the Cyclo cross racing post
Comments
-
Where are you racing?antsmithmk wrote:Just entered my first senior event for next Sunday. Rode 3 novice events last year and was dead after 30 minutes. Have really stepped up my fitness over the summer so we shall see how the hour goes. Hopefully won't come last...!0 -
Hillingdon.... Central CX League0
-
See you thereantsmithmk wrote:Hillingdon.... Central CX League
0 -
Ditto. Sounds like it's going to be quite the party :-)cyclingsheep wrote:
See you thereantsmithmk wrote:Hillingdon.... Central CX LeaguePannier, 120rpm.0 -
I'm not, scared and slow. Have fun.TGOTB wrote:
Ditto. Sounds like it's going to be quite the party :-)cyclingsheep wrote:
See you thereantsmithmk wrote:Hillingdon.... Central CX League0 -
Come along, you'll fit right in! At least have a go at the novice race...Veronese68 wrote:scared and slowPannier, 120rpm.0 -
Definitely can't do this weekend. I've still got the kitchen in bits and we're celebrating the boy's 16th birthday. I really should come along some time, need to practice getting on and off the bike quickly. Preferably getting off quickly and intentionally at the same time, rather than my more usual rapid dismount.0
-
Fair enough. Don't get too hung up on the dismount/remount though; you need to have it nailed at the sharp end, but when you're getting started it really doesn't matter that much.
Most vets races are 5-8 laps, and at this time of year there's typically just one dismount per lap. Even if you somehow managed to lose an incredible 10 seconds a lap on dismounts and remounts, that's only 10 seconds per lap. In the last race I did, that would have been the difference between 1st and 4th place in a field of 80, or about 10 places in the middle of the field. In practice, you're probably looking at 3 or 4 seconds a lap, which is a handful of places even in the densest part of the field. It's really quite a small part of the whole race...Pannier, 120rpm.0 -
I'm going to apply the 'back marker in an F1 race tactic'.... I will gladly take places from those who retire or crash out and hope not to finish last. I've only ever raced for 90 minutes so will be doubling my CX race experience.0
-
Sorry antsmithmk, there can only be one lantern rouge and that'll be what I'm gunning forantsmithmk wrote:I'm going to apply the 'back marker in an F1 race tactic'.... I will gladly take places from those who retire or crash out and hope not to finish last. I've only ever raced for 90 minutes so will be doubling my CX race experience. 0 -
You'd be fine mate. There aren't usually any wooden bridges so I shouldn't be able to take you outVeronese68 wrote:Definitely can't do this weekend. I've still got the kitchen in bits and we're celebrating the boy's 16th birthday. I really should come along some time, need to practice getting on and off the bike quickly. Preferably getting off quickly and intentionally at the same time, rather than my more usual rapid dismount.0 -
TGOTB wrote:
Ditto. Sounds like it's going to be quite the party :-)cyclingsheep wrote:
See you thereantsmithmk wrote:Hillingdon.... Central CX League
Quite a few of us going then
0 -
Just looked on the BC website last night, plenty of pre-entries in the Seniors race.
Should be fun 0 -
Genuine question:
Why you big guns are lapping at Hillingdon instead of doing the three peaks this weekend? :shock:left the forum March 20230 -
ugo.santalucia wrote:Genuine question:
Why you big guns are lapping at Hillingdon instead of doing the three peaks this weekend? :shock:
I for one didn't get a ride at 3PX. Still sore about it.0 -
Speaking for myself (not that I'm a big gun) - the 3 Peaks was massively oversubscribed; I couldn't get an entry, and I know a lot of other people who couldn't.ugo.santalucia wrote:Genuine question:
Why you big guns are lapping at Hillingdon instead of doing the three peaks this weekend? :shock:
That said, they are very different races, and training properly for 3PCX would probably restrict your ability to train properly for regular cyclocross races. If you're targetting a specific league, or the National Trophy Series, you're almost certainly going to get more benefit from doing 1 hour CX races than training for something that's more like a 3-4 hour fell race with a bike on your shoulder. It's a bit like asking a sprint triathlete why they missed out on an Ironman...
An additional benefit is that my kids can't compete in 3PCX, whereas they will be racing at Hillingdon.
Are we going to be seeing you there?Pannier, 120rpm.0 -
TGOTB wrote:
If you add up all the pre-entries for the Junior/Vet/Women's race, we're going to have at least 100 riders on the course at once, sounds busy!Crossed wrote:Just looked on the BC website last night, plenty of pre-entries in the Seniors race.
Should be fun
I recall, a few years back, when Hillingdon hosted a joint London and Central fixture, we had a field of 185. That was busy!0 -
:shock:VamP wrote:TGOTB wrote:
If you add up all the pre-entries for the Junior/Vet/Women's race, we're going to have at least 100 riders on the course at once, sounds busy!Crossed wrote:Just looked on the BC website last night, plenty of pre-entries in the Seniors race.
