It’s been a busy weekend of racing and straining and working and waning, so I will now begin my "job" of typing up the names of those who have avoided waning the most.
At the R&A Cycles NYC Cycling Series in Prospect Park, Hammean Walker of Major Taylor won the masters 40+ race. Camie Kornely of CRCA/Stan’s No Tubes/Endurance won the women’s race. Caffery Garff of Signature Cycles won the cat 5 race. Results are here. Photos are here.
At the Tour of Colt’s Neck on Sunday, Christopher Shaw of FGX Racing won the cat 3 race. William Blakeley of Skylands Cycling won the Cat 4 race. Brandon Boyle of Liberty Cycle won the cat 5 race. Brian Norling of Cycles 54 won the masters 35+ race. Michael Novensky of DNK Cycling won the masters 45+ race. Lawrence Towner of Liberty Cycle won the 55+ race. Andrea Brennan of Team EPS/CSS p/b Shebell & Shebell won the women’s cat 1/2/3 race. Jennifer DeFalco of Colavita Racing won the women’s cat 4 race. Results are here.
At the CRCA Orchard Beach Crit Kids Race p/b IWF on Sunday, Zach Koop of Blue Ribbon-Translations.com won the cat 1/2/3 race. Lara Summers of Central Wheel/GHCC won the women’s cat 1/2/3 race. Corey Morenz of Sixcycle-RK&O won the cat 3 race. Greg Olsen of ChampSys p/b Stan’s NoTubes won the masters 40+ race. Benjamin Reddy of Columbia University Cycling won the cat 4 race. Aime Layton of the Asphalt Green Cycling Team won the women’s cat 3/4 race. Chris Pino of W&D Racing-NYC Velo won the cat 4/5 race. Masha Schneider of Westwood Velo won the women’s cat 4 race. Charles Altchek of Foundation won the cat 5 race. Sammy Moseley of CRCA/Junior Development won the junior’s race. Results are here.
Meanwhile at the Tour of the Dragons, Michael Woods of Garneau Quebecor won the men’s pro 1/2 GC. Stephanie Wetzel of Team Kenda p/b RACC won the women’s pro 1/2 GC. Meredith Uhl of Rockstar/Signature Cycles was third in the women’s 3/4 GC. Dudley Hoskin of Velorigin Performance was second in the cat 4 GC. Jake Goodman of Cycle Life USA/ GF Capitol was third in the cat 4 GC. Ryan Hurley of siggi’s/nyvelocity was first in the men’s cat 5 under 35 GC. Samuel hamilton of Foundation was third in the GC. Jovica Ivetic of siggi’s/nyvelocity won the men’s cat 5 35+ GC with teammate Regis Dupont second. Full results are here.
Meanwhile at the Rapha (there’s no "L" in Rapha) Gentleman’s Race at an undisclosed location, Team 9W were first across the line, which I think means they won, but at a gentleman’s race, everyone’s a winner. It would be un-gentlemanly to think otherwise.
Is this the new force in NY cycling???
Yup, that 9w rider in the pic looks like another FGX winner for the weekend, wake up and smell the coffee
Caps are a new force in NY cycling apparently.
Heard there were a few crashes in various fields. I hope no one was seriously injured. And kudos to CRCA and Matt V for putting this on!
3 crashes during the cat 4 race. 1st and 3rd were the worst, guys stayed down and were taken by ambulance. Any one have updates on these folk?
I was one of the ones who went down in Cat 4 and was taken to the ER. I saw most of the others who were transported in. The 1st serious crash during Cat4 was discharged before me, so I assume he is ok. Also saw the female rider who went down and a masters rider as well. I think they were ok aside from some bad cuts/bruises and possibly a broken collar bone respectively. I got to go home around 5 after a god awful long wait for an xray of my knee and tib/fib. Nothing broken, but the knee is pretty sore/stiff and I will need to follow up to get it checked out further. Just happy it was my leg that hit the tree and not my torso or neck or face.
I think it was a Rockstar guy who went down in turn #2 during the Cat 4 race and looked to be unconscious even after a good 10-15 minutes as he was taken away in the ambulance. Anyone know who he is and how he’s doing? Would like to wish him well
There are pics from Orchard Beach Cat. 4 and Women’s Race at: http://darlenevallar.smugmug.com/Sports/CRCA-Orchard-Beach-Crit/29266809_xzPhbc
Tour of the Dragons was a total mess. The first stretch of “dirt road” was really just gravel. There were riders flatted on the side of the road every 100ft or so. Some of the wheel vans were telling guys they ran out of wheels before the end of that section (mile 15). Unclear why anyone thought that was a good road to race on.
