After a sojourn north (for the non-pros and some pros also), the racing comes back to the city and the ruffles on its geographic hoop skirt. Let’s review the options for the weekend’s athletic achievement opportunities.
On Saturday there’s a CRCA club race, and the Men’s Beginner Clinic. For those who like to sleep in a bit (or like to do two races in the same day), there’s the Kings County Challenge at Floyd Bennett Field.
Sunday has the Bethel Spring Series and the Rahway River Park Criterium. Sunday also has the Spring Series Time Trial, here’s the announcement from the promoter regarding the corresponding details.
The Time trial course has been changed. We are now starting at the entrance in Edgewater, NJ (River road and Henry Hudson Drive. The course is under 5 miles on smooth roads.
Registration and bathrooms are at the Ross Boat Basin. You have to arrive early. There is no parking at the start/finish and it is over a mile away from registration.
Anyone caught relieving themselves anywhere except the bathrooms will get disqualified if seen after they race or will not be able to start if seen before they race as well as any team mate racing that day.
Start times will be posted on Saturday morning. You are responsible to be at the start on time. If you miss your start time we will fit you in the next open spot (not as soon as you get to the finish).
We will try to have the course on Youtube by Wednesday.
Thank you for your time.
Anthony Van Dunk
MCA
And finally, if you were invited, there’s the Tour of the Battenkill Pro Invitational on Sunday, where you can try your luck against Floyd Landis and Dan Zmolik.
Quite a bit of glass on the course, and if the turn around at the top of the hill isn’t thoroughly swept it’ll be a good place to camp out and watch guys lay it down. It’s quite a mess up there.
Do you ride out to the top of the hill, then turn around and return to the stop?
If so that is about 5.4 miles total.
I believe the turn around point is at the roundabout at the base of the hill, thus making it slightly less than 5 miles, as per AVD’s note. Can’t say with certainty, however.
I thought he said the turnaround is at the top of the hill. In either case it’s 2.6 from river road to the top of the hill. The TT can’t possible start before the bend in Hudson Drive to allow for traffic to clearly flow, so it’s seems that too would be ‘less than 5 miles.’
AVD TT course video is now online here: http://www.youtube.com/user/a7vd. Also of note, check out the favorites list on the right.
Turn around is at the bottom of the hill. Should have started the series with this. It’s basically a prologue.
5 mile TT. Well-worth $30 entry fee.
You sit at the back of the field at every race anyway. At least you get to go hard at TT.
STOP YOUR FUCKING CRYING. do the race or don’t. christ.
MEATLOAF!
shake and bake ricky bobby!
Its good that they left that hill out of the TT course. There is a blind curve on the way back down that could have proven a little too exciting at 40+ mph, especially if its wet.
Anyone know when the first riders go off on the River Road TT? Latest? I’m wondering if I can fit it in around another commitment that morning.
Some interesting favorites on Van Dunk’s you tube page.
Field will probably be cancelled due to flooding
Apparently there are puddles but not enough to cancel. Bring it!
If anyone is interested, I’ll be tweeting updates from the caravan during Sunday’s Tour of the Battenkill, http://www.twitter.com/bernietweets
If care about your eternal soul, you should probably capitalize “Christ”. Especially after going through the effort to fully capitalize FUCKING.
You must have Schmalz confused with Schbalz
This is now a joke,
Dude solos entire cat 5 field at Floyd and catches 1/2/3 field riding just tens seconds behind them.
Serious issue here with USA cycling when they are not granting upgrades to guys like Sean who have been turned down twice upon application to move up because they do not have ten race minimum of pack experience.
Guess he does not have pack experience when he solos every race, batten kill by ten minutes, lapped field at bethel, and today at Floyd, I can see where up graders are coming from !
Understand the rules are the rules but common sense has always been more important that this , you are not helping USA cycling by keeping these talented riders down, if anything you should be pushing to get the talent to the top quickly and get them racing against riders of there own caliber, this way the standard of us cycling progresses.
Think that a serious look into upgrading has to be addressed cause obviously we have a problem.
