Grant's Tomb Criterium

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Mar 09, 2014 at 01:57 AM

Hard day, as expected.

Started poorly. Wardrobe malfunction five minutes before the start. Zipper failed on my skinsuit. THanks to Dale, David V, Aaron, Handsome Joe, and Erika for trying to fix and then pinning me up.

Rolled up to John and Marc on the front row. 30s later, we started. As there was a $100 prime for the winner of the first full lap, it was pretty quick. Both guys roll out hard. Loved seeing that. I got into position to go for the prime, just in case there was an opportunity. But decided against it. Seconds later, I got bumped first on my left, then my right, as guys accelerated too late to get it.

In the past four years, I think the winning move has gone somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes into the race. The difficulty in a field this deep is that there are enough guys who either wintered in warm places, know how to train through the winter, and/or know how to dig deep from their days as full time racers that no escape is easy. It's going to be about timing and combinations. When you go, you have to keep on going until you're caught, because 'just about caught' can stay away.

John was positioning himself pretty well, which was good to see and helpful. He also yelled at me when I was too far back (as Marc later did from the sidelines) I think the first move I went with was at about 9m in. We might have lasted a lap or so. The guys were either holding back or blowing quickly. The Pennsylvania Breakaway team had big numbers, and were letting gaps open when they had a guy off the front, but their guys weren't strong enough to contribute. Foundation was very active, also helping blow up gaps, but not super strong. Weather Channel was pretty active as well. CCB was either not there or holding back.

I love the corners in this race. I was really able to rail them--I could even take out three bike lengths in the fast u-turn at the top of the course, even when I was at the front. Tried taking advantage of this, but it seemed the only place it helped was closing gaps, not opening them.

I was either leading or part of several escape attempts. It was hard to tell if the guys were blowing themselves out or just being to careful.

After about 40m, I start to think that it will be a late move that could take it. So, I try to conserve for a few laps. We get 15 to go and I start thinking it will happen between 10 and 7. Next lap, though it's too early, I see the right-looking move. Another lap or more and it fails. Two more laps. Another move. Another fail. I settle back a little too far. This is my undoing. I'm in no position to go with the four-man move that leaps out o the field (Will Dugan of CCB, on Team Type 1 for three years, Mike Margarite of weather channel, former bronze medalist at crit nationals, Glenn Ferreira of Metra, riding better than I've seen, and a stranger--who won). At this point, I have to wait. Since Foundation, Breakaway, Lupus, Mengoni, and others all missed it, I figure they'll at least put in a fight to get it close.

No fight. They basically throw in the towel with four to go. Still, it's probably too close to the finish to get away. At least this will be a long sprint, favoring power over snap. With decent position, I can probably score.

Two laps to go. coming out of turn two, I'm about 25 guys back. There's a crash. I do some good skidding,bump someone, don't get hit from behind, and make it through. But the gap to the field is over five seconds. I get back shortly after the u-turn--cornering fast came in handy.

Hoping to position well and drag it out to the line. Coming into the u-turn, I take the innermost line. A CRCA junior, for no apparent reason, swings inside on me, as I'm passing him. No apparent reason--he's not getting around anyone. I slow up, a gap opens again. I close it, am about to start sprinting, and the guys in front clash. Bumping, spokes breaking, they stay up, but it makes it impossible to move up. I get by Scott Savory and do a bike throw for effect.

Thanks all for the help with the skinsuit save, the support during the race, and the cheering. Aaron, love it, but pace yourself.

Jay

Mar 09, 2014 at 02:22 AM

Wow that was hard. Cat 5 race was mayhem, lots of elbows and guys screaming at each other. I was able to avoid three crashes, but lost a lot of time and energy. Started out feeling OK but it didn't last, and going into the last lap, I was done!

It was a great experience, Thanks Marc for all the tips and pre ride last week.

David Yang

Mar 09, 2014 at 03:52 AM

Day started off with an omen. The road was still slick in the AM and as I was turning down that one block off the Brooklyn Bridge my wheel slipped out on a manhole cover and I hit the deck. Not hard, mind you, but enough to shake me up. Bike was okay, body was pretty okay, kit was dirty. Whatever.

Got to Grant's Tomb, met up with the other Cat 4s and Marc to review the course and pinned up. A giant shoutout to Marc again for being there for everyone all morning and doling out tips at the clinic and on the forums.

