Apr 06, 2024 at 03:36 PM
Anyone else racing cat 5 tomorrow?
L&C Cup
Apr 06, 2024 at 10:43 PM
Doesn't look like it but I'll be there for reg
Apr 06, 2024 at 11:01 PM
I’m not able to be there tomorrow but will come up for the race next weekend
Apr 07, 2024 at 12:30 AM
I'm hoping there will be room for me to race. Missed the pre-reg because it closed early.
Apr 08, 2024 at 06:43 PM
Race report for Sunday, April 7:
Sole Kissena in cat 5 this week. Was my second race of the year (and ever). In the first I was dropped on the hill during the first lap; this time I was dropped on the hill during lap 3, so by coarse math I am 300% improved from last time!
Was a good race this week. The bunch was messy and not well organized in the first lap. Took until after the first pass of the hill to really get organized into a group. There was a break of 2 riders in the second lap that managed to hold for about half of a lap before being caught on the hill. Big shout to cheerleader Dave Yang for the encouragement from the sidelines, and for volunteering despite not racing.
I passed the aftermath of a crash in the 3/4s on my 4th lap. Sounded pretty gnarly, and the ambulance came around to pick up one rider (thankfully, he was ok and smiling when they brought him back to the finish). I caught up with one of the 3/4s who did crash but wasn't able to catch the group. Nice guy named Bart, 21yo from Middle Island who works at Carl Hart bikes out there. He and I worked together for my last 2 laps before I finished dead last at +6:41. I did get a not so nice shoutout from one of the Good Guys (who ended up winning) in the 1/2/3 group. I was in an unfortunate spot on the hill where I was on their inside line and couldn't get to the outside in time. Had I gotten there, I would then have been on the inside of the next part of the curve. Oh well! Not dismayed and I'll take getting yelled at by a 1/2/3 as a rite of passage in my cat 5 journey.
A rider from Pedal Power ended up winning from the cat 5 group. They had at least 3 or 4 guys in the race. There were a handful of DQ's for entering crossing the double white. One rider was pleading his case to Tom (Tim?) and he emphatically told him no. Banned from the next few races.
Hung around to the end to watch Eloy finish in the 3/4s and JP in the 1, 2, 3s. I think Thierry raced, but I lost him in the bunch (sorry, Thierry!). Nice drop by from Mark at the end as well. Not sure if I can race this weekend, but I'm stoked on progress and looking forward to finishing with the bunch next go around.
Sole Kissena in cat 5 this week. Was my second race of the year (and ever). In the first I was dropped on the hill during the first lap; this time I was dropped on the hill during lap 3, so by coarse math I am 300% improved from last time!
Was a good race this week. The bunch was messy and not well organized in the first lap. Took until after the first pass of the hill to really get organized into a group. There was a break of 2 riders in the second lap that managed to hold for about half of a lap before being caught on the hill. Big shout to cheerleader Dave Yang for the encouragement from the sidelines, and for volunteering despite not racing.
I passed the aftermath of a crash in the 3/4s on my 4th lap. Sounded pretty gnarly, and the ambulance came around to pick up one rider (thankfully, he was ok and smiling when they brought him back to the finish). I caught up with one of the 3/4s who did crash but wasn't able to catch the group. Nice guy named Bart, 21yo from Middle Island who works at Carl Hart bikes out there. He and I worked together for my last 2 laps before I finished dead last at +6:41. I did get a not so nice shoutout from one of the Good Guys (who ended up winning) in the 1/2/3 group. I was in an unfortunate spot on the hill where I was on their inside line and couldn't get to the outside in time. Had I gotten there, I would then have been on the inside of the next part of the curve. Oh well! Not dismayed and I'll take getting yelled at by a 1/2/3 as a rite of passage in my cat 5 journey.
A rider from Pedal Power ended up winning from the cat 5 group. They had at least 3 or 4 guys in the race. There were a handful of DQ's for entering crossing the double white. One rider was pleading his case to Tom (Tim?) and he emphatically told him no. Banned from the next few races.
Hung around to the end to watch Eloy finish in the 3/4s and JP in the 1, 2, 3s. I think Thierry raced, but I lost him in the bunch (sorry, Thierry!). Nice drop by from Mark at the end as well. Not sure if I can race this weekend, but I'm stoked on progress and looking forward to finishing with the bunch next go around.
