Hopeful Friday 5/14/2010

by schmalz

Section head text.

 There are opportunities for bike-related achievement sprinkled throughout the area this weekend, but the laser-like focus of the NYC cycling crowd is pointed at this weekend’s Bear Mountain race.

Out side the area there’s the Giro Del Cielo in Sussex County, NJ on Saturday and Sunday. There’s also the NJ Route 29 TT on Sunday in Frenchtown, NJ.

The big show on Sunday is the Bear Mountain race. Due to problems with a bridge on the course, the race route had been changed this year, allowing only one race on the course at a time. Will this course alteration change the strategy for the race this year? Will a different style of racer prevail this year? Will Bear stalwarts get lost and be forced to form feral tribes and live off the trash they find in the park?

83 Comments

Gomer

Andy, what’s the point of busted carbon website?

Just for “fun” or a site run by steel or ti affictionados to show that C is dangerous?

Gomer

“Beats me. Carnage is fun?”

Not in my view, but there is a market for those crash videos, so somebody likes it.

Schbalz

Yes, I predict absolutely no one outside the narrow, narrow niche of the local road racing scene knows or cares anything about Bear.

first power

wow dude, if you weren’t here, reading and commenting about how what we’re reading and commenting about is not worth reading and commenting about, i wouldn’t know how lame i should feel.

alec baldwin

this place is becoming like a tv show about making a tv show.

and we all know how lame that is.

Bartolo Tire

Is actually pretty important race to many. And not just local guys. It’s at least pretty big regional race. And only one out 9? races around the country to qualify for Nature Valley, which is the biggest NRC race of the year. Even the field is not narrow at all with best riders from the region coming this week.

Schbalz

1:49, I stand corrected. Therefore, I have new predictions.

I predict absolutely no one outside the ever so slightly less narrow niche of the local road racing scene, i.e. the “regional” road racing scene, knows or cares anything about Bear.

Moreover, I predict absolutely no one outside the slightly less narrow niche of the regional road racing scene, i.e. the “national” road racing scene, knows or cares anything about Nature Valley.

moving violation

I predict absolutely no one outside the exceedingly narrow niche of the bicycle racing scene cares about bicycle racing. Unless Lance is involved.

Phil, Paul and Steve

Bear is definitely not your local park race. It will be interesting to see how the changed course plays out but I only wish they had used the uphill finish. It would have brought back memories of Lance charging up Alpe d’Huez

Some pro men from Jamis,Type 1, former Sakonnet rider Cheyne Hoag from Kelly Pro along with 19 year old Gavin Mannion from Trek/Livestrong are in the field. The pros will try to beat the full squads of regional teams, AXA,Jet Fuel, wheelhouse, Met Life, Mazur, CCB, Team Ora,Champion and more. Former winners Josh Dillon of bikereg.com and Matt Johnson of AXA return. Look for Roger Aspholm to again finish in the top 5 and try to beat Foundation’s Gavi Epstein to win the trip to Nature Valley. Pavel Gondo will try to improve on his impressive 14th place, top amateur finish in the Battenkill UCI race. His chances would be better if his BH/Garneau teammate, former pro Dan Schmatz was in the race. Axa will try to win for the third year in a row and show the locals that they remain the team to beat in demanding regional races outside of the local park crash fests.

On the women’s side Emma Petersen returns to North America after finishing 8th a few weeks ago in the UCI Tour of Chongming World Cup race. She finished third last year and will try to outsprint last year’s second place finisher Beth Miller. US 2012 Olympic track team hopeful and former Lipton pro,Kim Geist returns along with 2008 winner Lauren Shirock now at Penn State. Newcomer Anna Barensfeld won Battenkill and almost every other race she has entered this year. Emma’s Canadian teammates from 7th Groove formerly Ultralink return with Jen Stephenson who has been on the Bear podium several times.

Phil and Steve

If that report about USADA testing is correct, it will be interesting to see who does not show at Bear. Expect a record number of no shows. As you can see Paul has already pulled out of the race.

Stan Lube

seriously, drug testing at bear?

does this mean i can’t take a ride on the zion choo choo the night before?

Phil and Steve

I think it would only involve the NVGP pro ride races since as I have now found out, the NVGP is picking up the tab.

Tom Wave Ring

It looks like people panicked about the drug testing as the Bear wait lists are almost empty.

Bolt Nut

The women’s race should be particularly interesting. Even though it is a NVGP Pro Ride qualifier, they are planning to start the 1,2 women with the 3,4 women. The two fields are racing different distances (40 miles vs 50 miles) and will be finishing in different directions (1,2 women finishing up the climb; 3,4 women finishing on the usual downhill finish). This information is not on bikereg or on the flyer.

If CRCA did this with the men’s 1,2 race, what would people say? That it is dangerous? That the 1,2 men deserve to race without beginner riders? Why is it any different for the women?

