Fall Fling preview II
2007
Both Fall Fling races this weekend are on courses we saw in September: Saturday’s road race is the same 8-mile rectangle as the ABR masters national road race championsip, and Sunday’s criterium is the same easy, office-park course as last week.
Saturday’s weather looks perfect: 80 degrees, sunny, 15 mph wind out of the south. That wind may be enough to let someone drill it down the gutter of the homestretch and relish the field flailing to keep up in their wake. Good times! If this forecast holds, anyone new to racing in the crosswind just needs to remember this: Ride near the gutter in the homestretch, ride near the yellow line (but not over it) on the backstretch.
There are plenty of other Chicago sports distractions on Sunday, including the Chicago Marathon and possibly a baseball game in the afternoon. But this will be the last race of the year, and anyone with a shot at the overall will be sure to be there. Official CBR recommendation: TiVo the game and go get your crit on in Lombard.
Saturday
Fall Fling Road Race
ABR road race
Westlake Village, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: 2 hours
Sunday
Fall Fling Criterium No. 2
ABR criterium
Lombard, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: .5 hour
Oct 4
2007
10:28 pm
ScottV
In the RR last year there was a south wind and the ABR officials got extremely mad with riders in the backstretch going over the mid-line. As far as I know, they didn’t DQ anyone last year, but I would expect with BK’s incident in Peoria, that they will be enforcing it by handing out a few DQ’s this year.
Also, on the homestretch, if you are passing on the left, before moving over to the right make sure you have cleared the guys wheel you have passed and if you are being passed, make sure you speak up if you see a rider moving over too quickly. I am not sure exactly what the circumstances were last year in the Cat 4, but one version of the story has a rider moving over before he cleared the front wheel of the rider he passed causing a touch of wheels and that rider to go down. I tried to avoid him and my rear wheel slid out at 35 mph. Tip: If you hear any crashing, move your weight back on the homestretch as it is downhill and moving your weight back will help keep your rear wheel firmly planted. After I went down, a teammate of mine hit me in the leg with his front wheel and endo’d slightly separating his shoulder. All things considered, we got off lucky with a bunch of road rash and basically a sprained shoulder. The previous year, the Cat 4’s had a much worse crash.
I won’t be there this year as I have other commitments for the weekend. I just want to hear about a RR that is crashless.
Ride smart, ride safe.