Who runs Dragons?
Daenerys Targaryen
The early season started off pretty good. No noteworthy crashes. But guys are just starting to dust off their shoes and bikes and venture into the races now that the weather is warming up, they can’t hang with the guys that have been racing since March – they aren’t fit and are squirrely = dangerous situation.
Funny, the doctor that examined me asked if this many crashes at a race was normal. I told him no, and his next question, well what’s so different about today. My response was pretty much the same as yours. Finally a nice day after a lot of really cold/unpleasant early season races, later (nicer) than normal race times, full fields, a very tough and fast race with riders who haven’t been at it since March coming out to play.
Thought I’d be ok getting out front for the final half lap, oh well.
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING US? GO BACK TO BED, YOU CAN DREAM ABOUT IT THERE!
putnam results?
heal fast Steve!
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Steve I was sitting several wheels back from you when your crash happened and saw it unfold and the unfortunate reality is that it was totally avoidable. You/we were in a single-file line of riders moving up relatively fast on the left side and a rider who was dangling alone in the middle of the road saw our line and immediately swerved left towards us and took you and other riders out. I don’t know what that rider was thinking but I can only speculate if his intention was indeed to push you (or others) into the grass so he could jump on that train to the finish. Aside from riders being too fatigued the problem we will always encounter is that riders like this guy are giving too much importance to placing in what really is a meaningless bike race and are taking excessive risks and putting other riders like you and me into dangerous situations. Like you said you could’ve easily hit the tree in a different manner and the outcome could’ve been much worse for you or others. I’m glad to hear that you and the other riders you mentioned are out of the hospital but to the idiot rider who caused the crash, I hope he realizes that whatever glory he thinks he may get from placing in a race it is not worth putting other riders in the hospital. Next time I hope it’s him that gets hurt and that he writhes in pain for a long time.
Trying to explain riding details to a newly minted Cat 4 is like explaining logic to a baby.
Man up and upgrade. And stop your bitching.
happen and seem to happen more in the junior and lower categories. They are also more likely to occur in crits. Hope all who went down are back on the bike soon!
“…Aside from riders being too fatigued the problem we will always encounter is that riders like this guy are giving too much importance to placing in what really is a meaningless bike race”
When there are only so many opportunities for upgrade points out there in a given season, you are going to see this sort of thing. Especially in the super-competitive NYC scene, where we have full fields at races on a continual basis. Those of you who have raced elsewhere know how much more chill the amateur racing scene is outside of NYC.
I was in the Cat 4 field as well, and what hasn’t yet been mentioned is the fact that aside from the neutralization after the 1st crash, the field was strung out single file by the Columbia guys (sandbaggers?) for the entire race. Dumbass decisions are a lot easier to make after 40+ minutes in an anaerobic state. Hence, plentiful crashes.
Columbia? Sandbaggers? Ya’ll are just jealous that a bunch of students showed up and destroyed you. They can’t help that the collegiate race scene is better (read: faster AND safer). Most of them can’t get upgrade points because the fields are so freakin’ fast.
experience counts for a lot. 90% of problems can be avoided if 4s/5s would 1) just ride their bike in a straight line and 2) make sure not to rear end the guy in front of you because he’s gassed and you are sprinting with your head down from 30 spots back.
Poorly marked course, some turns not marked or manned at all, meant wrong turns and lost riders all over the place. Some may still be wandering around Putnam county now. Just one of many complaints that will be raining down on JDE’s head from the crapstorm he created.
same old argument different year. it’s a risky sport. pros probably crash more than 4/5s
no, that’s not even close to right
“experience counts for a lot.”
of course it does. but why all the hate by everyone towards the 4’s? the only crash in the cat5 race was a solo crash by a rider riding alone. and one of the worst crashes of the day was in the 40+/50+ field. more masters went down than 5’s.
a “meaningless bike race” is one with no entry fee, no prize list and no results recorded for posterity. by adding all 3 it gets meaning. if anyone looked at the online results, it was obviously meaningful. no one knows who won gimbels. that was a meaningless bike race. and much safer.
After every race I hear young guys saying oh it was sketch out there. Well I think its the guys that complain about the sketchy riding that are probably the real sketchy ones.
