat 4 crit being won by a guy on a $500-600 bikesdirect windsor aluminum bike he probably got used by breaking away with three people and out sprinting the other two on carbon bikes with deep carbon wheels.
#618
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It is the same guy at each race doing it. I don't know his name but he is at every lambra race making the decision and has been for three years.
As for the one thing I enjoyed was the Cat 4 crit being won by a guy on a $500-600 bikesdirect windsor aluminum bike he probably got used by breaking away with three people and out sprinting the other two on carbon bikes with deep carbon wheels.
As for the one thing I enjoyed was the Cat 4 crit being won by a guy on a $500-600 bikesdirect windsor aluminum bike he probably got used by breaking away with three people and out sprinting the other two on carbon bikes with deep carbon wheels.
__________________
Regards,
Chuck
Demain, on roule!
Regards,
Chuck
Demain, on roule!
#619
commu*ist spy
It is the same guy at each race doing it. I don't know his name but he is at every lambra race making the decision and has been for three years.
As for the one thing I enjoyed was the Cat 4 crit being won by a guy on a $500-600 bikesdirect windsor aluminum bike he probably got used by breaking away with three people and out sprinting the other two on carbon bikes with deep carbon wheels.
As for the one thing I enjoyed was the Cat 4 crit being won by a guy on a $500-600 bikesdirect windsor aluminum bike he probably got used by breaking away with three people and out sprinting the other two on carbon bikes with deep carbon wheels.
#621
commu*ist spy
#622
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#623
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Your local upgrade coordinator made that call. Maybe they believed that you weren't ready and put the onus on Colorado. Or maybe you lost your upgrade coordinator for a period of time. Or maybe you were licensed in Colorado at the time
#624
commu*ist spy
i just dug up the email. turns out it was txbra.. I guess I'm not special after all.
#625
out walking the earth
Navy yard 45+
Two away came back to within a couple Of seconds. That chase shattered the field. No one closed it though. Thought about bridging but was heavily marked. Thought about trying a last lap flyer but was unclear Uf there was enough race left to catch, to justify the risk. In the end I won the sprint for third and feel meh. Hard man race. Fun. But racing alone with a rep is hard ****ing work.
Two away came back to within a couple Of seconds. That chase shattered the field. No one closed it though. Thought about bridging but was heavily marked. Thought about trying a last lap flyer but was unclear Uf there was enough race left to catch, to justify the risk. In the end I won the sprint for third and feel meh. Hard man race. Fun. But racing alone with a rep is hard ****ing work.