It was a warm weekend’s worth of wacing (my daughters have discovered Looney Tunes), so let’s see what unfolded.
At the CRCA Club Race, Brian Borgia of Rapha Racing won the A race. Raquel Miller of Houlihan-Lokey/Sanchez won the women’s race. Matthew Vandivort of Siggi’s/Nyvelocity won the B race. Mauricio Sanchez of Exhist in Balance wonthe C race. Results are here.
At the New York State Time Trial Championships, Phil Penman of BH/Garneau was third in the men’s cat 1/2/3. Robert Rakowitz of Sid’s Bikes won the mens cat 4 race. Curt Gustafsson of Axis was third in the men’s 45+ race. Robert Stern of Die Hard Think Racing was second in the mens 55+. Stephanie Busloff was third in the women’s 35+. Results are here.
At the Mangosee Restaurant – W.S. United Race in Prospect Park, Igor Volshteyn of Adler won the pro/1/2 race. Steve Marmo won the cat 3 race. John McLeod of YSG racing won the Cat 4/5 race. Marc Cesare of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Cycling won the master’s race. Results are here.
What kind of shenanigans Mr. cat 1/2?
who said i was a 1/2?
My online coach said if it weren’t for the series of crashes I’ve had this year, I could easily be a cat 3. My power output is MASSIVE.
Results have been posted on USAC
https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2011-91
Videos of Finish Line Camera are posted here
http://www.youtube.com/user/davidasommerville
David Sommerville
Sommerville Sports
What a shit show; Cat 3 break catches master field then we ride with masters for 3 laps. During the confusion a few masters take advantage of the mess and are given top spots in the race all the while the cat 3 breaks gets a needed rest. Both breaks should have been DQ’d for passing pace cars and mixing in fields.
I agree with you on the DQ,but no one said anything to the officials.The good thing about that,the winners in both fields deserve the win!!!
Maricio put on quite a performance. He soloed off the front from lap 2 and held on till the end. Well done.
The Burrowes should also be complimented on the Thursday night Floyd race they have been promoting all year. It’s been a great series, really mellow, with snacks post race! Thanks guys.
@ Excitable
I don’t think it’s cool to be dogging on promoters who are by and large doing a real service to NYC cycling.
In general, pace drivers need to sort out the rules and enforce them better….that’s the real problem.
Jared Bunde won the 35-39 scratch race at Masters Nationals at T-town.
lets wait for the test results first on that one.
He’s been racing C races for two full seasons that I know of (maybe more) and placing/winning in a lot of races. Time for him to stop sandbagging and upgrade. At the last club race last year I asked him if he was going to upgrade and he said he was this season but look — it’s August and he’s still winning C races.. LAME!!!
Mauricio to Mengioni
I took some pictures of last Saturday’s CRCA race: http://crca.shutterfly.com/
maurico, do not know him but could be other reasons for not upgrading
remember last year, sean smith won 9 straight cat 5 races but was denied upgrade twice during that time because he had not done 10 races which were required and that they had to be submitted to usa cycling. He was also denied from 4 to 3 and from 3 to 2 if I am right, correct me if wrong
Never be so quick to judge on guys that have not upgraded yet, a lot of the time they have tried but just get denied.
Seems like local promoters have been better submitting results to usa cycling this year, and if they do not submit results and your looking to upgrade just do not do there races anymore and go give your money to a promoter who will submit.
i agree with penman p – upgrading is not an exact science. plus the local USAC rep for NY doesn’t take CRCA club races particularly seriously, a problem the CRCA themselves exacerbated by not doing a great job of keeping race records last season, so sometimes he won’t count CRCA club races for purposes of an upgrade.
I remember Mauricio from last season last season – good racer. I only came across him in CRCA club races so he might not do other races. That being the case I can see how upgrades might take a while. Also I haven’t seen him this year at all (so I don’t know how often he races). He might just race occasionally.
Upgrading rules are too lax. As evident in the CRCA race on Sat, some people should go back to the lower categories
CRCA Races do NOT count towards catagory upgrade points unless that particular race is an OPEN race in which the general public can participate. Am I wrong? Ihis has always been my understanding.
think they do not count because they are not open races, unless there has been changes I am unaware of.