Summary: I crashed just before the bell lap and ended up Dead Effin' Last.

It doesn't matter because this race was a complete blast!

Start line shenanigans: Let's start off with GT veteran Jeff White. I'll let him recount the story properly, but he did exactly what he said and got to the front of the start line and flew off the front like a goddamn bat out of hell at the whistle. It was an amazing sight to see him flying away from the field, putting everyone on their heels.

While nerves had me fumble the clip in, an MBCR guy somehow popped out of both his pedals ended up sitting on his top tub and skid his cleats down the street for a good 15ft. Hilarity.

The pack: KCC was looking great. I think all of us represented the front of the field at one point or many pretty much the entire time. I was mid-ish pack the first half of the race trying to hide from the wind. Having been dropped at Harlem Skyscraper - the only other crit I've done - I didn't want that happening again. Marc's sideline instructions and earlier line advice was critical in keeping me in the pack and competitive. A few sketchy riders as usual, and they were properly reprimanded by the field.

More Jeff White Stories, this time on the 2nd lap with speed seriously picking up at the downhill stretch before the banked turn: "Hey! Hey Brendan! [Yang expects to hear some race tactic talk] Someone asked me the other day who BRigby was on Youtube, because they love all your race videos!"

I thought about attacking after the prime, but was still hesitant to burn any matches, afraid I'd be blown off the back. Next year, I'm going to make it a goal of doing it the next time because it was a perfect, perfect opportunity.

After a few short break attempts the field was all together with about 3 to go. I had good legs from all that hiding and smart line taking so I moved up to the front to make sure to cover any desperado moves. On the penultimate lap I was 5th or 6th man up front as we hit the banked turn. We took the turn fast and stayed on the inside line, which I thought was okay since we were strung out at the front. Halfway up the slope the riders ahead lost their steam and slowed down drastically without rotating out and suddenly we were swarmed with the rest of the field. Of course this meant that I was boxed in. CRAP. All around me elbows were rubbing and wheels crossing, and all I could do was watch two riders inevitably go down right in front of me. I sort of hopped off my bike and tucked and rolled onto a nice empty spot on the tarmac. CRAP. I got up to see the damage and realized that Aaron was behind me and crashed as well, but much harder. Dejected I started to move off the road when the official said we could still finish the final lap and not DNF. That was incentive enough so I got back on the bike and that's how I finished Dead Last.

So while I crashed twice today, luckily there wasn't much damage to either myself or the bike and it ended up being one of my favorite races ever. I can't wait to do it again next year.

Congrats to Rigby and Wes for kicking ass and the rest of the crew for helping them make it happen throughout the entire race.

Major shoutouts to Marc (again) for making me a better racer and Whitey for his special brand of mirth. And Aaron, who despite crashing hard, jumped into the 3/4 race and hanging tough.

Erika Tarte

Mar 09, 2014 at 03:56 AM

Big day for women's racing in NYC! Unfortunately, I wasn't in top form. Got in to JFK from a (stressful) business trip to California at about midnight last night. Managed to grab 2 hours sleep before the alarm went off at 4:30am for the CRCA women's 3/4 dev race in Central Park. Poured myself a cup of coffee, drank a banana honey shake, and headed off to race 1 of 3.

Strong team presence at the CP race. Houlihan-Lokey, CityMD, Stan's, and Rockstar all had at least 5 women in the field. We were neutralized for the first lap from the Boast Basin to the bottom of Harlem Hill thanks to ice, then it was four laps of steady effort, fairly uneventful aside from few breaks now and again on the West Side rollers, and one hard chase in the second lap from the Tavern through horse shit alley. Third time up Harlem Hill, I found myself up front behind a handful of Stan's women. Lots of heavy breathing behind me. Feeling fresh, I started a little surge after the turn, hoping to lose some of the huffers and puffers and put myself in better position should Stan's make a move on the rollers. Sadly, the men's B field neutralized us right then. Boo.

The Tavern finish was changed to Cat's Paw at the last minute, which should have been good for me, but my position in the field was horrible coming up to the finish. I was on the left, sprints started on the right, and I was boxed in. The leadout trains moved up, and I could only watch through all the asses in front of me. Finished mid-pack, grabbed my gear and hauled ass to Grant's.

