Feel your way through
This weekend’s racing is a celebration of the locations that local cyclists know so well that there’s "blindfolded" field in each race.
Saturday is the third round of the Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup in Prospect Park.
Sunday is the 2011 Bear Mountain Spring Classic at Bear Mountain.
Finally on Sunday is the Campmor H2H Race #2 Tymor Park Challenge in Lagrangeville, NY for the mountain bike crowd.
I just can imagine DJ cat 4 riders in the Harlem Skyscraper,that’s a dangerous situation there, don’t understand why if you are not a crit-circuit well skilled rider why you sign for something like the Harlem Skyscraper???…!!!
I don’t understand all the DJ cat 4 rider backlash? They crashed. They made a mistake. Get over it. I see people crash from hitting potholes all the time. Does that mean that they are terrible racers? Are they stupid for crashing and taking out other riders even though there are cones and plenty of warnings about the potholes? I would say their bike handling skills suck if they can’t handle a little pothole without going down. I’d hate to see them on a trail on a mountain bike. I’d hate to race Battenkill with those types of riders – they have no bike handling skills.
Come on people, an accident happened as it does every week. This week it happened to be two DJ riders. Get over it and move on. I wish everybody involved a speed recovery and return to racing.
except that if you did prospect blinfolded, you would fall into a crater the size of ricky lowe, and if you did bear blindfolded, you’d miss one of the six 180’s you’re giong to have to do on the stupid modified course.
Ut oh Popo . . . .
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ucis-suspicious-list-leaked-from-2010-tour-de-france
Interestingly, Hincapie gets a “1”.
are there any pictures? are the results posted? sandbaggers?
Horner and Cancellera with 1s and Wiggins at a 6…
You can’t handle taking a 180 degree turn on your bike?? Suggest you get some skills. Hope you won’t be in my field next time you race.
This is way too effed up for me:
“In the article, Ressiot also stated that some of the UCI experts were “surprised by certain much too ‘normal’ blood parameters” and advocated to prohibit the riders from accessing their blood passport data for the last three months, so that they cannot align their blood parameters to the values recorded previously.”
That’s right, I “can’t handle” the 180’s … Um no, it’s just sad to see how crappy this race has become when it used to be the best course around.
It’s no one’s fault, except maybe the state, that seven lakes drive goes to one lane now. Hard to imagine they’ll be racing in Harriman over the next couple of years unless some repaving goes on soon.
Lake Welch Parking Lot Staging:
start by making left on Lake Welch, 90* right turn at Seven Lakes Drive, proceed approx 1 mile, go around a traffic circle and back the other way on Seven Lakes Drive, left around Sebago Beach Traffic Island, right onto Lake Welch (first climb, used for finish in flal race) approx 4 miles past Lake Welch Parking lot and down descent towards PIP and Tiorati Drive, make 180* turn at bottom of hill, same turn every year for like 100 years…climb back up Lakle Welch Climb (1.5 miles approx)…and again…
Finish on your last time past Lake Welch Parking Lot Sprint, same sprint from Spring as always…
from CRCA website, “alternate info PDF”
The Course
Due to bridge construction on 7 Lakes Drive, we have a modified 14 mile out-and-back circuit from Palisades Parkway
entrance to Kanawauke Circle; which has one steep climb and some rollers per lap. Finish is before the entrance to Lake
Welch Beach Area, as historically been in the past.
More Race Details
Neutral support in all fields except Women 3/4, wheels-in/wheels-out for them. Feed zone is 1 kilometer before the finish line;
within walking distance to the parking area. We strongly advise arriving early to familiarize yourself with the route prior
to the race. Yellow line rule is in effect throughout the entire course; violations will subject entire field to
disqualification. Helmets must be worn at all times while riding.
Why are you complaining?
Because of the route changines imposed by the PIPC, there can only be 4 fields, some are mixed category, CRCA gets nothing but grief from the cranky panty grumblers…
The PIPC won’t allow any banners/display so sponsorship is impossible, the race survives only due to volunteers and participant entry fees when all fields are available. This year’s race is costing the CRCA $1,000s due to increased ploice and permit fees and severally reduced number of fields and therefore participants.
