We had crazy numbers out there today and we dictated the race. Well done team in securing Joe's KOM jersey and Kevin 6th! Misha of Hudson took line honors. Dan and co. did an excellent job marauding the front. Rich, that sucks you flatted.

The first lap: lot's of attacks. Lap two Jacobs and Sam were away about 10 seconds, Dan was chasing hard, but I didn't like the smell of it, so I jumped over so we'd have a guy there. I noticed, Jacobs is pretty strong, recovers very quickly and I sensed rides under his abilities 95% of the time. Sam Chesterton (just up'd) is a very strong rider also, but lacks explosiveness and has a brute force approach. Felt lame to just sit on them! Seemed to settle from then on.

Took Sprint 1 by sitting on Joe Jacobs.

2nd sprint: attacked from top just after KOM (by keeping 15th position). Note to team: that turned out to be the PERFECT time to breakaway today because of the headwind climb. I was confused about which lap the 2nd sprint was on. If I had been more certain, I would have treated it like a race finish and have gone all-in with the two man break... we were caught about 300 or so out.

Finish: Moved up to front 15, was just about to turn on the gas and had a little seat-smashing-into-my-handlebars incident and had to back off, that's when Jacobs came past me to take 7th. Ended up 8th $35. I was going to shout coffee @ sunshine but the guys all jetted.

Takeaways
- Let's dedicate some riders to sit on the wheel of Green Jerseys and Leaders jersey (green in particular). As planned, I sat on JJ's wheel for a fair bit of the race, to understand his tactics better and get position. We'd have gained major advantage if we had someone with a kick glued to Greeney's wheel each sprint lap/finish as well. These guys are showing they are consistently the strongest.
- I'd like us to agree on who we think can challenge the Leader and Green jersey so we can ride for them. Is that Yacks for green? Who for leader? Not sure who has existing points, I likely won't be around for the whole series.
- As predicted, NY Velocity guys were strongest team in terms of chasing our attacks down.
- Although our breaks didn't stick, they were really effective in moving pressure off the team and on to our competitors (although a couple of times planned counters didn't happen when our guys were brought back—wha happened team 1AB?).
- I feel we'd be better set to respond if we had Kissena's in the top 35 at all times. With my box seat, a couple of times I saw riders "telephoning in" their attacks by moving up from the back, discussing the move. Could be a little stealthier.
- Kissena final leadout train made it safe, thanks for sacrificing guys. In that wind we needed a few extra riders to go to the line. If you aren't going to contest the sprint, why not get on the front and see if you can beat out your max HR?
- Prize money. Seeing as we're riding as a team, I feel it's fair we should be pooling our winnings. What's the consensus here?

Great riding with you all, I think we achieved our goal today of shutting down the JB's/making them choose jersey. Unless the conditions are nuts, my sense is we are going to see a lot of bunch sprints in this series. If you have a sec, it'd be great to hear from each rider thoughts on how we can improve our results and the positives, negatives and the interestings.

Good luck tomorrow guys. Watch out for those crazy Colts with wheels on their legs.

Big ups to Stéphane today for busting his ass. I he kept the tempo high on multiple occasions!

Misha is going to be the sprint threat from now on. I think Yack stacks up well against him. I'm assuming JJ will get upgraded before the series is up, so he probably won't factor in overall or sprint unless he gets some insane points before that happens. I like Joe's chances for KOM.

@John: Dan, Patrick, and I intentionally left JJ to dangle off the front on his lap-2 attack. I even talked Misha down from chasing. We had it completely under control, with the idea that we'd make him burn some matches waiting for some help to come up and form the break. Patrick and I were just riding solid tempo on the front, keeping him within range while still leaving him with some hope, when you came blasting around and bridged up. At that point, we shut it down, guys finally figured it out and started jumping around us and we followed wheels back up to you. I'm not going to question your instincts about bridging up; there's no way you could have known we were not chasing in earnest. I think that was an opportunity for some communication that we missed there.