My legs were aching going into the W3/4 GT race, and I was off the back with half the time to go. My lungs felt fine, but my legs were bad news. I pulled myself to recover for the W4 race.

Started strong in the W4. Muscled my way to the front of the line and accomplished my goal of shaking race season jitters. But I didn't have time to warm up (had been sitting around for 2+ hours) and I just didn't have the snap to stay in. Crits really aren't my format. Give me some miles, some hills. I decided to keep going to avoid another DNF while watching Kayt keep pace with the field, looking fantastic! Go Kayt! I felt much better about 15-20 minutes in to the race (warming up = important!) and finished NOT LAST!

Marc mentioned that I looked over geared in the W3/4 race, so I adjusted leg speed for the W4. Despite going off the back, that adjustment made all the difference in being able to stay in for 30 minutes (and only get lapped once). Garmin tells me I was averaging 90rpm in the first, and 100rpm in the second. Felt so much better!

Overall not the best day at the races for me, but not the worst either. A bag of Cadbury chocolate mini eggs and half a pie later, I'm happy. Thanks to all the Kissenas out there today! Your support, advice, and cheering/heckling made for a fantastic start of the season. Here's to the next 6 months!

Unknown

Mar 09, 2014 at 12:14 PM

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Erika Tarte

Mar 09, 2014 at 01:44 PM

@Gwynna Yes, many lessons learned. And that's the point of racing! Every race is a learning experience, whether highlighting holes in training (sprints!) or revealing tactics (stay on the right in CP, like always). It's a long season, and hopefully my experience yesterday will make me stronger and smarter going into the next race.

Marc Bertucco

Mar 09, 2014 at 01:52 PM

Erika Tarte said:

@Gwynna Yes, many lessons learned. And that's the point of racing! Every race is a learning experience, whether highlighting holes in training (sprints!) or revealing tactics (stay on the right in CP, like always). It's a long season, and hopefully my experience yesterday will make me stronger and smarter going into the next race.

Erika, if you are coming for the next CP clinic, remind me to have us practice the Cat's Paw finish multiple times. I ALWAYS get anxious when I hear people say "ALWAYS" related to bike racing!

Mark Inaba

Mar 09, 2014 at 03:03 PM

Hi all, sorry for the late report. Tough weekend of racing for this lad. Really happy to see everyone again and also great racing with Jeff and Brendan for the first time. Thank you Marc for your advice and constant words of encouragement, that really was a huge part of keeping my head in the race and ultimately finishing this beast. Congratulations to Brendan and the team for a strong effort and a great result. I just wish I could have been factor in the outcome.

For me, the start was the opposite of what I was hoping. Didn't really get any warm up in and got to the line a bit late. Putting me in the back. The rubber band effect happens very quickly in these races especially at the back. 20 mins in I am yo yoing off the back and SNAP! Argh! Ok, ok, ok finish this d&@m race. I Pick up another 2 riders off the back and we start working
together. Marc is now telling me to stay in and keep racing hard. No one pulls us off the course and I finish up with 3 others a minute back from the group. So Dave I don't think you were dead last : )

Now on to the NYC spring series thread for more racing action : )

JohnMalcolmson

Mar 09, 2014 at 03:48 PM

Masters 40+
Out of the blocks second wheel where I stayed until the first digs came from various teams. Lap 3 there was a serious move by Axis's Erin Korff, Rapha's Andy McGee, and Peter Vollers and another rider. I got across the gap, and after a couple of pulls realized I was either going to have to suck wheel to hang in there, or get dropped. The paceline wasn't very smooth because of this, and the bunch made a serious effort to pull us back to about 15-20. I dropped off back to the bunch and let the other teams try and reel them in. Unfortunately they cut the race short so next thing they're ringing the bell. I made sure I was third/fourth out of last corner followed wheels and then jumped after the big Lupus rider, but couldn't bring him back.

Brendan Rigby

Mar 09, 2014 at 04:23 PM

Video from men's 4 is up, low-res only until Youtube processes it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kswbWYi5Dws

vlad

Mar 09, 2014 at 05:10 PM

Yeah, Wilson can sprint. Great wheel to be on in the future. I've also noticed that he can muscle his way through just about anything in his way.

JohnMalcolmson said:

I made sure I was third/fourth out of last corner followed wheels and then jumped after a the big Lupus rider, but couldn't bring him back.

