Schmalz is away on business (what gnomes do for work I’ll never know), so I have to take over today. As far as I can tell this is done with a mad lib:
Mythical creature
Metaphor for used condom
Euphemism for bowel movement
Synonym for abandoned airfield
Landing strip pun
Adjective for tight clothing
Thesaurus listing for ‘sausage’
Name of teammate’s cousin in Kansas City
But that’s Schmalz’s shtick and I wouldn’t want to steal it. Feel free to make your own.
So let’s just say that if you pin your ears back you might reduce your CdA by .001. And if the nanosecond you gain gets you a win, you might get kissed by a podium girl who resembles Tina Fey. But whatever you do, don’t make dope control wait 20 minutes. In any case, if you put out good power in the race you’re a winner in my book, even if you come in last.
Help me out if I miss one. Saturday is round 2 of the Lucarelli and Castaldi Cup in Prospect Park. Trackies open their season at Kissena with two days of racing.
The King’s County Circuit Race at Floyd Bennett Field is Sunday, as well as the Tour of Colt’s Neck. Mountain Bikers can do the Campmor H2H Race in Wawayanda State Park in Jersey.
Turkey Hill Country, PA…is that still “local”???
Awesome. Nice work, Alex.
for all you wankers not racing Kings County:
http://www.bikenewyork.org/rides/fbbt/index.html
Mind Altering Demented Lessons In Beats
enjoy the comments
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/tdf/entries/2010/04/29/armstrong_confirms_baby_is_on.html
“EACH RACE FOLLOWS FINISH OF PREVIOUS EVENT.”
Saratoga Crit Sunday too.
of opening weekend at Kissena?!
“Trackies open their season at Kissena with two days of racin”
in my defense, I really am quite stupid.this is why i don’t employ brakes or gears.
Ricky Lowe took out Sniadowski football style. Hit him from behind when there was plenty of space.
Why is a sprint more important then life
I hope there were some pictures or video from today’s crash at prospect pro field…. I wad behind the crash and in my opinion Lance where hit from behin with out no reason!! Ecxesive force where used for a 10th place….why? , the pictures will tell…
If true, Ricky apparently didn’t listen to Charlie’s pre-race announcement that today’s race wasn’t the world championships–as everyone already knows, those are coming Tuesday night at FBF.
if i were the promoter( this crash happened inches from him) i would disqualify Lowe for the series, especially as just recently updated to cat3 rider has taken him at his game.
I wasn’t there to see the crash…fortunately, I was up front in the breakaway…so fill me in on the crash…as far as the break, we had around 8 guys up…we worked well together….it came together with 2 laps to go.
In the end, it was:
Chad Butts for 1st Place (Champion Systems) by less than a bike length
Stephan Dioslaki in 2nd place (Team Metra / Cycles 54)
Also, there were 2 dudes in there with the all black uniform…and 4 others….not quite sure of names…fill in the blanks
He went down hard and was carted away.
Sounds like Leznek has a case for Lucarelli and Castaldi
amazing how no matter what ends up happening……the lawyers end up doin good……btw…who and how many crashed???
I thought it was one of the Brauer guys that took him out? And they weren’t racing for 10th, more like 30th. One of the flying bikes hit a spectator’s bike and dented his seat tube.
I watched the whole thing.
Granted the pack was sprinting for 9th and 10th place because of the break.
Lesnek was in the main pack (top 10) or so
and sprinting when a guy came from behind and
tried to pass Lesnek on the left. There was not enough room for this IMO. And unfortunately as he came around he clipped Lesnek who had a clean line. I hope he’s OK..
I don’t know what caused the crash, but I did see the result. It was ugly. He seemed go down hard on his leg, then cartwheel on to his shoulder. He was in agony. I’m watching here, hoping to see a report that he is OK.
