Showing newest posts with label tactics. Show older posts
Showing newest posts with label tactics. Show older posts
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Beep, Beep Beep
So you want to work on your top end speed? Do you need to sharpen the legs to come around the last guy in a sprint? Watch how Gerolsteiner do it. Now if there were only some roads around here that were that smooth.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
2007 Omloop Het Volk
Look for Belgian hardman Phillipe Gilbert to repeat his amazing performance from last year again this weekend. Last year Gilbert (FDJ) launched a vicious attack on the 1,000 meter long pave covered Eikenberg. He was never seen by the race favourites again, proving to everyone that all attacks off the front should not be taken lightly.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Bike Change At Hawthorn
Bob executes a near flawless bike change at Hawthorn Woods. Mind you this is his 2nd of three changes. Damn that boy is good!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
MUD
Based on the current weather patterns, it doesn't look like we will be blessed with the same weather we were last year for the kick off to the Chicago Cyclocross Cup series at Jackson Park. With the hurricanes rolling in off of the ocean down south, the weather pattern seems to be stuck on repeat. And all of the record setting rain can only mean one thing MUD.
For those of you who don't already own a set of mud tires might I suggest you pay a visit to your friendly local bike shop and pick up a pair. You may have just enough time to learn how to use them effectively before Sunday.
There is only one good way to learn how to race in the mud, and that is to train in the mud. Very small deficiencies in technique can become amplified when racing in bad conditions. Using your front brake in the corners becomes a very bad idea, subtle weight shifts and trusting that your tires will work takes a lot of practice, but the time saved in each corner can be the difference between sprinting out of every corner or simply carrying your speed through it. If you do have to brake when entering a corner, make sure you do so before getting there. Almost any amount of front wheel braking in a wet corner will cause the wheel to wash out. Instead, brake before you get to the corner, lean the bike, weight the outside pedal, then accelerate out of the corner. Following this technique will almost surely keep you upright and in the race.
Learn to love the mud and inclement weather. There is nothing more to fear about bad conditions than there is about good conditions. In fact, if you have the attitude that you can race better in the bad weather, you just may be able to capitalize on someone else's fears. And besides, the way this weather has been lately, we may be seeing our share of sloppy courses!
For those of you who don't already own a set of mud tires might I suggest you pay a visit to your friendly local bike shop and pick up a pair. You may have just enough time to learn how to use them effectively before Sunday.
There is only one good way to learn how to race in the mud, and that is to train in the mud. Very small deficiencies in technique can become amplified when racing in bad conditions. Using your front brake in the corners becomes a very bad idea, subtle weight shifts and trusting that your tires will work takes a lot of practice, but the time saved in each corner can be the difference between sprinting out of every corner or simply carrying your speed through it. If you do have to brake when entering a corner, make sure you do so before getting there. Almost any amount of front wheel braking in a wet corner will cause the wheel to wash out. Instead, brake before you get to the corner, lean the bike, weight the outside pedal, then accelerate out of the corner. Following this technique will almost surely keep you upright and in the race.
Learn to love the mud and inclement weather. There is nothing more to fear about bad conditions than there is about good conditions. In fact, if you have the attitude that you can race better in the bad weather, you just may be able to capitalize on someone else's fears. And besides, the way this weather has been lately, we may be seeing our share of sloppy courses!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
CLARK'S DAY
Saturday at Elk Grove started out with Clark's strategies seeing as how he was going to be in all 3 cat 5 races. After calming Clark down and telling him that the race would be too fast for a single man break, instead in the first race he does a three man break. Knowing how Clark likes to push a big gear and not spin he still ended up an impressive 4th. In the second cat 5 race it looked like Jorge was in great position for the sprint before two riders met in front of him going down with him going down on top of them. Luckily their bodies cushioned Jorge's fall. Clark ended up 24th after dropping down to his 11 too soon. On the third race, after Jorge had to recover from a crash (thanks goes to Sram in the pit) and switch numbers, again Clark felt like he had to pull the field with one lap left. With enough energy left Clark, who this time did not dump his cassette all at the same time, sprinted to the line taking 3rd. Jorge and Joe who were mid pack the whole way, ended up 13th and 16th. Lessons learned- When you are in the 11 and not spinning it makes for a good picture but not speed. And secondly, if you are in back to back races, instead of switching numbers, place one number on top of the other. Then all you have to do is tear off the top and you are ready to go again.