Ryan J

Mar 09, 2014 at 05:28 PM

That looks great, you guys! Wes, way to smoothly stay up in front of Brendan and Brendan, damn, you had to cover some ground at the end to come fourth.

It looks like if you had just had a little better positioning and you're running away with it!

Wes Tillman

Mar 09, 2014 at 05:47 PM

hahahaha 36:34

Me - "Is this last lap?"

Brendan- " I don't know"

I ended up asking the kid in the rutgers kit but he didn't know either. I spent the next few seconds trying to figure it out and came into the bottom sweeper about 51% sure that we were on the bell lap.

Jeff Owens

Mar 09, 2014 at 06:37 PM

Jesus! You can hear the cleat scraping double-foot plant 2 second after the start. And classic cat 4's who blow up, stop pedaling, and come straight back in the middle of the field without moving off to the side. Good job surfing through the sprint and avoiding the bunk!

Craig Zolan

Mar 09, 2014 at 07:21 PM

Brendan - were you carrying a duck with you or was that your brakes squealing?

Great job guys.

Marc Bertucco

Mar 09, 2014 at 11:12 PM

I think it's worth re-emphasizing that yes indeed, our John Malcolmson sprinted against one of the best, meanest, jerk-hole-iest sprinters in the city in Wilson Vasquez, and nearly beat him. And didn't come away with bruises. So you know, it's nice to know that we have at least a couple of options in the final sprint should we not have breakaway success.

Kayt Mathers

Mar 09, 2014 at 11:59 PM

My better-late-than-never report from yesterday's race: Took it a little too easy on the first part of the ride from Brooklyn, and had to incorporate a few sprint to get to the race on time. I had less than 10 minutes to register, hit the CallAHead, and pin up. Big thanks to Jeff for helping me get my act together, and to Wes for consolidating all the crap I was tearing out of my backpack to get my race wardrobe right. I was jittery and overcome with excitement.

I fumbled with my clip-in at the whistle but caught up and hung out in the middle of the pack for most of the race. I tried a few lines through the turns, but the field stayed so closely together (or appeared to, anyway) that it didn't seem to matter whether I took the inside or outside line on the first few laps. I could easily move up a few riders through the banked curve at the north end of the course, but would then find myself bunched in on the slope--a kind of maddening accordion effect that lasted the whole race. That kind of recalibration caused some braking, fumbling and near-misses around me. When I tried to take the outside line on the slope, the cross wind made me regret the decision, and so I tried swinging into the inside after taking the curve on the outside.

I tried to save energy throughout the race, finding the widest haunches to ride behind--which also happened to be the more experienced riders, ergo lower on the sketch-scale. At the start of the race I didn't think I would have energy for a final sprint, but with 3 laps to go, and all the cheering from Kissenas on the sidelines (thanks guys!), I was feeling pretty damn good.

So when the bell sounded for the final lap, I was ready to gun it. On the final banked curve, I took the outside line wide, thinking I might find my own way up the slope (aka a Perlberg Special, as I've heard the move called), and when I'm ready to lay it on, I hear a "hey watch out!" on my left. I look over to see an underdressed Pink Rhino lady running a City MD rider into me. CRRRRRR! is the sound my pedal makes as it hooks into some part of her bike and as our handlebars connect and we wobble together for an uncomfortable few seconds. I'm thinking "cyclocross! cyclocross!" to stay upright; my pedal then thankfully releases, I yell out an expletive, and sprint up the hill to a crappy standing. The end.

OK, not really the end. Staying up--not crashing--was awesome. Cornering in a pack like that was awesome. The cheering and advice was awesome. The weather was awesome. The truck selling coffee was awesome. Grant's Tomb was, in short, awesome. I love crits and wish I could race them every weekend.