Apr 08, 2024 at 06:45 PM
Showed up and got in, no problem. Only 93 starters and 110 slots.
I generally don't like waiting that long to be involved with the race. Still, without teammates and with several bigger teams in attendance, it seemed like even in a best-case scenario, I"d have to pretty carefully pick when to get involved attacking.
So, I rode carefully up the hill. Didn't feel great, but I was holding position just fine in the pack. As I wasn't focused on good position, the winning break went--it lingered and then rolled away, I don't recall when it went.
Finally, with four to go, I was confident enough to ride close to the front. With three to go, I got up there, held good position for a lap, then it slowed further, and I figured I had lost any moment to get away. The swarm was dominant for a lap, then we were on the bell. My first instinct was to attack on the flats. But, when we hit the flats, the pace ramped up a good bit. Then it went to 'find a safe line and try to hold position on the hill.' I did that no problem.
At the finish, the break, which finished with nine, was 23 seconds ahead of the field. The field sprint for 10th was won by a Foundation rider--they did nothing to chase, even thought tehy had six in the field. Blue Ribbon had three guys that did nothing and finished alongside each other. Rockstar had four and did nothing. Looks like Big Hit and Good Guys and Imperium and Veselka are the teams that come to play.
58th out of 93 starters.
https://www.strava.com/activities/11128431758
My goals were pretty limited in this race. After feeling like I wasn't able to do the hill at the front in the last Prospect race, the Masters rce from two weeks ago, which was slow (but cold), I wanted to make sure I could ride the hill well in the early laps. If I could, then I would htink about attacking or following an attack later.
I generally don't like waiting that long to be involved with the race. Still, without teammates and with several bigger teams in attendance, it seemed like even in a best-case scenario, I"d have to pretty carefully pick when to get involved attacking.
So, I rode carefully up the hill. Didn't feel great, but I was holding position just fine in the pack. As I wasn't focused on good position, the winning break went--it lingered and then rolled away, I don't recall when it went.
Finally, with four to go, I was confident enough to ride close to the front. With three to go, I got up there, held good position for a lap, then it slowed further, and I figured I had lost any moment to get away. The swarm was dominant for a lap, then we were on the bell. My first instinct was to attack on the flats. But, when we hit the flats, the pace ramped up a good bit. Then it went to 'find a safe line and try to hold position on the hill.' I did that no problem.
At the finish, the break, which finished with nine, was 23 seconds ahead of the field. The field sprint for 10th was won by a Foundation rider--they did nothing to chase, even thought tehy had six in the field. Blue Ribbon had three guys that did nothing and finished alongside each other. Rockstar had four and did nothing. Looks like Big Hit and Good Guys and Imperium and Veselka are the teams that come to play.
58th out of 93 starters.
https://www.strava.com/activities/11128431758
Apr 08, 2024 at 07:55 PM
Big Hit and Good Guys are for sure the teams to watch this year. They've seemed to have gobbled up a lot of the 3s that were dominating and have just gotten stronger it seems.
Apr 08, 2024 at 09:29 PM
@BlakeFoster you did great, so awesome watching you stay in there and mix it up. You accomplished your mission to Not Take A Pull Ever during the race.
Next race's mission: Sag up the hill, which means you'll have to eat a tiny bit of wind just before the hill and during the next 30-45 seconds you slowly slide backwards in the field and latch on to the last few riders as you crest. It isn't pretty, but it will hopefully let you survive all 5 laps.
Also, if you can race on Sunday, come out. We'll get it going together.
Next race's mission: Sag up the hill, which means you'll have to eat a tiny bit of wind just before the hill and during the next 30-45 seconds you slowly slide backwards in the field and latch on to the last few riders as you crest. It isn't pretty, but it will hopefully let you survive all 5 laps.
Also, if you can race on Sunday, come out. We'll get it going together.
Apr 17, 2024 at 12:22 AM
Volunteering/Race link to help with race day number pick up for the APRIL 21 Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup Race
Apr 20, 2024 at 12:19 AM
I'm racing the 1/2/3's Sunday. Anyone joining me?
Whose in for the other categories?
Whose in for the other categories?
Apr 20, 2024 at 11:18 AM
I’m in for the 3/4s
Apr 22, 2024 at 01:49 PM
Recap of the 3/4s from yesterday's race:
I was the lone Kissena so I was determined to try and get into a break or if that didn't work, surf wheels in the latter part of the race and try to contest the finale.
