Tripleshot Cycling

I haven't checked to see if the results have been posted, so some of this might already be out-dated. The big news, I think, is Mike Dawson's second place. Not only because it was the result of a well-executed plan (ride with patience, move into the top 10 half way through the last lap, and then beat almost everyone in the uphill sprint), but also because I am pretty sure that 3rd last week and 2nd this week puts him in first place overall. Great going Mike.

Steve L., Brian E. Ritchie, Jay, David, Hugh, Anika and Bryson were also in the B race. I am very sorry - I don't know the names of our C competitors. Steve, Al, Stephan and others offered support from the sidelines. Sig arrived planning to race, but couldn't get a race-day license. A shame, but it is possible to race with a printed receipt, so if you are thinking of racing, say the night before, you can.*

Back to the race. The O2 start guy had a few things to say to us after the A's left. Then he released us, but someone with the best of intentions suggested that we wait for the A's to complete their first lap before leaving. That decision messed up the race a little. We far out-numbered the A's and caught them quickly. I should mention that Bryson's pace setting also gave the B group a bit of an edge (>35 km/hr average by the end). Now what? Any attacks would run straight into the back of the A pack, so we ended up riding 'tempo'. Naturally there were suggestions to slow down and let them get away. Eventually (perhaps 4 laps later) that's what happened.

Bryson and Anika went off the front on several occasions. Later, Jay jumped on the wheels of two leading A's that were lapping us. Despite the little problem of that not being allowed, he did an amazing disappearing act. Don't worry Jay, I told the B guys who objected that you were new. Eventually Jay came into view again and that's when Bryson took off for what must have been the fourth time. Those two stayed off the front for a good while.

My race felt good, but in hindsight, I didn't 'race' well. I kept out of trouble near the front for the whole event. Chased any attempts to bridge to Bryson and Anika or to Bryson and Jay, and I'd probably feel better about it if the pack had broken up. I could revel in the clever way I was in the right place at the right time. But, the truth is, I burned out my legs during the course of the race by doing nothing very exciting and then had nothing for the last lap when the B group was still about 18-riders strong. It was a nice lap-by-lap emptying of the tank. Kinda dumb really.

Steve Lund, who felt great on the last lap, got knocked down before the end. That beautiful bike is fine - just some handlebar tape damage.** Brian, Ritchie and I all finished with the pack, but out of the top ten. Anika, who must be feeling her legs now, was in the top ten. Great effort - three breakaway attempts and still there for the sprint!

No deer, no rain, no fire trucks.

JT

* Sig knew this but the CBC site wouldn't accept his payment.
** Steve was OK. Angry and a little bloody, but he rode all the way home and said that those leg warmers needed replacing anyway. He won the last Caleb Pike of 2012 - remember that Steve when you are peeling the bandages off.

Jay got disqualified. Harsh treatment given that the break away (with the two A riders) didn't succeed and that it was a mistake and a first offense. But, no big deal in the grand scheme of things. Like I said - he was gone, meaning he'll be able, to do it again, next time with two of us!

JT

John's right...I was pretty steamed about getting taken out on the last lap, especially after working hard for 14.5 laps to hold a position near the front. One of the guys from IRC apologized after the race...said someone to his right had bumped him and then he in turn clipped my front wheel. Whatever. No broken bones. No broken bike parts. And it turns out I finished 19 of 33 – not dead last like I expected. I guess we managed to lap some folks.

Congrats to Mike Dawson for 2nd place in B, Anika for top spot in the women's results (and 8th overall in B), and all the other Tripleshotters who rode today.

And thanks to Kate W. for her help with first aid.

Nice work guys, especially Mike and Anika. I was right behind that crash and had to ride into the gravel to avoid you Steve. It looked ugly. Glad you were not more seriously hurt and hope that you heal well. Amazing sideline support today kept everyone going.

Yup, nice work today everyone. Very unfortunate for Steve who looked good all race. As some people know, I had a nasty fall on the bike yesterday, so had a very sore hip today. It may have actually worked in my favor though, since I made a conscious effort to stay comfortable in the middle of the pack the whole race, nursing my hip. But by the last lap I realized my legs felt good, moved up, then had a strong sprint finish.
Bryson and Anika did a ton of work today, as did many others to keep them in check, and/or chase bridgers. Not an easy task. In the last lap you could see there were a lot of tired legs out there. I think it says a lot about the quality of our club though that a Tripleshot A ride is faster than a VCL B race.
At the next race at Latoria I'll make sure to do my fair share!