The Cat 4 race was way sketchy. Before the race with everybody lined up the field was asked to move to one side to make way for the pace car to get through. This squeezed the field to half the area and of course riders in the back attempted to take advantage of this by following the car to the front. It was nice that this was noticed by one of the officials who told those riders to go to the back, but they really didn't. This squeezed the field even tighter for the start. With the surges and resultant slowing down thereafter and the turns it was a tight pack all the way to the end. Brakes were locking up all over the place sending bicycle sideways. This was evident after one of the leaders got pinched on the last lap, which by itself had three seperate crashes. (If anybody can give me input, why was the motorcycle official attempting to make his way through the pack midway through the race?). All in all it was smart to stay way out in front or way in the back.
The Cat 4 race was way sketchy. Before the race with everybody lined up the field was asked to move to one side to make way for the pace car to get through. This squeezed the field to half the area and of course riders in the back attempted to take advantage of this by following the car to the front. It was nice that this was noticed by one of the officials who told those riders to go to the back, but they really didn't. This squeezed the field even tighter for the start. With the surges and resultant slowing down thereafter and the turns it was a tight pack all the way to the end. Brakes were locking up all over the place sending bicycle sideways. This was evident after one of the leaders got pinched on the last lap, which by itself had three seperate crashes. (If anybody can give me input, why was the motorcycle official attempting to make his way through the pack midway through the race?). All in all it was smart to stay way out in front or way in the back.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Evanston Recap
Sunday was by far the most technical course that we have ridden so far this year. We were greeted with a six corner course that was still a bit wet when our race was supposed to start. The start was delayed over half an hour and at one point after having us lined up told us to take another lap which reshuffled every one's original position.
After clearing the course of emergency vehicles we were finally off, better late than never. The pace from the gun was fast and sketchy. Some of the corners were taken 5-6 riders wide with little care for the consequences. As the laps progressed we managed to coalesce into a 6 man team time trial. The team was really starting to steamroll the course and were picking up plenty of places until the race was stopped with 8 to go. After the riders were peeled off the pavement in the infamous BK Stacker, the race was lined up for a third time. The break was given back their 20 second time gap and then the field was let loose to chase the rabbit.
Our plan going into the second half of the race was to continue the time trial and keep picking off riders as we settled into a comfortable working group. This was not to come to fruition however. I set the tempo for the first half lap, then when I looked over my shoulder for a bit of help, noticed our group had been infiltrated by several other teams. Our group eventually consisted of Joe, Sergio, Paul, Clark, Jorge and myself with a few Triple X'ers mixed in. Joe and I took the lion share's of the work while Sergio briefly bridged to a group ahead of us. At this point we aggressively attacked the course as we learned the best line through each corner. Coming down the final straight Joe found himself on the front with his nose in the wind. I sat on the wheels of the X'ers in the group and waited for their jump. With only about a block to go no one was really winding up their sprint yet, so I took the opportunity to get a jump on the group. My sprint went well and I only had one X'er come past me, I believe Joe came in next followed by Sergio, Clark, Jorge and Paul. While we finished mid pack we still managed to ride a good strong race and personally I am satisfied with my results.
The next race saw more of the same action as ours. Big Jim was our only rider in the race and he paid the price of having no help. Once again the race was stopped after Jeff Holland (xXx) took turn 4 a bit too wide and made contact with a barrier. Due to time constraints, the race was restarted with only 5 laps to go, and the pace proved to high for our man Jim. The field was splintered from the five lap drag race and Skip Fotland (NorthBranch Cycling) easily took the win, Jim being content to finish mid pack.