Charging $30 for today’s FBF race is getting up there. Based on costs to the promoter, Kissena is charging much more than Battenkill. Kissena is making around $100,000 profit on their races in Prospect and FBF. This is a lot of profit for putting on park races.
AVD and Avon charge a little less but offer less and run too many fields.
There is always the choice of not doing the races but the existing promoters have a monopoly on the parks and no new dates or promoters can be added.
CRCA and Bethel remain a throwback to affordable races put on by clubs.
I’m not sure I understand.
It takes experience in 10 Cat5 races to become a 4. No results. No nothing. Just start and finish.
This is not a “serious” issue. It happens almost every year with some guy/girl or other. It takes 1-2 months to get 10 races in. Do your time, then out.
One day, when Sean is a Cat2 he’ll look back on these 1-2 months and laugh. And later this season he’ll make Cat 4 guys whine. And he’ll do the same thing for Cat 3 guys. That’s all if he doesn’t get sick of it like so many have done before him. That’s bike racing.
USA Cycling will be just fine. I think the Supreme Court will pass on this issue. I can’t say the same thing for the egos of the 5s he’s toasting, but that’s a whole other problem altogether.
Cat 5 just means inexperienced — it doesn’t mean weak. You can have a great athlete who will have no problem TTing behind a 1/2/3 field at a local race in NYC.
Just wait a couple weeks and you’ll be able to get back to focusing on scoring your first Cat 5 win. But wait, you’ll be a four by then.
Perhaps experience should count for something, given that there are plenty of racers above Cat 5, with their fancy bike and wheels, who are afraid to come out to race when just there is a drop of water on the ground…Perhaps they are afraid to get their bikes wet?
He has every right to ride away from the field if he wants. It’s just kind of a dick move.
Something about it just seems mean spirited, as he has absolutely zero to gain from beating up on far weaker riders – all he has to do is finish these races to get the upgrade, not win them. It’s kind of like if Stephen Hawking audited a really hard freshman physics class and set the curve just to prove that he could. Chill the fuck out man, we get it, your dick is the biggest.
The only real justification I can see is that he’s trying to avoid a crash, so going by himself off the front guarantees no interference from sketchballs.
Kings County Challenge
April 17, 2010
Floyd Bennett Field, NY
Pro / Cat 1-2-3
50 miles
1. Ken Harris (CRCA/Adler)
2. Giancarlo Bianchi (GS Mengoni)
3. Brian Breattch (GS Mengoni)
4. Robert Lattanzi (Westwood Velo)
5. Eric Fischer (Clif Bar)
6. Alessandro Matteucchi (BVF)
7. Michael Boardman (CRCA/BH/Garneau)
8. Tadeus Marszalak (Kissena)
9. Wilson Vasquez (GS Mengoni)
10, Chris Chaput (CRCA/Adler)
Brief Race Report:
Ken Harris’ (CRCA/Adler) patented “attack on the first lap” move did not happen this week. Instead he attacked on the second lap. Giancarlo Bianchi and Brian Breach(GS Mengoni) and Robert Lattanzi (Westwood Velo) went with him. They quickly opened a sizeable lead. Breach fell off the pace and drifted back to a chase group. With about 10 miles to go, Lattanzi suffered an untimely flat and despite receiving a wheel from a rider in previous race he was unable to catch Harris and Bianchi. In the final sprint, the not-known-for-his-sprint Harris out-kicked Bianchi for the win. Meanwhile Brian Breach found his second wind and escaped from the second group to catch and then drop the tiring Lattanzi to round out the podium in third.
Category 4
25 miles
1. Leznek Sniadowski (CRCA/Organic Athlete)
2. Phil Penman (CRCA)
3. Michael Perlberg (Kissena)
4. Al Barouh Kissena)
5. Estu Taniguchi (CRCA/Teany)
Brief Race Report: Leznek Sniadowski (CRCA/Organic Athlete) won again. Enough said.
Masters 40+
25 miles
1. Dennis Schwandter (Team HP)
2. Chris Castaldi (Deno’s Wonder Wheel)
3. Anthony Maisto (Deno’s Wonder Wheel)
4. Scott Gregoire (Major Taylor)
5. Larry Uhrlass (Team HP)
Brief Race Report: Although outnumbered by two Deno’s riders in the final four rider break, Dennis Schwandter (Team HP) took the sprint over Chris Castaldi (Deno’s Wonder Wheel).