Mike, sometimes your 'fair share' is a great sprint at the end.

JT

JohnT wrote:Jay got disqualified. Harsh treatment given that the break away (with the two A riders) didn't succeed and that it was a mistake and a first offense. But, no big deal in the grand scheme of things. Like I said - he was gone, meaning he'll be able, to do it again, next time with two of us!

JT

He got dinged for drafting the A's and a cone violation. Unfortunate, yes, but I don't think it was harsh.

There was a bit of talk about cone violations after the race. Apparently there were quite a few, but the marshals didn't get the numbers (well, they got one). I am thinking they are going to be a lot more strict about enforcing it in the future.

Well, I didn't last long with the lead group but have to say, with a peleton of 33, trying to stay within the one road-lane width and not getting squeazed out the back means the front third fills the allowable space and then some... heck, one midpack rider adjusts and the cones come into play pretty quick.
I marshalled the first race and was focused on passing attempts vs safety manouvers. Sometimes hard to tell but generally pretty obvious.
Now, as for drafting another group, that's pretty blatant and I'm sure won't be duplicated once everyone understands.

Beyond that, this was my first B race and I got seriously schooled in ability. Did anyone get what the avg speed was? I'm definitely a back marker rider (same as my first race of the C's last year) but my attitude is that I'm there firstly for the workout and to give it my best and secondly to get INTO the race. Next time I'll try to stay on the lead lap but with a charging group of that size it doesn't take long for them to come around..
I hope more sideliners will take on my theory and jump in. There's always room (well not so much in B ) in with the C's.

I don't think this was a safe race or safe racing attitude displayed by all riders.

On the last lap there was too much unsafe positioning. My understanding is that if the rider that is following (except for the sprint) is solely responsible to keep out of the way of riders ahead. [let me know if this is incorrect--and yes, I know you aren't "riding safely' if you are meandering aimlessly ahead and expect people to somehow miss you] On the back stretch, somone who was attempting to pass me did a full on body slam (slam is over stating it) that sent me into a bit of a wobble. I doubt anything intentional--just not fully congnisant on his part. In fairness I could have moved a bit over--I don't know. This was very shortly before someone (else?) went into Steve and took him down.

On the sprint, I believe that the same applies although you (as the ahead rider) except that must hold your line. What was expected by at least 2 people when reaching the coned sprint area was that the people ahead were to "GET OUT OF MY WAY". First, they did not have the position and second, there was no safe place for them to go. The way the cones were positioned there was only room for 4 abreast at most. That wasn't good enough for two guys on either side of the group who both yelled a very sarcastic "common guys!" and then barelled ahead in an unsafe manner--in my opinion.

It felt more like a close-to-out-of-control hockey game than a VCL race to me. With this kind of win at all costs attitude, more poeple are going to get hurt.

I think this needs to be addressed.

Time will sort out many of the issues at Caleb Pike: The new people will get better at riding in a pack and they'll get better at dealing with the issues at each course. Several old-timers (who aren't necessarily old) skip the first few races for exactly this reason.

With respect to Caleb Pike, if you are in 15th place going down that hill, you enjoy a draft half way up the other side. If you are in first place, the hill hits your legs a bit sooner. That alone will create much congestion, which is amplified on the final lap, just by the intensity of the situation.

Latoria will have its own first race issues to.

JT

rhughes wrote:On the sprint, I believe that the same applies although you (as the ahead rider)... must hold your line.

What if the rider ahead of the ahead rider moves across on the ahead rider? Hopefully the third rider is looking well ahead and anticipating stuff like that and doesn't get taken out. Same applies to everybody behind. What if the ahead rider is about to pass the rider ahead of the ahead rider? The ahead rider is probably going to move here, too, sometimes correctly, sometimes not, but the rider behind again has to anticipate the move. You can't just say "you're ahead of me in the sprint, therefore you hold your line".

JohnT wrote:Latoria will have its own first race issues too.

I'm planning on riding Latoria #2 and #3 and Caleb #3

My conclusion from this thread is:

I'll stick with time trialing.

After one year of racing I can say the key thing is to finish the race with you and your friends and foes upright. Also, it is a looong season and there are so many opportunities to race and win.