While our results weren't great, we lived to race another day and managed to avoid all the mayhem out on the course. Next stop, Whitnall Road Race on Wednesday
After clearing the course of emergency vehicles we were finally off, better late than never. The pace from the gun was fast and sketchy. Some of the corners were taken 5-6 riders wide with little care for the consequences. As the laps progressed we managed to coalesce into a 6 man team time trial. The team was really starting to steamroll the course and were picking up plenty of places until the race was stopped with 8 to go. After the riders were peeled off the pavement in the infamous BK Stacker, the race was lined up for a third time. The break was given back their 20 second time gap and then the field was let loose to chase the rabbit.
Our plan going into the second half of the race was to continue the time trial and keep picking off riders as we settled into a comfortable working group. This was not to come to fruition however. I set the tempo for the first half lap, then when I looked over my shoulder for a bit of help, noticed our group had been infiltrated by several other teams. Our group eventually consisted of Joe, Sergio, Paul, Clark, Jorge and myself with a few Triple X'ers mixed in. Joe and I took the lion share's of the work while Sergio briefly bridged to a group ahead of us. At this point we aggressively attacked the course as we learned the best line through each corner. Coming down the final straight Joe found himself on the front with his nose in the wind. I sat on the wheels of the X'ers in the group and waited for their jump. With only about a block to go no one was really winding up their sprint yet, so I took the opportunity to get a jump on the group. My sprint went well and I only had one X'er come past me, I believe Joe came in next followed by Sergio, Clark, Jorge and Paul. While we finished mid pack we still managed to ride a good strong race and personally I am satisfied with my results.
The next race saw more of the same action as ours. Big Jim was our only rider in the race and he paid the price of having no help. Once again the race was stopped after Jeff Holland (xXx) took turn 4 a bit too wide and made contact with a barrier. Due to time constraints, the race was restarted with only 5 laps to go, and the pace proved to high for our man Jim. The field was splintered from the five lap drag race and Skip Fotland (NorthBranch Cycling) easily took the win, Jim being content to finish mid pack.
While our results weren't great, we lived to race another day and managed to avoid all the mayhem out on the course. Next stop, Whitnall Road Race on Wednesday
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Pre-Ride The Course
After all the miles and hours spent training and preparing for a key race, there is nothing worse than being caught out by a surprise and missing the key move. Missing the break because there was an attack that you weren't expecting is one thing, missing the move because you didn't know the course is something else all together. Perhaps the most important and useful tactic to incorporate into every racers bag of tricks is pre-riding the course. We learned this valuable lesson last month at West Lafayette. When it came down to it, we lost the race before it even started. Had we pre-ridden the course, we would have known how to attack the climb. We especially would have known what gearing to use. Instead, we started the race blind which led to us hitting the climb in the big ring. Big mistake!
Pre-riding the course not only highlights where the race may split apart, but it also reveals potentially dangerous corners or even places where an attack may occur. Bombing down a hill at 45 mph is not the best time to discover that there is a hairpin turn at the bottom covered in gravel. However, if you had pre-ridden the course you would have known this and taken the outside line while everyone else panicked and grabbed their brakes, not only staying safe, but potentially attacking during the confusion. This video highlights how pre-riding the course could have led to a succesful break staying away, instead it ended in an ambulance.
It seems as our first year as a team progresses we are better understanding what it takes to be succesful. Sure the victory column has been a bit empty lately, but with every race that we participate in, we learn something new. Every mistake and missed opportunity is another chance to learn something that may prove valuable in the next race. Of course we will still make mistakes, but hopefully they will be based on the fact that we tried to make a smart move based on experience, and not a stupid move based on emotion. In the next few weeks as Super Week draws near, we should be able to put our past experiences to good use. With the races scheduled, and the team committed to working towards a common goal, even if we don't win we will surely have triumphed.
Pre-riding the course not only highlights where the race may split apart, but it also reveals potentially dangerous corners or even places where an attack may occur. Bombing down a hill at 45 mph is not the best time to discover that there is a hairpin turn at the bottom covered in gravel. However, if you had pre-ridden the course you would have known this and taken the outside line while everyone else panicked and grabbed their brakes, not only staying safe, but potentially attacking during the confusion. This video highlights how pre-riding the course could have led to a succesful break staying away, instead it ended in an ambulance.
