Section head text.
There seems to be a dearth of local races. The Spring Series will be wrapping this Sunday and I guess there will be overall winners crowned, but I have no idea who’s leading – but I’m sure the leaders know, of course.
Those who have the means will be traveling up to Massachusetts to the Sturbridge and Palmer races. Now which one of those has the finish where all the crashes happen? I forget. It’s like Bill Paxton or Bill Pullman…
there were not 200 riders in any field at Sturbridge
Ugli won @ sturbridge end of story. no idea if he could have smoked the p123s or not. he won his race and thats about all that matters. he did so in convincing fashion and didnt get relegated this time around. i will say, that while its a great race weekend, yesterday’s palmer was far far too overcroweded. i bet there were 200 riders in the cat3 field. we were 6 wide, like 30 to 40 rows up and back. single lane. a motor cycle chapereon who was a total prick, and on coming cars so when someone in the 6-abreast got squirrely, two 3 guys would get jammed left, oh, into on coming traffic.
i think its great to want revenues and to make money for yourself and the club, but when you put 150 (prereg quantity) to 200 riders in a single line, with no major climbs to seperate guys, it can be a) unfun and b) dangerous. thankfully there were only like 1 or 2 foolish crashes. Didnt see Ugli on Sunday, which would have been nice. i saw roger take the two days last year in the masters, both times in breaks…guys’ an animal.
cat 3 RR had one of the nastiest crashes i’ve seen in the (downhill) ssprint. take that sturrbridge
WTF!! – where are the results??…….it’s like the race never happened?
Nice job Chris! That’s a great win.
I sharpie marker my name and number on the rimstrip of my wheels (…at least when I remember to do it). I hope you get your front wheel back.
I would say to win a regional cat 3 race you have to be fairly talented, train hard/rest right and ride a smart race (no pun intended) It’s not a trifling thing.
I heard Zmolik was sick early, Sherry had major stomach problems and was vomiting a lot on one stage, and Boronow has some lung infection at the end. Burgos has terrible home trouble during the race with his apartment being building having a big fire and he had to come back early for that.
this makes my wheel decision easy….I’m buying rolf’s!
Feel better Ethan. That sucks.
Hope you make a quick recovery from the crash.
I too left a front wheel once.. of a nice set, they weren’t no Zipp 404’s . That sucks!!! If you get it back, I will be way more impressed with man kind then when the cabbies give back a bag of jewels for a back rub.
Mihael
I’d like to start by congratulating Ugli on his fine win. A win is hard to come by in any category. There are lots of overlaps in our system. A winning cat 4, can win 3 races, a winning cat 3, can win 2 races. Masters and Women racers can produce Junior racers. All fine wins…..But when you say you won a race it usually implies the main event$ Again, great win!
Mihael
bah. i trashed my roof rack, dented my car, and destroyed a suspension fork that way. if "it makes you feel any better" there’s a low bridge near my house and about once a week some truck rips open its roof.
I ‘lost’ my 404 front this morning, too. Also with a Schwalbe. $250 reward, no questions asked.
That sucks Schmalz. If it makes you feel any better a couple of years ago I had my bike on the roof of my car, and drove it into the top of my garage. Needless to say, the bike was destroyed. We all do stupid things sometimes!
Not only am I too slow to deserve riding my Zipp 404 wheels, it appears I am also too stupid to ride them also. I apparently neglected to put my front wheel into my car this morning and left it lying in the roadway at the Spring Series Race this morning at Prospect Park. It
Former CRCA kid making it happen in the big leagues
Whooo hooo
Ugli didn’t really win a race, he won the 3 category.
pointing this out and calling the guy a "jackass" for congratulating a guy on winning a 3 race seems further proof for people who are constantly pointing to cyclist as insecure – I guess if you can’t get results to make yourself feel good, just put others down.
Guys who do well never seem to get caught up in this stupid shit, ever notice?