Gomer

“That the 1,2 men deserve to race without beginner riders? Why is it any different for the women?”

Well, for sure the ladies deserve a safe race. But please note that a whopping 45 ladies have registered for Bear. If you count the waiting list, almost 10 times as many men want to race at Harriman this Spring. What do you want, separate fields for two groups of 20 riders?

Andrea Tigweld

Hi – to confirm, all fields are finishing in the same place, which is the usual downhill finish just before the Lake Welch parking area.

Apologies for any confusion on this.

Thanks.

Gabby

Senne Tigweld

Your information is incorrect. If it is not on bikereg or the flyer what is your source? Any idiot should realize that you can’t have different finish lines as it will be too difficult to move the camera.

Gherardo Headset

Isn’t it kind of weird and passive-aggressive to seek out a website that caters to the “ever so slightly less narrow niche of the local road racing scene, i.e. the “regional” road racing scene” and tell them how lame they are? Dude, we really need you to get back to solving World Peace (or whatever it is we distracted you from) and let us wallow in our insignificance.

Phil and Steve

Last year’s Bear Mtn women’s 1/2/3 winner, Evelyn Stevens got off to a good start in Le Tour de l’Aude, the premier women’s stage race in the world. Evelyn finished sixth, 9 seconds behind the leader Regina Bruins of the Cervelo Test Team.

Salvestro Internal Routing

It’s a good sign for cycling that they have decided to provide the funding to allow for USADA testing at Bear Mountain since it’s a qualifier for NVGP. Kudos to CRCA for laying the foundation for clean competition.

Schiatta Pulley

CRCA Director of Open Racing

and it’s 72 women in total, not 45. but then again the 3’s have to race with 40+…good luck suckers!!!!!!!

Lars Internal Routing

Is Adler riding the Amgen Tour of California? – only four riders entered at Bear and some notables MIA.

Frederico Topcap

Adler is indeed riding the tour of California…

on track bikes.

In other news Sean Smith won the ITT at cielo by a minute. Dan Chabanov was best of the rest.

lee3

nice….a may stage race in Jersey. There are so many more races going on there now than I can remember just a few years ago. There seems to be a smaller selection of cpk races and more outside events. I saw that Red Roses are gettin into the Roubaix like races in PA.

More fun ways to suffer.

Gregorio Locknut

red rose? so what’s the deal, are those guys done trying to kill each other? they put on some decent races before whatever the hell happened.

lee3

Not sure whats goin down in PA. The Christiana race seems to be not coming back. Too bad to because that was one of the best pocket stage races in the east – IMO. Ephrata is still around though. They really cuss’d up the system when that race went away. Hard to get all vested in a season for thier races when ya dont know if its going to be around nxt yr.

Phil Penman

Mitch from Nyvelocity won in sprint finish, was not the climbers epic today , only 40 mile course and only one climb, was hoping it would be an epic with at least 3 times up the climb.

Oh mitch got disqualified for swearing after having won, if you cannot say fuck yer after having won a race like bear then well, I will say no more, do not want to get disqualified from forum.

Not a sprinter myself so just watched from the back of about 30 riders who came in,

Yann Neck

he was D’Qed then reinstated after some tense negotiations. What were the negotiations? Did anyone see the first “Bad Lieutenant” with Harvey Keitel?

Remigio Cable

I think it’s funny that the past 2 (and now 3)winners of bear in the 4s have yelled some variation of “fuck yeah”
last year the winner said the same thing, and the year before the winner yelled”motherfucker” Or something like that
I guess that the officials today were more anal than usual about bad language.

Nelson M.

Stoffel said ‘Moussalaka’ not “Mf’er” which we all know is ancient South African for “VICTORY”. You’ll note that Matt Damon said the same thing at the end of whatever the title of that movie was that came out a few months ago.

Your welcome.

Fala Fel

You’re all wrong. Mitch won so handily that he was calling in a take-out order on his cell phone while cruising across the finish line. He kept repeating, “Moussaka! Mousakka!” to the deli because, you know, cell phone reception isn’t so good up there. Get your facts straight.

pp

I heard a small child cry ” NO daddy NO ” to his father as Mitch passed shouting ” FUCK YER ” whilst holding out his pump to hit the innocent but now mentally scarred child in the face.

Frederico Butyl

i heard a child renounce his christian upbringing right there on the spot. he bent over backwards and started crawling around on all fours and was saying stuff about how after he kills his mother, she will be damned to, um, “service” the ruined souls in the third circle of hell for eternity. nice job, MITCH.

Ricky Bobby

DUDES he was not yelling FUCK! on its own. Y’all missed the MEATLOOOOOOAF! shout first.

copt cats?

Cycling Reporter continues to cut and paste the NYVC concept, and uses NYVC comments as free advertising.

Cosimo Setscrew

fine ride by j. burrowes

dissapointing results from NYC’s other strongmen: hmm? a little testing scared many into the DNF list?

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