It seems as our first year as a team progresses we are better understanding what it takes to be succesful. Sure the victory column has been a bit empty lately, but with every race that we participate in, we learn something new. Every mistake and missed opportunity is another chance to learn something that may prove valuable in the next race. Of course we will still make mistakes, but hopefully they will be based on the fact that we tried to make a smart move based on experience, and not a stupid move based on emotion. In the next few weeks as Super Week draws near, we should be able to put our past experiences to good use. With the races scheduled, and the team committed to working towards a common goal, even if we don't win we will surely have triumphed.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Tour De West Lafayette
The team made it's debut in stage racing this last weekend in the inaugural edition of the Tour de West Lafayette. We were excited about being able to test ourselves in this format of racing on the challenging courses that were to be presented, however, the organizers had a different plan. The first stage was to be a criterium held on a 1.3 mile course with 8 corners. As we rolled out to scope out the course and warm up we had difficulty finding the rest of the course. Sure we found the KoM hill climb portion and two out of the eight corners, problem was we couldn't find the rest of the course! It turns out that there was no more course to be found. We were to be faced with basically doing hill repeats for the next 35 minutes, or so we thought. The promoters also had another surprise for us in hand. They announced that the crit was also going to be held on an OPEN course, but we needn't worry, because only ONE car made it onto the course in the first race. Are you effen kidding me? An open road crit? My only question was where was the ambulance going to be parked?
After a somewhat neutral rollout the fireworks began in earnest. Not surprisingly our horrible position in the back of the pack caused problems early. There was nearly a crash in the first corner, and then a flat tire in the middle first climb caused quite a split. Elvis, Tony and Clark managed to stay ahead of the trouble wile Joe and myself had to work our way around it all. Here is where the racing gets a little screwy though. Joe and myself are working together and picking people off each lap, probably about 3-5 riders each lap, when we get pulled from the race. I'm a bit confused at this point and figure that we are getting down to the final few minutes of the race and they want a safe sprint. I also know that we were never lapped by the field, nor were we ever in danger of that happening anytime soon. I go to stop my watch and realize that we have been pulled only fifteen minutes into the race! What the hell is that all about!
As the racing continued it turns out we weren't the only ones pulled from the race. Out of 54 starters, the officials only allowed 13 riders to finish the race. Not only were they pulling lapped riders, but they also pulled everyone who wasn't in the main group. Why? Early in the race the commissar was also driving his pace car up and through groups of riders and telling them they were pulled. I have never seen this before in a race, and for the safety of the riders I hope I never see it again.
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this was the fact that I was pulled without the opportunity to actually race. Sure if I had been lapped I could understand. But with each lap that went by, we were making up ground. We found ourselves at the back because we lined up poorly, not because we were unable to race. The other kicker is that they didn't even place us in the correct order when they pulled us, and they also applied some "scientific" formula to figure how far back we would have finished. According to their calculations we would have finished anywhere from 3-7 minutes back! Not likely in my opinion, and if so at least let me finish.
The next day Sunday brought with it cooler temperatures as well as cooler heads. Tony and I rode out to the course, only to realize that we had beaten the promoters there. So far this wasn't looking any better than the day before. Tactics were discussed and it was decided that we would get on the front and try and blow it apart from the gun. To no ones real surprise this plan didn't go so well, at least not for us. Sure we may have controlled the tempo leading into the 4 mile circuit, but an attack by Clark at the base of the wall really blew things apart. Unfortunately, it also blew apart our team as well. In trying to move up and block for Clark, Joe and I hit the climb in our big rings, BIG mistake. It cost us position and we slid back into the group and onto the tail of the pack. We tried to hold position, but our legs were cooked and the pack slowly slid away from us. Turns out however that Clark was actually behind us after his move and we worked together for the second half of the lap. The three of us worked together taking turns and bring riders back. On the long downhill Joe and Clark managed to ride away from me and my compact gearing. I did manage to catch Joe before the wall again, and Clark hooked onto a small group just behind the main pack.