On the flip side how many racers have quit due to getting denied there cat 5 to 4 or 4 to cat 3 upgrade that could have turned out to be amazing racers, again take sean smith as example if he had quit because he was being denied every upgrade he ever went for he would not being doing the races he does now, the guy obviously had the talent but the talent was being held back due to the current structure of upgrading.
And on the other end of the scale without crca etc we would not have had the likes of evelyn stevens go on to where she is now, I always thought that having Cat A riders race with the B field was good idea as well, At that level your still learning and maybe instead of downgrading people just make sure there taught the right way in the first place.
The USA Cycling needs to be looking at ways to seek out the talent and not holding it back due to upgrading system.
Sean Smith wasn’t denied an upgrade because he deserved it and had the points for it. That’s why he’s riding at the level he is now. Some guy who gets denied and undeserved upgrade and quits doesn’t have the head for the upper level races, no matter what kind of potential you imagine he has.
sean was in fact denied upgrade at every level with the required points etc, it had to go to the higher ups at usa cycling to be sorted out, local upgrade guy denied him every time. I do not know anymore than this on this matter.
I agree with you though if you want it bad enough you will not let anyone stop you from getting where you want to go.
My point was not specific to Sean Smith however I was using him as an example as I do not know how many other cases of this there have been.
3 guys in 8 man last lap break.
Adler crashed a good race
CRCA races are fine for 5 to 4. I upgraded from 5 to 4 just with CRCA park races. If this dude can solo off the front for 2-3 laps at 24 mph, he clearly should not be in the 5s.
yeah – if you are dominating a race to the extent that you are riding most of it on your own on a solo break then you are in a different league. it’s better for your own development to step up a level. I guess it depends on what your targets are.
Upgrade rules are in fact an exact science, just not enough people bother to read an understand the rules as outlined by USAC.
– Only USAC sanctioned races ever count
– Cat 5 to 4 is just 10 mass start races (technically you don’t even have to finish; just have ‘experience in’) CRCA club races do count for this (only)
– Other categories, just earn enough points in a 12 month period using the scale outlined in the USAC rules
– if you cant get enough points, for Cat 4 to 3 you can also upgrade by starting in at least 25 races and either
a) placing top 10 in at least 10 races provided there were at least 30 starters; or
b) 20 pack finishes in races with at least 50 starters
Its up to you to keep track of your races, placing, number of starters and the prove to USAC of the facts. Promoters have no obligation to submit or publish results, which probably needs to change.
It does get tricky when you have combined fields, but the rules outline how that works. There is no judgement made by upgrade officials, only whether or not you have met the criteria. The burden of proof is with the rider, as it should be.
In NYC where week in week out the races are of high quality and large fields, I think its harder to upgrade. Race in middle America where fields are smaller and its easy for decent but not great riders to upgrade beyond where they would if they had to compete against all of us.
the real problem is putting 3 fields on a 3.4 mile course at the same time, and then asking them to not race. that’s only 1 mile separting each field, and then each race is 1.5-2 hrs, and you hope they don’t mix? well any fields are diff in avg speed by about .7 mph then we get what we had here yesterday. and i don’t like it anymore than you do. but if a break is up the road and we get caught by another field, then to neutralize us seals the win for our field’s break…so we can’t let them have that, and we won’t we will chase that until they make us stop…but if they make us stop that’s not fair. so, in concusion – too many fields at the same time.
Some shots from the cat 3 and Masters fields of the Mangoseed/WS United race shots are up. The pro12 and cat 4/5 should be up later today. I try to get all of them up by late tomorrow. http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/Mangoseed-Restaurant-WS-United
wow, there’s a world outside of crca racing?