Category 5
12 miles
1. Seam Smith (Champion System)
2. Jonathan Zimmerman (CRCA)
3. Graham Macbeth (Unatt)
4. Remus Tomiel (CRCA)
5. Dereck Dos Anjos (Kissena)
Brief Race Report: The Cat 5’s started a mere 30 seconds after the Cat 1-2-3 race making Sean Smith’s win even more impressive. He attacked from the gun and finished just about 30 seconds behind the 1-2-3 race. He never lost time to the 1-2-3 field!
Thanks to all the officials, marshals, pacers and registration volunteers who help make these races a success
The Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup Prospect Park Series starts next Saturday, April 24. For more info and to register online go to:
http://www.bikereg.com/events/Register.asp?EventID=10320
Charlie Issendorf
Race Director
Kissena Cycling Club
Mean Spirited? Winning is the goal of a bike race.
I think it was extremely mean spirited of the remaining racers. They were very selfish not to figure out how to chase Sean. They were meanies to Sean. Terrible meanies. They let him hang out there all alone. They left him feeling isolated. The only choice he had was to keep riding, dejected, questioning his existence
Remember, the guy behind the meany uses 30% less power. Working together you can catch meanies, even if you are weaker than the meany. But that takes experience and coordination. In cycling parlance, Sean is a “marked man”, meaning that if you see him ride off the front, you’d be best to get on his wheel and refuse to pull. Someone in the 5 field must have 70% of his power.
If the 5s are feeling feeling small-dicked, just wait. For the most part, bike racing is about 95% emasculation. Get used to it. The dicks just get bigger and bigger. And for rare moments you feel strong and win something, only to be dropped the next weekend. Just ask Tom Boonen. I think FB was a real meany.
By the way who is FB?
Can someone please make *my* dick feel bigger by posting pics of me from this mornings spirited race in central park.
high or low for this site? Oh, BTW, I deliberately avoid any advertisers for this reason…
Sounds like cat 5 is a prison sentence !
USA cycling get your act together,
BH news on CRCA.net. Pavel’s Battenkill report, and Marcus wins today’s club race:
http://www.crca.net/2010/04/pavel-gonda-wins-cat-2-battenkill/
http://www.crca.net/2010/04/april-17-club-race-results/
Scooped on our own team news!
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/16/actress.sham.marriage.arrest/index.html?hpt=T2
The fives are clearly too stupid to even post about cycling about on the internet. Jesus. Shut. The. Fuck. Up. If this is what you’re complaining about quit now. You will always suck.
is a tattoo I have contemplated
5:48 spoken like a true…recent excitable cat 4!
The intersection of Markus Klinko and Micheal Ball is the kind of hall-of-mirrors infinite regress which you’d expect on an episode of Arrested Development, but in this case, brought to life, with each staring in the mirrors complaining the other is taking up too large a slice of infinity. Is this the third round of pillow fight regarding their alleged girlfriends? I lose count. Well, it’s all fun and games until someone gets deported. Opps, did I sign my name to this? Hey Markus, you still owe me a thousand bucks.
Ken
As a citizen in good standing, I vote let this gal stay in the U.S.:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AxYC6__BKGA/R5LjmSu41CI/AAAAAAAAAiI/tjgktnW0mXw/s1600-h/fernanda-romero.jpg
Sorry, but it’s time to call a dick a dick.
People like Michael Ball hire people like Markus Klinko who hire people like me to make people like her look like that. It’s called “retouching.” But because this supposedly doesn’t happen there’s no urgency to paying people like me. (shout out to Annie L.)
Which is to say, it’s rather unlikely that she looks in person very much like that picture.
There’s a certain parallel fantasy with certain too-good-to-be-true sports figures. Complete the analogy at your leisure.
nice jeans!
I’d still bang her
You can’t escape strong riders. He will upgrade, but hopefully so will you. Then he will continue beating you, or you will get stronger and beat him. It is up to you. Train more instead of complaining. He makes Cat 4 races fun. He pulls hard. He is always willing to work. Cat 4 is not supposed to be a easy race.