For overall standings go to: http://customcyclewear.com/lccupoverall.htm
Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup Round 2
May 1, 2010
Brooklyn, NY
Pro/1-2-3 presented by Lucarelli & Castaldi
44 miles
101 starters
1. Chad Butts (Champion System) 1:37:37
2. Stephan Dioslaki (Team Metra / Wendy’s / p/b Cycles 54)
3. Will Schneider (VO2MAXOUT.COM)
4. Bryan Borgia (CRCA/Rapha Racing)
5. William Doyle-Capitman (Kissena)
6. Brett Cleaver (CRCA/Rapha Racing)
7. Thomas Hinnershitz (CRCA/Rapha Racing)
8. Scott Savory (CRCA/Adler)
9. Gavin Robertson (CRCA/Foundation)
10. Anthony Lowe (CRCA/Die Hard – Think Racing)
KOM #1 Presented by Everlast Nutrition
1. Jared Bunde (GS Mengoni)
2. Chad Butts (Champion System)
3. Tadeusz Marszalek (Kissena)
KOM #2 Presented by Everlast Nutrition
1. Jared Bunde (GS Mengoni)
2. Tadeusz Marszalek (Kissena)
3. Thomas Bencivengo (Champion System)
Sprint #1 Presented by The Coyle Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
1. Euri Madera (CRCA/Foundation)
2. Wilson Vasquez (GS Mengoni)
3. Giancarlo Bianchi (GS Mengoni)
Sprint #2 Presented by The Coyle Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
1. Wilson Vasquez (GS Mengoni)
2. Lance Sniadowski (CRCA/Organic Athlete)
3. Giancarlo Bianchi (GS Mengoni)
Category 4 presented by Lucarelli & Castaldi
31 miles
100 starters
1. Christopher Barbaria (Affinity Cycles) 1:12:46
2. Misha Chiporukha (Hudson furniture racing team)
3. Daniel McMahon (Kissena)
4. Andrew Shapiro (CRCA/Setanta)
5. Spencer Gilbert (CRCA/NYSketches)
6. John Suscovich (CRCA/NYVelocity)
7. Mark Collins (Montclair Cyclists)
8. Juan O. Pimentel (James Vincent Bicycles/JV Racing )
9. Rod Millott (CRCA/Foundation)
10. Sheldon Warner (BVF)
KOM #1 Presented by Everlast Nutrition
1. Daniel McMahon (Kissena)
2. Pedro Sanchez (DC SEBAGO TEAM)
3. Carlos Martinez (CRCA/Luzzo’s)
KOM #2 Presented by Everlast Nutrition
1. Daniel McMahon (Kissena)
2. Juan O. Pimentel (James Vincent Bicycles/JV Racing )
3. Pedro Sanchez (DC SEBAGO TEAM)
Sprint #1 Presented by The Coyle Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
1. Chad Casselman (CRCA/FGX Racing)
2. Eli Mernit (CRCA/JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT)
3. Etsu Taniguchi (CRCA / Teany Cycling)
Sprint #2 Presented by The Coyle Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
1. Spencer Gilbert (CRCA/NYSketches)
2. Ian Ellis (Kissena)
3. Richard Bravo (CRCA/Rapha Racing)
Category 5 presented by Lucarelli & Castaldi
17 miles
50 starters
1. Andrew Estevez (Innovation Bike Shop) 44:30
2. Kevin Schmitt (Kissena)
3. Aviv Maizlin (Hudson Furniture Racing Team)
4. Leonard Galati (CRCA/NYVelocity.com)
5. Wojciech Plata (Kissena)
6. Jorge Torres (Mexico-New York Cycling Team)
7. Joseph Dinella (Team Somerset/ Somerville Bicycle Shop)
8. Osvaldo Perez (Mexico-New York Cycling Team)
9. Dax Vlassis (CRCA)
10. Eliazar Torres (Mexico-New York Cycling Team)
Thanks to all the officials, marshals, pacers and registration volunteers.
Charlie Issendorf
Race Director
Kissena Cycling Club
I am very concerned about my friend Lesnek, he was on the ground for a long time and appeared to be in severe pain/distress. I have some pictures of the finish as the crash happened but the frames are 1 second apart and you’ll see that leaves very large gaps in the action. Gina thinks she got better or more clear shots from a quick back-of-the-camera comparison. I’m not sure that my shots will show anything conclusive but I’ll get them up on Flickr as soon as possible. Whatever the photos show, let’s all keep Lesnek and his family in our thoughts. He is a family man with a lovely wife and small children who need their father in one piece.
sprinting for 9th place. I thougt that idiocy was reserved for Cat 4/5 races.
So why not sprint for 9th and 10th?
How do you feel about your 10th place if you seriously injured someone to get it ? The truth will come out
should have stayed in the 4’s.
Wow, Leznek has quite the fan club.
I understand Charlie’s rationale for not running 4 fields, but 110 per field in Prospect Park is too many. Not that that caused the finish line crash, but there were lots of other near misses (and lots of riding in the joggers lane) in the 123 race due to a lack of space.
Leszek is strong. Those guys who were saying that he would only be pack fill once he upgraded were very wrong. The guy is mixing it up. Unfortunately, shit happens. Idk why or who might have caused the crash, but it’s a shame to see him go down. Hope he recovers quick.
Points go to 10th. And the guy that got hurt was sprinting for that 9th place! Take note he was also 10th last week. I hope he is OK, but if the rest of you haters haven’t heard bike racing is dangerous and crashes happen.
Half the top ten last week (not the winner by the way) got into position via the joggers lane once the race came around the Coney Island Ave exit to the temple.
Lets face it there are maybe 10 guys that can ACTUALLY win that sprint at PP and 50 guys that THINK they can. Thats what leads to dangerous riding late and all the moving up in the joggers lane.
That and 90% of the field doesn’t do shit until the sprint.
remember the saying…there are 2 types of racers…thouse who have crashed and those who will. Here’s a simple solution to decrease the odds…….make the break away….
I concur. The fields are too large.
Really sorry to hear that he went down. He is a really good guy, and a really strong racer. If you don’t know him, I suggest you take the time to do so. I for one, miss his presence in the lowly 4s. Hope the big man is O.K.