About 0.5 miles after that little bit of action, we executed our plan for sprint #1. I was actually designated for sprint #2, but I found myself in perfect position past the temple and JJ was neatly riding at the front, so I thought, "man, this is the perfect setup," and attacked hard in the right gutter. I blew past some poser who attacked sometime before that, took a 5-second draft off another guy who somehow got up the road, then went around him after he dropped anchor. All said, I was away for 1:20 at 465 watts. The pack finally reeled me in right at the Irving bust, and, as if it were planned, Rich BLEW through at a blistering pace that almost discarded me and my Belgian knee warmers off the back of the pack.

For sprint #2, I was still not recovered (it was right after sprint #1 -- they keep you guessing!), and so I couldn't get into position to help, even though I tried in earnest when I saw/heard Rich flat on the downhill and knew B Team was a man down.

With three to go, and my team responsibilities satisfied, I followed a hard move from an NYVelocity buddy of mine that looked interesting (even though he launched it well past the bandshell -- too close to the downhill) and I bridged up to him just after the downhill. He said he was done and went back, so I sort of rode some hard tempo, looked back, rode some hard tempo, looked back, but the gap to me wasn't closing. So I started to pour it on a little bit, hoping someone would come up. And lo and behold, Patrick comes cruising by and pulls right through! Nice. Got a little recovery, did some two-man paceline for a couple minutes, but the two of us didn't have the horsepower to stay away without help, and nobody else bridged up. We got reeled in before the uphill. It's really nice to have your breakaway always caught right before the uphill. It's just a nice little thing.

Anyway, I recovered from that and tried to make it back up to the front to help with a leadout, but that dude from NYVelocity strung it out for like a HALF LAP (he says at over 29 mph avg), and some of our boys picked it up after that, so I ran out of road to get to the front.

Note: In the run-up to the sprint, I kind of boxed JJ out as he tried to pass me on my left, so he expressed some verbal annoyance and just rode up the bike lane for a while. I didn't like that.

Fun race! Easier than the 3/4 races, though I do wish it were 11 laps, not nine.

About the break getting caught on the uphill... I hope we are counter attacking because that is the time the chasers are tired.
E

I'm pretty sure I heard that JJ got a mysterious letter saying he had to cat up so I'm not to sure how much more we will be seeing of him.

John Said...

- Prize money. Seeing as we're riding as a team, I feel it's fair we should be pooling our winnings. What's the consensus here?

You have a ton of guys so it is tricky. But yes, splitting up prize money is a great idea. You might only leave with $5 but it makes everyone feel like they are a part of the win. Good for morale, good for teamwork, and prevents the team (or at least discourages) from riding against itself.

The 1-2-3 guys do it after every race.

FWIW, last Thursday I watched Brian Breech say to Scott Savory (after riding his ass of to set Scott up for the sprint) "hey, do you mind if I get some of that prize money?" Scott, who had already put the money in his bag said "oh yeah, of course, you don't have to ask."

Hhahah. I guess some teams just don't share and that makes for messy situations. When you see United chase their own breaks down.... think about it.

On the topic of payola, I think John Malcomson is owed a frossssty Michelob for his sprint points. Juuuust saaaayyyin'.

I think pooling money is a good idea, it's tough with 19 riders to keep everything straight about who you paid and if people really want their $2. Maybe we make a pot where we throw money in and after a month or 2 we all go out to eat or something.

J

Hmmmm, I notice the jacobs second KOM 1-2 finish wasn't removed after their prolonged joggers lane infraction, which was reported to the officials I believe...

And I saw the non-yellow jersey brother do it another time to get to his bro. And apparently, Jeff White observed one just cruising up the lane as if he deserves to at the front b/c he's good. People should just get out of his way. Ummm, no. That's what happens when you're going for all 3 jerseys. You lose position after efforts and get boxed out sometimes. Report these infractions. Not to be sour grapes b/c they are clearly strong, but b/c it's the type of behavior that will get all park races banned. Being new, perhaps they are uninformed of the seriousness of their actions, so they need to be made aware, regardless of points or standings consequences.

Anyway, good job all. We can adjust details of who's best suited for which gigs after this one, now that we've seen a bit of where peoples' strengths lie and what they enjoy doing. Sorry if I just sorta floated around and ended up trying to help KOM. Bloome and Wojiech weren't in it so my Team C (Team Cool) duties were kinda forgotten. I'll stick to the script better next time!