Sakonnet’s Epstein 13th in today’s TOV Criterium and moves up to 45th in GC.
http://www.tourofvirginia.com/results/stage%206.pdf
Gavi is really good.
Nice race Ugli.
Is Ugli a sandbagger now?
When you say ‘When you say he "won sturbridge" it makes it sound like he won the 1/2 race’ it makes it sound like you’re a jackass.
Nice race Ugli
get off of ugli’s wrinkle stick
That’s funny
Good flame
Go Adler!…Ugly wins Sturbridge!
He won the 1/2 race? When you say he "won sturbridge" it makes it sound like he won the 1/2 race
Ugli nice win. You are riding so strong. Go kill them again tommorrow.
congrats chris & F’cisco.
Commesso for Liege!
UGLI Wins Sturbridge! Francisco 4th or 5th…
According to the site (www.tourofvirginia.com) today is a crit stage and tomorrow is another 100 mile road race.
A GC recap of "locals":
8th – Andy Guptill (Sakonnet Alumni now Colavita Sutter Home Pro)
45th – Gavi Epstein (Sakonnet)
50th – Phil Gaimon (Sakonnet)
61st – John Loehner (Empire)
68th – Lisban Quintero (Empire)
69th – Chris Kuhl (Sakonnet)
75th – Jared Bunde (Mengoni)
92nd – Martin Lechowich (Mengoni)
I never abstain from sex the day before a race. Actually, I’m having sex as I type this…
What was the TVA stage like today? Hilly, long, hot?
Hey Empire – please post some race reports.
Maybe a TVA race review for Monday Hangover? We want to know.
I feel for the Empire guys, I’ve been in their position of suffering just to finish. It’s not a lot of fun. BTW, is the CRCA holding a time trial this year?
if you don’t care about a good dude from nyc putting in a solid performance at an nrc event, what the hell are you doing here?
about gavi at T of VA…how did Ale Jet do? did he get another win and time bonus to close the gap?
We all care how the NY-NJ riders do @ the NRC events no matter what the move is.
I say let’em know they’re in a fight Gavi and to all the dudes down south – burn the up those bridges and warm your hands by the fire!
Sakonnet’s Epstein was off the front for 30 miles today trying to bridge to a 3 man break. Both moves were brought back and it finished in a field sprint.
No major GC changes for the riders on the local teams (Sakonnet, Empire & Mengoni).
Congrats Gavi.
http://www.tourofvirginia.com/results.php
Has anyone seen River Road? Is it open on both ends?
Sakonnet’s Epstein was off the front for 30 miles today trying to bridge to a 3 man break. Both moves were brought back and it finished in a field sprint.
No major GC changes for the riders on the local teams (Sakonnet, Empire & Mengoni).
Congrats Gavi.
http://www.tourofvirginia.com/results.php
you must give your ole lady a thorough rogering the day before a race. 1, you’ll sleep better. 2, flowing man-juice night before=less jitters race day. 3. she’ll be in a better mood and the fact that you spent 10 hours out of the house to ride your bike (again) with no results (again)won’t be such a big deal
eh, JFT?
You’re not really holding out on any ladies, huh?
abstain from sex leading up to a race?
By days? One night?
Scmalz, is this for another discusion?
years, in my case.
just an inch or two
But if you are in the Southern Hemisphere, the course has to be clockwise. And if you happen to be Belgian, well that’s another story.
Old wives tale, if you pedal backwards after showering, you will drain the water from your legs, but only on a counterclockwise course.
JFT, are you advocating a gun show, a la comesso? not sure if my arms should be exposed.
I think sleeveless jerseys are against the rules – really. Poor Toto would get relegated.
old wives tale says that showering before a race fills your legs with water
The double seemed like a good idea last year, but the problem is that Harlem is the second race of the day. When you quit a road race, you still have to ride back to your car, so you have an incentive to hang on as long as you can to get it over with. But at Harlem, corner after corner you are tormented by the idea that you could just stop pedaling and go sit on a stoop drinking cold lemonade. I hung on for 20 laps but eventually the temptation was too great.