My shots of today’s race are up on Flickr.
http://tinyurl.com/22s75c8
From the pictures it looks like Leznek zigged while Ricky zagged. Bauer guy ran out of room. Sucks.
looks like the were both going for Savory’s wheel….maybe Lesnek was pushing for it a little too aggressively but Ricky certainly dropped the shoulder into him. i mean he’s leaning off his bike to push him , and as soon as Lesnek is down Ricky is on Lesnek’s line. I don’t know. Curious what the video shows.
http://cyclingreporter.com/2010/05/01/lucarelli-castaldi-cup-2-pro123-finish/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvnplV6XbKE
After seeing the finish, Lesnek went down by himself…from 0:39 – 0:40, you can see Lesnek go into Ricky, then you can see ricky lean into him to prevent himself from going down, then Lesnek loses it.
Looks like the chair got pulled out from under him when Ricky moved ahead.
definitely a case of the zig (started earlier by Lesznek), then a bit of defensive zag by Lowe (who kept his line at first and then moves slightly to the right).
i hope the zigger is ok. hard, if not impossible, to lay blame on the zagger – then again, i’d not want to run into ricky at that speed.
Leszek was clearly not holding his line and was angling pretty sharp to the left towards Ricky. You can see this in the photos pretty clearly. You can see his bike at an angle and not going straight before the crash. The crash was unfortunate but too many people were too quick to blame Ricky.
Charlie should separate the 123s and make a 3,4 field. I’m not saying that some 1s and 2s aren’t sketchy, but I think it would just be safer.
Again guys i saw the whole thing from behind
Lesnek was in front see photo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26077740@N04/4568227843/in/set-72157623969031202/
Then the race leader came from behind on Lesnek’s left and pushed his way throught the small opening between Lesnek and the Guy in the light Blue…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26077740@N04/4568662604/sizes/o/in/set-72157623969031202/
Take a serious look at the amount of space between Lesnek and the lead guy in Blue… there isn’t enough room…
Yeah Yeah zig zag zig zag…hey these guys are going full gas…. Bottom line is if the race leader didn’t try to squeeze between that gap there would not have been a crash… Period….!!!
they can be a clusterf*k and an disrupt the race but i can’t remember a crash caused by fields overlapping. if you have pace drivers who know what they are doing it can be handled. I think it’s safer than 100+ rider fields on a fairly narrow 3 mile course. in the end i think 3 fields of 75 + 50 cat 5s is safer than 2 fields of 110 + 50 cat5s.
or just keep it as it is and limit the fields to 80 or so.
From the video and the race photo, hard to blame the race leader
At the end of the day, we all suck at bike racing. Splitting up fields isn’t going to change that.
Im suprised there werent any cat 4 crashes today, so many sketchy rider throughout the race. PEOPLE NEED TO HOLD THEIR LINE! and not hit the brakes all of a sudden.
Lance dove sideways to get some protection from the wind, did not see Rickie and caused a crash. Happens when you are tired, giving your all, and a rookie.
And the dude who wants a separate 3 race clearly wants less competition, because his argument of safer race is for the birds.
Combined 3/4 field = even more crashes
Get well soon Leznek!
Who the hell is Leznek.
It’s Leszek or Lance.
Get well.
Who the hell is Leznek.
It’s Leszek or Lance.
Get well.
In this photo,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26077740@N04/4567960793/sizes/o/in/set-72157623969031202/
It’s clear the Organic rider had already lost control. At that speed, assuming the field sprint is at 35-40mph, steering comes from the hips, because the bike just wants to go in a straight line. The way to turn a bike at that speed is by countersteer. In the photo, the front wheel is angled to the left, but everyone else’s front wheel is pointing in the direction that they’re moving (straight). The cause of the crash is the front wheel turning suddenly and also what caused the wheel to taco.
3:03’s take that they are both after Savory’s wheel is absurd. They are within 20 yards of the finish. Lance had a clear line to the right but as the previous poster very clearly noted, he lost control of his bike and was heading directly toward Ricky. Ricky was on Savory’s wheel and had not made a move to go around. He defended himself against getting hit by Lance, showed his excellent handling ability, but lost a chance to win the sprint. If not for Lance losing control Ricky would have taken the sprint.
Downhill sprint finish is retarded.
dude, you clearly don’t know what a downhill sprint is
Couple of things.
1) Charlie I…runs a real race. Similar to Aki out in CT. Vs. a Van Dunk…do all of ourselves a favor and cherish guys like this. Results quick, accurate, payouts, time of race, the whole 9 yards. Charlie thanks again.
2) The crash – Lowe wins a lot. Lexnek is new to our field, but he clearly won a lot at lower levels. Guys that win in sprints are gifted with that skillset and have little fear. I watched video and photos — I agree, a clear zig when zag. And not that I am posting blame, but if you were to make any argument. Lowe stays upright because he has done a lot more constested shoulder to shoulder sprints than Leznek who I gather probably dusted the lower fields. Both guys were trying to come around adler guy. A crash like that is just bad luck,,,but lowe had his head more up, and leznek you had to think was “maybe” trying to prove something and will now realize his all out isn’t him in the clear it is him and 15 other guys within a bike length.
