Samey circuit races: prime making more interesting?

bahzob

I admit I'm a newcomer to road racing, so probably dont know what I am talking about.

However on strength of 14 races so far it does strike me that, at least at 4 and 3 cat (and both E12 I watched) they are very samey. Lots of laps, occasional attacks and end result is sprint finish. Only had one exception to this so far. Sensible policy is to aim to do next to nothing whole race then wind it up for the finish which maxes chance of getting points but is a bit on the boring side.

13 of the 14 races have been on circuits. I guess on the real road that things are more interesting as you may get some hills and chance to escape round corner and become unseen. (that said only road race done so far was pretty much as per circuit format) Anyway a lot of (most?) races are on circuits.

So my threehapenworth is that it would be quite simple to make circuit races more interesting. Assuming riders take part to gain points why not give organisers a small amount of additional discretionary points per event that they can allocate to primes. Say a quarter on top of finishing position race points were to be allocated in this way. In a 3 cat race I think this would give 12 points. So in a 12 lap race these could be allocated 3-2-1 to first over line on laps 4+8. Or maybe to first 3 over any "hill" on the circuit to give non sprinters a chance (he says speaking as a non sprinter...).

Hopefully this would lead to more variety during events, not only because there will be something to aim for during the race but also immediately post prime gives ideal opportunity for those wanting to break for next prime/overall win so possible range of tactics gets opened up.

Any thoughts?

Bronzie

Lap primes are nothing new (our road race in August has them for instance) but it's normally a straight cash award (£10 is common). Occasionally a break forms after a prime and livens things up a bit, but more often it all comes back together and the "prime hounds" will bide their time until the next lap.

The points idea is maybe a good alternative, but of course, you'd have to re-write the BC rules which could prove a problem.

Closed circuit races do tend to be quite dull. An interesting course almost always makes for an interesting race - whether that's good or bad for you personally.

bahzob

I've been in a couple of races with primes (sponsored in fact by one of the riders taking part..he didnt win his own prize..) And they were more interesting hence my suggestion.

Guess whether worth suggesting BC change rules depends on if others feel its worthwhile.

Tom Butcher

It's an idea but not all circuit races are like that - bunch finishes are never going to be rare on flat tracks but round here I reckon there are as many finish with a successful break as a big gallop.

bahzob

Tom Butcher wrote:

It's an idea but not all circuit races are like that - bunch finishes are never going to be rare on flat tracks but round here I reckon there are as many finish with a successful break as a big gallop.

Where's here please? If I'm near there may be interested in giving there a try.

Tom Butcher

I'm thinking of Darley Moor - it's a very windy circuit right enough which i think helps as if you get a break established often people are reluctant to get on the front and chase. Of course I haven't done/seen that many races there so I might be wrong - but successfull breaks seem to outnumber bunch sprints there - at the other localish circuit Mallory Park probably slightly more bunch sprints than breaks.

eh

My experience of primes is they are danagerous and cause crashes. Now I know many happen without and that it is the riders rather than the prime per se, however, for some reason the few races I did with primes ended in crashes, one of which was horrific.

Circuit races do tend to be sprint fests that just the nature of the courses, unless they are hilly or tricky. Milton Keynes bowl is a fun, twisty one if they still hold races there, easier to get a break going.

dennisn

At our club races we usually have "sprint" laps(2, 3, maybe 4) depending on number of laps and individual lap distances. Anyway we award points to the top 3 finishers of each "bell lap" and at the end of the season we have a trophy for the best sprinter.
Sometimes bike shops or racers will donate various odds and ends bike "stuff" as
prime prizes. Keeps it interesting even if the "prizes" are only a box of gel packs
or maybe 5 or 10 dollars. I'm talking local "club" racing here.

Dennis Noward

Bronzie

eh wrote:

Milton Keynes bowl is a fun, twisty one if they still hold races there, easier to get a break going.

Only when they go out of the gates and use the outer circuits (which is normal for the Thursday evening races that start in late April - provided they have enough marshals to make it safe).

If it stays inside on the main circuit, nothing ever stays away for very long and it comes down to a hairy bunch gallop usually.

eh

Oh only raced at Milton Keynes once, so I assumed it always went through the gates. When it does though it is a great crit course for a bike handler, I could 2 wheel drift at over 30mph in the greasy conditions. Nearest I've ever been to mtb style cornering on a road bike

Shavedlegs

It depends on the circuit, weather and how aggressive the field is.
Any reason you haven't attacked yourself?

bahzob

Shavedlegs wrote:

It depends on the circuit, weather and how aggressive the field is.
Any reason you haven't attacked yourself?

If question was for me the answer is that I've made attacks in all the races I've taken part in, one of which was successful and resulted in a third in the only break that I've seen get away on a circuit.

However in terms of ratio effort:reward this only confirms my impression that best tactic is do nothing until last lap.