CAT 5 Grant's Tomb Race Strategy:

Teams:
The other teams out there that look to match us in numbers are Rapha, Foundation, and NYCC. Given their performance at the few PP races I went to this past summer, Rapha will have their shit together tactics-wise and will likely try to control the race as much as possible. I don't know too much about Foundation and NYCC but given their numbers, I'd expect them to do the same.

Our Team:
I'm assuming everyone's still in the winter build stage of their training and isn't putting in miles like @RobertMullen. I personally did a fair amount of base in December/January and then got screwed up with work/illness last month so I'm nowhere near the fitness I'd hoped to be by this time. That said, if anyone's got some good sprinting legs on them (I do not at this point in time and may not ever), I'll gladly bury myself on your lead out and/or bringing back breaks that don't have you in them, I've got a good amount of residual endurance left in me.

Strategy:
I think the basic plan should be to stay at the front 20% of the field at all costs so we can be there when things happen and counter whatever the other larger teams (Rapha may prove to be our biggest adversary) have up their sleeves. I don't really have anything else in terms of a plan but if anyone knows other riders on the registration sheet and can provide some enlightenment other than those two NYCC guys at the top looking like a very formidable duo that'd be great info to add to the conversation.

**Disclaimer: Please feel free to dispute any and all of the above, I've only been in two races not on foot so I've still got a lot to learn**

Sorry we couldn't get this together until after GT, but if you want to talk more about tactics and/or review the GT race, I'm fixing to have a tactics talk next Thursday, March 14.

Details here:  https://forum-archive.kissenacycling.com/discussion/1111-p3.html#Comment_102402

Nathaniel Picard Busky said:

CAT 5 Grant's Tomb Race Strategy:


**Disclaimer: Please feel free to dispute any and all of the above, I've only been in two races not on foot so I've still got a lot to learn**

Glad you're taking the initiative.  thanks.

First, since Category five is ten races and out, figure that in the fives, you're likely looking at a new batch of people, there's no telling what they know or can do.

Second, expect that a large portion of the field is either out of shape or doesn't know how to corner, so get a good warmup in and prepare to burn a few matches to get to the front as quickly as possible.  People will get dropped fast.  You don't want to get caught behind them.  

Third, since probably none of you have raced together before, the biggest favor you can do for one another is not chase down teammates when they look like they're attacking, or even if a small split has accidentally been created.  A general bit of advice is that if there is one kissena in a group of 5-8, that's good for us.  If there's a group of 9 or more, we want two Kissena's in it.  

For the Kissena in a move, you want the other riders working together, you also don't want to get dropped.  If it's getting really hard, skip pulls.  If others complain, tell them you have teammates blocking.


And make a point of getting together before the race to warm up and talk together.  Bring warm clothes for standing around.  I'd suggest agreeing to a meet up at least 30 minutes before the start.  Get to the start line with about 5m to start.  Take off your warm layers with a minute to go.

The Cat 4 folks and I had a brief chat on our tactics for this weekend. We had the idea to work out way up toward the first 1/3 of the peloton and then settle in and protect @RichardCornetta to keep him out of the wind for the final 10min of the race. Then we’ll see who’s still around and try and organize on the last lap and lead him out up the hill. 

Kind of like @Nathaniel Picard Busky said, I haven’t been around for the tactics practice so I’m down to chase down breaks and work for everyone. I’ve had some decent sprints the past few group rides but that might be better used in a leadout. 

We talked about sort of playing it by ear for Race 2, focusing on surfing wheels and racing smart. 

Did I miss anything? 

- First 1/4 is a better goal.
- Line up early front row
- At the gun get to *at the worst* front 15 (don't take a turn on the front though until at least 15 mins in).
- Don't let yourself get any further back than 15. That should be focus for rest of the race. Repeatedly ask yourself (or other people around you) "Where am I? Am I top 15?" It sounds dumb, but without that focus you suddenly find yourself near the back and you'll be lucky to see front again.
- Practice your clip-in and 30 second sprint so you're able to get to front without going anaerobic. A good clip-in is the difference between 2 mins of full gas at 320W or 2 mins of 380W blowing up.
– Find eachother 5 to go, organize in sequence three to go. Last lap is a bat fight.
- At the bell there's a 99% chance of a huge move on the right side of road at start-finish going into the left hander, the three of you need to be not boxed-in so you can get on that single file goodness through to top of the punchy hill.
From there it's full gas lead-out time.
Go wolf pack.

We should create a schedule for Saturday (ie: who is riding and when, where to meet before/after races, etc.). I plan to look for a parking spot Fri night somewhere near the course so I have somewhere warm to go between races.  Also thinking about reserving a table at dino BBQ for afterwards. Give me a thumbs up if you are interested in BBQ after.