Those who can’t do, write!
I don’t think there was a hotter race than that…guys were throwing up afterwards.
i should have added, unless it’s hot like last year, then i’ll be watching with a lemonade.
or nuts…
I’ll bite on the heat stuff. The key things are:
Hydration — you need to be very hydrated starting the days before the event. Drink often. Urine should be clear and you should wake each morning up needing to urinate. After pissing each morning your weight should be normal. Eating salty food like pretzels or pickles can help you keep drinking.
The day of the race, drink liquids with significant amounts of salt in them. If using a standard sports drink and having a normal healthy diet, you problably should also take an electrolyte tablet or two before the event. Or you can add electrolytes to your sports drink — Morton’s Lite Salt is good. If you prefer to drink plain water while racing, definitely take electolyte tablets before the event. I know one guy who went to the hospital from heat-related electrolyte deficiencies (he won the race too….)
Before the race, stay cool. You can often get away with less warmup than in cooler conditions. During vigorous excercize it’s not always possible to rehydrate at the same rate you sweat, so a long warmup can put you at a hydration deficit before the event starts! Warmup in as cool a place as you can find.
Cutting an inch or two off the sleeves of your jersey can help with ventilation.
Have cold drinks at races. Travel with a cooler. Or leave home with some of your bottles frozen.
If you can get feeding of bottle in the race, use it. But practice taking feeds (and have your feeder practice too) if you haven’t done it before. Plan how to have enough liquids in the race. And bring a disposable bottle to the start line in case there is a delay and you end up standing around at the start. And look for shade at the start. Heck, look for shade everywhere. Back in the day the RR course at Fitchburg had a full road closure and I think we rode on the left side of the road in the section past the feed zone to stay in shade.
I think taking a shower before the race can help you feel cooler. But I might be imagining that.
Some people say wear a wicking t-shirt under your jersey. I’m not convinced about that and it doesn’t work for me. But you might try it in training.
Train in the heat — that is go out in the heat of the day to train to acclimate and get used to sweating buckets. Or, if you can’t do that, train in extra clothes or indoors on a trainer with minimal ventilation.
Don’t train the heat — you can’t get your intensity up high enough in terms of power output if it’s really hot, so training regulatly in the heat may reduce the power you can put out.
OK – the last two are contradictory. The truth is, you have to mix it up. During a brutal heat wave it’s probably good to do lower intensity exercize in the heat for acclimation, and higher intensity exercice in the cool (early morning, or indoors in air conditioning) for power output.
Finally, if you feel chils or get dizzy in the heat, stop, cool off and rehydrate.
i’m going for the triple this year. cat 3 housatonic, 3/4 harlem, and 123 harlem. why, cause i’m stupid, like the harlem race, and need more crit experience. it’ll probably set my legs back a couple of weeks.
So who’s doing the Housatonic/Harlem double this year?
That ought to be it’s own prize list in itself.
Alan
Is this what it feels like to be in the lead then?
Weird, i thought it would be different.
Thanks a lot AVD.
anyone doing ephrata besides the comedy central ladies?
based on the fact that AVD hasn’t updated since the 7th, even the leaders don’t really know what’s going on.
Harlem and Housatonic Hills will always be on the same day for the forseeable future:
http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=4687
Would be cool to get on team Team BMJ!
harlem date? same day as housatonic again?
I wish NYV would start a column:
"Ask Coach L"
I would ask him what to do in races that are 90+ degrees. Just drink more water? Does it help to train with extra clothing if you know you are going to race in the heat?
I have a feeling JT will give his view.
less hate, more lee3!
Harlem crit is on again this year! I am so glad to hear it. That race is really cool. As cool as a turkey running across a frozen pond.
But now that I think about it, it was really hot last year. As hot as the hot tub in the J Alder team RV.
Cool or hot, one thing is for sure –
BMJ will be at the Harlem crit.
It’s my understanding that the finish for the Palmer course has been changed so as to make it safer.
