P.S. Everyone on this list is actually super awesome for racing cross this year. I expect to see more awesome dudes on this list as the season continues on...

I love crossresults.

Just for perspective on how racing a different category can change your points:

Cat 4: 1st @ Whitmore Super Cross: 363
Cat 3/4: 10th @ Town Hall: 390
Cat123: 13 @ Town Hall: 333


So yeah, if you race elite's or even decently in Bs you will get a better crossresults score. So I'm not saying that JP sucks or anything.....I'm just saying come race me in the B's and stop obsessing over your crossresults ranking.

Some results are not on there.

Looking at the number of the win and placings that is more interesting.

Posted By: eragot
Looking at the number of the win and placings that is more interesting.

So says a guy who won and placed a lot last year. Haha. Seriously though, most of us racers won't win or place very often or at all, so this point system offers up a fun way to quantify our performances. I mean if Ragot spent the season racing Master's 35+ 1/2/3 in the New England Verge Series, he would be going up against a set of guys who are allergic to UCI points because they want to race Master's Worlds. Including the likes of former pros (and current bad-asses), Bill Elliston, Mark McCormack and old guys who are freakishly strong like Johnny Bold and Kevin Hines.

To further dig our toe spikes into this point a little more, Bill Elliston in the "A Masters" race earned 179 and 172 points for his wins on Saturday and Sunday in Providence. On day one, Bill's 179 points would have placed him just ahead of Dan Chabanov's 181 points earned for placing 13th in the Elite race. This same weekend in the other big races, at the USGP in Colorado, Brandon Dwight (who is on the same "prep for World's" program I'm sure) earned 186 points for his win (which would have been good enough for a 23rd place in the UCI elite race that same weekend, which is where I might expect a rider of his caliber to finish).

Meanwhile further west, a win in the "Category A 35+" race at the insanely popular cross crusade series in Portland earned Andrew Sargent 235 points. And first place in the regular "Category A" race earned Aaron Tuckerman 191 points.

Back east, track rat Bobby Lea earned 217 points for his win in the A race at the Town Hall Cross, while the Master's A race got Chris Samuel 224 points.

Look, we obviously don't race on paper or computrainers (unless you actually head out to race my old club's computrainer racers in Chicagoland during the winter), and the crossresults system I'm sure has some weaknesses (and yes, one of those weaknesses is one that plagued the old USA Cycling system, namely promoters not submitting their results--is it too early to start bugging Anthony Van Dunk?--but most of the cross promotors seem to be with the program), but as I troll the results, knowing what I know about these races and racers across the country, it seems to me they have it pretty dialed in.

To that end, let's bring it back to our very own Eric Ragot, who, along with Robertson, shredded the mid-Atlantic Men's B Master's scene. According to crossresults, he earned 2 second places in 2010. The one at Whirlybird where he battled 103 other riders, earned him 321 points, while his second placing at Whitmore with a much smaller field of 23 racers (there were actually more in that race, but someone didn't list the DNFs...ehem) scored a "higher" 316 points.

What this says to me is that despite being a smaller race in terms of participation, Eric's competition was harder at Whitmore, thus earning him the better points total. But let's ask the man himself...do you feel like your Whitmore 2nd was more valuable than your Whirlybird? (and try to take out the fact that at Whirlybird you beat over 100 guys, and that has to feel more impressive than beating just 20 or so)

hmmm....

Stephane,

Phlogiston!!!

We learned about Phlogiston in some science class in high school. It always stuck with me as a reminder that the prevailing scientific view can be completely wrong. (granted, climate change deniers or creationists can use that idea in unfortunate ways.) Also I just like saying it b/c it sounds "so made up".

Oh, and yes. I grew up "down south" and my high school history professor referred to the US Civil War as "the war of Northern Aggression" quite seriously. 125 years later... he also ate a cricket to "fire up" the football team before a game. Which we promptly lost.

The difference comes about by the time in the season the races occurred. By the time Whitmore's rolled around, people had more competition against each other and therefore changes the matrix a bit.

I have trouble evaluating the races last year because my MO is always the same - go as hard as you can to start and then hang on. Field size doesn't matter once you are at the front and have a good start. I had the hole shot in every race after Nittany.

Frankly, Beacon and Granaogue were far more satisfying. At those races, there were a core of riders duking it out at the front and the racing was very tight. Especially Beacon as me, Robertson and Al Blanchard were constantly swapping attacks and counter attacks. Kevin Rooney was also hot on our heels but given I never dropped out of the top 3, I didn't know he was right there - but he was.

The whole idea is that if you race harder races, you get fewer points and that's good. But riders should really be looked at against riders within their category. If I did Elite races, then you could compare JP and myself. We've both done one this year, but JP's was insanely stocked with talent. Further, the Masters race I did this year was also stocked with talent.

Also, if Bill Elliston was racing Elites, he'd be right around top 10.

Pimped.
Stealth mode that is...
Best Jules-like photo/

another

Stable mates - matching pedals and saddles - all that matters

Nice bikes Eric!

I was looking for a new saddle on eBay and came across this 'WTF saddle':

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HANDSADDLE-HAND-COMFORT-SADDLE-SEAT-ANATOMIC-PERFECTION-SELLE-SAN-MARCO-ITALIA-/220872153283?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item336d0198c3#ht_984wt_1181

anyone seen this before?>

i just heard that former Kissena Neil Bezdek won the second annual Red Hook Crit Milano last night

the event was organized by former Kissena David August trimble

second place was a spanish stud who won last year

third place was former Kissena Al Barouh

they beat about a dozen pro/semi-pro italians . . . BOOYAH!

Great news! WDC

Awesome!

Let us know when some pics get posted somewhere.

