the Cyclo cross racing post
Comments
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Well it seems Bristol City council have put the kabosh on any cross races for the future
http://road.cc/content/news/70452-cycli ... t-our-land
Throughly disappointed with this0 -
I read the council are claiming that they've spent substantial amounts on reinstatement of the parks after cyclocross in the past. Might be worth someone asking for the exact figures - think a freedom of information act request on would make them cough up whether it's true or not.
it's a hard life if you don't weaken.0 -
Just saw this. I raced on the Sunday in the Grand Vets. Was wet and pretty hard going but happy with my 10th place.Stayed to watch the seniors and it was drier but getting very sticky. Some good racingPuttyKnees wrote:Anyone race at the national trophy? The course looked good on Saturday and was great to see Wyman and Harris doing well, but by Sunday it was sodden.0 -
trickydisco wrote:Well it seems Bristol City council have put the kabosh on any cross races for the future
http://road.cc/content/news/70452-cycli ... t-our-land
Throughly disappointed with this
I can kind of sympathise with the council really. The scar we left on a school field after just 2 hours of kids CX racing on Saturday was really quite shocking. A council has to keep all park users happy and if a lot of public parks are used then it's a big cost to get them back to the condition they were in.
Is it difficult to find different venues? I don't think our league takes place in any public parks. Lot's of school fields, 2 bike circuits (infield used), motorcross venue, water skiing park (surrounding fields), RAF base etc.... there are lot's of private venues happy to take the money for hosting an event and dealing with the aftermath - whilst also providing a good challenging course.0 -
Thanks to Craig Denning (Dream CC) and a few others it seems the council are willing to sort this out.
Great news for bristol cross racers!
http://road.cc/content/news/70545-brist ... organisers0 -
Rode the Icknield RC Central League race just outside Luton yesterday, bumped into VamP after the event - was anyone else from BikeRadar there?
A cool but sunny day found me racing in shorts (blimey - no legwarmers needed) and dark glasses for the first time in a good while! Enjoyed the race, it was a fast yet technical course that left me with no choice but to be less pedestrian than normal with my cornering technique (I even found myself able to make up places by passing on bends). There were a few "big guns" away at the National Trophy yesterday, which didn't make the racing any less keenly fought. Half-way through I did have an "off" on a steep descent but slid along the grass with no real harm done!! Looking forward to seeing the official results as I might well have placed better than usual by my standards....
David"It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal0 -
DavidBelcher wrote:Rode the Icknield RC Central League race just outside Luton yesterday, bumped into VamP after the event - was anyone else from BikeRadar there?
A cool but sunny day found me racing in shorts (blimey - no legwarmers needed) and dark glasses for the first time in a good while! Enjoyed the race, it was a fast yet technical course that left me with no choice but to be less pedestrian than normal with my cornering technique (I even found myself able to make up places by passing on bends). There were a few "big guns" away at the National Trophy yesterday, which didn't make the racing any less keenly fought. Half-way through I did have an "off" on a steep descent but slid along the grass with no real harm done!! Looking forward to seeing the official results as I might well have placed better than usual by my standards....
David
Hi David, nice to have met for real finally (and thanks for helping with my number).
I really enjoyed the race yesterday, very fun course, all eminently ride-able but with just the right amount of sketchiness to keep it interesting throughout. The weather added to the experience too.
I don't usually ride Central League races, so started right from the back, as there were no points to chase. This gave me the opportunity to practice my rarely used strategy of starting slow and gradually building speed throughout the race. Really curious to see how far up the field I managed to climb...0 -
I was at the Icknield race. Watched the kids races then made it back to watch the last lap of the seniors race before helping to break the course up. I'm now travelling around with a hundred odd course marking stakes and the lap board in the back of my car ready for our race on Sunday!0
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hammerite wrote:I was at the Icknield race. Watched the kids races then made it back to watch the last lap of the seniors race before helping to break the course up. I'm now travelling around with a hundred odd course marking stakes and the lap board in the back of my car ready for our race on Sunday!