I defended Leznek here last month, but now its been enough. He didn’t even enter Battenkill, so what’s he holding out for? Man up and cat up or race something outside the park.
lol his supporters are turning against him
who wrecked in CP this morning?
Why did everyone skip out on fbf? was there a better race elsewhere?
Last month his supporters said he probably wouldn’t enter any more Cat 4 only races and he would upgrade when he felt “comfortable.” Well, he’s still entering Cat 4 races and with only about 10 wins or so, I guess he’s just not completely comfortable with upgrading yet.
Or maybe he’s just a dick who wants to win all the races he can rather than face real competition.
Leave him alone, and why don’t you try to beat him next time you race him? He didn’t race as well last year, in the winter he trained hard, lost some weight, and now winning. He will upgrade when he wants to or when he reaches the mandatory points. Until then, if you are a Cat 4, keep trying to beat win, or until then keep training harder and stop whining.
Last year in CRCA races alone he had 10 top five finishes in the B (4) race including 3 wins. Most Cat 4s who had his results last year would have upgraded before than end of last season.
I haven’t heard anyone who is in a break with the Organic guy complain. There will be winning breaks with or without him. The guys who are complaining are sitting back in the pack praying for a field sprint that they won’t place in anyway. They are praying for him to upgrade, but they still won’t win when he goes up to 3. That cat 5 guy will terrorize them for the month of may, then another cat 5 guy on his way up, and so on.
hahaha he lost weight? I love the pics of him busting out of his jersey. He’s got bigger boobs than most of the female racers. and still destroying these 130lb guys. more power to him. big is beautiful.
The question isn’t whether he’s a good guy or not, or whether he “works” in races or not. Yeah, other strong guys will be coming through the cat 4 field to beat the less gifted.
The question is what does it say about a guy who stays in a category that he is dominating and has probably 3 times the points needed to upgrade?
you can whine and bitch all you want anonymously on this site, but next time you race with him, he will still beat you…And you will be back to try to “win” on this site bc that’s all you can do…
Lez, stay as long as you need to and enjoy your wins or when you upgrade or when they make you upgrade, good luck.
i think a lot of people thought it was, or would be canceled.
Kill joy! I hope you woman hits the virtual wall, that way you can just touch it up right, its your job afterall. No big loss.
Wait a minute, aren’t all hair dressers and make up artists (that are guys) gay?
A swing and a miss!
You don’t get it. It not about being beaten. If someone really minds not winning much or at all, this ain’t the sport for them. It’s about someone with talent staying at a level of competition that they are superior than when, by the rules, they have way more success than what’s needed to move up to the next (read: appropriate) level of competition.
Maybe I should go back to play Little League where I could be the star or would that not be fair because I’m at a different level than them.
10:53 Got it right – when Sean Smith shows up the 4s will be crying for some Leznek.
You guys gotta chill on Leznek though. Don’t you know he is 72 years old.
Not about being beaten. As I said before, yeah, other strong guys are coming through. It’s about the guy and doing the right thing.
My guess is that Sean Smith will take the right approach (e.g., Prensky). He’ll stay in the fours for 3-4 months until he has the required results and move up to the threes.
Remember the episode wherein Kramer takes up karate and soon dominates the dojo which is full of kids
all you complainers….you’re probably the types that got “participation medals” in school your whole life.
bunch of entitled crybabies. go ride faster you knuckleheads.
I like how Pavel says he’d rather be competing to test himself against the Pro/1 field than win the 2’s. At least someone understands what sport is about.
Let lesek enjoy his moment. From here it’s on to the 1 2 3 race or masters. The party is going to end either way.
Between the average age of the CRCA A race break and Ken Harris and Lezdek winning FBF yesterday, it looks like strength and talent of the 20-somethings has not yet caught up with the off-season training disclipline of the masters racers.
Does anyone know where they are?
did you take pictures of have someone at the race taking pictures? no right? then shut the fuck up.
Gina was there. I assume the shots will be on the Organic site when she’s done processing them.