No matter how good you feel in the first 1/2 of the race STAY OFF THE FRONT. If you're not staring at somebody's ass you are fucking up.

Total FOMO out in CA for me.  Enjoy the racing, I look forward to the stories / results.

Hey everyone, super last minute but does anyone have Kissena top that I can wear on top of my winter gear for Grant's Tomb tomorrow? I think a medium would fit but I'll take what I can get. If you do shoot me a text or call at 772-285-2283.

Jules said:

No matter how good you feel in the first 1/2 of the race STAY OFF THE FRONT. If you're not staring at somebody's ass you are fucking up.

Conversely if you're staring at a sea of asses you are also fucking up and in danger of being snapped off the back.

Whatever your ambitions are in the race, remember to look sharp, the photography will be top notch and you will look so freaking pro.

JohnOlsson said:

We should create a schedule for Saturday (ie: who is riding and when, where to meet before/after races, etc.). I plan to look for a parking spot Fri night somewhere near the course so I have somewhere warm to go between races.  Also thinking about reserving a table at dino BBQ for afterwards. Give me a thumbs up if you are interested in BBQ after.

Ok made reservations at 2PM for Dino BBQ! We may have a few prospects meet us for food/drinks as well.

Kyle Panton said:

Hey everyone, super last minute but does anyone have Kissena top that I can wear on top of my winter gear for Grant's Tomb tomorrow? I think a medium would fit but I'll take what I can get. If you do shoot me a text or call at 772-285-2283.

Kyle,
     Did you get any action on this?  Don't know if I can help; both the early start and I have small and extra small jerseys.

Thanks for following up, I haven’t gotten my hands on anything yet. I’ll give a small a shot. I can swing by and pick it up today after work whenever / wherever works best for you.

Kyle Panton said:

Thanks for following up, I haven’t gotten my hands on anything yet. I’ll give a small a shot. I can swing by and pick it up today after work whenever / wherever works best for you.

I"m in central harlem.  about a mile from the course.

Results, bros?

Cat 5: @RobertPeras in 13th, myself in 15th. I floated around 15-20 until I found Bobby and tried to stay around him for the rest. We moved up pretty well (or others moved back well) and ended up top 5 with 1-2 to go. Unfortunately didn’t have the sprinting legs (or personally, the cornering skills) to hang in.

I won’t mention Mr. Green-Cannondale-Danger-Man. He was stupid and made everyone unsafe.

Props to the rest of the Cat 5 guys @Matt Budofsky @Kyle Panton for getting in a solid opener. Especially @Joshua Wilson for  hopping right in the 4/5(?) race after!

Awesome. Looking forward to hearing more race reports

Great racing with @Nathaniel Picard Busky @Joshua Wilson @Matt Budofsky @Kyle Panton! It was comforting to know you guys were in the race with us. This race started out pretty terrible for me as I got to the start line with like 1 minute to go. I found myself about 30-35 riders back and kept hearing all of the comments that you guys made to stay in the lead pack. I inched up each lap and then somehow found myself in the lead 10 guys with @Nathaniel Picard Busky. With about a half a mile left in the race I was out front and kind of froze not knowing what to do. Next thing you know there were a half dozen guys in front of me. I then saw the Green Cannondale asshole who almost took me out earlier in the race sideswipe some other guy, which broke my concentration. I then saw @Nathaniel Picard Busky creeping up and we jetted to the finish together. Knowing that 1st place was only about 2 seconds ahead of us makes me very happy and confident that if we work together one of us will be smiling on the podium 😎.

We didn’t quite have the stellar results of our Cat 5 guys (for real, awesome work you guys). 

Race 1 was pretty sketchy as expected but we all made it out unscathed. Ricky and I worked real hard to get to the top 1/4 of the pack and then real hard to stay there and then real hard to finish with the bunch (apart from one guy who essentially lapped both the Cat 4/5 race and the Cat 4 race back to back). We didn’t get to execute our initial plan because we just ended up a bit over our heads (for me at least) and it was too tough to organize. Ricky took a strong flyer with a few laps to go and I went to the front to block (and got yelled at) but the group was moving too fast to let anyone escape for too long. I felt like we did a pretty good job of staying out of the wind and trying to be as efficient as possible. Rich and John got stuck in the back half of the group and when things strung out a bit, it was damn near impossible to get them back up to the front group. I crazy amount of people ended up getting pulled. 

Race 2 was a god damn mess but ended up being a good workout. We talked about correcting things that went wrong in the first race and I felt more confident working around the course. And then I got dropped. The race was super fast and much more efficient than the first race, so that was a lot of fun but I don’t think we positioned ourselves well at the start and it showed. I never really saw the top half of the field and and got popped with a few laps to go. I think we were all a little toast from the first race and the second was faster. I averaged 25mph in the pack of race one and 24.5 in race two with 3 laps off the back. 