Thanks to el maestro Marc for giving us the low-down the week before, and for being a calming presence throughout the day; great seeing and chatting with everyone who came (Bruce, Erika, DaveS, Ros, DavidV, JP, Wrong Way Johnny, Joe, Jim, Wes, Jeff, Aaron, Ingrid, Keith, Jay, Phil). I was sorry to have missed the earlier races, but I want to congratulate everyone who raced yesterday, particularly John, Brendan, Wes and JP--y'all are monsters.

mugwump

Mar 10, 2014 at 01:22 AM

BTW, looking at my files from the race. max speed 37.8mph. I was over 35mph at the north end U-turn on several occasions. Four laps were at 1:51, my last was 1:52.

vlad

Mar 10, 2014 at 02:11 AM

What was the average speed and for how long?

mugwump

Mar 10, 2014 at 03:52 AM

26.4mph for 32mi or 1:13:20. Clock time was 1:13:15, break was 21 seconds ahead.

vlad

Mar 10, 2014 at 04:31 AM

Not too shabby. Wondering how that compared to last years data and last years break. Wondering which was faster. My money would be on last years break. I thought they were going to lap you. Not trying to take anything away, just nerding out a little.

[update] Yep. 1:10 ahead. My legs got gassed thinking about that just now.

Marc Bertucco

Mar 10, 2014 at 12:50 PM

I generally find comparing times and average speeds from year to year, from category to category not a great way to compare the difficulty of one race versus the other.

Because they are averages, things tend to smooth out and don't really paint a true picture of the violence within. I usually have this reaction when some Cat 4 talks about how their race was just a little slower than the pro race and how that means their going to be racing pro like in 10 minutes.

Now if you looked at the power spikes, how much the power spiked, and for how long those spikes stayed up? That would paint a more accurate picture.

For example, I can tell you from watching the races all day, there where exactly two races where, after the climb, down the backside of the course, it did NOT get all bunchy, instead you had that single file snakey-weavy line where everyone is cross-eyed trying to hold the wheel in front of you. And that was in the Cat 2/3 race and the Pro1/2/3 race.

Years ago when Fitchburg was still a great race, and I went from racing the Pro 1/2 field against actual pros, to a Cat 2 only field (because our numbers warranted a separate field), I remember the distinct difference in the excruciating circuit race not being on a serious wall of a climb, but on the back side, just past the feedzone, a longer uninterrupted stretch of road through tree-lined cavern. In the Pro 1/2 field, that shit would stay single file and painful all the way until the right turn leading to the descent, where it would stay single file some more until the gravity helped it get bunchy and you could catch your breath for like 10 seconds before the climb again. In the 2 field, we'd be drilling it for about 1/2 the stretch of road and then the gas would get turned off at the front and you had much more time to recover before the climb.

That said, I bet JP has data from last year's race too for comparing fun.

P.S. Welcome back to RACING Vlad! I assume that once the racing settles into Prospect Park only, we're going to have quite the 1/2/3 field this year.

Jules

Mar 10, 2014 at 01:38 PM

So much awesome in this thread. Congrats to everyone who stayed up, got back up and went round & round in circles. A fantastic showing at the first Big Race of the year.

mugwump

Mar 10, 2014 at 03:38 PM

vlad said:

Not too shabby. Wondering how that compared to last years data and last years break. Wondering which was faster. My money would be on last years break. I thought they were going to lap you. Not trying to take anything away, just nerding out a little.

[update] Yep. 1:10 ahead. My legs got gassed thinking about that just now.

Vlad,

Completely different race. Shorter, at 24mi. Slower, for me, at 25.2mph. Of course, road conditions and temperature could have also played into the speed. This year might have been windier.

Last year, it took me about 15m to figure out how to efficiently move up with the narrowed course, and I just missed the break. Then, I put in several unsuccessful bridging efforts. There was a big break of about ten that was then attacked by three pros, who also occasionally train together. I think last year's race opened easier, had fewer big attacks, and settled down into a chase scenario quicker.

My NP last year was 284w for the race vs. 280w this year--looking at the first 57:08 of this year's race, my NP was 282w, so my efforts were actually pretty close.

Marc Bertucco

Mar 10, 2014 at 05:19 PM

Sideline report:

First, it was truly great to not only see so many KCC riders racing so well, but there were a bucket-load full of fans from moms and dads and significant others, but friends and other KCC riders just out to cheer on their teammates. It was just really nice to see. And I think they enjoyed the show. Wes' mom rightly pointed out that she loved coming to this race because she could really watch her son race! Tearing around Grant's Tomb and Riverside church made for some of the most spectacular backdrop to racing any of us will have all year. Now onto the racing from my point of view.