If there is a next race there at all, expect an increase in the entry fee. Not like Battenkill, but certainly not $35…
Happy Now Marmo???
I wonder what number he would have gotten that year he WON that 5 climb stage that they say was the hardest in the tour??
So, two 180’s per lap? Right? Right. And “what am I complaining about” – uh exactly everything you say. I’m not blaming the crca except for their stupid decision to nix the p12 race, which is sort of a big hit to the event as far as it being a big, regional event that could draw any sort of attention – which it once was. Now it’s an age group race on a boring course.
Stage 15, drafting off (confirmed cheater) Oscar Perrario, Big George’s passport might have been dicey at best . . . . just saying . . . . . but glad to see that our former CRCA/Mengoni is “above reproach” or at least undefectable now . . . .
talk amongst yourselves . . . . .
Gald to see that Horner, that redneck, got “rated” a 1, — he trains hard, rode hard for years without respect with Lance dissing him, and now deserves some accolades, even if he friggin smiles up every dam Cat 1 and HC climg the Tour can throw at him . . . .
PS — Klodi’s rating looks interesting . . . .
Guys,
The 180 turn is exactly the same as ever! All you do now is drift 5 degrees left instead of going straight. If you have been there you know this is true. We now have a more selective race – shred the beefy sprinters that always managed to catch back on after Tiorati (check the last 10 years results) And we can even wave at them after the Kanawaukee circle turnaround.
be cool with the nickname ‘redneck’. It sounds like a backhanded dig if ya ask me. If Lance coined that phrase, Horner should immediately start calling him ‘redneedle’.
anyone get hurt in the PP cat4 pile up?
Had to go to ER. Might have broken/cracked rib/s. Hope he recovers soon. Lots of road rash. He flew over his handlebars right onto his helmet. pile up was caused by a D Jordan rider going into another D Jordan rider. They both seemed ok except for some road rash.
I believe a Northeastern rider got his rear derailleur hanger broken as a result. Around the hill section.
George never in CRCA, he was KCC/Atala (1988), Somec (1989), then TOGA! (1990) where he won major Junior Championships (Kilo, Pursuit, Team Pursuit, Points Race), including a string of 17 consecutive wins that spring!!! Won P-1-2 GS Mengoni at 16-17 for Toga! out of break from first lap that was almost caught on the line…
Then after getting burnt out on USAC BS development (1991) he road with Mengoni (1992,93) before going pro with Motorola/Ochowicz (1994)…
just saying…
maybe you caused the crash? from what I heard, it was the usual shit show with guys bouncing into each other like popcorn popping (front/back and from the sides)…anyway, the riders involved have major road rash and possible concussion, let alone equipment damage, so before laying blame on anyone, try to be more concerned with the injured rather than the BS…maybe smaller fields? between the potholes and short distance all fields are coming in 2 lanes wide and not a lot of safety concerns…but that’s racing I guess…break away or sit up if you can’t safely sprint…
Hope all involved are ok and speedy recovery…
Just telling you what I saw. You’re bitchin about what you heard. I surely hope everyone recovers. No need to sprint for 20th place.
I like the new Prospect Park course, all the obstacles make it really a lot more fun
in the 1/2/3s the whole field was going all the way to the left, into the striped area and almost into the joggers lane – not to move up just to avoid falling into a crater. considering the size of the field and how fast it was people handled it well other than the occasional bunny hopping of cones and someone almost crashing into a marshall.
still i think if they just put cones to direct the field into that space and then back into the regular road after the second set of potholes that it would be much safer everyone would know what to expect. better yet fix the damn road…
2 jordan riders banged bars, went down and caused a major pile up. i was right behind and went down in the mess. i felt bad for the somerville guy- he looked to be in a lot of pain. there was carbon wheel giveaway pile next to the crash site. it’s hard to see why they took each other out other than carelessness. there was no pothole, road furniture cone or anything that might cause a swerve. they got some splaining to do.