I'm off to have a beer in your honor! (join me if you like in Williamsburg and you can meet our very un-official team mascot, Leroy the dachshund).

Congrats to Kevin for 6th & to Joe for keeping his KOM

I thought my ride had pre-reg'd for the 5's but she didn't... I didn't realize this until 4 this morning hence I couldn't catch the train/ferry in time & I didn't want to drag her out for no reason

Ahh what can you do.

This is good stuff...when you have the #'s and know what to do with them, you become a cat with a three-legged mouse. When you have a role and you know what you are going to do and when you are going to do it, you have HUGE advantage over other guys. You can sit in and comfortably draft until its your time to turn up the power. Other guys will have to constantly read the race and try to figure whats happening and when they should work. That is confusing. When there is confusion, there is opportunity for you guys to execute. For the green jersey I think a double threat is our best bet. My head up sprint is not overpowering...but I can go early and hold it. My best weapon is attacking at about 1k...getting a gap and praying the field looks around for someone to close it. I would like to keep doing this and have John sit on the green jersey. This takes the onis off Kissena to set up the train and leaves John in the catbird seat to launch his sprint from the draft of the green jersey. Both of us getting points for a few races would be the best option as one of us could get sick, have to miss a race, get a mechanical etc. Let's see where this approach takes us. If we get points in every sprint for a couples of races, we could lock up the competition early or other guys might give up on green and let us have it. As far as sharing prize money, the green jersey gets a pair of cycling shoes this year...those would be hard to share... We have a huge, talented cat IV team this year and I think we can take the green, polka dot and maybe even the pink if we remain focused and commited to the series. As far as the mysterious letter Mr. Jacobs received... I have no comment :)
yack-zilla

I've very disappointed about the second KOM standings because I lodged an official complaint to the referee. I gave the full details of the infraction, the riders numbers and names. The referees said (and this is an exact quote) "oh it doesn't matter because they didn't win the KOM". I questioned them again if they were sure and they were adamant, so I figured that there must have been a few riders just off the front and the Jacobs didn't quite catch them before the prime.

I'm not sure if I did not follow correct procedure - or they just want their payola with the minimum of fuss.

As I say ... disappointing.

forward the complaint to Charlie I as he can suspend from the series.

regarding splitting prize money:

I'm a big proponent of "even" splits. That is, whatever the total prize money is for Kissena in a particular race, everyone entered gets an equal share. the person who crossed the line in the place that triggered the payout should offer to everyone. At the same time, someone who feels they didn't participate or didn't merit a share for some reason can make an offer to decline. If it feels crazy offering up $2, you can either pool money from multiple weeks (which takes a little accounting skill) or buy everyone bagels and drinks after the race (assuming it's Prospect).

Some squads may use other methods. I'm strongly in favor of even splits as it rewards everyone equally. As the person who initiates the suicide move at the start of the final lap, the person who chases down the dangerous early move, the person who closed the gaps mid race all played an essential part in the success at the final finish line, the equal shares make sense. It also encourages the team ethos and mindset--and everyone can experience success even if they're not feeling strong or know the course doesn't favor them.

when the prize is a pair of shoes, a bottle of wine, etc, the splits are obviously somewhere between harder and impossible. There are often ways when it comes to gift certificates. For multiple days of leaders jerseys, it could be nice to keep one and offer them up to sponsors and/or teammates.

Photo Mash UP:

Stéphane
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/Lucarelli20112ndround/16843718_WD9FxV#1271436223_bwsDWC7

Ian
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/Lucarelli20112ndround/16843718_WD9FxV#1271439154_7bxKZHZ

Who is this? (Jeff White in background)
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/Lucarelli20112ndround/16843718_WD9FxV#1271432924_QwqjN4p

Shack jr. Jeff & Ian
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/Lucarelli20112ndround/16843718_WD9FxV#1271431852_DB2Shxn

