the Cyclo cross racing post

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  • VamP
    VamP Posts: 674
    antsmithmk wrote:
    I think only 1 rider in the entire field could ride up those steps today. Was a good course, shame we haven't had much rain as it can get really interesting on the banking in the bowl. Field made it look easy. Anyone know why Oldham was so far off the pace, I had hoped him and Field would have had a good tussle.

    A few rode them, Jody Crawforth I saw, and Ian Field's decisive move involved riding up according to his post race interview.

    Oldham crashed on lap 2 and winded himself, had a mechanical, and hurt his leg. That slowed him down a bit.


    Agree Field made it look easy, but I can assure you it was not. Sketchy as hell.
  • antsmithmk
    antsmithmk Posts: 717
    Ah yes, didn't mean to make it sound like it was easy, he just was a class apart!
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Definitely not as easy as it looked; I was doing OK until the front wheel disappeared on a dodgy off-camber left-hander, and about 10 people came past. There again, I was by no means the only one...

    Clocked VamP before the start, but didn't have a chance to say hi, and unfortunately had to leg it after finishing...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • PuttyKnees
    PuttyKnees Posts: 381
    VamP, did I see you riding the steps in practice? I thought I recognised the bike. Didn't have time to clock anyone at the start/finish. I thought it was a good course - flowing with a bit off camber to keep you on your toes. Some of the corners were sketchy - the two coming down from the top path come to mind and I saw a few people go down on those.

    I thought he made the break after steps. I watched at the steps for a couple of laps around that time, and I recall one of the other Hargroves riders riding up, but not making up any time on the others and then Field making the break in the Bowl. Most seemed to ride the first step and run the next two.
  • VamP
    VamP Posts: 674
    PuttyKnees wrote:
    VamP, did I see you riding the steps in practice? I thought I recognised the bike. Didn't have time to clock anyone at the start/finish. I thought it was a good course - flowing with a bit off camber to keep you on your toes. Some of the corners were sketchy - the two coming down from the top path come to mind and I saw a few people go down on those.

    I thought he made the break after steps. I watched at the steps for a couple of laps around that time, and I recall one of the other Hargroves riders riding up, but not making up any time on the others and then Field making the break in the Bowl. Most seemed to ride the first step and run the next two.


    Christ no. I took one look and decided running was the way to go.
  • PuttyKnees
    PuttyKnees Posts: 381
    Ha ha, I was impressed at "your" skills anyway!
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Results are out - VamP beat me by two places :-)
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • PuttyKnees
    PuttyKnees Posts: 381
    TGOTB wrote:
    Results are out - VamP beat me by two places :-)

    Which means you were the chap I was trying to haul in on the last lap!
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Aha. You were even closer than you thought; I very nearly stacked it on the final (tarmac) turn into the finishing straight. Pleasure doing battle :-)

    Any of you guys planning to do the Nationals?
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • VamP
    VamP Posts: 674
    Quite close together all of us then.

    I am signed up for the Champs in Derby, for my sins.
  • PuttyKnees
    PuttyKnees Posts: 381
    I'm in for the last two plus the Nationals. I think all have the potential for being quagmires ...
  • FransJacques
    FransJacques Posts: 2,148
    Svenness 2.9 is out: http://www.cxhairs.com/2013/12/05/svenness-2-9/

    Sven-en Sven-en sven-en sven-en sven-en sven-en
    When a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Great to run in to Bobley at the regionals.

    That Harwell course is a tricky one; the only bits that weren't actually rideable were a flight of steps and a pair of hurdles, but almost all the rest of the course seemed to be either precipitously steep or off camber. I came off trying to overtake someone in a stupid place, slashing a sidewall which meant a run to the pits. Under the circumstances I was happy to limit the damage and finish mid-field...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • bobley
    bobley Posts: 60
    Yeah, nice to put a face to a (user)name. Sorry to hear about the tyre, they're not easy to find in the UK are they. I must buy a spare.

    Those stairs were a surprise but its nice to know the PX XLS is nice to shoulder (first time I've done it in anger and it was very comfy).

    I enjoyed the course today but I'll put my hand up and admit to chickening out at the start. It was a massive field for me so I let them spread out ahead of me, stayed out of trouble and then started picking my way back up the field. My knees are shredded now. Must buy some cod liver oil.
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Hargroves still seem to have them in stock (took a bit of searching; with some potentially muddy races coming up I was worried when I discovered all the usual suspects had sold out). The XG Pro I switched to actually seemed to be better on the off-camber chalk; I ended up wishing I had one on the rear wheel too (though not enough to stop again and change...)
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • FransJacques
    FransJacques Posts: 2,148
    http://www.cxhairs.com/

    2.10 is out. Dunno, do these guys just make it look harder b/c they're not as elite as Sven, Klaas, Neils, KPau etc? Or do they actually try harder?

    I've not seen that much phlegm since JF Bernard on Mt Ventoux circa 1988 :)
    When a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.
  • DavidBelcher
    DavidBelcher Posts: 2,684
    My CX racing for 2013 ended not with a bang but a whimper on Sunday - inappropriate really as I fell victim to a puncture (which admittedly didn't go "bang") only minutes before I was due to start, and no hope of getting it fixed so ended up a DNS having already paid up and signed on. :(

    I'll probably be back in January doing the odd close-of-season one for fun and fitness, but that's about it really.

    David
    "It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    That's a real shame. Well worth having a spare set of wheels in the pits if you can manage it, even if they're old/cheap ones. I seem to end up carting vast piles of tools and spare equipment and clothing to races; maybe I'm just accident-prone, but so far this season I've had to use spare wheel, shoes, helmet and gloves on different occasions.