Joe and I continued to work together for the next lap and a half when we were joined by Tony and Elvis who we assumed were actually ahead of us. Turns out they were also victims of the acceleration the first time up the climb. The next two laps were a text book version of team time trialing as we worked together around the course picking up riders and dropping them along the way. On the last lap we managed to pick up one rider too many though. At the start of the final lap we caught Voytek Glinkowski (WDT) on the roller section before the climb. In hindsight we should have sat behind him and then powered past on the climb, but instead allowed him to latch onto the group, mistake number one. After climbing the hill for the final time we made another mistake. Rather than attacking Voytek, we gave him a free ride to the finish, mistake number two. Then the plan was to lead out Elvis for a bit of vindication for his loss to Voytek in the sprint at Vernon Hills. This was working okay until Voytek launched his own counterattack and Elvis had to jump to grab his wheel. Things ended differently though this time in the their sprint and Elvis managed to just get him at the line, so all was not lost.
The final stage was to be the TT which was to be run in reverse order of GC. While the officials figured out everyones KoM points and times we were treated to lunches provided by the promoter. After what seemed like an eternity it was time to roll out for the start of the TT, which meant that problems and confusion would not be far behind. Because of our team time trial performance in the road race we were all positioned fairly close to each other in the GC. On the start line I asked the chief official where the finish line was just for the sake clarification. Turns out I probably should have kept my mouth shut because he told me and the next few riders that the finish line was at the KoM line at the top of the climb. No problem I thought, I would just absolutely bury myself on the climb and be done with it. I went out first and managed to flub getting into my pedal right off the bat. On the run in towards the climb I was managing anywhere from 19-23 mph depending on how hard the wind was blowing. Then came the climb and the plan to just turn myself inside out. Well believe me I did just that and left it all out there somewhere 3/4's of the way up. When I reached the KoM line I asked the official if I was done and he told me NO ! WTF? You mean I have about another kilometer or more to race! You have got to be kidding me? How does the chief official not know where his finish line is. Oh well, I guess that shouldn't come as too much of a surprise at this point. So I dug deep and managed to finish strong cranking out 26+ mph on the finish.
All bitching aside, I am really glad we did this race. It taught us many valuable lessons from tactics, to planning and camaraderie as well. After the crit we vowed to never return to this race again, but on the ride home, I knew that I had to come back next year to right the wrongs of this year.
Here is how everything ended up, or at least how the officials scored us:
Mens 4/5 Criterium
Elvis Falbo 21st
Tony Rienks 26th
Joe Castello 31st
Clark McCarthy 37th
Damon Nelson 39th
Mens 4/5 Road Race
Clark McCarthy 24th
Elvis Falbo 35th
Tony Rienks 37th
Joe Castello 38
Damon Nelson 39th
Mens 4/5 Individual TT
Clark McCarthy 20th
Tony Rienks 25th
Damon Nelson 34th
Joe Castello 35th
Elvis Falbo 39th
Mens 4/5 Overall GC
Clark McCarthy 23rd
Tony Rienks 31st
Joe Castello 33rd
Elvis Falbo 34th
Damon Nelson 35th
Mens 4/5 KoM Competition
Clark McCarthy 5th
After a somewhat neutral rollout the fireworks began in earnest. Not surprisingly our horrible position in the back of the pack caused problems early. There was nearly a crash in the first corner, and then a flat tire in the middle first climb caused quite a split. Elvis, Tony and Clark managed to stay ahead of the trouble wile Joe and myself had to work our way around it all. Here is where the racing gets a little screwy though. Joe and myself are working together and picking people off each lap, probably about 3-5 riders each lap, when we get pulled from the race. I'm a bit confused at this point and figure that we are getting down to the final few minutes of the race and they want a safe sprint. I also know that we were never lapped by the field, nor were we ever in danger of that happening anytime soon. I go to stop my watch and realize that we have been pulled only fifteen minutes into the race! What the hell is that all about!