3) If you want to call someone out…who is the donkey in the 4 race raising their arms like they did some grand lead out 20 men back. keep your arms on handlebars dude, you aren’t part of teh cavendish leadout train.
4) 1/2/3 field split…I would like that, I think 1/2 races are better, but I don’t think that is totally necessary. Although I will say it is possiby more $ for charlie with minimal incremental work.
Sacha, that very pro hands raised imitation was not in the 4s, it was in the 5s.
Still 3 fields: P12,cat3,cat5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dof7wap2rM
Ricky was going faster then Savory and Leszek.
He came from behind Leszek to the right and back to the left into Leszek. Hit his hip and thats why Leszek’s bike is pointing sideways. It was not a touch. It was A hit. Watch Ricky’s line.
Look closely, Lance’s front wheel comes off the ground as he is pulling his bars. The front wheel comes down at an angle and goes right into Rickie who leans into Lance to stay upright.
Looks like Lance would have gone down regardless as he was heading towards t-boning his front wheel.
One things is for sure it’s 100% Lances fault, the video and pictures show that. What I find odd, is that some people blame Rickie. Must be Lance’s friends who are like those mothers that refuse to believe their little boy committed a crime even though there is a mountain of evidence.
Bottom line, Lance is amazing. New to cat 3, 45 + years old, instantly mixing it with top 1/2 sprinters. Shit happens, it was an accident, but don’t start blaming other people just because your a Lance fan.
Wish Lance a speedy recovery.
Whatever the cause, it’s always tough to see a crash and to know that one of us is in pain. Remembering that we are all in this together, and race to win and to learn, all I can say is I hope Lance gets well and is back in action soon.
And learns from the experience. We all can.
back, and to the left
Kings County Circuit Race
May 2, 2010
Floyd Bennett Field, NY
Pro / Cat 1-2-3
50 miles
1. Jermaine Burrowes (CRCA / Dave Jordan Coaching – Zephyr Graffiti)
2. Horrace Burrowes (CRCA / Dave Jordan Coaching – Zephyr Graffiti)
3. Ken Harris (CRCA/Adler)
4. Giancarlo Bianchi (GS Mengoni)
5. Anthony Taylor (CRCA / Dave Jordan Coaching – Zephyr Graffiti)
6. Anthony Lowe (CRCA / Die Hard – Think Racing)
7. Wilson Vasquez (GS Mengoni)
8. Alessandro Matteucchi (BVF)
9. Evan Thomas (Bethel)
10. Brian Breach (GS Mengoni)
Category 4
25 miles
1. Nicholas Jamaul (Innovation Bike Shop)
2. Misha Chiporukha (hudson furniture racing team)
3. Mitchell Jacaruso (CRCA/NYVelocity.com)
4. Phillip Everett (CRCA/Foundation)
5. Steve Magyera (CRCA/Foundation)
Masters 40+ / Women Handicap
25 miles
1. Jesus Espetia (CRCA/Blue Ribbon)
2. Doug O’Neil (Deno’s Wonder Wheel3. Bernard MCGeary (CRCA/g
3. Bernard McGreay (CRCA/Gobal Locate)
4. John Ra (CRCA/Blue Ribbon)
5. Scott Gregoire (Major Taylor)
Category 5
12 miles
1. Andrew Clerico (CRCA/NYVelocity.com)
2. Randal Stuart (Unatt)
3. Nicholas Lawson (CRCA)
4. Wojciech Plata (Kissena)
5. Ethan Halpern (CRCA)
Thanks to all the officials, marshals, pacers and registration volunteers who help make these races a success
IMPORTANT: The Tuesday Night Race Series at Floyd Bennett Field starts this Tuesday, May 4. For more info go to:
http://customcyclewear.com/2010fbf.htm
Charlie Issendorf
Race Director
Kissena Cycling Club
Thank you to those who expressed get well wishes for Lance. He has a collapsed punctured lung, six broken ribs, broken collar bone and torn finger. He was stable in ICU when I left him after 9 pm yesterday, he spent the whole day undergoing procedures and tests done by trauma doctors in the emergency room.
is Lance taking visitors? if so what hospital? thanks
Hang tough, and heal well.
I never saw a crash that bad in a Van Dunk race !!!?!
Yowza, that’s a nasty laundry list of injuries. Best wishes & get well soon to the guy who crashed.
Ride safe & have fun out there.
Rough weekend for bad crashes.
Tim Spence crashed and was hospitalized at the turkey hill road race. 3 broken ribs and a busted collar bone. Gary Steinberg crashed at kissena and is in the hospital with broken ribs, broken collar bone, and a punctured lung.
ugh. get well everyone 🙁
Tim didn’t break collarbone.
that’s a rough weekend toll. all to good, experienced riders.
just a reminder that every time we go out there we’re taking a chance, anything can happen.
It is natural for people to want to make something from nothing for the sake of amusement. We live for news and its exciting just to have something to talk about. My concern is Lance and how he is doing. What many of you have to say is just water of my back. I simply couldn’t care less. Think of me whatever you want to think and go ahead and hate me for all the wrong reasons. I am just thankful that I feel good enough about myself that I do not depend on anyone else to validate who I am. Enough about that. Lance is actually one of the guys that I like. He is a great bike racer and an underdog very much like myself. I feel just as good about him winning a race as I would feel about me winning a race. Why? Because he trains his ass off and he rides to the best of his ability.