    On a different note, #SVENNESS 2.11 is out, and it's a goody...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • cyclingsheep
    cyclingsheep Posts: 640
    DavidBelcher wrote:
    My CX racing for 2013 ended not with a bang but a whimper on Sunday - inappropriate really as I fell victim to a puncture (which admittedly didn't go "bang") only minutes before I was due to start, and no hope of getting it fixed so ended up a DNS having already paid up and signed on. :(

    I'll probably be back in January doing the odd close-of-season one for fun and fitness, but that's about it really.

    David

    Still one race of my season left but am not challenging the leaders due to......(place excuse of your choice here). Sunday was a muddy one for sure but good fun despite hangover and about 4hrs sleep :)
  • PuttyKnees
    PuttyKnees Posts: 381
    Sadly I abandoned half way following a pit change to a bike that didn't work! I wasn't too sad though. That course is a killer. I was kind of wondering what kind of sadist put it together: "hmmm, 3 dismounts isn't enough running, let's put some barriers in!" Tough one.
  • cyclingsheep
    cyclingsheep Posts: 640
    PuttyKnees wrote:
    Sadly I abandoned half way following a pit change to a bike that didn't work! I wasn't too sad though. That course is a killer. I was kind of wondering what kind of sadist put it together: "hmmm, 3 dismounts isn't enough running, let's put some barriers in!" Tough one.

    If you're talking about Hillingdon I was with the sadist as he laid it out :D
    I ended up with a twisted link which was ok while pedaling but if I paused then it caught in the derailier so I had to back pedal to get momentum to force it through again. Didn't make for confident riding that last lap but as I said I wasn't bothering the leaders at that point anyway :mrgreen:
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    Pretty impressive to set such a challenging course on what's actually a fairly small and flat bit of land. I was struggling so much with the "technical" bits that I couldn't get my HR much above 90%.

    Think that some of my time spent practicing starts would have been better dedicated to muddy cornering. I nailed the perfect holeshot, led for the first three turns, and then spent the rest of the race in damage control mode, trying (fairly unsuccessfully) to stop too many people coming past...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • cyclingsheep
    cyclingsheep Posts: 640
    TGOTB wrote:
    Pretty impressive to set such a challenging course on what's actually a fairly small and flat bit of land. I was struggling so much with the "technical" bits that I couldn't get my HR much above 90%.

    Think that some of my time spent practicing starts would have been better dedicated to muddy cornering. I nailed the perfect holeshot, led for the first three turns, and then spent the rest of the race in damage control mode, trying (fairly unsuccessfully) to stop too many people coming past...

    Haha, I was in the top ten for the first half a lap and then just blew up because....(insert previous excuses here) I'm just bloody unfit :D
  • Caller
    Caller Posts: 124
    Hillingdon was a great course. Saying that though, I've nothing to compare it with as it was my first cross race :lol:

    It was a great day out, not sure how the Seniors managed it as it was starting to get pretty cut up after the Novice race and that was before the rain started coming down properly!

    I've got so much more respect for the Pro's in the Svenness videos now, they make it look so easy but it's bloody hard work. Hopefully I'll be able to make it to the next round.
  • DavidBelcher
    DavidBelcher Posts: 2,684
    Caller wrote:
    Hillingdon was a great course. Saying that though, I've nothing to compare it with as it was my first cross race :lol:

    I've done a few races there - each time the course designers usually manage to give things a tweak so it's never the same twice; they manage to make good use of a small amount of land without relying on the tarmac road circuit too much. The races are surprisingly technical too given the lack of big hills and woodland.

    First time I raced there was before the days of the proper clubroom (having to go all the way over to the Goals football centre to use the loo was a bit tedious), the building of which has improved the venue no end.

    David
    "It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal
  • PuttyKnees
    PuttyKnees Posts: 381
    cyclingsheep wrote:
    PuttyKnees wrote:
    Sadly I abandoned half way following a pit change to a bike that didn't work! I wasn't too sad though. That course is a killer. I was kind of wondering what kind of sadist put it together: "hmmm, 3 dismounts isn't enough running, let's put some barriers in!" Tough one.

    If you're talking about Hillingdon I was with the sadist as he laid it out :D
    I ended up with a twisted link which was ok while pedaling but if I paused then it caught in the derailier so I had to back pedal to get momentum to force it through again. Didn't make for confident riding that last lap but as I said I wasn't bothering the leaders at that point anyway :mrgreen:

    No, I was talking about Bradford :cry:
  • VamP
    VamP Posts: 674
    PuttyKnees wrote:
    cyclingsheep wrote:
    PuttyKnees wrote:
    Sadly I abandoned half way following a pit change to a bike that didn't work! I wasn't too sad though. That course is a killer. I was kind of wondering what kind of sadist put it together: "hmmm, 3 dismounts isn't enough running, let's put some barriers in!" Tough one.

    If you're talking about Hillingdon I was with the sadist as he laid it out :D
    I ended up with a twisted link which was ok while pedaling but if I paused then it caught in the derailier so I had to back pedal to get momentum to force it through again. Didn't make for confident riding that last lap but as I said I wasn't bothering the leaders at that point anyway :mrgreen:

    No, I was talking about Bradford :cry:


    Too bad. I retired in my first Trophy at Southampton, so I know how sucky it feels. See you at Shrewsbury?
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    I'm toying with doing Shrewsbury; anyone know what the course is like?
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • PuttyKnees
    PuttyKnees Posts: 381
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC-9o_27fWI
    Absolute mudbath last year.
  • VamP
    VamP Posts: 674
    PuttyKnees wrote:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC-9o_27fWI
    Absolute mudbath last year.

    Everywhere was last year though. I questioned a couple of clubmates who were there the year before last, and all they could remember was an 'epic' off-camber section. You have been warned.

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