“Let lesek enjoy his moment. FROM HERE it’s on to the 1 2 3 race ”
This is what his supporters were saying a month ago, but he’s still racing the 4s.
Winning once in a category is a pretty amazing feeling. Winning twice is also not too bad. But if you are competitive enough to need to train that hard and compete, it is confusing why you wouldn’t want to push yourself against better competition. I don’t give a shit if Lezdek is a sandbagger or not, but I’m genuinely confused by his motivations.
win 3 times you move up, other racers and most importantly the promoter needs to take a stand. winning more than that and not moving up is hearby dubbed, “Kramer”>>>>
KRAMER KRAMER KRAMER!!!
Heres the thing, if you’re winning cat 4 races at will, you’re probably going to do pretty well in the cat 3’s or Masters. They’re not THAT much faster. He can always downgrade back to fours if he starts getting killed in a few years.
Spring series TT results may take a few weeks to sort out. No one is quite sure what’s going on.
In the 4’s long enough for Sean to get his upgrade. Now that would be a fun race to watch. Somehow I get the feeling that once Lez smells some competition coming his way he’ll Cat-up!
Live ToB updates here: http://blue-mondays.blogspot.com/
and here: twitter.com/bernietweets
on the Spring Series TT results.
Spring series TT results will be sealed and enshrouded in more mystery than the 2000 florida electoral count.
They had no clue about timing at the finish of today’s TT. When I asked about timing, they mumbled a time to me that wasn’t even close to that on my bike computer, and not even close to the time based on their start clock (assuming they were actually releasing people on the minute consistently). What a f*ck up. Looking forward to seeing how they handle this one.
Yeah that was awesome, you could not have screwed that TT up more if you tried. I’m at the start and looked to my right to see VanDunk was starting us off of his iphone sitting on the little table! It was at that point I had that moment of clarity knowing that today would not end well even if I had the ride of my life…WTF??? If you go by the times they had we are all the slowest riders in the country. All the 123 and Masters had 13+minute time’s, not sure on the math but that might be an 18mph avg. for the race….yes I’m guessing? I’ve never said this before and am not a hater but I want my money back? I am one of those that think race promotion is a thankless job but atleast make an effort to do it somewhat correctly or at the least be smooth about it. Dont waste my time, it is very valuble to me and those who depend on me.
All you complainers need to get a life, don’t take ur self so seriously, at least start complaining when official times are actually posted. And then, make sure you complain to someone who can actually do something about it, not here. But before you do, check out at what times twitter was updated: http://twitter.com/nycspringseries
I feel for any promoter that does this and want them to know most of us do appreciate it, it’s a shame the ungrateful few are most vocal, just ignore the selfcentered crybabies.
It’s a sad thing to go into a Van Dunk TT knowing the odds are high it’s going to be a mess, and still being surprised and annoyed at how messed up things are. I feel stupid for wasting the day knowing this was the most obvious outcome.
You are a douche. This is well beyond crybaby issues – this is a race with no results.
Via bomboloni twitter:
Caleb Fairley, Floyd Landis, Jay Robert Thompson 1,2,& 3 at Battenkill today, and BH Garneau’s Pavel Gonda got top 20 in his 1st Pro race.
“Leznek Sniadowski (CRCA/Organic Athlete) won again. Enough said.”
Even Charlie I’s “race report” for the 4s seems to suggest what he thinks about a year’s worth cat 4 results for Leznek.
for all those complaining about the SS TT, maybe you should’ve noted this comment posted way down–
By: Schbalz
Fri, 04/16/2010 – 4:45pm
5 mile TT. Well-worth $30 entry fee.
i like that he handily beats all the so pro kids with lots of disposable time, coaches and binged out bikes. good guy too
He races with Organic and they do a lot more than any other club or sub-team to benefit me, while I continue to contribute nothing but an entry fee. Specifically, they went out to FBF at least twice last year and fixed holes in the tarmac at FBF, and tore out a lot of the over-growth. Plus, they get a great photographer to many races, who not only photos everyone, i.e., more than just the OA guys, then posts the photos so others can access them. I guess i could go on, but I think the point is made. If in return for these benefits, all I have to do is sit back while some guy in the 4 race wins consistently, I’ll take it.
whaaaa, my dad took me out to the wood shed again. whaaaaa
“Leznek Sniadowski (CRCA/Organic Athlete) won again. Enough said.”