As far as what happened yesterday, I approached Lance knowing I would pass him. He was trying very hard (very hard). As I passed him I literally saw him collapse next to me. I leaned my bike away from him to protect my bike preparing to take impact to my body in order not to go down. I didn’t try to take Lance out because that would not have given me any advantage what so ever. I read some of the comments and they appear to me as creating something to talk about.
The crash was an unfortunate situation and I neither blame Lance nor myself for what happened. My conscience is clear and to me, thats all that matters. Like Lance, I am a family guy myself with three sons one of whom is wheelchair bound. My arms is his legs because and he depends on me to carry him from point A to B. I take a risk racing and my wife doesn’t like it one bit. Racing is dangerous and crashes doesn’t only happen at the amateur level. However, we all sign up for it.
Something to think about:
What’s the difference between 1st and 10th place. Does it mean that you sprint differently for 10th place than you would for 1st. Who has ever sit up with 9 guys up the road and say to their fellow racer, “go ahead and take 10”. Why does the promoter pay out 10 spots? Why not pay out top three? How many guys has to be up the road before we stop competing. And yes, I am gonna hear it from the big timers who think PP and CP races are just so unimportant but show up next year without a pro contract. Reality check guys. We are all we have to push each other to and beyond our limits. For me, my mission was accomplished the first time I finish my first cat 5 race. Big Up to all the cat 5’s, my favorite bike racers.
Lance is a competitor and like my self has to push ourselves more than the guys who are really good at this stuff. I spoke to Charlie and ask that he email me Lance’s info and the hospital he is staying so I can go visit and see how he is coming along. I will miss him and hope that he get well soon. I never like to see a man down.
wish you a speedy recovery!
on a related note: why is Lances front wheel bent before he even touches the ground? any ideas?
Because He T-Boned
no way in hell he would have taken someone down on purpose. the pix and the video prove that he didn’t.
shit happens when you are deep in the anaerobic red zone and traveling close to 40mph. It’s a miracle it doesn’t happen more often.
Ricky’s email is just about the classiest thing I’ve read on this site, ever.
Shows how a true competitor thinks and acts. Well said. Know the risks, go balls out, play fair, respect your fellow racers. Act right and you’ll sleep well at night regardless of what the crowd says.
Heal up, Lance.
it very well could’ve been his chain popped while he was sprinting, as they will do sometimes–whether from wear, a derailleur cable that has loosened, or happenstance. if you’re out of the saddle sprinting, and it happens, there’s no way you’re not going down.
except that isn’t an email…? are you a grandma or something?
Lowe’s post — spot on, good for him to say it like it is.
It’s called not being a douche…be humble, race hard, play fair, respect others, go home. Call it a day.
hi ricky,
I apologize for jumping to conclusions. That was wrong of me. Keep doing what you do and stay safe.
I saw the movie. I saw the pics. There is no definitive shot that shows who is to blame, if anyone is to blame, or exactly what happened. As others have mentioned, both Ricky and Leszek are family men out to have fun in a bike race. Neither is going to take stupid risks for 10th place in a race. It’s more important to go home to your family that make $35. I’m hoping Leszek has a full and speedy recovery.
I’d like to thank the academy…
Sprinting is rough. Sometimes contact is made…
But finding a clean line, for minor placings is what riding safely is all about. There are accidents, and there is carelessness…this was no accident.
Lez didnt swerve so much he was to be exploded upon from behind. Other riders directly behind, 100 strong, needed not also be crashed and wrecked for 10th place…
I think I can hear Charlie say over and over, “Its not the WC, ride safely…” was this safe? No way…
Speedy recovery to Lez!
(I shudder to think about the bill for hospitals, follow up, equipement)
Is Avon S/F same as AVD or CI???
It’s a bike race. A race. What is the deal with people criticizing sprinting for 10th place. It’s a series with points for placing. Additionally, the promoter pays 1-10th places.
If there was a winning break with 20 dudes you’ll still see me sprinting for 21st place. I woke up at the crack of dawn and paid my $35. I will RACE until I cross the line. I came to compete and if I can’t place there is still room for competition. Stop looking at the glass half full and make some lemonade.
If you’re not racing you’re a fool. You must like to wake up early and give money away for nothing.
I really think all the critics have no sprinting ability and wish they had the balls to mix it up in a finish. You really want to sprint for 10th place but your mind won’t let you think outside the box.
Post race:
“Hey man, how was your race?” “I missed the break and I’m not (I can’t sprint) going to sprint for 10th place.”
Whatever..
CAPTCHA:
Do you hate spam? (yes or no):
Yes, but I hate loser critics more..
Great note by Ricky. I could especially relate to this part, “I take a risk racing and my wife doesn’t like it one bit.” Except Ricky usually goes home with the $35. Speedy recovery Lez.
You call 10th place in a field of 110 guys minor. Where did you place. Did you place? Do you ever place?