As the racing continued it turns out we weren't the only ones pulled from the race. Out of 54 starters, the officials only allowed 13 riders to finish the race. Not only were they pulling lapped riders, but they also pulled everyone who wasn't in the main group. Why? Early in the race the commissar was also driving his pace car up and through groups of riders and telling them they were pulled. I have never seen this before in a race, and for the safety of the riders I hope I never see it again.
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this was the fact that I was pulled without the opportunity to actually race. Sure if I had been lapped I could understand. But with each lap that went by, we were making up ground. We found ourselves at the back because we lined up poorly, not because we were unable to race. The other kicker is that they didn't even place us in the correct order when they pulled us, and they also applied some "scientific" formula to figure how far back we would have finished. According to their calculations we would have finished anywhere from 3-7 minutes back! Not likely in my opinion, and if so at least let me finish.
The next day Sunday brought with it cooler temperatures as well as cooler heads. Tony and I rode out to the course, only to realize that we had beaten the promoters there. So far this wasn't looking any better than the day before. Tactics were discussed and it was decided that we would get on the front and try and blow it apart from the gun. To no ones real surprise this plan didn't go so well, at least not for us. Sure we may have controlled the tempo leading into the 4 mile circuit, but an attack by Clark at the base of the wall really blew things apart. Unfortunately, it also blew apart our team as well. In trying to move up and block for Clark, Joe and I hit the climb in our big rings, BIG mistake. It cost us position and we slid back into the group and onto the tail of the pack. We tried to hold position, but our legs were cooked and the pack slowly slid away from us. Turns out however that Clark was actually behind us after his move and we worked together for the second half of the lap. The three of us worked together taking turns and bring riders back. On the long downhill Joe and Clark managed to ride away from me and my compact gearing. I did manage to catch Joe before the wall again, and Clark hooked onto a small group just behind the main pack.
Joe and I continued to work together for the next lap and a half when we were joined by Tony and Elvis who we assumed were actually ahead of us. Turns out they were also victims of the acceleration the first time up the climb. The next two laps were a text book version of team time trialing as we worked together around the course picking up riders and dropping them along the way. On the last lap we managed to pick up one rider too many though. At the start of the final lap we caught Voytek Glinkowski (WDT) on the roller section before the climb. In hindsight we should have sat behind him and then powered past on the climb, but instead allowed him to latch onto the group, mistake number one. After climbing the hill for the final time we made another mistake. Rather than attacking Voytek, we gave him a free ride to the finish, mistake number two. Then the plan was to lead out Elvis for a bit of vindication for his loss to Voytek in the sprint at Vernon Hills. This was working okay until Voytek launched his own counterattack and Elvis had to jump to grab his wheel. Things ended differently though this time in the their sprint and Elvis managed to just get him at the line, so all was not lost.
The final stage was to be the TT which was to be run in reverse order of GC. While the officials figured out everyones KoM points and times we were treated to lunches provided by the promoter. After what seemed like an eternity it was time to roll out for the start of the TT, which meant that problems and confusion would not be far behind. Because of our team time trial performance in the road race we were all positioned fairly close to each other in the GC. On the start line I asked the chief official where the finish line was just for the sake clarification. Turns out I probably should have kept my mouth shut because he told me and the next few riders that the finish line was at the KoM line at the top of the climb. No problem I thought, I would just absolutely bury myself on the climb and be done with it. I went out first and managed to flub getting into my pedal right off the bat. On the run in towards the climb I was managing anywhere from 19-23 mph depending on how hard the wind was blowing. Then came the climb and the plan to just turn myself inside out. Well believe me I did just that and left it all out there somewhere 3/4's of the way up. When I reached the KoM line I asked the official if I was done and he told me NO ! WTF? You mean I have about another kilometer or more to race! You have got to be kidding me? How does the chief official not know where his finish line is. Oh well, I guess that shouldn't come as too much of a surprise at this point. So I dug deep and managed to finish strong cranking out 26+ mph on the finish.
