Also, I would like to note that Kissenas attacked like crazy and got in almost all the moves the night Graham took the jersey. A lot of us were really gassed when he went away. Could it be they let us punch ourselves out?

P.S. I half expect to awaken to the sound of breaking glass and a concussion grenade, followed by Marc and JP synchronously smashing through the two windows in my bedroom on rapelling ropes from the roof with some zip ties and a large gunny sack -- for proposing we don't ride a Kissena race.

just got back from my training ride, during which i stewed on the following:

for michael to get the jersey back, he needs to finish (1) in front of Graham, and (2) in the points

sounds simple, right?

he must mark graham a lot, but not to the point of missing out on placing

we should continue to be active, but if a break rolls off and no setantas are in it, we do NO work

capiche?

We still need to be attentive to breaks b/c of the limited number of points available for Mike to make up, no?

Anyway, two weeks ago the thing that we lacked was communication. When there was a small split with two Scottos guys, me, Mike, and a couple of other people, John was still up the road with Graham. He was starting to fade, and we should have attacked right then. But I had no idea Graham was up the road with John. That's bad on me, but we also need to make sure we inform each other of what is going on. We're all surfing around and don't necessarily have the info that everyone else does.

At the same time, once we figured out what was happening, we should have rotated our 5 guys at the front to reel him in. For scraps, Mike told me to go to the front and go as hard as I could on the last lap. Coming down the back stretch at over 30, we must have caused some splits b/c when I peeled off on the last corner, there were a lot of gaps in the field and I suppose that benefited him in the sprint b/c at least he took 6th? I dunno, we just need to stay together and communicate more I think. We have really strong riders that are willing to sacrifice for the greater CAAD 10!

I have no problem sitting on Graham the entire race, if that will get us points.

Good thoughts folks.

Do we have a headcount? right now I'm seeing:

Perlberg
WDC
Owens
White
Rich

Usual But not confirmed:
Jan?
Wojciech?
Carl?

Any others?

maybe if you add a new friend on FB, he can help:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001334102521

I think if enough points go up the road, we have to bring them back no matter what. Even if John M. and Jeff O. and Wojchiech are all in it, right? So what good does it do anyone but Perlberg to be in breaks?

Jeff it is a good question.

#1: I doubt a big break will get up the road. It seems like breaks of 3-5 work best at 3/4 FBF races. If we have representation in said break, and Setanta doesn't, and maybe Lance is in it or not, then we can let it go and force Setanta to chase. What would be lame is if we have nobody in the break. So we need to assign roles covering breaks on certain laps and assign roles of covering Graham.

#2: Of course it would not be the best for me to get 0 points: but if Graham gets 0 as well, that isn't terrible. Unless Lance wins. 2 more weeks to get those points back.

I guess the biggest tactical point I'm struggling with is: Do I cover Graham, or do I allow a few teammates to stick to him like glue and refuse to work - hoping the rest of the freelancers in the field also jump all over his moves and shut them down? Then after he attacks and is shut down, I counter attack, maybe with help from a teammate. The risk of that is Graham is able to attack and we don't cover him - and then oh shit.

Contingency plan is we chase hard if he gets away. I serve as gatekeeper and let folks rotate at the front without interruption from blockers.

Finally, we can never predict how these things will go down, no matter how hard we try, so we will have to be ready to race, communicate, and improvise.

I am going to try to be there tomorrow. Give you guys another body to throw at the Setanta folks.

I intend to be there too

I'll come down and help out.

Hope to make it.
June 2 points:
Mike in yellow? 45pts
Graham 45pts
Lance 35pts

Posted By: John MalcolmsonHope to make it.
June 2 points:
Mike in yellow? 45pts
Graham 45pts
Lance 35pts

Those aren't accurate. Graham is up by 2, and in the red leaders jersey.

The likely roster:

Perlberg
WDC
Owens
White
Rich
Dan
Ian
Ryan
Malcolmson
Wochiech?

The goals:

Perlberg gets points
Perlberg beats Graham
That's it?

The roles:

Perlberg's call, of course. He already has plenty of unsolicited input from the peanut gallery. But since a lot of us have to high tail it out from work and get to the start with little time to spare, it might be nice to have something sketched out here on the boards as a baseline for those who miss the pre-race pow wow.