What’s risky to you may be a comfort zone for others. A lot of people look at bicycle racing as risky period. How many times have you seen pros take risk that result in far worse injuries. It the nature of the sport. Charlie says it’s not the World Championship but when are any of us gonna be in the world championship. Who dictates how hard we compete. Why do you even race if you don’t want to deal with the danger? Why don’t you go play golf? Or tennis? I doubt very much that ricky is competing for money. He has won many races and this is the first time I have ever heard of his tactics being questioned. Lance is a nice guys but he is not the kinda rider ricky has to take out in order to win. ricky has passed me in sprints before and i almost fell because of the speed and powerful presence he brings. Ricky just happened to be the person next to Lance when he fell and now he is being blamed. I have seen ricky move up 20 spots in a race with one move and it makes you wanna complain but for a big guy he make his moves cleanly. You wanna get mad at him but deep down you know he moved with authority not danger although it looks dangerous. So make a decision if you wanna race and if you do, then stop the damn crying.
8:51 I hope you’re not saying that sprinting for more than places offered makes sense, this is not a Tri event. It might be a good idea to reduce placings to top 5 for safety and limit that type of mentality, Charlie has done this in the past.
7:02 makes a good point that pictures and video do show pink jersey swerving in last 200M first from behind to his left, then nearly elbowing, and then sharply in front of the other rider, there was no need for that with plenty of room on his left to keep his own sprint line giving other rider room. Changing sprint lines in last 200M, isn’t that the real problem? Is that sprinting safe for 10th place?
“He has won many races and this is the first time I have ever heard of his tactics being questioned.”
i guess you don’t remember the mengoni grand prix from 2008.
saying that sprinting beyond ten places makes sense. However that is your opinion and mine also. However, that is only our opinion. It also doesn’t make sense to train all winter in sub freezing temperatures for hours on top of ours every week and leave our families and argue with our wives and girlfriends then wake up 4 o’clock to go do a 6 0’clock race paying out $400 for the top ten only to just finish or better yet even to win but we all do it. So first look at what any of us do as bike racers and ask yourself the bigger question, does any of it make sense?
I saw differently in the video. It appears to me that ricky saw the gap and anticipated his move but had to adjust because Lance was going down. Was ricky riding aggressively, Yes. Did he cause Lance to fall, I don’t believe that was the case. You also can’t win a 123 sprint without being aggressive.
The fact that you only mentioned one race just proved my point. Since then he as won many races and took numerous field sprints. You sound like a hater. And even that race is questionable. The accusations stunk back then and they stink now.
certainly not a hater, and i take no position, and i think the guy is one of the best local sprinters.
but his tactics have certainly been called into question other times. accusations of moving up in the bike lane, etc. again, i take no position.
i like to wash down my hater tots with a nice cold glass of hatorade in the morning. how about you?
Gavin Robertson
Glenroy Griffith
Anthony Lowe
In Floyd Bennett you don’t have to worry because the race is to hard for them to be anywhere at the finish…
All this debate about sprinting for 10th place is ridiculous. Points were available in the sprint and guys went for it. Even if there was a break of 15 up the road you would have seen the same conclusion. First of all you often don’t know if points or places are available. Secondly, this is a competitive sport. Guys are going to sprint regardless of placings etc. Its good practice and frankly if you actually can sprint, its the fun part of the race. What happened is unfortunate but an inevitable part of racing. If you can’t accept that then your comments belong on slowtwitch.com
I was in his race. He rode hard. Cover some moves worked a little to pull a move back, bridge a couple moves one of which stuck and got 6th. Its also obvious that you are probably one of those guys who never finish a FBF race. Its crazy that you list those guys as guys to stay away from. I have seldom seeing them cause crashes. Guys like you however, with minimal handling skills, has cause many crashes. If you notice, when you see the same guys in the sprints you rarely have an incident. However, when those who don’t know how to sprint ends up in place beyond their bike handling ability, you see what happened on Saturday happen. I remember seeing vladimir from champion system under ricky’s armpit last year and neither of them went down. I have seen some guy piggy back on Jermaine’s back and neither of them went down. If you can’t take the heat stay you of the sprint. These guys can handle their own. Just because you can’t don’t blame them.
that should’ve caused Lance to go down. Guys tend to think because you are feeling strong then you can sprint with the sprinters. Sprinters are of a different breed. They do what they do because thats part of their nature. I respect that cause I can’t do it. If its so hard to determine how Lance went down then he shouldn’t have went down. And the fact that he did means he has a lot to learn about sprinting and bike handling. I saw nothing in the video that should have caused him to go down. I have seen sprinter lock up at high speed and they didn’t even flinch.
From what I saw on the pics and video, the fact that Lance went down means he doesn’t belong in a 123 sprint finish.
Get well soon
…but there is a BIG difference between “agressive” and “unnecessarily dangerous” maneuvers. The pink jersey had no reason to ride that close to a guy he’s passing with all that open space on his other side, unless he was planning to cut him off or block him. Yes sprinting can be dangerous but in this case, danger was totally fabricated for no legit reason. When there is plenty of room you don’t elbow other guys.