A roundup-

There was obviously a bigger turnout this week as there was no monsoon so 50 riders lined up. We discussed a general plan, and as Dave was wearing the fantastic looking yellow due to his victory the previous week, we tried to think of something to defend this. Plan was cover stuff and attack on lap 2, hopefully giving the rest of the team a bit of a break from covering stuff. For the first time this year in my opinion, a team other than us turned up with numbers (5 I think?) and actually had their shit sort of together. They got on the front on the first lap and tried sending someone up the road. It wasn't too serious as the guy was just dangling there even though his team was blocking. At the beginning of the second lap another of their guys tried to bridge up to him. As I thought that it was possible that two of them together might be capable of putting in an effort, I decided to jump up to them. I think Jorge had the same idea and did the same thing. However, we bridged at the st/fin. line and then up the hill. Not sure why (will blame it on an imaginary headwind) but by the time we regrouped at the top of the climb I was blowing. There was nothing going on there as by the time we arrived the other guys were totally spent so we were caught pretty easy. Unfortunately Dave suffered a puncture the next lap (and being a hero he decided to take this opportunity to attack!!). The race was going to head for a sprint as no-one was really trying off the front so much. Figuring I had a little left, at the beginning of the last lap I decided to go again at the bottom of the hill. I stayed seated so although I really put a lot of effort in, the group didn't quite snap- needed another 150 m of hill! Mental note, need to get a gap next time, need to jump from standing at the beginning of the surge. As the group was all together for the last lap the inevitable 'sprint' occurred. I was pretty spent: managed 8th. I think Jeff took 5th.

Bit unlucky with Dave's flat, but it happened. We need to remember to generate a plan B for such eventualities in the future...

Adam

Nice riding gents and congrats on two top-tens!

Flats were a problem all over the park on saturday. The patched sections of the loop are really busted up right now.

My race report:

Was supposed to be working for Joe in Team one, ended up getting boxed into KOM one, unable to support after Patrick got swallowed up by the field, Joe apparently didn't need my help to take that one. Ended up being near the front, for Sprint # two. Jim was leading the field and took off for a perfectly timed suicidal flier, and I was 3rd wheel behind Mischa going into the sprint, although on the hoods not in the drops). I went when he did, was able to hold his wheel up the rise, but started losing ground as the field leveled out. Ended up 5th in the 2nd sprint, out of the money and hidden behind the CRCA/L.Raphael - Leopard Cycles p/b Dave Jordan Coaching rider below.

http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/Lucarelli20112ndround/16843718_WD9FxV#1271433590_H2qGwnd

Come KOM #2 I countered Sephane's flier at the middle of the hill, and was quickly shut down by the two Jacobs blowing by me after taking a tour of the jogger's lane. I hung on and did my best, I am going to make this not so dangerous through the crappy part of the course and work with Jeff to keep the pace up as high as possible, I go until the lungs explode, and the legs fall off. I crawl across the line 2nd in the "no-hands lanterne rouge sprint"

Guess who won High Point the very next day with an insane time: http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2011/04/30-High-Point-Hill-Climb.asp

Posted By: Jeffrey WhiteGuess who won High Point the very next day with an insane time:http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2011/04/30-High-Point-Hill-Climb.asp

He would have been 4th overall with that result. Wow that was fast.

@ Jeff
See your point. I didn't get you were "faux chasing" and made the decision based on my experience riding with these two ox's. I thought I could neutralize the threat fairly easily while putting the onus on other teams to chase. I'm not sure if it was a bad thing in the scheme of things... Yes, we missed on tiring legs out, but it also sent a clear message to JJ that his attacks would be shut down—a bit of aggressive tone setting. That said, I should have recognized you were letting out the rope and yes we need to be one big fat brain on the road.

@Dan/team
Do we want a goto dude to be calling the shots during the race? Who has the race radios?

Seemed like the predetermined attacks and having the jersey leaders each be directing a "squad" worked well enough. Can we improve?

One thought I had was a strong 2 man opportunist team. Say for example, when everyone was sitting up after some of those attacks were brought back—pressure.

With all these decent sprinters in other teams how can we best secure line honors? I am itching to see a Kissena win this race!

I will be out of town this weekend. Do we have another sprinter who can assist Yacks? It's too bad we can't get McKay in on the action.