Far from it
you just set yourself up
and we can’t resist
I love you when you do that
Welcome back Lee, nice to occasionally hear a voice free of malice and a genuine passion for the sport.
Wow..guess I’m still hated here.
Battenkill was pretty easy.
is better
Calling it form at this level is funny. Either you are in shape or not. Very simple.
Has Buttermilk Jones vanished after a single cameo?
Best name and most interesting poster in a long time.
Those local cat 3 and cat 4 teams can be really cold when you don’t deliver the results.
Hot day + no feed zone = legs stop working at mile gazillion! Funny how that happens…
that is pretty big of them to forgive you for not showing up and gettnig dropped from the B race grupetto.
it is the NYS crit champs!!!!
back in the day I saw Pablo Castro (the one from uptown and Jersey, not the one on Foundation) riding along smoothly and then suddenly his legs locked up and he didnt’ have time to unclip, so he fell over. Same race I got dropped on the flats at about mile 90 đ
The j.o.b. is layin it on thick – Dbl. job deadlines all april. – the form took a huge hit but I still may do Jiminy just cause i’ve never been there. My team’s been very understanding. Great bunch of guys.
Everyone who’s not heading out of town should show up…there aren’t that many weekend opportunities to race the track during the summer, so take advantage!
http://imdb.com/title/tt0099173/
unlike clark kent and superman, the two bills appeared simultaneously
lee3 is back!
Paxton is the better actor, however, Pullman rocked "Lost Highway" and that film he did with Ben Stiller (cant remember name).
Thanks for the Unionvale heads up. I liked that race. Look out for those smarter than the avg. bears.
Jiminy is weird it seems easy but…. That long gradual uphill drag back to the finish climb can take it out of you slowly and then all of a sudden at 80K you feel like garbage. The wind on that stretch can be tough also.
In the 3’s, 4’s and 5’s it usually ends in a group sprint up the finishing climb. In the masters once in a while a break sticks.
People are still out skiing on my slopes!
the hills are much less steep than Battenkill. MUCH less so.
But it can be hard. The thing is, most of the climbing is grouped together in a long, long shallow drag. Then there’s a brief downhill, and then the steep/short finish climb. So it can hurt a lot, depending on how it’s race. If the field you’re in is not active, and you’re a better-than-average climber, you’ll think it’s nothing. But when you’re hurting, the course is hard.
About three years ago in my field (some masters group) there were 30 guys left in the field out of 120 starters.
We’re still taking registrations on BikeReg until Saturday night at 9. Link is http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=4638
Thanks,
Alan
Unionvale Registration is open now even though Bike Reg posted a May 1 reg date.
I used to ride with Andy Guptill when we all road in Windham NY – MTn Outfitters Team. He is a great rider and it is cool to see him doing well in the big races.
check out what erik saunders says about yesterday’s VA stage:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2007/diaries/timefactory/index.php?id=time0706
…hang in there, boys!
Yesterday was a tough 5 hour ride.
Gavi hanging tough but dropped to 47th in GC. Andy Guptil moved up to 8th in GC. Lisban, Loehner and Sherry are still in the race for Empire. Mr. Boronow dropped to 97th place but he’s hanging tough.
Bill Paxton is the far superior actor.
Thanks for the feedback. I think of real leg crushing courses when I hear the race is in the Berkshires. I am looking forward to Jiminy.
way easier than battenkill. Most of the course is rolling flat and the hill is not bad at all. Fast course.
Just wondering if anyone can give me an idea of the Jiminy Peak course and climb. How tough is this course compared to say Battenkill my last big race. I imagine its easier to find a tempo/rythm as it is a three lap loop course.
Sturbridge, Fast downhill finish
The promoter has apparently arranged to open up the road much further back, maybe even at the last right turn after the short hill. This should help decrease the crash-fest that happened last year where the road opened up from yellow line rule and everybody went crazy. I think at least 3 fields had crashes at the same spot in ’06! Either way its a 40 mph sprint.