Thought I'd add this because Bill Ramsey was kind enought to send some good shots of the race.
Jacob Hill of Bridgetown Velo leads it in. I don't know him and I don't know anything about Bridgetown Velo. He is obviously starting his season off the right way. Someone send me the happ's.
Jacob was followed by Gary, who rides for Paul's in Eugene. Paul's riders are very nice guys. They do VERY well in the Cat. 3 races. Then they get the forced upgrade and start racing masters. Come on over to the 1/2's you guys. You're all younger than Rosenberg, the 1/2 peloton could use a few more guys out to ride fast just for the sake of riding fast.
Carson Miller also landed on the top end of the results page. He's raced cross in Belgium as part of the national team and will be one to watch for the next couple of years. Advice to Carson: Attack! There's no better skill than learning how to ride off the front. Wait until the second half of the race and then just go Vinokurov on the guys. Get some wins!
If anyone wants to be my Cat. 3 correspondent, holla.
Thanks again to Bill Ramsey for the sweet pics.
Here's (some of) the guys (and gals) that deserve the real credit.
10 comments:
Hey... check my little site for my view on the 3's.
Hill was awesome! He traded monster pulls with me all day in the break and stuck with me when I accelerated and finally dropped Ivan and Galen. I've eaten one to many bacon sandwiches to take him on that climb!
It's a definite goal for a bunch of us at Paul's to upgrade to 2... and since I'm 40 I might also just fade to masters racing - if it can be called fading. Have you ever ridden with Ritzow on a training ride?
Keep up the great reports.
Gary Malcolm
I gotta say the whole Cat 3 field was caught with its collective pants down. I was dawdling at the back at the start, chatting. Personally, if I had know that Ivan, Jacob and Gary went off, I would have attempted to bridge. Those three guys are way strong. Ivan just came back from training camp (huge miles, huge hills) and is the perpetual energizer attack bunny. Jacob won a bunch of races last year including the Mt. Tabor series, and well Gary... he's just strong as a frickin' ox.
The hardest part for me was the descent before the right hander onto Buena Vista Rd. (The pace ticked up the first time down). I felt bad for the folks who crashed- it happened right after the turn onto NW Scenic. Slow speed- must have been an overlapped wheel -mid pack - on the right side of the wheel. I know a bunch of good guys were caught in it.
I attempted to go last time into Buena Vista. Tony, was that you who dragged me back? Heheheh.
this had to be the most frustrating race in history. after the break went away in the first 100 meters of the race and was firmly established 10 minutes into the event.....everyone, except me of course :-), was perfectly content to ride 21mph and race for 7th. it was pathetic! some of you 3's need to take the bit between the teeth and head out on an attempt to bridge the gap. if 1 of you would've tagged along with me, we could have crossed the gap easily. there were a few of you with plenty of fitness to give it a go. i hope to see you on my wheel next time.
let's race! these aren't weekend group rides.
ATTACK!!!!
When exactly was the group going 21mph?? I ask 'cuz I sure don't remember it. I don't think there was any organized effort to bring the breaks back, but a casual look at contorted faces in the photos from the race tells me the field didn't exactly take a lazy ride around the course.
maybe my previous comments were too abrasive. i am trying to get the 3's that are fit to strike out and race hard, attack and make breaks as opposed to sitting in.
Gary,
Thanks for the kind words, I was glad you were there. Power. I just read your ideas on the Belt.. I'm with ya. Its only 44 miles.
Dear Attack!!!,
Easy to say... hard to do. Look for 546 at the BB - I'll be happy to let you test your legs on the attack :-)
Sal Collura once gave me the best advice ever, that you must decide what your race is and absolutely commit. If you wanted to close that break down... you shoulda gone out and done it or get dropped. Period.
After all it's just a local race... this is the place to blow up and tell the story blow by blow later with your buddies!
Gary Malcolm
Actual data said we averaged 22.6 mph.
This blog could end up being a great forum for racing. Racing in the 3s can be very frustrating. A lot of people just don't know proper tactics. I suggest that anyone who is new to tactical racing pick up that book, "Racing Tactics for Cyclists." A great resource. Get it, pass it on to your teammates and share knowledge w/newer guys/gals. Another great thing to do is rent a classics or tour video and watch how those guys attack (Don't watch George Hincapie for the most part). The biggest mistake I see is people tend to get on the front and ride as hard as they can...this is not an attack. Work your way near the front and explode out of the group to establish a gap, commit to that effort for more than 5 seconds and maybe it'll stick. When there is a break, and you want to join it (as opposed to bring the whole group up), do the same thing! Sitting on the front showing people how strong you are, makes for a boring race. Explode out of the pack from 5 or so back and bridge yourself up to the break! If you have a full team and you want to bring a break back, go to the front and take even, consistent pulls. Keep a smooth rotating paceline and you'll be more effective. That's racing! Go to your local shop, get the book, watch a dvd and you'll become a smarter racer...then you don't necessarily have to be the strongest to win.
In regards to the hill climb crash, it was an unknown rider to me and my take on it is this. DON'T FREAKING WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE ON THE F'IN CLIMB TO CHANGE GEARS TO YOUR SMALL RING. You did it next to another guy who feel in front of me. You stopped peddlin' 'cause you can't turn over a 53x15 on that climb. I ran into this guys back. I got unclipped and then was rear ended. I wound up stepping on this poor guys head. I am sorry but it was out of my control. Well maybe not, I should have been at the front...
Post a Comment