I don’t know what race you’re referring to, but Adler DID race a smart race at Mangoseed. How can anyone say they didn’t?!?!? They had two guys in the breakaway (not 3). They won 2 big dollar primes. And they won the whole damn race (another big purse). On top of all that, their guy Ken Harris (in the breakaway and driving hard for that matter) was gentleman and pro enough to give a water bottle over to one of his competitors in the breakaway who ran out. A competitor who finished dangerously close to winning the whole race. Adler’s got both wattage AND real class – no denying that!!
you forgot to note, “not on adler”
The winning masters break did not pass the pace car. there was originally a break of 2 masters that did and when others went to chase they were told not to pass the pace car. Those 2 masters were eventually brought back and the winning break went with 2 laps to go and a chasing break that caught them went on the bell lap. Can’t say what happened in the cat 3 race.
The guy was referring to sat crca race when Adler had 3 guys in the break but only came in 3rd.
wow, no matter what Adler does some of you are always gonna talk shit, eh?
great race well organised and great to see a podium and even more impressive was that results were actually sent to usa cycling or even that we were able to get results.
This is how to run a local race. Agreed the crowds did start to mass a little bit towards the end but most people politely moved to the side.
instead of bitchng about upgrades why dont you just race more. earning points for a 3 upgrade is just dumb luck
if you want to race against 1’s and 2’s go on the rocket ride or the gimbels ride. I am sure Roger Asphlom or Car Reglar would be happy to drop your ass. but i forgot, new york guys are too scared to go on group rides cuz they are “sketchy”
Cat 4/5 shots are up from the Mangoseed race.
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/Mangoseed-Restaurant-WS-United/Cat-4-and-5/18348807_hk5jsk/1413379068_Pg7DfqN/1413382352_QtcnQmz#1413382352_QtcnQmz
The rest of the fields is here.
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/Mangoseed-Restaurant-WS-United
Does CRCA still have their junior team? Or is that 2006…
You can use google, facebook, or crca.net to find out about the junior team, or contact me or the CRCA board to volunteer, or you can remain uninformed. Several on the team are quite talented, as the next few years will show.
If you are super fast and talented you will go up the system fast regardless of the rules and fat officials giving you the upgrade (i.e. Prensky, Smith, Stevens, etc). If you are slowish but work hard, odds are you will max out around a Cat3 or race masters and will likely have more fun long term than the guys that bang thier heads with the bigs. Point is, the system in the US works and I do not think there are any cases of super talented racers giving up the sport because they were denied a fast upgrade from 4-3.
Finally, racing with the less experienced racers is not always a bad thing. These are some of the guys you will eventually race with at the higher levels and the friendships on the road help out in races and getting on teams. You jump right into the Pro1-2 races and you wont be getting any help from the guys that have been at it for years and have earned a level of respect from their peers.
Both gold medal winners at TTOWN this past weekend… JJ also got a gold medal in the 500. Way to represent NY guys.. It was really nice to see NY riders participating. Jared did well. Andrew killed it going straight to the finals. Sorry to hear about JJ taking a bad fall during warm up the following day.
…
Yes, CRCA does own a podium. They use it for the open races. Look at the pictures of the winners from the recent Maltese race and you will see the winners on the CRCA podium.
‘This discussion is like Bill Murray’s experince in “Groundhog Day”‘
Yes, no doubt, this is def as irritating and repetitive as bang1ng annie macdowell
“I rolled in with the front of the pack right outside top 10”
ha! yeah, you and me both buddy. oldie but goodie. that’s the cycling equivalent of your hot girlfriend in niagara falls.
also bobke – i agree with you – my over/under is 4:15
what can i say, i am an excitable cat4
😉
ADLER 4 LIFE!!!!!!!!
aRiEl mEndeZ
It’s called PRO123 and 3/4…
Dam, if I knew they where going to post the results for the whole dam field i would have sprinted for 11th! (LOL) WS
LOL???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRom-BYrAGI
Yeah, I don’t disagree, mostly. If you really do want to get better and compete with the best racers, then yeah, why shouldn’t you be able to sign up for the big boy race if and when you think you’re ready for the challenge rather than when some arbitrary points total has been reached.
This discussion is like Bill Murray’s experince in “Groundhog Day”
Thank YOU Thank YOU thank You to Victor Chan for the awesome photos of the P-1-2 Mangoseed Race
They published them, but missing a lot of riders. I rolled in with the front of the pack right outside top 10 and I’m not there nor a couple other riders that I rolled through with.
what ever happened to that kid Wei?