FBF starts tomorrow! The Regional Orthpedics Tuesday Race Series at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field starts tomorrow, May 7.
More info at:
http://spasport.com/regional_orthopedics_tuesday_series.htm
that’s like saying Sixcycle is the new Adler. Sixcycle don’t ride a smart race. FGX needs to win anything other than a Rapha Fred race.
Hey I had a great time in the Putnam event; great course and the train ride was stress free. There were some problems with course marking but mostly it was a far cry from the madness that is GFNY. This was real cycling event, not a freek show. Lighten up ferchrissakes.
It’s pretty clear that USAC should require more clinics. Some guys, even in the higher categories, had a difficult time negotiating those turns.
Agreed. Same goes for those 15 guys that wrecked first day of the Giro. Back to school
A few times a year guys complain to me about my riding during races, and about how “dangerous” I am, or that some move I made was “totally sketch dude”. Help us all if there is contact. They freak and practically crash themselves, as if bumping during a race is the most sacreligious crime one can commit in public. Despite this, I can’t remember the last guy to bitch, call me out or literally try to chase me down and admonish me in front of the pack or after the race who had been racing more than 2 years.
I have been racing for 14 years now, and back in the day I got yelled at plenty by guys who could race and bike handle like nobody’s business. I once had Dave Jordan (bless him) tell me I was a “menace” at a CRCA bike skills session and had no business racing until I could learn how to do his figure 8. A certain ex-pro told me I was pulling through like a guy about to miss his first chance to lose his virginity. I nearly crashed out one of NY’s best loved riders all over the runway at Floyd trying to avoid the wind (uh, it was coming from all directions at once).
All to say – been there. Man up, take a few skills clinics – learn racing from guys that teach, not just send you a TrainingPeaks list of w/o’s once a week, protect your wheel and find out who the good bike handler’s are and watch them.
The plural of anecdote is not data.
Evan Rear Entry,
Crashes are part of racing. Yet still, all one needed to do was watch turns one and two yesterday to see the truth of the need for skills training.
Busy trying to figure out who Romain Skidmark is…
I won, and everyone there knows !
Sixcycle don’t ride a smart race? I was in that CAT 3 orchard beach race and they kept attacking and counter attacking and ended up finishing 1-2. If thats racing dumb then I don’t want to race smart
“Meaningless bike race”
Yes. Because after the bike race you go home to your family, resume your life, and go back to work. That’s when you realize that in the grand scheme of things our bike races are meaningless.
Glad you enjoyed Putnam. Silly for anyone to expect adequate course markings in a ‘real cycling event’.
We should all take a moment to dwell on the C5 rider racing on Mad Fibers. #hellapro
I coudn’t agree more. Bike racing(or riding for that matter) requires just a few skills in comparison to other sports. Yet, many riders don’t even know what they are, let alone know how to do them. Riding in an “8”, picking up water bottles on the ground, riding with one hand. I once had a teammate who would freak out if a non-racer type got mixed up in while riding! DJ(got bless him) was so right. We need more coaches and instructors like that, and patient “students” willing to do those drills because it pays off in a long run.
Carbon bikes, power meters, $4k wheels, they are all toys that make you think you are a good rider and can go faster. Sure, if you can afford them, why not, but we all start to look like a chump when we start to crash just because someone’s bar touched your ass!
One can wear a Yankke baseball cap and a #2 uniform, but Fred is a Fred if he can’t hit!
Clinics to sprint, pace line, those are level two. Regardless of categories, there are plenty out there who should retake the level one exam.
Mostly a cracked rib. ER didnt think i had a concussion. My neurlogist isn’t so sure. Haven’t had any symptoms from it.
Having looked at the wheel
[IMG]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-RNorkBYExSs/UYgzzt6U6AI/AAAAAAAAD08/5AbkFJwMZFY/w321-h533/13+-+1[/IMG]
im convinced it was bottoming out at some point on the side of the start finish line causing an initial structural impairment to the wheel that started a domino effect. The tire sidewall tore right by the bead, right by a through and through rim crack, implying the rim tore it as it released the bead and the tube, which then blew. Riding only on rim into a turn, the wheel catastrophically failed.
http://www.sportsplusphotography.com/gallery.php?gid=132
Wait a minute, there are doping controls in GF ride. Yeah, the money is good though maybe he could actually pay people to run the event. Never mind….
heal up soob, Rockstar dude. It definitely looked worse from an observer’s standpoint.