Apologies if I might have seen you without saying hello - presumably you were in 'civvies' rather than any BRCC kit?
David"It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal0 -
No worries David. Yes I was in civvies, I literally got there just before the end, so it's possible you didn't even go past me. Anyway you should be easier to recognise as you'd be in club kit.0
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Did any Central Leaguers on BR tackle Box End on Sunday? It looked horrendous judging by the photos!
In contrast, the Wessex races at Thruxton were bordering on the bone-dry (some mud and cutting up in places admittedly) thanks to the chalky soil draining efficiently overnight - it made for some fast racing in spite of some intermittent rain towards the end of the Senior event on through into the J/V/W one (after all the racing was finished the heavens well and truly opened so we were quite lucky). It was my fourth outing at the venue, but the first edition I actually enjoyed riding (the pesky sandpit had gone this year). However, the results and lap scoring seem a bit wayward based on the placings I got via e-mail.
David"It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal0 -
Didn't race but was there helping out David. We got there on Saturday to set up to find a 1/4 mile section underwater shortening the course. We managed to work around this. We then had a job on our hands first thing as the weather overnight managed to undo a lot of the work we'd put in on getting the course ready on Saturday including another section of the course 3ft under water! We had to make up a new start and finish line as we couldn't get a vehicle close to what we wanted to use as the course. A bit of improvisation sorted this out.
So what ensued once the races began can only be termed as carnage, but the majority had big grins on their faces, so it seemed to go down well.0 -
hammerite wrote:So what ensued once the races began can only be termed as carnage, but the majority had big grins on their faces, so it seemed to go down well.
Could you actually see the riders' grins beneath all of that mud?
I'm wondering what Chiltern Edge will be like this weekend, seem to recall last year's edition was a bit slippery in parts.
David"It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal0 -
The grins were fine, it was spotting their number that was the problem. Thick mud makes working out finishing positions a bit of a task!0
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Seriously chilly at Sonning Common yesterday afternoon, took a while for some of the grassy bits to thaw out. I rode in about 3 layers of kit as a result! Good fun though, slippery conditions with more running on the slopes required made it a tougher challenge than last years edition, even if (thankfully) it didn't seem as windy this time around.
David"It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal0 -
Raced in the National Trophy at South Shields yesterday (Grand vets) Hovering about freezing but not much wind so was OK. Cracking start but couldn't hold it and lost a couple of places. Had a close battle with 3 or 4 guys and ended up 6th which was my best placing in a National event-roll on next Sunday and the Midlands Regional Champs
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Well done Mike. Looked pretty frosty on the course for the vets. I'll say hi on the start line of the mids if I see you.0
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Anyone else on the forum ride their area's relevant Regional championships at the weekend? I was well back in last place at the South of England Seniors event - didn't really have the head or the legs for it thanks to a tough week at work and an upcoming job interview playing on my mind. Being on the tall side, the windy conditions didn't make it a barrel of laughs either. Saw the whole race through without quitting, though, and scraped together enough points to cement a top-20 Wessex League finish. I've probably accrued enough points to better last season's tally, yet sadly without the luxury of a higher league place than last time around.
That's my Wessex League campaign done and dusted for 2012-2013, with my final Central counting event to get in the bag on Sunday then all that remains are two "just for fun" outings at the Herne Hill Double-Cross on the 22nd and the Macclesfield Supercross a week or so later....
David"It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal0 -
I did the midlands championships in the vet40s. I quite enjoyed it, though there was quite a bit of running and technical stuff. We were told on the start line we'd be doing 40 minutes. 60 minutes later I was still puffing away so I guess I got my money's worth! Was happy with my finish, which has given me a bit of confidence to enter the national trophy in the new year. I may turn out to regret that though. Three more races in our league left, plus any extras, so season still going strong, even if the body is telling me it should be the end.0
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Senior race in the National Trophy round 5 at Shrewsbury on 16th December was won by classy young Belgian rider Joeri Hofman, with Oli Beckinsale taking 2nd and the series leader's jersey from a slightly off-colour Paul Oldham.