Remember, we don’t race for danger, we race for glory. Making things more dangerous than they needed to be is not cool and totally not professional, ask any pro.
You must be a cat 4 or something. Let me point something out to you buddy……dangerously close is relative. Whats close for you is obviously comfortable for the sprinters. Being too close is when you actually touch the guy and even then thats not too close. Ricky had more than the enough room on Lance’s left. No foul there and even if they touch so what. Its racing. Go home and cry to your mommy. We race for glory? Well how do you think you are going to get it. Ask the pros you say? Are you nuts? Do you what TV. My heart skips a beat even watching the pros in a sprint finish and when they crash its far worse. As a cat 4 I won many races sprinting because I had a lot of room I learned quickly as I moved up the ranks that I need to get away during the race in order to stand a chance of winning. There is no room in the 123’s. This isn’t a group ride. Its a race. If you are not living on the edge then you are taking up too much damn space. Go home.
“just ask the pros”, thats how you know he is a cat 4.
“Making things more dangerous than they needed to be is not cool and totally not professional.”
Who the hell said we were professional? You sound like you just can’t wait to go back to work Monday mornings.
blame the black guy. rickie happened to be next to lez when he fell and now he is the scape goat.
hate to break it to “you know who” and “are you kidding me” but you are not arguing your point with facts, just defending over-aggressive sprinting in a situation that didn’t call for it. Stop generalizing all sprints as the same and look at the video again,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvnplV6XbKE
you’ll clearly see that there was plenty of room away from the rider to sprint straight, no need to cross other rider’s lines.
Lance moves maybe 12 inches left and right.
Ricky moves 2 yards to the right and then 6 feet back left into Lance.
Ricky says he didn’t want to cause crash but he did.
Maybe when he sprints all the adrenaline is making him forget about children he supports and the well-being of others becomes unimportant.
that exactly ONE guy on this thread has stepped up and expressed an opinion on the crash under his own name: Ricky Lowe. He explained the situation completely from his perspective and it makes a lot more sense than most of the other stuff written here.
I fail to see how it was his fault at all! But hey, that’s just my opinion. If you want some real insight, ask Eustice, or Cook, or Jordan (among others who have some real knowledge of these things).
Otherwise your comments are only as valid as this gem “Ricky Lowe took out Sniadowski football style. Hit him from behind when there was plenty of space.” Of course, that was before the video came out and showed otherwise. I can only imagine how many other “experts” would be blaming Ricky if there was no video of the finish.
Ted Neu
ricky bobby says rubbin’ is racin’!
Shake and Bake!
There is something to learn from a particular pattern. Look at the sprints ricky dominates. Look at the lines he takes. Look how far he try to sprint from others. And honestly, do you really think he has to take out Lance to win. I think he won the last 7 field sprints he was in. How come no one else ever complains. I happen to know the guy personally and you should probably not mention anything of his kids. You simply just don’t know him. He wrote a comment explaining what happen and it seem very likely thats what took place since he was right in the mix.
Why is Lance’s wheel angled towards Ricky
this narrative has become tiresome, touch my monkey
lance was distracted by offer of free gyro sandwich during the sprint, that’s why he started turning left. some of us will take out entire field for good tzatziki.
mom! lambloaf!
I respect Ricky and I’m not saying he had any bad intentions.
What I am saying is that in this case when he came from behind, seeing he was open on his left, he had a choice of which line to take or how much room to give the other rider, he did not chose the safest line that was open ahead of him, instead kept it too close for no good reason.
I understand we all have our sprinting style and in the heat of the moment might sprint a certain way, but at his level he could have done it safer.
Enzo, I am really trying to figure out your point. I really am. You are talking about almost 40mph. It is obvious you have never been in that situation before. Once you commit at that speed its impossible to change your line. Talking about ricky not making the safest decision means what? Really? This isn’t some topic on ethics. It bicycle racing where guys are competing. shit happens dude.
If it was like you say “impossible to change lines” we’d see much less accidents, but changing lines causes problems like the video shows. Shit happens more than it has to, period.
So what is there to talk about Enzo. We know shit happens more than they are suppose to and nothing will ever stop that. We try to be safe thats it. Every now and then we collide. There is a series of thing that lead up to a particular event. What you saw on the video is different from what I saw. So at this point we are just speculating.
How do you pass him without changing you line. Who ever said it wrong or dangerous to change you line. As long as you do it safely. And since we should ask the pros…..then ask the pros they do it all the time.
Flax makes me gassy.
What you are asking is for guys traveling close to 40mph, inches away from each other, all trying to get to the ideal spot at the same time to be safe? The very idea they are doing what they are doing isn’t safe but they do it knowing there are risk involved. You hope no one goes down but if they do you hope they get back up.
i fancy reciting poetry whlist sprinting at 40mph: “i sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world!â€
Let’s analized the video posted before:
038″ Lanc e and Rick are coming head to head’
038″ lance pedaled right and left while rick is behind the other rider.