Here are the results for today’s Round 3 of the Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup race:
http://spasport.com/lucarelli_&_castaldi_cup_results.htm
Charlie Issendorf
Race Director
Kissena Cycling Club
charlie’s results to usacycling!
Here are the Pro123 for now.
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/LucarelliCuprace5-14/17052665_Qn22cZ#1291198124_Ch959CT
Cat 4 and 5 should be available later tonight or tomorrow. I don’t have the cat5 finish since there was some confusion with the finishing lap when the field got neutralized.
the problem today was, and usually is, riders who are in 30th place coming into the final stretch are taking risks as if they actually had a chance at a top finish. Idiots, if you’re so far back you have no chance so why are you swerving all over the road and being so aggressive? It’s a park race and if you’re not in the top 10 or 15 then just ride in a straight line and don’t worry about whether you were 25th or 26th or whatever, it don’t matter!!!
Everyone deserves their shot to ride for Mengoni.
crash happy excitable cat4 jordan racers to megoni!
No wonder the CRCA cancelled the P/1/2 races. To them Bear’s just another CRCA club race. See their memo about the race, http://www.crca.net/2011/05/bear-mountain-spring-race-statement/ It is addressed to members. They see Bear as just another CRCA race and don’t understand that Bear was a regional race. They don’t think that CRCA has a role to do anything more than serve their members.
What should they have done about a road closure that impacted the race course? They also sent emails to everyone registered to the race. Harping on a post on the CRCA website being addressed to members is silly. It’s a site for club members.
CRCA has money. It’s a question of priorities.
the pro1/2 race was canceled due to lack of funds and low initial interest reflected in nearly no teams preregistering. the prize list was way too big with no big sponsorship money. the club simply could not afford to put on the race at a level that the P1/2 field deserved. trust me, if you’re whining about not being able to do the race, i have a strong suspicion that you would have whined about how much it sucked. the CRCA board just wanted to avoid that. the event has not held the important stature of a regional race for a couple of years, and the truncated course format only further hurt its chances for provided a legitimate venue for a quality elite event. remember, the road closures have nothing to do with the CRCA as well.
what is your gripe? i’m not sure what you’re trying to say. also, don’t all cat4s and 5’s, by definition, have no race experience?
Ben Noble CRCA/Houlihan-Lokey/Sanchez
anybody know what happened in the cat 5 race yesterday at PP? Did other folks hear it announced that a lap went neutral?
It was on ‘SportsCenter’ but the sound was off so I didn’t hear exactly what was said.
The 2010 Bear Mtn. P/1/2 race was won by the Canadian National Champion and had a field of 120 riders almost all of whom registered in the last 2 weeks before the race. It was indeed one of the best, if not the best regional field for 2010 and was run successfully on a truncated course.
perhaps you’re right. all i know is that there was not the money to run the event this year. that was the explanation i heard.
perhaps you’re right. all i know is that there was not the money to run the event this year. that was the explanation i heard.
Basically, the p123 field was so fast that it was lapping the cat5 at the 5th lap (for the cat5 finishing lap). There wasn’t so much of a finish. It was neutralized but then, somehow, the cat5 field raced another lap and to their real last lap finish to the line. They did 6th lap instead of 5 as a result.
He also came in 2nd at Battenkill.
Cat 5s do NOT have race experience. Most Cat 4s either
P123
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/LucarelliCuprace5-14/17052665_Qn22cZ#1291198124_Ch959CT
Cat 4
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/Lucarellicastaldicat4/17062616_LnzkdB#1292187785_gnFghzX
Cat 5.
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/LucarelliCastaldicupraceat5/17064711_vHdncq#1292354610_xkT8wCK
> “Cat 5s do NOT have race experience. Most Cat 4s either”
All Cat 4’s – and all 3’s too
FTFY
Deer ticks at bear mtn.
It was too foggy for a deer tick to find a body to latch onto.
a pace motorcycle came up to us, slowed down the field and allowed a guy 100 feet up to continue to stretch his break. That pissed off the front of the field. We looked back and there was no 123 field behind us, so we ride for 2 more minutes or so and then the motorcycle again tries to neutralize us, in the last stretch of the race. We all wanted our climax so we were like fuck it do another lap whether or not it would count.