An unsolicited, unwelcome, and probably unwise straw-man plan for Mike to tear down:

First half of the race (Phase I - Take No Resposibility):

Ian, Dan, and White (me!) stay near the front and strictly follow Setanta wheels up to breaks. Kissena initiates NO breaks. Kissena LETS GO small, one- two- three-man flyers without a Setanta. No Setanta in the break? No Kissena in the break. On the off-chance a Kissena ends up in a break, that Kissena DOES NO WORK in the break.

Meanwhile, Perlberg keeps himself ideally positioned to see the race action and does ZERO work. Owens marks Graham. The rest of the Kissenas stay out of the wind as much as possible. Hang back, conserve, and communicate, knowing the shit's under control. If shit gets out of control, everyone get to the front and get it back under control. Unless Perlberg attacks from the chaos. If that happens, do the Right Thing.

Second half of the race (Phase II - Spring Perlberg):

WDC, Ryan, and Rich initiate hard breaks and lead Perlberg up to ones initiated by others. Act as catalysts for Perlberg. Be opportunistic. Be smart. Hopefully Ian, Dan, and White (me!) are still in a position after Phase I to set these up and block when they happen. Owens marks Graham.

Phase II is really just standard Floyd racing.

Last two laps (Phase III - Lead Perlberg Out):

If it's still together, the sole goal here is to get Mike across the line before Graham. A fresh Malcolmson takes care of Perlberg here. Mike follows John's wheel for the whole leadout and sprint. Everyone bust their asses to line up at the front and do the train. Ride past Setanta's train if they form one. A Kissena gets to the final corner first, no excuses, and sprints out of it. Then the sprint with Mike on John's wheel. Can't lose.

I just became a cat4 anyone have any tips for me
Nosson Spielberg

be careful!

pay attention to other riders!

don't crash!

Nosson, Ride rollers. Really. get smooth and efficient on them. then move onto group rides. then onto races. Be safe first of all.

Sounds like a plan Jeffrey.

The only wild card here is Lance who won from last lap breakaway Tuesday (wearing a purple 80's camouflage top I might add, cheeky bastard!). He will likely try to play us off with late counterattacks.
Seeing as he's 12pts down, we should consider adding him to the list of "shut it down", as in, drag Perlberg up to him as well.

I also like the idea of having two riders at the front signal to swap out for fresher legs ala Mengoni strategy. Other thing is to make sure we are all in close proximity to each other and near front... and of course fetch Mike numerous water bottles.

Is this the 'unattached' Lance? If so, why doesn't someone make efforts to attach him to Kissena?

Damn guys this sounds so exciting, I wish I could make it. Can someone please tweet race updates from their Garmin?

Posted By: dstokesIs this the 'unattached' Lance? If so, why doesn't someone make efforts to attach him to Kissena?

Wojciech knows him well, I'll get him to mention it. I will chat with him as well.

I'm talking about Lance Sniadowski, CRCA Organic Athlete, 12pts down.

@Jeff White

I love it! If Wojciech is there I want him covering Graham with Owens and then in reserve for late breaks. If he is there, I will keep WDC as my personal sherpa.

Posted By: John MalcolmsonI'm talking about Lance Sniadowski, CRCA Organic Athlete, 12pts down.

Yeah, he is wearing other random jerseys because of a dispute with CRCA. He didn't pay dues so they had the officials DQ him and cancel his results from the past month. I think he likes organic but they are a CRCA sub-team so he has to join CRCA to become a part of that squad I guess.

Posted By: mperlbergIf he is there, I will keep WDC as my personal sherpa.

barring locusts, i'll be there to serve as your chauffeur

you know the drill: YELL YELL YELL

Its awesome that he still wears the Organic shorts and other attire, since I suppose that's not technically illegal, just the jersey. F you CRCA!

GAP meet up?

6pm?

-William

917 572 3741

I'll stop by with hydrating goodies again, and a cap if your name is Dan

They only require the CRCA patch on the jersey, so riding without the jersey is technically ok.

Posted By: billcareyI'll stop by with hydrating goodies again, and a cap if your name is Dan

you're the man

First, race well. Smart riding, hard riding, great communication. We want a detailed report. (Jeff, I'm only SWATting through your window if I find out you raced like the other dopey pack-fill mopes who sit around, chase for no reason, then sit back and fight for 23rd place)

Second, Lance is indeed strong, but if he's not paying CRCA dues and is trying to portray himself as being on CRCA, it's kind of a bad sign.