Lots on facebook

Check Trimble's page

Apparently, Al was closing so fast in the sprint that he crashed into the curb of the first turn after the line

This train does not slow down!

@Ragot: You correctly chose a backdrop of a white painted brick wall, snow shovels, firewood, large pails of adhesive, and the alphabet for your cross bike debut photos. Kudos.

Quick red hook video:

Womp... Video was deleted.

Another report for the sandbox:

While most Kissena crossers were tackling the booby-trapped twists and turns of Granogue this weekend, I yield to a patriotic calling by heading up to Troy, NY’s Prospect Park for the Uncle Sam GP on Sunday.

With most of the big guns and huge fields racing in Delaware, I was hoping that even in a mixed category 3/4 field, I might place well. Of course after several weekends of 2nd or 3rd row starting positions, my day-of-race registering self was re-acquainted with the smelly end of the peloton at call-ups. And let me tell you…it kind of stinks back there.

Still, I thought, with just 6 or 7 rows, I could move up, right? I was still confident—I had to be. “You’ll probably have 5 or 6 laps. At 15 seconds the start can come at any time,” the officials announced. The whistle blows, mud-stained shoes come crashing down onto pedals. 3, 4, 5, 6, pedal strokes, the pavement runs out way too quickly, we’re onto the grass, and funneled into a 140 degree turn around a tree. About this time, I’m missing the UCI compliant courses I’ve been fortunate to race the past 2 weekends. I take a wide line around the tree to avoid the guys clogging up the inside angles. I’m passing people, but it’s slow, really slow. 5 meters of straight, another tree. Damn. I see the leaders rolling away.

The field thins. I’m passing riders but soon it’s me and a few other riders in “who-knows-where-land?” I’m losing on the twisty-turnies, but making up ground on guys who thinks that a paved descent is a good time to rest. I’m the guy who throws it in the big ring and gets back on track.

More twisties. I’m sandwiched between two riders. The young punk in back of me is clearly not happy to be there as I struggle through the parkland slaloms. “Dude, c’mon!” Like I’m happy to be so slow here. Annoyed, I don’t hold back. “DUDE. There’s plenty of places to pass. Go for it.” I shouldn’t have encouraged him. He makes his pass on a run-up. Both impressed that he gets me where I’m normally quite strong, and annoyed that I couldn’t make him suffer in back a little longer, I continue to heckle him as he passes.

I know. I’m mature. Hitting the main pavement climb, I’m clearly the strongest on this stretch. Now I just gotta hold on for a few more laps of soaking wet, deep grass, rooty turns and a bunny-hop section for 99% of the field, but a dismount/mount for me.

Young punk drops his chain on the flats, I pass on the inside and he’s never to be seen again. Now it’s just me and argyle-socks-water-bottle-in-his-jersey guy. I lose ground through the slaloms, I punch it hard on the climbs and straight aways, I keep the rear wheel churning on a slick off-camber ride across the hillside and manage to be within striking distance. No time to be embarrassed by the guy taking swigs from a water bottle who’s schooling me on the technical stretches.

Because, a new nemesis is crawling his way to our ungainly tandem with 1.5 laps to go. I recognized his gray, un-ironic mustache from previous races. I work to keep him in back of me as long as possible. Approaching the final asphalt finishing stretch, mustache make his move on the high side of grassy-dirty 180 degree turn. He hits pavement first. He starts to sprint. My brain freezes. Is this the final sprint or do we have one more to go? No time to think. He’s gone. I’m chasing and closing fast. I throw my bike at the line and come up just an inch or two short. Damn.

And for what? 23rd place. Crossresults points ranks this performance somewhere in between my 9th and 4th place last weekend in Providence, but I’m frustrated. I emptied the tank completely during this 45-minute race, and I went from back row to middle of the pack, but after about 2 laps, it was clear that I wasn’t going anywhere anymore. Not really looking forward to my first Cat 4 MAC race where I’ll have to start at the back too. Hrumpf.

Big thanks to JP for lending me his bike rack (I failed, for the first time ever, to fit all people, animals and equipment on the inside of a rental car) and Joshua Ceasar for his restaurant recommendations.

Sarah caught me in action:

Deleted, because I couldn't figure out how to post a quicktime video. Also couldn't figure out how to delete a post altogether.

No dishonor for not fitting your bike, girl, dog, gear, and self into a FIAT. Geez. Actually, with a last name like Bertucco ...

Great report! I was one of those tools Sunday with a bottle in my jersey pocket. But only because I forgot it was there and my supposed teammates lined up all around me at the start didn't say peep. I discreetly jettisoned it at the finish line at the end the first lap. Totally humiliating. So yeah, cut the guy some slack; he may have just forgotten and had selfish teammates.

Well, bottle or not, he definitely had me on the ropes most of the race, so I gotta give it to him there.

Hey, I did say "what's with the bottle?" during callup...

Was that before or after I offered you the outside lane by the grass?

Well... the thing was... see... I was *so* focussed on giving you a good leadout for the start I just go tunnel vision... either that or I was overpowered by the fumes from your expertly applied embro...

this is pretty great. starting around 15:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE6hyCr_ji0&feature=player_detailpage#t=944s

Totally unrelated, but filled to overflowing with awesomesauce anyway:

http://entertainment.time.com/2011/10/19/the-police-academy-guy-who-does-the-sounds-covers-led-zeppelin/

If you have never seen this, have a look. Without a doubt, in my top 5 best cycling footage ever. Especially the last guy, who answers the question and just loos so pleased having won the race. The mountain was 'very steep'.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOur8qXvpnk

Oh my goodness. The awesomesauce runneth over.
We MUST do this on alpine or bear mtn this summer.