All bitching aside, I am really glad we did this race. It taught us many valuable lessons from tactics, to planning and camaraderie as well. After the crit we vowed to never return to this race again, but on the ride home, I knew that I had to come back next year to right the wrongs of this year.
Here is how everything ended up, or at least how the officials scored us:
Mens 4/5 Criterium
Elvis Falbo 21st
Tony Rienks 26th
Joe Castello 31st
Clark McCarthy 37th
Damon Nelson 39th
Mens 4/5 Road Race
Clark McCarthy 24th
Elvis Falbo 35th
Tony Rienks 37th
Joe Castello 38
Damon Nelson 39th
Mens 4/5 Individual TT
Clark McCarthy 20th
Tony Rienks 25th
Damon Nelson 34th
Joe Castello 35th
Elvis Falbo 39th
Mens 4/5 Overall GC
Clark McCarthy 23rd
Tony Rienks 31st
Joe Castello 33rd
Elvis Falbo 34th
Damon Nelson 35th
Mens 4/5 KoM Competition
Clark McCarthy 5th
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Indiana Here We Come
We have a team all signed up and ready to ride the upcoming Le Tour de West Lafayette on May 17th and 18th. As a team we couldn't be more excited about this unique racing opportunity. It looks as though we will have another caravan driving down to Lafayette, with most of our wives and families joining us for the weekend. As far as the racing goes, the format looks great and I will curious to see how the legs react after two tough days of racing.
If my calculations are correct based on the profile we should enjoy about 500 feet of climbing per lap for 35 minutes plus two laps on the 1.3mile course Saturday afternoon. That race in itself sounds incredible, I guess we will see how all that hill training has paid off. Of course there are also the races within the race, namely the Points Competition or Green Jersey. There will also be KoM points available at two locations every lap, hopefuly everybody will bring their climbing legs. For a quick tip on climbing check out this.
Sunday morning will great the cat 4/5 riders with a 20 mile road race at 9am. If Saturdays crit course was a killer, Sundays RR has over 700 feet
of climbing per lap. Do the math on that...yep, thats right almost 3,000 feet total for the entire race. But wait there's more! KoM and Green Jersey points will also be available on this stage as well. And you thought Whitnall was a tough course.
Finally the Tour wraps up with an individual TT in the afternoon. In case your legs aren't toasted yet, the 5.8 mile TT course has at least 300 feet
of climbing. At least the TT is only one loop. It appears that there will be no need for a TT specific bike here, as you won't be able to gain any aero advantage with all that climbing. The TT will be run in reverse order of GC after the Stage 2, so staying in the front group in both the Crit and the RR will be imperative. At least this way the riders starting their time trials later in the rotation may know what time to they have to beat.
This should be a great experience for us overall. Yes, we will be suffering like dogs the entire weekend, but we will be so much stronger for it. As of today there are only 25 registered riders for the 4/5 race and we have 5 of them. The only other team sending a full compliment of riders will be Wild Card Cycling. I believe we will be sending a high caliber team to Lafayette, and with some strategizing and hard work we have a shot at doing very well in three competitions as well as the overall.
Apparently there is more than corn in Indiana!
If my calculations are correct based on the profile we should enjoy about 500 feet of climbing per lap for 35 minutes plus two laps on the 1.3mile course Saturday afternoon. That race in itself sounds incredible, I guess we will see how all that hill training has paid off. Of course there are also the races within the race, namely the Points Competition or Green Jersey. There will also be KoM points available at two locations every lap, hopefuly everybody will bring their climbing legs. For a quick tip on climbing check out this.
Sunday morning will great the cat 4/5 riders with a 20 mile road race at 9am. If Saturdays crit course was a killer, Sundays RR has over 700 feet
of climbing per lap. Do the math on that...yep, thats right almost 3,000 feet total for the entire race. But wait there's more! KoM and Green Jersey points will also be available on this stage as well. And you thought Whitnall was a tough course.