Photos from the first RA race series…
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/2013RaceSeasonSeason/R-and-A-Cycles-Series-5413
FGX shipped a smart package.
How old were your wheels and when was the last time you cleaned them and checked them for cracks? Sorry I’m sure this is the last thing you want to hear right now but it wouldn’t be the first time a crash happens because of equipment that is in bad condition and once you apply the forces & pressures of a bike race on it, well, then the shit breaks and crashes happen.
It is everyone’s responsibility make sure their frames, parts & wheels are ready for racing otherwise you are putting yourself and others in danger.
Having said that, I do hope you get well soon.
The wheels were less than 30 days old. They had maybe 200 miles on them. No cracks or the like before the first race, possible it happened during one of them.
i only showed one pic, but there are 2 through and through like that.
One more small eyelet to brake track crack. None were there before the race.
Most likely scenario is a 200+ lb guy hitting one of the bumps wrong bottomed out and compromised the wheel integrity. Leaning into the turn one or more times made it fail fully. I don’t know when it first cracked but it wouldn’t shock me if it was just before or a loop later. The bike was handling 100% fine up until that 1st/ 2nd corner. I remember thinking “what the hell just happened to my bike, why is out of control” and then the ambulance. Not much in between but that happens both from concussions (which the ER claims i did not have) and from shock (Which given how much a sneeze hurt today with the cracked rib, i’d say i was definitely in when i first cracked it)
not sure what you mean by “crash damage”. I supposedly hit no one else. If you want to debate what caused the cracks, sure. If you want to debate whether its crash damage or failure (implying some defect of the rim or build) – i have no interest in that. I trust the build.
My theory is quite simple: High speed cornering of a heavy guy imposes lots of a force on a wheel. When its structurally sound, its fine. If its slightly impaired, it might be ok. There is a point at which a small amount of damage will grow because of the extra forces imposed by turning. That is what happened here. I definitley recall hitting a bump or two harder than i would have liked and it was possibly right before it all went down.
I was told the front tire blew off minutes after i was on the ground. The front wheel is also compromised but not nearly as badly (distribution of weight and no cracks to the rim). That also makes me confident this was not a tire pressure issue. I was way under the max for either the tire or the time. 105 for 120 tires and 130 rims.
that looks more like crash damage than failure. catastrophic equipment failure is extremely rare, even if stuff is worn. and it’s not like those are fragile wheels to begin with….32h aluminum rims doesn’t get much stronger than that.
how do they keep getting the captcha questions right?
There used to be a crit in Queens on a super tight 4 corner course where the finish line was through the first corner. I know they held the race in 1994 – anybody remember what it was called – where it was located?
Was it Cambria Heights? Oh, the good old days and where have all those races gone, how about Oyster Bay for short, fast and all nice 90 deg turns.
Drag “queen” race?
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/36/14/dtg_internationalbikerace_2013_03_29_bk.html
“race organizers are planning a June 8 contest at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, an Aug. 24 bout in Barcelona, Spain, and a finale in Milan, Italy in early October.”
FGX shaped a good nugget.
Hunter reg closes Wed. https://www.bikereg.com/Net/18419
Bear Mtn on Sunday
i just meant that it was dented in a way that looks like it hit something, not like it failed that way.
sure, once the tire blew out, it obviously hit the concrete at angle with a 200 lb+ rider on it, can’t expect it would hold well under that condition…. I suspect the tire blew out after there was already the beginnings of a failure due to bottoming out elsewhere on the course. Im sure the spokes only bent when the rim gave way.
so in this thread we have a guy saying that the cat 4 field at orchards was a bad race because some other guy raced too hard and strung the field out the whole time which in turn caused everyone to be tired and then since they were tired they made sketchy decisions and crashed………………………..honestly what THE F&#K.
Go home
take a picture of your bike
put said bike on ebay
gtfo
you are an embarrassment to NYC racing, DA may have cheated but at least he had fun and didnt complain about it
while I’m not going to pick on the guy that mercilessly I will second that a faster (more strung out) race is a safer one every time. Bike racing 101.
Is there a place to get FBF results thats not a facebook page, not able to get on facebook at work
You mean this?
http://www.fastalracing.com/results/2013/FBF20130507.pdf
Mayhem Man is a Cat 4 NYC Racer and he shows up for ALL the local Cat 4 races – http://imgur.com/gallery/HnquO
http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/05/news/petition-to-halt-spanish-court-from-destroying-puerto-blood-hits-20k_285562
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