Cat 4:
http://missvikk.smugmug.com/Cat4/cycling-race-prospect-park/16843127_kJTVLC#1271383109_J7SVkjZ
Cat 1-2-3:
http://missvikk.smugmug.com/PRO123/PRO123-Prospect-Park-43011/16843256_zCLk2F#1271393857_Q4Gqm32

Just remember that this week's race is not an L&C Cup race, so sprint points don't exist.
Eric

And because it's not L&C, it is a good opportunity to work on some strategies and techniques without fear of missing out on points accumulation.

@John: Like I said, I don't question your instinct to shut down JJs move one bit. It worked out just fine. I think with that many Kissenas in the race, it's impossible to have enough communication. There are just too many guys. So as long as everyone knows basically what the strategy is, we'll tend to do reasonable things.

I think one small, very attainable goal is to have four of our guys lined up for the finish. We've got plenty of guys strong enough to do a lead-out or contest a sprint. So if we just got four guys lined up -- just about any of us -- to drill a hard, fast finish, I think we could expect to have a good chance.

I have a strategy question: With over 10 guys in a field, how aggressive should we be to bridge up to moves containing one of our teammates? There were a few proto-breakaways last week with one Kissena and a few other guys. That didn't seem like it was quite good enough, given our numbers. Like, I felt like we should have multiple people in moves. Anyone have thoughts on that?

I know we're not a sprinters' team, and we don't _want_ races to boil down to sketchy bunch sprints, but my fairly racing-ignorant mind feels that by not training lead-outs and finishing sprints we're neglecting a tactic that could assist us in being a well-rounded team. Several people on morning rides (myself included) have indicated that they don't feel wholly comfortable with the process of a smooth & safe lead-out train -- who goes in what order, when/how to pull-off, which direction, etc.

In many of these park races, we have a large enough presence that some folks could be concerned with breaks & counterattacks, others with setting tempo and marking chasers' wheels and still have a gameplan for the end if things come down to it. thoughts?

Rich, if we are not a sprinters team ... we shouldn't be leading the sprint out. A lead out requires commitment, risk, and a lot of pain. And it requires that from a number of people. There's no point doing that unless there is a confidence within the team that someone is going to be successful. That may not be the win, but at least enough to compensate teammates with coffee and bagels.

OK having said that I think we can be successful in the sprints. We had a few riders top 10 last weekend, and to your point I believe we could convert 6th & 8th into top 3 with better organisation in the finale. Also at cat 4 level (and most regional levels up to and including Cat 1) most riders can sprint. It's only NRC amateur and Pro level that specialists emerge that we consider 'sprinters' (such as Griepel and Cav). Look at Jacobs and Misha - they don't 'look' like sprinters. (maybe at local Cat1 level there are a few specialists such as Ricky Lowe, but not many).

regarding technique: - you should swing off INTO the wind the instant before you blowup and slow, not after. This way the sprinter or next lead-out guy doesn't have to slow and gets a bit of shelter as they accelerate past you.
The danger in this at PP is that the wind usually comes from the right on the finishing straight. In theory you would be sprinting close to the joggers lane for much of the straight (before moving more central by the the restroom/rise). If you move into the wind - you will be moving into the pack. This isn't a problem at Pro level, but at PP ... you certainly run the risk of some clown sprinting headdown for 43rd place running into you.

cross posting this in the morning workout thread.

This wednesday we can discuss theory and practice of leadouts. We can do a little low speed leadout for prospect for a couple laps to get the feel of what one should look like. The real point is to go just hard enough that others don't want to come around, but and keep the group strung out.

Well I'm glad I mentioned the risk of someone getting hurt in my last post...as a few hours later on the Triangle ride some jackass decided to stand up and cross right over my front wheel sending me sprawling. Road rash, contusions and a sprained groin. Not sure if I will have any power at the next race as I can not do anything but spin right now. The Bianchi has never been down...11 years and no spills. Forunately the left side of my body took 99% of the impact. Good luck this weekend...see you all in a few weeks.
yacks

LAAAME. Send my regards to the blowtorch-wielding pain midget hiding in your shower. I know Lloyd all too well.

the shower is no fun right now.