That said, I felt like there were a lot of good takeaways from the weekend even if the results don’t quite show it. I like the way that we prepped for this race (meeting up to talk tactics, warming up together and trying to set  goals and roles) even if it didn’t quite play out like we thought. This was the first real corner-y crit I’ve done and I feel like I rode it a lot better than I would have last year. 

Good work to everyone out there! I’m really looking forward to the next race with y’all. 

When I got to the Cat 4 race this morning it was nuts: 5 to go, this E2 guy solo off the front with 55 second gap, Veselka marshal tells me it's the second race he's won like this today. I imagine the other teams thinking, "oh we'll just dangle him out there". But this guy is the wattage cottage on a fully aero Trek rig. Gone. Impressive. Doubly impressive that this is his 90 minute power. Last guy I remember pulling something like this was busted for EPO. Also slept in a hyperbaric chamber.

I see Ricky mid pack and Robert a little further back, so shout at them to move up at 3 to go. Easier said than done when teams were already lining up to lead out their sprinters. Bell lap in the fight for *first loser*, and it's a full on melee going into turn 1 as the move-up-on-outside train jams into the lead-out train on turn 1. It's already over for half the field as they are squeezed and grabbing brakes to avoid crashes. I can't see it, but imagine it all stretched out through turn 2-and three (GoPro?) and then it's that kind of awful I-missed-the-sprint feeling where you're sprinting into the back of the field that's gassed and going backwards fast. Been there. Not fun.

I've been racing crits since I was 15, and I've made every mistake that you could think of in racing, and that's how, over time, I got better (?) at it. There's a difference between knowing "how" (understanding the requirements to win: course knowledge, required effort, best tactics etc) and knowing "that" (the actual action of doing it—putting it together for a W). Everyone did an amazing job out there today, crash free, thinking throughout the race, and knocking on the door of top ten, that's all you can ask for in your first few proper crits. I've ridden with you guys enough to know that there's going to be some podiums coming in the future. The key is to train and learn together as a team so you can get the more of the "that". Excited to see the team start to dictate the races.

As KCC's Mr Development, I'd love to hear from all who raced about what they feel they aced, and areas they want to work-on, both individually and as KCC. 

Ditto as to what Rob said. For the first race we got there early and had great positioning for the start. I think that was crucial for helping me stay up with the main group. Right from the whistle the race was all out and the field strung out quickly. Looking back I wish I would’ve fought harder to stay closer to the front to avoid the yo-yoing effect coming out of the corners. It seemed like I was constantly pushing out big watts just to stay on and my heart rate data reflected that. The last couple laps were an all out battle and moving up was easier said then done. I was just happy rolling over the line with the pack. Had I been in better positioning  I couldve maybe contested the sprint but I was starting from just too far back. 

For the the second race my legs were feeling it and I knew with this race being 5 min longer and with some fresh cat 3s in the field this was going to hurt. We rolled to the starting line A little later then we should’ve and found ourselves sitting at the back of the pack. Not a good sign. Right from the whistle it’s again all out and I’m giving it all I can to just stay on the back of the field. Being at the back the braking and accelerating is absolutely brutal and I didn’t have the legs to stay in it. I got dropped off the back, rode a couple laps by myself and then eventually pulled about halfway into the race. It was a super hard, super painful 25 minutes on the bike. Doing 2 hard races like this in one day is brutal but I’m glad we got the experience in with the park races coming up in a couple weeks. 

RichFreeman @RichardCornetta @RobertMullen @JohnOlsson.

FIYAH

Sweet pics @RobertPeras need to get them on instagram for the fans....(my mum and dad).

Really enjoyed the day, made all the mistakes which we were told to avoid and paid the price (twice) which was frustrating but a clear lesson learnt - practice bike handling and be more proactive in positioning in the first couple of laps. 

Looking forward to getting back on the (aluminum) horse again this weekend.

Remember this group of discussions, you know, about racing, where we're too busy to have in-fighting and be depressed about winter?
CRCA just announced the date of this race is. . . June 27th, 2020.
I don't think it's a joke.

Holy smokes!!! I thought this was going to be my first race of the season 

Bruce van-Schalkwyk said:

Remember this group of discussions, you know, about racing, where we're too busy to have in-fighting and be depressed about winter?
CRCA just announced the date of this race is. . . June 27th, 2020.
I don't think it's a joke.

The NYSBRA officiating calendar confirms the late date.

look forward to finally starting this race without being convinced I'll be dropped. 

^I still have flashbacks to the hypothermia.