Leiden Swift Tuesday Night racing pics

ddraver

Yo

Every Tuesday night my local club runs racing on their private track (this is the Netherlands). it was a nice day and I went down to take some piccies. Enjoy if you wish..




Trying to be arty here...






A Peloton Finish


B Peloton Sprint


B Peloton finish

More here if you care... http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidkneen/sets/72157626416101191/

Crapaud

Some nice shots there. A bit of cropping and stuff and there's a few really good ones.

The blurred riders didn't really work even with the flash, but it's good to experiment.

BarryBonds

hoooooo theres some big boys there.

Ben6899

They are good shots. I like the first one you've posted here.

ddraver

Crapaud wrote:

Some nice shots there. A bit of cropping and stuff and there's a few really good ones.

The blurred riders didn't really work even with the flash, but it's good to experiment.

Flash?! no flash... :oops: A few people like the blurs, I was nt sure I'd got quite what i wanted out of that I admit?!

You would crop the others even closer would you?! interesting. I ll have to have a play!

jibberjim

There even appear to be some hills??! Is this actually in Leiden or down towards the dunes? I never knew about it in my many trips over there - not that I'd've managed to to be anywhere.

Is it always a bunch sprint? It looks a pretty narrow finish.

jibberjim

(Now with my Dutch speaking wife having found it on the web)

I see the cost of racing is outrageous - You have to buy your number for 3 whole Euro's for the entire series...

Makes 20quid for 45minutes at Hog Hill look like a bargain.

erm or something.

Homer J

That finish looks narrow..4th Cat heaven

ddraver

its to the southwest of Leiden, south of Leiderdorp. I'm not sure what the origin of "the hump" is, it's about 4 storeys high. That was the first week I'd watched but I think it is pretty often a sprint, there was a break about 10-15 secs ahead at one point but they got them back, then there were a load of solo efforts but nothing major. I think the week before a break managed to stay away....

Nothing seemed to happen in the B peloton until the last lap sprint.

You do have a Dutch equivalent of a racing license too but that price is pretty good. Most clubs are €30 per year (or you can join the club runs for €2/day) and I think you usually get forced into joining the Dutch touring club (like CTC I would guess) which is another €30

I have a theory about the "big guys" in NL. I reckon that as the stereotypical Dutchman is a big broad man and that the country is so flat and windy that people who advance tend to be big strong riders who just have loads of power. I'm a fat ex rugby player and because i am so powerful i can keep up with groups that would see me dropped in any sort of hilly terrain. This means that if you a re a skinny, more typical, cyclist that you don't get the race wins to advance and get noticed - hence why, although cycling is so big in NL, they have so few GT winners (which is a constant complaint of their's) - I think these skinny people are starting to pick up MTB's no as you have to have some hillage there so their traditional cycling figures become advantageous again

disquieting_museeuws

Great pictures, what a brilliant and safe place to race.

When I told my Dutch girlfriend I used to be an 'amateur' racer she was much more impressed than I expected (though I did correct her on my relative rubbishness to be fair) - I take it 'amateur' has a more specialist meaning in Dutch cycling, something like 'Elite'?

Your theory on big guys in NL is a good one, I think, a bit like British footballers who are usually old for their school year and so get noticed.