Some photos at http://www.simonevans.co.uk/cycling/121216/
VeloUK report here.Aspire not to have more, but to be more.0 -
Didn't race at Herne Hill on the 22nd after all; the weather was pretty grotty and I didn't fancy sitting on a crowded train for a couple of hours in wet racing kit.
Training up in the Midlands over the Christmas hols was, erm, interesting, with flood water streaming down some of the bridleways on the outskirts of Wolverhampton.
Despite a surfeit of cake, crisps & beer I rode the Macclesfield Supercross on the 30th and not surprisingly suffered although I did finish. Good course though, tricky conditions in parts thanks to the wet weather but tremendous fun. That's my season now finished with - I ended up 21st in the senior Wessex rankings (just missing out on a £10 cheque) and 48th overall (across all categories) in the Central League so not a bad season's work at all.
David"It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal0 -
Thought the Macclesfield SuperCross was a great event-was a great course but definitely tough.
Have just done the last of the National Trophy rounds and ended up 10th in the series. National Champs next weekend and that will probably be me done for the season.....apart from Hit The North in Feb but that is more of a fun event.
Then its on to the Eddie Soens in March and road season here we come 0 -
MikeWW wrote:Thought the Macclesfield SuperCross was a great event-was a great course but definitely tough.
Have just done the last of the National Trophy rounds and ended up 10th in the series. National Champs next weekend and that will probably be me done for the season.....apart from Hit The North in Feb but that is more of a fun event.
Then its on to the Eddie Soens in March and road season here we come
How did you like Derby? Looks like you were one of the (many) vet50s that passed me. I was happy to finish on the same lap as the leader, even if it was towards the back.0 -
Derby was good -course had something for everybody. Think they had us doing one too many laps -was blowing towards the end.0
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Yes I think you're right. I finally finished in 55 mins which was a bit longer than I expected!
Did you compete yesterday? It was my first time out in a national champs and it was really fun. I found the course pretty challenging physically but not too bad technically - there were still quite a few green lines in the afternoon.0 -
Yes
Raced at Bradford
Got 15th overall so wasn't too bad
Hopefully can improve a bit for next year0 -
September has rolled around, a new CX season (if we're not counting all the summer leagues that seem to be around these days) has started so time to resurrect the thread, I feel!
I rode the Wessex League opener on Sunday afternoon at Mary Hare School near Newbury - a tough but cleverly planned course with a bit of pretty much everything. The sandpit (crossed twice in each lap) and gravel path were especially tricky bits. Don't know my exact result yet but was hugely relieved not to come last given how physically demanding the race was; thanks to a respectable league placing last season I ended up on the second row of the grid and badly out of my depth. Normal service was soon resumed and I dropped back down the field to my usual sort of position. The Seniors event had a fair bit of rain towards the close, too, although as the weather is still warm-ish that proved to be quite refreshing. It did make the tarmac sections a bit dicey though.
David"It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal0 -
How does the standard of rider change during the cx season?
I mean, do people generally get faster as they race themselves fit and hone their technical skills, or do they loose their summer fitness, get lazier in winter and slow down?0 -
David, I was there as well and raced in the Vets. Did you? I was quiet surprised at the high level of all the Cotwald team, these guys were good. I passed several but there were still 3-4 ahead of me. They have results out until 9th but I reckon I was a bit further down in 15th. There were about 60 starters, many more than in the seniors. "lots of old farts around here" one rider quipped to me...When a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.0
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FransJacques wrote:David, I was there as well and raced in the Vets. Did you? I was quiet surprised at the high level of all the Cotwald team, these guys were good. I passed several but there were still 3-4 ahead of me. They have results out until 9th but I reckon I was a bit further down in 15th. There were about 60 starters, many more than in the seniors. "lots of old farts around here" one rider quipped to me...
I rode the Senior event, still a couple of years to go for me before I hit the Vets' category. The Cotswold Veldrijden team is quite a new outfit, but their main speciality is cyclo-cross, much of the core of the club being made up of a number of very good ex-Swindon RC off-roaders.
David"It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal0