Should be fun
I recall, a few years back, when Hillingdon hosted a joint London and Central fixture, we had a field of 185. That was busy!
Hopefully they'll manage to fit in a nice long course; last time I raced there it was a 2 mile lap, which would help to spread everyone out a bit.Pannier, 120rpm.0 -
And of course the staggered starts help. Back then with the 185 riders, we had one start for all, and only about 10 riders gridded!0
-
TGOTB wrote:Are we going to be seeing you there?
No, I am going to be a wimp and a crybaby this time. I sprained my ankle practicing dismounts last month and it still hurts and in fairness has put me off completely... too old a dog for new tricks, I guess...
Would be up for the three peaks though and might enter some Mamil oriented CX sportives... left the forum March 20230 -
Yikes! People must have been "getting into position" half an hour before the start...VamP wrote:And of course the staggered starts help. Back then with the 185 riders, we had one start for all, and only about 10 riders gridded!
I don't envy the fastest V50s though, starting 1 minute behind a field of 50+ V40s. Overtaking skills will be at something of a premium!Pannier, 120rpm.0 -
Does anyone know if they're gridding based on final league positions last year?
I didn't realise the Vet 50s were starting behind the Vet 40s this year :? Looks like I'll be giving way a lot in the first lap or two.0 -
VamP wrote:TGOTB wrote:
If you add up all the pre-entries for the Junior/Vet/Women's race, we're going to have at least 100 riders on the course at once, sounds busy!Crossed wrote:Just looked on the BC website last night, plenty of pre-entries in the Seniors race.
Should be fun
I recall, a few years back, when Hillingdon hosted a joint London and Central fixture, we had a field of 185. That was busy!
West Midlands races I'm riding this season currently combine the Seniors (incl. U23s) and 40-49 Vets - I think there were getting on for 160 starters for Round 1 at Shrewsbury. :shock:
Thankfully the numbers were slightly lower at Redditch, given that overtaking/being overtaken on a woodland course is tricky (the wooded section on the Longdean course at Hemel in the Central League springs straight to mind - narrow bits, sharp bends and lots of tree roots!)
David"It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal0 -
By the end of last year, they were gridding based on current league positions and then slotting in any "outsiders" with national ranking points at the appropriate position; this seemed to work pretty well.
This is an assumption, but for the first race of the season, the only thing that would make any sense would be to do exactly the same thing but based on last year's league positions and national rankings (with a fudge for people who have moved between age groups). What I do know for sure is that, unlike some leagues, they do put a lot of effort into trying to get it right.
I'll be able to tell you what they did after the race; it'll be pretty obvious from where I get gridded relative to guys like VamP.Pannier, 120rpm.0 -
That's the one issue with some local league courses. Bottlenecks are inevitable on almost any course, but long lengths of single track have a tendency to kill the racing; I remember one event last year where we raced 400 yards and then stood around (literally) for 20 seconds or more, waiting for a chance to walk (literally) along the first of a number of long lengths of single track. The order in which we emerged from that first section was more or less the finishing order of the race 40 mins later, and if you hadn't been gridded you didn't have a chance.DavidBelcher wrote:Thankfully the numbers were slightly lower at Redditch, given that overtaking/being overtaken on a woodland course is tricky (the wooded section on the Longdean course at Hemel in the Central League springs straight to mind - narrow bits, sharp bends and lots of tree roots!)
NT Series courses are great from that perspective; they have to conform to UCI regs, which means a minimum width of something like 2m, so you can always get past slower riders.Pannier, 120rpm.0 -
That sounds far more likely. Saying that I scared myself on some of the descents on the L2B last week, only fell off the once though, and not a sheep in sight.ugo.santalucia wrote:TGOTB wrote:Are we going to be seeing you there?
No, I am going to be a wimp and a crybaby this time. I sprained my ankle practicing dismounts last month and it still hurts and in fairness has put me off completely... too old a dog for new tricks, I guess...
Would be up for the three peaks though and might enter some Mamil oriented CX sportives...0 -
TGOTB wrote:
If you add up all the pre-entries for the Junior/Vet/Women's race, we're going to have at least 100 riders on the course at once, sounds busy!Crossed wrote:Just looked on the BC website last night, plenty of pre-entries in the Seniors race.
Should be fun
At least with 100 riders on the circuit there's a good chance of there being someone there who's slower than me!
Anything better than last and I'll be happy I think!0 -
So that's 100 riders churning it up for the seniors!0
-
antsmithmk wrote:So that's 100 riders churning it up for the seniors!
Yep, your young legs can handle it 0