)39″here comes the accident. lance moved right thend left and if you stopped the video you’ll notice he steered right, then left. the left steering was more violent and he leans against Rick tha was tryin to pass the rider in front of him. It was an accident, it happened in front of me and I saw the manuevers of lance. It was horrible to see him gasping for air and Grabbing the innovation bike rider that went to assit him.
Looks like two guys going for the same space and one loses. Clearly, Ricky is a stand up person and a ferocious sprinter.
Paul C
Nothing like a good analyzation of the situation.
Most importantly, how is Lez?
Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (born 28 February 1964 in Tashkent) is a former professional road racing cyclist from Uzbekistan. Abdoujaparov was a sprinter, nicknamed “The Tashkent Terror”[1] as he was so ferocious in the sprints. His unorthodox and often erratic sprinting caused a number of crashes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djamolidine_Abdoujaparov
i’m assploding from all these readings too many words forreals can’t we all just a get along?
Gavin Roberston
Glenroy Griffith
Anthony Lowe
You sound like one of those guys who just can’t keep up. Although I gotta say, you are right about Glenroy.
I’ll smoke you anyday you want to point your wheel.
Gavin Roberston – no bike handling skills, just brute force and ignorance
Glenroy Griffith – shaky all the time no bike handling skills
Anthony Lowe – dangerous
Scott Gregoire – very shaky cat 3
picture Jim carrey in Pet Detective
(Bending over and grabbing butt cheeks in order to talk out his ASS)
Can I ASS you a question?
Do I need a mint?
Thats how this one went down…
bunch of ASSClowns…
Ricky still didnt need $35 as much as Lez needs his shoulder…could’ve gone “left” instead of “right-the-fn-thru”….
Take care Lez!!!
Can we end this? Ricky wasn’t riding dangerously, Leszek lost control and Ricky reacted. Lord almighty!
of course it would all end as soon as log-in was required 😉
schmalz, simple explanations would be nice, but there was a cause and effect here.
Leszek was strong that day, got intermediate points just few laps earlier, at the end he was also sprinting fine, in a straight line, until he saw Ricky coming up. On video you can see Leszek’s right leg go out while upper body shifts left to anticipate bracing against Ricky. If Ricky wasn’t coming through so close, Leszek would not have overreacted.
The worst part is that there was room on the left to give each other space. The faster rider coming from behind had the advantage of safer options he didn’t take. This might not sound as simple but I was right in front of it watching at the finish and that’s what I saw and video supports it.
Enzo, unless you use your real name, I have no idea what sort of experience you have with sprints or cycling in general, and subsequently can’t put any stock in what you say, as I know no idea who you are.
You highlight your lack of knowledge with each one of your post. By lack of knowledge i mean, about cycling. As far as sprinting you have no clue. The fact that you were watching the race either meant you got drop from the 123’s or you are a cat four. Sprinters have one thing on their mind, winning. Lowe did nothing unreasonable safe. Was he being gutsy maybe we can argue that point later. You are telling me that Lez paniced because Lowe came too close to him and that is Lowe’s fault? How close is too close. If you are not comfortable with close riding then you should definitely not be a sprinter. You are not gonna get the sort of room that you get in a cat 4 race in a 123 race. If Lez was feeling strong that day how come Lowe approached him going almost 10mph faster. I don’t know what video you are looking at but Lez rode into Lowe. He probably tried to stop Lowe from passing him and bit off more than he can chew. That is exactly what I saw.
There is no cause and effect in cycling. This isn’t physics. How the hell do you sit and analyze a bicycle race based on cause and effect. Shit happens. You get up, heal up, jump back on your bike and get back to racing. Thats it. What you don’t do is talk about the shit for a whole damn week. Its almost Saturday again. This tells me either you don’t have a good job since you would be at work worrying about crashes in a sprint finish or you don’t have a job yet you are busy home typing on your freaking computer and not out training. Go ride your damn bike and shut the hell up.
O shit, I better go do the same thing. See you on the road Enzo.
I like unicorns
How do you anticipate someone hitting you and loose control. Lez need some nerves. Yet you blame Ricky. So now the conversation moved from Ricky took lez out football style to ricky scared lez and lez fell “football style”?
there has never been cause and effect, only the non-ending differing/deferring of differAnce.
Jacques Derrida
gimme a break! dude swerves, others react. still, let lance heal and leave lowe alone. move on or move out.
let’s talk about schmalz’ capibara weight-gain routine as a way to placing.
fill in the blanks
entry fee…
bicycle…
body…
crashing on the finishline at PP for $35 10th place,
PRICELESS!!!
How about we just put bells and signal lights on our bikes and paint white lines on the road with 300 m to go. Maybe if lez had signal ricky that he was about to move left and ricky would’ve rang his bell saying he was on the left and everyone stayed in there respective lanes then the crash wouldn’t have happened. I’m all for safety dude but much of that goes out the window when you are racing. This is why you seldom see crashes on group training rides.
No shit does not just happen, eyes in the back of your head or don’t sprint with people who do not have integrity and are willing to take stupid chances
I’m gonna use this tactic next time I ride, race, or walk in CP or PP!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtv2_-2mHck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1Y_KOwa5pA