Caleb Fairly was on the CRCA/Sakonnet team which produced many pro riders. Kudos to Basil, Matt, Min for having put together such a great program that is sorely missed.
A Van Dunk time trial is like being a Mets fan. You pay your money, but you know you’re in for a world of heartache.
Lesnek at least turns all his victims into compost
A little respect for the guy who exacerbates many local Cat 4s’ self-esteem issues: It’s “Leszek.”
And as one of his regular victims, I’d like to say that I love racing against him, and I’ll miss him when he upgrades (because then I’m unlikely ever to see him again). He races hard and smart, and I for one think it’s fun to have a true marked man in our fields. I just tell myself it’s my own damn fault if he gets away — it’s not like I don’t know he’s capable of escaping and staying escaped. Kudos to the FBF Cat 4s smart enough (like Phil of Teany and a couple of Kissena guys) to go with him in the decisive break.
Leszek, upgrade when either you’re ready or you’re forced to — not before.
Of course you’ll miss him, he’s your teammate.
Damn , first you get the name wrong, then the team, since when has lance , sorry i mean leszek , been on kingpin,
Do we have the same guy ? Last time I watched him fly past me he was wearing green,
I think he just likes the color of money when he collects the prize money, now carry on with the sandbagger comments gets quite funny after a while,
I think its cool to have some fast guys in the 4’s. If you don’t want to compete join a touring club.
I hereby declare myself champion of the entire spring series TT. The Van Dunks have a 15 minute protest period.
4-3: 20 points in any 12-month period; or experience in 25 races with a minimum of 10 top ten finishes with fields of 30 riders or more, or 20 pack finishes with fields over 50. 30 points in 12 months is an automatic upgrade
After his Bear, FB and other results last season, Big L has enough points to be forced to cat 3, I guess the local official did not get a chance to tally his points and push the paper work forward. L is clearly in no rush to challenge himself further at this time. He is not even throwing some bones to his team mates, or doing races out of our back yard where is of the radar. Clearly he does not give a shit and will take his winnings and send it to help to is family in Poland. I don’t get his fans at all.
bla bla bla. It is amazing how little people understand about upgrades. There are NO forced upgrades.
You can remain in your category as long as you so desire.
‘Automatic’ upgrade merely indicates that if you apply, you will be awarded the upgrade no questions asked, if you fullfill the ‘automatic’ requirement (30 points 4->3).
So no paperwork to push here.
why would getting the points required not be an automatic, meaning no questions asked, upgrade then? Your logic doesn’t work. Simply, if you have the points (after verification), you have the points. If you do not, you do not. Doesn’t matter if you think you have 30 points and are therefore an “automatic” upgrade.
You get pushed up if you get too many points. That is what automatic means.
have to hear the same garbage.
Riffelmacher, O’Reilly,Eutemio Quintero, Auth, Harris, this guy…..its the same thing over and over. Eventually the guy will move on.
Although I must say the argument that this Sean Smith guy should have a heart and stop humiliating Cat 5’s is a new one.
Soled at in the 4’s at Bethel today for the win, but then found the 3/4’s a bit more challenging and got 8th.
Nice to see Champion Sys have the foresight to pick this guy up. Maybe Mengoni will pick up Ledezeksky?
a quick glance and i read soiled the 4’s at Bethel today for the win instead of soled at Bethel
Leszek is hanging out in the 4’s until Charlie learns to spell his name right.
Category 4
25 miles
1. Leznek Sniadowski (CRCA/Organic Athlete)
2. Phil Penman (CRCA)
3. Michael Perlberg (Kissena)
4. Al Barouh Kissena)
5. Estu Taniguchi (CRCA/Teany)
I raced with Leszek recently in a 3/4 race and it wasn’t like he rode away. He was active and got top 10, but he’s only going to be an ok 3. So let him enjoy the 4’s.