Finally the Tour wraps up with an individual TT in the afternoon. In case your legs aren't toasted yet, the 5.8 mile TT course has at least 300 feet
of climbing. At least the TT is only one loop. It appears that there will be no need for a TT specific bike here, as you won't be able to gain any aero advantage with all that climbing. The TT will be run in reverse order of GC after the Stage 2, so staying in the front group in both the Crit and the RR will be imperative. At least this way the riders starting their time trials later in the rotation may know what time to they have to beat.
This should be a great experience for us overall. Yes, we will be suffering like dogs the entire weekend, but we will be so much stronger for it. As of today there are only 25 registered riders for the 4/5 race and we have 5 of them. The only other team sending a full compliment of riders will be Wild Card Cycling. I believe we will be sending a high caliber team to Lafayette, and with some strategizing and hard work we have a shot at doing very well in three competitions as well as the overall.
Apparently there is more than corn in Indiana!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Epic
For those of you that missed the weekly ride last night beacuse of the threat of bad weather, shame on you. While only 4 of us showed up, in my opinion it had to be one of the best rides of the year. Sure we only did 30 miles and were only out there for about an hour and a half, but all the elements were there for the makings of an epic ride. And when I say elements I mainly speak of the rain and wind. Mix in hills, hill repeats and some work on team tactics and you have an outstanding ride.
It looks like we should be sending four guys out to Whitnall this Saturday, so we did some tactical practice to work on some team dynamics. It would of been even better had we had two different squads out, but I think we made some good progress none the less. It is nice to see that the team is starting to really come together so early in the season. All this work in the early season should start paying out soon, and the next big race we will be doing as a team will be The Tour de West Lafayette in Indiana next month. We still have three weeks to work out the kinks, but we should have a very strong showing there as well.
It looks like we should be sending four guys out to Whitnall this Saturday, so we did some tactical practice to work on some team dynamics. It would of been even better had we had two different squads out, but I think we made some good progress none the less. It is nice to see that the team is starting to really come together so early in the season. All this work in the early season should start paying out soon, and the next big race we will be doing as a team will be The Tour de West Lafayette in Indiana next month. We still have three weeks to work out the kinks, but we should have a very strong showing there as well.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Another Great Tuesday Night
Perfect temperature, no wind, fast racing and no crashes. Thats probably the best way to sum up last night in Matteson. I was surprised at how few people had showed up compared to the first week. The thing that really caught my attention was the xXx'ers. Or should I say the lack of them out of about 50 riders there were only two from xXx.
BB-VP had a great showing last night with three starters in the A's race and 5 in the B's. In all six races we had someone in the top 5, and at least two in the top ten. We tried out some tactics last night, some worked, some didn't. But we will have plenty of time to work on those as the summer progresses. Thats the great thing about Matteson, you have three chances a night to try and get things right. I won't talk too much more about tactics here as I don't want to give anything away. Racing is difficult enough as it is, without other teams knowing what you plan on doing.
BB-VP had a great showing last night with three starters in the A's race and 5 in the B's. In all six races we had someone in the top 5, and at least two in the top ten. We tried out some tactics last night, some worked, some didn't. But we will have plenty of time to work on those as the summer progresses. Thats the great thing about Matteson, you have three chances a night to try and get things right. I won't talk too much more about tactics here as I don't want to give anything away. Racing is difficult enough as it is, without other teams knowing what you plan on doing.
1997 Liege-Bastogne-Liege
Want to learn how to lose a race? Watch Jalabert in the 1997 edition of L-B-L. Bartoli was outnumbered 2-1 all the way to the finish by JaJa and Zulle. Attack after attack after attack couldn't break Bartoli. Finally he broke Zulle with 2k to go then rode JaJa off his wheel. It seemed as if JaJa was more concerned with what was happening behind him than in front of him. Lesson learned, the race is in front of you. After 7 hours and 19 minutes JaJa was 1000 meters away from a huge victory. Instead he was too worried about a possible counter attack and let the lone threat simply rde away from him. I don't think of Jalabert as taking second that day, rather he was the first loser! Bravo Bartoli!
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