I believe had the motorcycle not tried to neautralize us too early we would have been able to finish our lap, though our cool down probably would have caused more havoc. Some cat. 5 asked charlie the deal and he said that charlie said that the 123s should have been neautralized to we could finish our third of a lap.
No luck for me today up at Bear Mtn. Busted spoke sends my bike into a severe wobble then 30 seconds later my camera bracket snaps!
Had to go back for the goods.
Video is at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY9VDytfJeE
Should have more up later.
If you moved over as soon as the moto neutralized you, the p123 field would have easily passed you and you could have had a real sprint finish. The statement that there were no 123 filed in site is simply not correct and you made the race more dangerous for yourselves and our field.
you were in the front of the 123 pack?
Si
Sorry dude, but that video is pretty fucking funny.
Refusing to be neutralized is a pretty dumb move. You are in a pack and can’t see, know, or hear what is going on around you. Listen to the lead vehicle next time instead of acting as the Cat 5 mayor.
P.S. hope you got the climax you were looking for. Next time, if you race a little faster you won’t get lapped and you’ll get to your climax quicker and everyone can be happy.
It takes experience and times.
excitable is more than a joke, after talking with a teammate in the three’s I realized how immature it was looking back. With all the blood in my legs all we could think of course was me me me.
MOst Cat $s like the JOrdans have no experience at all. there are some very good cat 4s with experience.
Bart DeClerq won a stage in the giro after doing his first bike race 3 years ago. by and large, complaining about guys racing with little experience in the 4’s is like complaining that elementary school students aren’t very smart. the whole point of the category system is that folks learn to race by racing. its not like its a bad thing for guys to hang around in the 4s for a long time, but you can’t act surprised when the majority of riders are inexperienced.
Looks like some people have forgotten their humble roots. They forgot they too started in the 5s and worked their way up. Instead of being supportive and mentoring, they are quick to tear down. They never made a mistake, never crashed, just pure perfection. DAMN! I wish I could be like them – they rule! Wonder what they are doing racing here and not on some major tour?
I’m not getting over it… these morons are putting ME at risk. And yes, I’m a cat 4 who has years of experience but I have a career and there are other things I’d rather do than ride my bike more than 10 hours a week so I’ll be a middle-of-the-pack cat 4 until I get old and I can only hope one of these idiots doesn’t take me down one of these days when the race is almost over and they’re trying to finish in 27th instead of 29th place or whatever in a meaningless park race for Christ’s sake!
Sounds like you like cycling a lot. There’s always Gran Fondo, The 5 Borough Bike Tour, Montauk Century. This is racing. People are going to push it to the limit and when you are in the lower categories, errors will be made. Did they learn from this – yes I’m sure they did. I’m sure they are asking themselves what they did wrong as they scrape the gravel out of their legs and wonder how they’ll be able to afford new parts they damaged. I always hope I don’t crash, but that’s one of the risks of racing – it happens every week in every race for some reason or another be it pothole or rider error.
If you don’t want the risk, that’s what casual riding is for.
get off your stupid high-horse. they took eachother out for god’s sake! bottom line is: if you race, there are going to be crashes. if you don’t want to get caught in it, try to stay out of trouble. if you have so much experience, you should know where and how to ride in a pack to minimize risk. will it eliminate risk? no, but you really SHOULD try to get over it. congratulations on having a career, btw. nobody else who races in NYC ever has to work.
well martin, maybe you don’t understand the DJ riders backlash, but is not the first time “THEY” crash or cause a crash in PP, ask around, just ask around.
bapto is the greatest, y’all. he’s a cat4 that KNOWS!
there are crashes in every field on up through pro. the sport is as dangerous as it is beautiful.
Well bapto – sounds like your grudge is personal. Last week, DJ riders were taken out by other riders who were too stupid to avoid potholes that were flagged. This week they happened to cause the crash. I haven’t seen them on here criticizing other riders for being shitty riders. Maybe you’re the one causing the crashes? Who are you going to bitch about for next weekend’s crash? Are you going to do the same blame game again?
