@Jules that was part of the fun!

I've been watching Vegan Cyclist's YouTube channel during workouts lately. Caught a glimpse of a Kissena boi during onboard video of his participation in the 2019 Grant's Tomb crit.

JP I'm sure.

I used to enjoy Vegan Cyclist, slowly but surely realized how much of a disorganized mess he actually is, including that NYC trip, and then he even traveled to race during the pandemic so lost respect very quickly. 

JohnPowell said:

I've been watching Vegan Cyclist's YouTube channel during workouts lately. Caught a glimpse of a Kissena boi during onboard video of his participation in the 2019 Grant's Tomb crit.

Yes.  'Tis me.

I miss this race!

One of my favorite courses.

Registration opened today for the 2022 Edition!

https://www.bikereg.com/53932

BUMP!

This is an awesome course and definitely a must-race NYC event.  

Looks like they're pretty close to full already.


https://www.bikereg.com/crcagrantstombcrit

Register.  You won't regret it.

Love this course, highly recommended.

We have a cool crew for the Category 4 race:

• Michael Cumming
• Jonathan Adler
• Joe Matunis
• Eloy Anzola
• Adam Yaffe
• Niall Smart

Some quick comments and goals:

• This race is basically the NYC CRIT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS OF THE WORLD. and also the universe. Come ready, it is gonna be hot and it is gonna be stupid hard.
• Line up at front
• Wait, let's be clear: Line up at front
• Most important: Line up at front
• Free speed: Line up at front
• Once racing stay towards the front
• Look sharp
• Win.

More later, but wanted to get this quick dispatch out. Thank you. Bye.

Wish i was lining up with everyone. I expect some sweet race reports where everyone says they lined up at the front, rode the front and swept the podium!

Started at the front. Lasted about 10km before dropping out. Can bullet list excuses if you need them. Michel finished 7th-ish. He rode great! Cheers! 

Great to see everyone out there.

Lots of learning.  Michael was on fire.

I was worried Michael was over geared on the hill on the opening laps.  But as time went on, he seemed to be in a better gear.  As the laps wound down, he cemented his position near the front.  A solo rider put in a good move and was just hanging out there.  On the one hand, it keeps the field disciplined, don't want to catch him too early.  On the other, if you can bridge with one or a few guys, it could be the winning move.  Don't know what I would have done.  But with the bell, he had maybe five seconds, a gap that probably minimized sketchiness until he was caught.  

(I should add that I have more photos of everyone pictured.  people should message me if they want to get the rest)

What Eloy said. I think I lasted a little longer before they pulled me and the group of 6 or so riders I was with. It helped to have JP cheering us on. 

I started near the front and was the first of the Kissena riders to get yanked for falling behind. I came to this race woefully underprepared and overconfident that I could fake it and hang with the pack. It is definitely a cool race and exciting course, but I believe I would have done better if I'd prepared in advance - mainly be doing some training rides on the course with teammates who'd done it before and with those planning to race. I think we would all have benefitted by riding the course and hearing from experienced crit racers which lines to take on the turns, gearing, etc. It is a course that demands respect and punishes those who don't give it.  It was great to have JP offering advice at the start and coaching from the sidelines. I only wish I could have capitalized better on his suggestions. The one upside of get sidelined early was being able to watch Michael race such an exciting race and finish so well. There was a nice vibe to the whole event, and the shady plaza by Grants Tomb where the racing was staged made for a a great place to hang out on a hot day and take in some bike racing. 

Super late with the race recap buttttttt…

I should note that they fudged the registration so my name (where 8th should’ve been) is someone else’s registration 🤷🏽‍♂️

I made the decision to stay up front and keep it spicy because this was the first time I was on course for Grants Tomb after watching for years. Started off front and kept it there for the race, did some big pulls and attempted to work with a few others to pull a breakaway, but that wasn’t sticking. Farthest back I was in the field was maybe 20ish wheels back. Eventually led some laps and efforts to catch breakaways and held the front for a lap. On the last lap held a top 15 placement or so but a touch of wheels and a potential crash situation I held off and then another close call stopped an attempt to move up but accelerated and pushed to the finish keeping power high. 8th place but hungry for more!

Some photos I ended up purchasing from bicycle race photos.

Reg is open for Grant's Tomb.  There's lots of opportunities to race for each category (Cat 3 and 4s can race 3 times!).

https://www.bikereg.com/61143

ah damn, I'm out of town that day. Wish I could be racing with everyone

oh! I am not actually stealing Matt's excuse, but I am also out of town that weekend

Anyone else racing Grant’s tomb crit next weekend? I’m racing the 5 and the 4/5. I’m also probably down for a nip up to 9W after.

I may come up to watch in which case i'd be down to join for the ride up 9W

@DavidVibert  

I should be there.  I was originally thinking of doing the 1/2, but I think I'll be more likely in the combined old man race.  

There should be extensive race recaps and recons here.  Scroll through for wisdom as the course hasn't changed.  

It's a pity others aren't racing.  This is a great course.

I'll be there for the 3/4 and 2/3 race.  I don't think I'll have legs left for 9W ride.

Just found out my weekend plans were pushed because of the weather so if it’s not too shitty out I’m gonna come cheer the racing folks on

I raced the 5 and 4/5. Love the course, hit some great lines, but sprint fitness was not there and I didn’t get any good results worth sharing. Two separate people took way too wide lines in front of me and crashed: oof.
I did not do 9w.

I raced the 3/4s and 2/3s.  This was probably one of the hardest races I've done on the road. 

In the 3/4s, the pace started fast, but thankfully let up at a few points for a bit.  The course was not nearly as sketchy as I was expecting, especially once it got strung out.  By about half way through, I was getting the hang of the corners and finding the lines that I liked the best.  Sadly, I was struggling with letting gaps open up coming out of the top of the hill and the sweeping U-turn.  This would prove to be my biggest issue.  With 5 to go, I knew I needed to start moving up.  Slowly I made my way towards the front and ended up ~10th-12th wheel going into the last turn. Coming out of the last turn, the front group started their sprint super early and opened a gap that I couldn't close.  Ended up 15th.  

After the 3/4, I was cooked.  There was ~1 hour between the races, but cooling down was tough with the humidity.  I wasn't able to get my HR down much below 90, which had me a bit concerned.  I just wanted to get as far into the 2/3 race as I could.

2/3s was hard.  It was fast right from the gun and never let up.  Between everything, I got pulled after ~15 minutes I think.

Overall, it was a fun race and was very well organized.  

Greg, David,

So glad you went out and did it.

I bailed on account of wet roads for the masters race (I trust myself and not the field) and I had a family dinner I couldn't miss which caused me to miss that event.