Nothing really happened on the first lap. I followed wheels and ended up towards the front after the hill and then just after the start finish I ended up on the very front of the race. I didn't pedal all that hard hoping to have some people come around me, then Linea Racing (they had something like 6-7 people) attacked- happy to let him go because it wasn't my job to chase (TBD had 5 people, Blue Ribbon had 3 riders, and NYCC had a few riders). Then a second later another Linda Racing rider attacked so I followed that wheel immediately. We got a few second gap, caught the first attacker and then it was the three of us heading into the downhill. I said it's 2 of you and one of me, let's work, andddddddddd they both sat up. Mind blown I floated back into the field.
The next few laps were uneventful for me. We had a Sprint lap, a KOM lap, and then another sprint. I didn't have a horse in any of these races so I stayed towards the front, followed when I needed but otherwise let Linea attack, not have a plan and then get brought back and let the KOM/Sprint competitors do their things.
Coming into the final two laps I ate a gel and was feeling really good. I was moving within the pack well and was staying in the top 10 wheels with somewhat relative ease. Coming through the start/finish for the final lap, the front was slowing but we were still trucking along fast enough that no bunching up or swarming was happening. We come through the final downhill and stick to the left, the right side then gets much faster and swarms. I didn't react fast enough and was a bit boxed in and was mid pack. Through the false flat I tried to make up some wheels and then realized I was about 3/4 of the way back through the pack. Shit. On the final climb I end up on former KCC Diego's wheel. He's moving nicely until the door gets shut in front of him. Former KCC Colin is coming up my left quickly and I hop on his wheel, make up a few places and then that doors slammed shut. By the top of the hill people are fading so make a up a few wheels there until I just latch onto the back of the lead group but my race is already done. I pick off a few more people to finish mid pack.
I'm a bit disappointed with the final result because I felt like I raced this one a lot better than other races and I genuinely felt like I had the legs. The race felt difficult but not oh my god hard and my heart rate averaged like 140 BPM, which is like a moderate tempo effort for me. JP and I grabbed a coffee/hot chocolate afterwards and we're both convinced if we get a consistent group of us in the races week in, week out we can really make something happen, so lets go race bikes!
I was the lone Kissena so I was determined to try and get into a break or if that didn't work, surf wheels in the latter part of the race and try to contest the finale.
Nothing really happened on the first lap. I followed wheels and ended up towards the front after the hill and then just after the start finish I ended up on the very front of the race. I didn't pedal all that hard hoping to have some people come around me, then Linea Racing (they had something like 6-7 people) attacked- happy to let him go because it wasn't my job to chase (TBD had 5 people, Blue Ribbon had 3 riders, and NYCC had a few riders). Then a second later another Linda Racing rider attacked so I followed that wheel immediately. We got a few second gap, caught the first attacker and then it was the three of us heading into the downhill. I said it's 2 of you and one of me, let's work, andddddddddd they both sat up. Mind blown I floated back into the field.
The next few laps were uneventful for me. We had a Sprint lap, a KOM lap, and then another sprint. I didn't have a horse in any of these races so I stayed towards the front, followed when I needed but otherwise let Linea attack, not have a plan and then get brought back and let the KOM/Sprint competitors do their things.
Coming into the final two laps I ate a gel and was feeling really good. I was moving within the pack well and was staying in the top 10 wheels with somewhat relative ease. Coming through the start/finish for the final lap, the front was slowing but we were still trucking along fast enough that no bunching up or swarming was happening. We come through the final downhill and stick to the left, the right side then gets much faster and swarms. I didn't react fast enough and was a bit boxed in and was mid pack. Through the false flat I tried to make up some wheels and then realized I was about 3/4 of the way back through the pack. Shit. On the final climb I end up on former KCC Diego's wheel. He's moving nicely until the door gets shut in front of him. Former KCC Colin is coming up my left quickly and I hop on his wheel, make up a few places and then that doors slammed shut. By the top of the hill people are fading so make a up a few wheels there until I just latch onto the back of the lead group but my race is already done. I pick off a few more people to finish mid pack.