He’s a cat 3 now on Adler, came in 4th in the CRCA on Sat.
where did they get those tiny red numbers? i knew the camera wouldn’t be able to pick up half of those.
Yeah 12pt. numbers, although in red, don’t show up that well.
Europe can go suck it.
All points well taken. However, my rant was about the upgrading system in respect to cyclist who actually want to go to a higher level in this sport. Not just race to be at a social event, if you want to be social, go to a bar somewhere with your mates. Cyclist are as anti-social as it gets, cycling IS an anti-social sport. We all agree to suffer once we line up at the start of a race regardless of the fact there’s no actual mutual “contract” being signed. Another point I was trying to make is that for those cat 4’s struggling to upgrade to a 3 or 3-2…..let them race with the pro/1/2, let them realize how much harder it gets and how much harder they have to train. Cycling is a humbling sport, those who are engaged in it and actually “try” are constantly if not always disappointed.
Yeah I fucked up, had a bad sprint, and wasted a great leadout Borgia is a great sprinter and Stevens was blazing. I still think 3rd and 4th from a cat3 and a guy who was very recently a cat3 isnt bad 🙂
Gained some good points in the team cup
Haters gonna Hate
Ariel M
That’s great for Europe. This isn’t Europe. Almost none of us were racing as juniors, and there is still no pipeline of talented 17 year olds. Most of us started much later than racers do in Europe, and a lot of guys here don’t even *want* to race against faster racers and go through the suffering necessary to get better; for many it’s just social and fitness, with no real ambition for results. Other guys want results and want to compete on higher levels, etc. That being the case, it makes sense to have a “beginner”, “intermediate”, “advanced” etc. type of system, as we do with our categories, rather than an age-based one. It makes no sense to throw a 40 year old father/desk-jockey who just bought a bike into a race with a bunch of experienced racers and say “sink or swim” – at best he’ll get discouraged, and at worst he’ll hurt himself or someone else. Even a guy like Olsen who is dedicated and gets better much quicker than others wouldn’t have a chance in that situation.
who gives a fuck about crca races
the guys that do them?
Catskills reg closes tonight
It’s a training race, doesn’t count to USACycling and has no payout. Bragging rights for self obsessed dorks.
the word is MANGOSEED as in the seed of a mango.
“training race” = any race this clown doesn’t place in
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Ariel: You have nothing to be ashamed of. Borgia is riding really well this year. However, your use of the smiley face in questionable:
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/07/31/curb-your-enthusiasm-season-8-episode-4-the-smiley-face-tv-recap/?mod=google_news_blog
CRCA races are fun,CHEAP, and actually do payout for the top 3. only like $35-$25 but thats something. good for people without a car/money to travel out of town.
Relax, they are fun and cheap and good training, just curious why people talk shit about a meaningless race.
seriously 75 bucks in total payout is not much
IF ONLY they had emoticons on this website!!!!!!!!!
they must be stupid training races if jokers like ME are able to “podium”. should the word podium really be used if there is no podium to stand on?
Ariel Mendez
Ariel, first emoticons, now excessive exclamations?
the excitability runs deep in mendez.
Does CRCA have a podium or is it just a stepstool? Since I’ve never been on one I’d really like to know.
Funny to hate their races but then break your balls trying to win them. I’ll be damn happy if i won an
A race.
Personally, I have mixed emotions as far as the upgrading system goes. On one hand, It’s great for Cat 1/2 riders to avoid the shenanigans cat 3/4/5 pull during races. On the other hand 4/5 riders might never race against the 1/2s. Here’s why USAC upgrading system is ridiculous…..in europe, there is no upgrade system. If your a jr. you race jrs, if your 19-23 you race u23, if your 24 or above you race elite/master. So consequently if you do suck, you eventually adapt to the stresses of racing at a high intensity. Also, the talent pool in europe is so high already that eventually even the worst racers develop into better racers. You don’t get better racing with racing sucky racers, just as you don’t get faster riding with slow riders.
SOoooooooooooooooooooooo true! Grow some balls and get your group on.!
Get your group on……….
You talking kinky sex or shake shack coupons?
idot