Cat 4: After a few hotlaps, and a brief pre-race team meeting where we touched base, we had a big crew of racers, David Yang, Wes Tilman, Jeff White, Mark Inaba, Aaron Blum, Brendan Rigby and new member Niall Smart. You've read their reports and it's all true. If you wanted to see most any of these guys, all you had to do was look at the front of the field. And it was that all day long. Which is great, because that means they were RACING and in the perfect position to make decisions, rather than having decisions made for them. Loved watching these guys. And of course as you know Brendan comes through with a great 4th place finish. None of the guys would take any of the cash from him, but in general, I think it's best to split up that money even-steven amongst your teammates. But that's up to you to work out amongst yourselves.

Cat 3/4 Womens: Erika was the lone representative from KCC in this field. After 2 hours of sleep after a week-long business trip where she took a midnight flight home, and completing the early morning CP race, she decided to shut it down a little early and recover for the afternoon's cat 4 race.

Cat 3/4 Men: Craig London and David Vollbach on their first race of the day lined up with morning studs, Aaron Blum and Brendan Rigby. Again, position was key and I was super pleased to see Craig, David and Brendan racing at the front of the field. Aaron, was suffering in the back, but hanging tough. Had I known that he broke his helmet and was feeling a little dizzy from his crash in the morning race, I would have discouraged him from racing again. That said, there was this moment where there was a little break away with none of our guys in the race, and I remember thinking, now it would be perfect if Aaron got to the front, chased that break, pulling the field along like a mo-fo, then pulled out of the race knowing he did a very good thing for his teammates. Of course this thought was before I heard that maybe Aaron shouldn't have been racing at all. The point is, if you are in that kind of position, where you are hanging on for dear life and likely not to finish the race well or at all anyway, consider making your last best effort something heroic for your team. Anyway, no great finish for our 3/4 men, but no matter, they were out there racing tough and almost always where they needed to be.

40+. John Malcolmson was the sole KCC rep here. And he did what we all dream of. See a break, recognize that THAT is THE BREAK and then proceed to bridge up to it. Just like that. Simple, right? Ha. Anyway, he didn't have the juice to stay in a break with some really powerful ex-pros/Cat 1s. Erin Korff is a beast, and so is Peter Vollers, both riders in their day were among the best in their respective racing regions (Korff an Arizona guy, Vollers a New England stud). Anyway, so he settles into the field and sets himself up to sprint and very nearly beats Wilson Vasquez who remains one of the best sprinters in the city and region. John gets 5th on the day.

Cat 2/3. David Vollbach, lined up once again for what looked like a truly terrifyingly fast race. It was fast enough, for example, to dispatch of former Kissena Rene Herrera (who had no problem hanging in the Pro race later). And it was fast enough to cause an early retirement for David. But based on how aggressively and well he raced in the 3/4 race, I would have been surprised if he finished the 2/3 race too.

Cat 4 Womens: Erika, incredibly, back for more; was joined by Kayt Mathers on a shortened course that sent riders not around Riverside Church, but around a banked left hand 130 degree sweeper at the top of the course. Erika suffered from some leg cramping, but jumped back in the field when they came around and hung tough. Side note, the chief ref was not pulling riders and crit rules allow riders to continue in the race jumping back in the field, finishing with the group, officially, one lap down. Kayt looked rock solid all day long. Sometimes a little further back than was ideal, but with a small field, you have the luxury of moving around the field a bit more with no penalty. Can't wait to see what these women can do when they have a) more than 2 hours of sleep and b) not get tangled up with competitors in the last turn of the last lap.

Pro 1/2/3: I already wrote a bit about how well JP and John M raced. My own race was incredibly short and abbreviated. But it was important for me to get out there with the big boys and see what's what. I've obviously got a lot of work to do, but I've got nothing but good things ahead of me.

Again, brilliant day all around. Thanks for coming out KCC and racing and supporting your friends at this truly great race in NYC!

Jules

Mar 10, 2014 at 06:17 PM

^Hotlist returns!

JohnMalcolmson

Mar 10, 2014 at 07:24 PM

^ Agree!
Btw, Bertucco hung tough and stayed at the pointy end of the 123, cool to watch him catching lifts up on the other rider's dime — skills! Also huge chest bump to Marc for doing Kissena a solid from 7am to 4pm as head coach/guru. All you others too for all the encouragement, yelling and general good vibes.

p123