I'm a bit disappointed with the final result because I felt like I raced this one a lot better than other races and I genuinely felt like I had the legs. The race felt difficult but not oh my god hard and my heart rate averaged like 140 BPM, which is like a moderate tempo effort for me. JP and I grabbed a coffee/hot chocolate afterwards and we're both convinced if we get a consistent group of us in the races week in, week out we can really make something happen, so lets go race bikes!
May 28, 2024 at 10:02 PM
Bump!
the next L&C Race is coming up Saturday, June 8.
I want to call attention to a comment made on this thread in Late april.
"JP and I grabbed a coffee/hot chocolate afterwards and we're both convinced if we get a consistent group of us in the races week in, week out we can really make something happen, so lets go race bikes!"
So, with a bit more than 10 days to go, I figure it's time for folks to start thinking about getting those race legs back into service. I think we've got the riders to do well in at least both the 3/4 and the 5 races. But we need people to show up to make it happen.
Who is in?
the next L&C Race is coming up Saturday, June 8.
I want to call attention to a comment made on this thread in Late april.
"JP and I grabbed a coffee/hot chocolate afterwards and we're both convinced if we get a consistent group of us in the races week in, week out we can really make something happen, so lets go race bikes!"
So, with a bit more than 10 days to go, I figure it's time for folks to start thinking about getting those race legs back into service. I think we've got the riders to do well in at least both the 3/4 and the 5 races. But we need people to show up to make it happen.
Who is in?
May 29, 2024 at 12:17 AM
I am in for 5s here, too
May 29, 2024 at 12:26 AM
Reg link here:
https://www.bikereg.com/66053
I'm planning to show up for 3/4.
***Remember if you received a cloth number in any of the previous PP races in 2024 - this is your number for the season in both L&C and Verge series!***
https://www.bikereg.com/66053
I'm planning to show up for 3/4.
***Remember if you received a cloth number in any of the previous PP races in 2024 - this is your number for the season in both L&C and Verge series!***
May 29, 2024 at 07:41 PM
Will we have the volunteer opportunity as we did before?
May 29, 2024 at 10:04 PM
You can if you want to.BlakeFoster said:Will we have the volunteer opportunity as we did before?
May 30, 2024 at 01:25 AM
The link is usually sent out/posted the week of.BlakeFoster said:Will we have the volunteer opportunity as we did before?
Jun 04, 2024 at 04:34 PM
bump.
the 4-5 field already has 28 entries out of the 75 field limit.
the 4-5 field already has 28 entries out of the 75 field limit.
Jun 04, 2024 at 04:59 PM
Clarifying the field is now 5 only. Tom combined 3 and 4.mugwump said:bump.
the 4-5 field already has 28 entries out of the 75 field limit.
Jun 05, 2024 at 12:08 AM
The goal is to start the women's race after the Cat 5 is no longer on in the park.
Jun 05, 2024 at 12:19 AM
In for 3/4.
Jun 05, 2024 at 12:28 PM
Do we have volunteer signup link?
Jun 06, 2024 at 01:51 PM
looking at the start list, it seems only Max and I are registered.
who else is in?
5's
Max
3/4
Greg H
David Y
1/2/3
JP
Let's race bikes!
who else is in?
5's
Max
3/4
Greg H
David Y
1/2/3
JP
Let's race bikes!
Jun 06, 2024 at 02:48 PM
I am planning and should be there for the 3/4 race
Jun 06, 2024 at 02:48 PM
Looking for this tooBlakeFoster said:Do we have volunteer signup link?
Jun 06, 2024 at 03:02 PM
Alex asked for it from the organizer, I'll def be there for 5's.
Jun 06, 2024 at 04:22 PM
Reposting Alex from Slack:
RACING RETURNS THIS WEEKEND!Sign up to volunteer and or race for the upcoming JUNE 8th Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup race:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSexwV5T1Bo2q13lXOliqhvbz2cXE8dp_L_528a5sPLKuPaA4A/viewform
RACING RETURNS THIS WEEKEND!Sign up to volunteer and or race for the upcoming JUNE 8th Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup race:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSexwV5T1Bo2q13lXOliqhvbz2cXE8dp_L_528a5sPLKuPaA4A/viewform
Jun 06, 2024 at 04:33 PM
I'm in for the 3/4s
Jun 07, 2024 at 12:42 AM
Dave, Eloy, Greg, Matt,
any suggested attack plans for the race?
any suggested attack plans for the race?