As crappy is the road surface is at PP, there are only really two wheel eaters. Perhaps the guys who swerve around like DUIs should leave their race wheels home and just hold on and take the hits if they can’t figured out were the bad spot are after 10 times around.
Nobody is going to cry for you if you crash in a race, no matter the reason. Pin a number on, take the risk. That’s the deal. There will always be unfair things that can make you crash; the guys going faster are always maniacs, the slow ones are always idiots, and the squirrels are out to get you. That’s life in the big city mate…
You should change your name to Stupid Old 4. If they’re sprinting for 23rd/24th place and you see them clearly; that means you’re sprinting for 30th place.
Why haven’t you figured out that unless you’re at the front of the race in the sprint it doesn’t matter at all? With all your Cat 4 knowledge, why hasn’t it clicked that if you’re 30th wheel in a sprint, DON’T SPRINT!!!? If you have all this ‘experience’ you shouldn’t be falling past the 11th wheel at all, Cat 4 races are not that fast/hard. You should know that all the sketchiness occurs mid/rear-pack and usually not in front. You don’t need 10+ hours of training to do well in Cat 4 races, they’re slow and easy. You only need common sense…!
Cat 4 races will always be sketchy and suck because all you need is 10+ races experience. There will always be a new crop of rookies to contend with regardless of how much ‘experience’ you have.
honestly, if one has been racing for Cat 4 years and years and are pissed about sketchy riding, isn’t it probably time to sh!t or get off the pot? i.e. get a coach and/or do the training it takes to upgrade to the 3s, or think about giving up racing? At least once you’re a 3, you can stay there comfortably for the rest of your racing years. Why subject yourself to season after season of newly minted Cat 4s and the inherent sketchiness that goes with that? just sayin’
Old4 to Mengioni…
Only in New York would someone list getting coaching as a necessity for upgrading from a 4 to a 3…
old cat 4 – upgrade or race with the masters racers –
Only in New York does that cat 4 already have a coach.
Master is just as sketchy as the 4’s with all the 4’s and women in the field. He won’t be happy in that field either.
I call bullshit on you.
REDNECK to Mengoni!
Your right, the master break is legit and and safe, the rest is a shit show of fat old 4’s.
Masters Baters.
I ride 9.75 hours a week and I’m a cat 2. You just suck.
ALL THE WOMEN IN THE MASTERS FIELD?
yes. us 3 or 4 women are so aggressive and dangerous around your testosterone induced rabie sprinting techniques we must be controlled. if ya’ll can’t handle a little bumping, you should sign up for some triathlons. learn to handle your bikes.
Queue that video of the 4-5 women riding down a hill at Battenkill
So if were done talking about the DJ riders crashing (They made a mistake get over it!) and cat 4 experience (a coach..really?) who wants to get tacos and Corona?
hate to break it to you, chickadee, but (some) women ARE annoying in the masters field – often yelling at the guys for no reason, and sketchy riders too. In fact, the only crash I can ever remember in a PP masters race involved women. Sorry. It’s a dumb format anyway…they should go off with the 5s, at least then they’d have 5 or 6 laps to actually race, instead of 1.
Tyler Hamilton
Fraud of any kind, not simply doping, I cant wait for UCI fraudsters to get what’s coming to them…
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mcquaid-proposes-rule-to-ban-drug-cheats-from-team-management
Ya think a new sport governing body is on the horizon…
Saxo/Sungard
Garmin
HTC
LeOpard
Sky
Lampre
FDJ
etc…
What cycling pro team ISN’T managed by dopers???
Hey, is Joe Papp finally getting sentenced tomorrow?
Papp sentencing delayed until July per his twitter account
Papp knows less than LANCE et al doping than Tugboat; why that prick isn’t in jail already is beyond me. Sure nice to be white though, ain’t it?
The Papp sentencing was delayed because he was assigned a new attorney who doesn’t know the difference between EPO and Edgar Allen Poe.
Wait, bad analogy.
Anyway, the new atty. asked for 45 days to learn how to ride a bike.