Wednesday notebook
Dec 16
2009
Filed in: Cyclocross, Links, Race news


Comments (19)

Comments

1.

Dec 16
2009

2:02 pm

Jonathan Fairman (COURAGE)

Can’t wait to see the book.

2.

Dec 16
2009

5:11 pm

(Unattached)

The main pack in the Cat 4 race at Hillsboro was down to 13 (of 100) at the end of 44 miles last year.  15 more miles this year? I predict lots of those “jokers” won’t see lap 2.  I’d be one of them if I were foolish enough to go down there.

Good luck to those who try it.  I’ll be searching for a “fat man’s” crit somewhere closer that weekend…

3.

Dec 16
2009

6:24 pm

(ABD)

I’m pretty sure the main pack was about 30 or so.  I’m all for a longer race.

4.

Dec 16
2009

9:22 pm

(Unattached)

I suppose that all depends on how you figure a “pack”. There were 7 seconds between the 13th and 14th place finishers. http://www.mylaps.com/results/showrun.jsp?id=1077454

Either way, nobody should complain about more race mileage!

5.

Dec 16
2009

10:24 pm

(xXx Racing - AthletiCo)

Wow 58 miles is quite the haul for the 4s. It’ll all be worth it to come home with the glory of a brick.

I’m glad to hear that Leland will be USAC this time around. Last year was fun despite the gale force winds out there.

A more challenging course = more fun. I’m looking forward to both of these early season events.

6.

Dec 16
2009

11:46 pm

I’m pretty sure that a pack of 38 riders hit the hill at Hillsboro with 2 miles to go - then it disintegrated as all hell broke loose. That’s a fair size. Close to half of the starters.

I’m all in favor of a longer race. 58 miles isn’t terribly long. Will probably finish in under 2.5 hours. Many weekend rides are longer. That extra half hour will make all the difference in testing fitness though.

7.

Dec 17
2009

4:28 pm

Tim Speciale (PSIMET Racing)

Is it April yet?

8.

Dec 17
2009

6:35 pm

Wait, “won their masters warm up races”? You’ve got to be kidding.

If you’ve got a UCI point, the masters race should be your warmup for the Elite race.

9.

Dec 17
2009

7:16 pm

Luke Seemann's avatar

Luke Seemann (XXX Racing-AthletiCo)

Pretty sure they all raced elites, too. So it was a warm-up to their warm-up. Besides, Holly is the only one with a UCI point. (She has one.)

Of course, the elite races were in turn mere warm-ups for the roller races.

10.

Dec 17
2009

10:16 pm

The B race was not a warmup race. It was the B race. To use race it, under the pretext of “warming up” is utterly absurd.

Not only that, but calling the B race a “master’s warmup” is not only ridiculous, but also insulting to all those intermediate level racers who traveled to Bend to race against competitors of comparable ability.

Elites (with or without UCI points), who are also competitive masters, that race and win the B races at the US National Cyclocross Championships are the definition of SANDBAGGER!

11.

Dec 18
2009

12:39 am

Luke Seemann's avatar

Luke Seemann (XXX Racing-AthletiCo)

I’m the only one who has referred to it as a “warm-up” race, and that may have been a mistake. I plead ignorance. When it comes to cross natz, I have no idea who is entitled to what race. (Nor, for that matter, whether it’s judicious to fly 2,000 miles just to find “competitors of comparable ability.")

Do the organizers have guidelines for who should or should not take part the B races? I have no idea. A cursory glance at USA Cycling’s info page does not shed any light. But if there are indeed no codified restrictions, either based on category or on UCI points, I don’t see how anyone can be ridiculed for sandbagging.

But, hey, what do I know? I’ll merely repeat the refrain I offered to anyone who had the misfortune of riding behind me through an off-camber turn during cross season: “I’m a roadie! I don’t know what I’m doing here! Chill out and leave me alone.”

12.

Dec 18
2009

9:37 am

kevin c (.5 acre)

Seriously, people are complaining about a longer race?!?!? Why would you train/travel/pay/eat/etc. only to drop out of a race? Doesn’t make sense to me.

13.

Dec 18
2009

10:39 am

Luke Seemann's avatar

Luke Seemann (XXX Racing-AthletiCo)

I don’t think people are complaining. Most, in fact, seem to be pretty excited about such a long 4’s race, myself included. I’m just not expecting a huge group to finish together.

14.

Dec 18
2009

11:48 am

(Unattached)

Kevin, I wasn’t complaining! Just noting that it’s beyond my personal limits… especially that early in the season.

15.

Dec 18
2009

2:29 pm

yobdlog (xXx Racing-AthletiCo)

Here is my G. Carlin moment: Why is it called ‘pre-order’.  Am I not ordering it to receive it whenever its available?  Exactly what happens before I actually order, why the notion of fore?

(book is damn cool luke)

16.

Dec 18
2009

3:24 pm

Luke Seemann's avatar

Luke Seemann (XXX Racing-AthletiCo)

You are “pre-ordering” our book because it the book is still in pre-existence. Once we are done editing and designing, we will use the pre-order tallies to determine how many to print and have shipped to us. The more we pre-print, the better the discount, and the more money we get to give to WBR.

By all means one can wait to order when it physically exists, but then you’ll have to pay shipping.

17.

Dec 18
2009

7:38 pm

yobdlog (xXx Racing-AthletiCo)

Wow - I didn’t expect to elicit such an eloquent response!  However, to screw with your take on semantics - if the book is in pre-existence, we are still ordering ‘that’ book regardless of its state of existence in the material world.  The idea of ‘pre’ ordering means that we are ordering ahead of time - yet, by nature of ordering, it is exactly what we are already doing, again, regardless of what we are ordering is available or not.  Is our dinner already ready at a restaurant when we order our food, why don’t we ‘pre-order’ our steak though by your definition the chef is designing our dish and determining the flavor in which it will be served up upon receipt of our order from the waitress.

I miss George Carlin.

(book is seriously damn cool luke)

18.

Dec 21
2009

11:35 am

For those of you not following yobdlog… this may help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjKciefHo38

19.

Dec 27
2009

11:21 am

holly

Wow the book looks like it will be awesome Luke!

Just wanted to clarify the B race at Nationals. US Cycling doesn’t have a Cat B. It is categorized by #s. The intention of the B race is to test the course and timing by officials and promoters.(That is what I was told by an USAC official) It has been around for a few years(Kansas City). It doesn’t have any restrictions on who can race it and therefore that is why it isn’t a National Jersery race. This race has always had Cat 1 and 2 master riders in it.  What makes a B is still in question. Can a Cat 2, 39 masters woman be a B? Surely not a Cat 4? They’d be a C. But there were Cat 4s racing too. My race was an open women’s field. Many of the women were racing 2 or 3 times at Nats. We figured it was a great chance to ride the course at race speed before our Masters races. We were also spending a lot of money to fly out there so if we could race we were going to take advantage of it. If anyone flew out there to do the Bs race only, that is sad because again it wasn’t a national jersey race. If you were doing the mens B races you had the opportunity to do the National Masters races too. If you were a woman that was a Cat 1, 2 or 3 you could have done the Elite race plus if you were 30+ the masters races too. If people want to call us Sandbaggers for doing a race that had no definitions or restrictions, then that is their right, just do it to our faces instead of behind a screen name. Please though, make sure that if I look up your results, that you have properly moved up and are not a real Sandbagger.

Just for some other info on Nats. Mike Hemme got 17th in the 30-34. I(Holly) got 12th in 35-39 and Kevin got 28th in 35-39. COURAGE!

 

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