This is a super fun race. Just about an hour or so outside the city.

Crit-like circuit? Circuit-like Crit? You decide!

Lots of races. Something for everyone. Big payday for the Pro/1/2 which makes it fun to watch if you like to spectate.

I'm itching to do the 35+. I'd love a ride out, but NJ transit makes to get out there in case nobody's driving.

This is a fun race DEFINITELY worth the trip. Technically a circuit race in length, it feels very much like a crit because of it's "dog bone" shape. The ends of the bone are pure crit, quick 90 degree turns through neighborhood streets, the meaty center of the course is a long, fast drag, giving you plenty of time to suffer or recover depending on how your position is coming out of the crit corners.

JP and I did the NJ transit thing a few years in a row. It's exceedingly easy.

In years past there have been free t-shirts, bouncy castles, and podium girls. Last year, seemed a little scaled down in that regard. I can't remember if the bouncy castle remained, but the free tees were only for sale. Lots of places to eat in town, and a pretty tasty sandwich-y cafe right on the course.

In terms of your competition, you can expect a NYC crowd with a healthy dose of New Jersey dudes. Pros will get a few actual pros to show too. Last year we had a smattering of Mountain Khaki dudes, and I see this year Adam Myerson is pre-reged.

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the update Wes!

Woah. Nice!

I'll be there. Hubbs too.

Anyone else care to join?

I'll be taking the train out.  I think I'll be on the 9:05.

Vlad, not sure what this hill is all about on the new course, where it is in relation to the turns, how long/steep etc. but get to the front of the field and stay there, okay? I did a bunch of tough crits in the Wisconsin this year where there was a little hill coming off of a turn and let me tell you, if you are too far behind, you have to slow too much and the hill is going to hurt. If you are at the front, momentum will carry you for the most part.

Rough day for me. Another DNF.

JP hung tough in a fast race though and finished in the field. Probably in the 40s out of 80+ starters.

Vlad and Dan rode the Masters 35+ race. Dan's experience had him parked comfortably at the front until the final lap or so where got shuffled back a bit. Vlad looked solid, but still needs someone to yell in his ear, "GET OFF OF THE BACK OF THE PACK." I'm not worried though, as soon as he tastes the furious fun at the pointy end of the field, he'll never want to drift backwards again.

Often times I'm asked, "what's the difference between [insert your favorite lower category here] and [insert your favorite higher category here.] And it's rarely about average speed (although sometimes the differences there are dramatic).

Today, Vlad was giving me some course tips as he rode the race immediately before the Pro 1/2 event. He said something to the effect of, "that little hill on the backside of the course, it had no impact on the race, in fact it was where everyone caught up as the front of the field slowed."

No so in the Pro 1/2 race.

I can tell you that at least in the handful of laps that I was involved in, other than the first lap (which was pokey...a stark contrast to my recent experience in the Wisconsin ToAD crit, where the first laps were always INSANE), there was never a significant slow down, in fact it was single and double file coming out of turn two, and into the climb and didn't really let up until people slowed for turn four, full gas until turn 1, with some easing of the pace around the start finish.

Now in the early laps, the break was working on getting away and establishing itself, so maybe the dynamic of the hill shifted a bit in the later laps after the 11-rider move was long gone. But I would be surprised if that were the case.

But I'll let JP tell the story of his race...it looked hard and fun all day long.

Additional notes...first race with 3-week-old Peter Bertucco in attendance.

Did you pick that onesie out to match the kit? Looks great!

Look who finished in the money in the 3/4s. Danny Hubbs pulled down 10th!

 

 

@Vlad - Good work squad especially Dan Hubbard. Hubbs, I like that. Can you be Crockett?

Did you pick that onesie out to match the kit? Looks great!

I actually did change my boy's outfit this morning before leaving. He needed something a little more sporty looking for our day at the races!

Vlad, laps are below.  We'd typically ease up for the first turn, have some jockeying or attacking between 1 and 2, then hit the hill hard and keep on going past the finish.  Usually a few attacks on the back straight, some fighting back between three and four, and then gas it out of turn four.  I venture to guess that the 1/2 field typically takes corners a little faster, a little tighter, and start pedaling sooner.  There were a few times when I pedaled through turn four and found myself wondering if I was going to hit a pedal.  

Looking at the laps some more, we definitely were riding more negatively once we got to five to go.  There, the riding was less even.  Really hard attacks and then resting.  

Looking good Hubs!

And to discuss a bit more about the two races...comparing and contrasting, if you will...

Look at the early laps...even considering the pokey first laps (fair warning Vlad if you do head out to do Superweek or ToAD next year, first laps are never slow in those races...they are hole-shot hell), the Pro field was going upwards of 19 seconds per lap faster. With the exception of the 7th lap (1/2 way into the Master's race, 1/3 of the way into the pro race) where the Master's were a few seconds faster.

Master     Pro
4:20         4:08
3:51         3:36
3:48         3:43
3:57         3:43
4:00         3:39
3:59         3:40
3:48         3:52

And even though I did say in an earlier post that comparing lap times is not necessarily a good way to compare races, I do think it's interesting if you think about the dynamics of the pro race in comparison to what was going on during the race. Namely, you can see that in the 10th and 11th laps, things slowed down dramatically to 4:05 and 3:58. Up until then the field was working hard to establish the break. The break gets away, the field relaxes finally for 2 laps, then they are like, "crap, that break is going to stick, let's chase again!" Laps 12 and 13 are 3:44 and 3:42, then they slow again. "Crap, that break is out of touch."

Another thing to consider is that JP was in the main field for what I believe was the duration of the race. There were a number of serious bridge-up attempts by groups of 2-10 riders at various times. By the final laps there were three distinct groups. The lead group of 11, a chase group of 10 about 45 seconds back that included Pros Adam Myerson, the JP peloton another minute past the first chase. They had definitely shut it down mostly in the last 4 laps, they were in park racing mode, looking at each other a lot, sprinting for 4 remaining money spots.

The finale of the Master's race seemed a little more consistent for the peloton. Greg Olson with another rider was dangling 10-15 seconds off the front, the peloton seemed somewhat motivated to chase, but not that motivated as Olson stayed away solo for the win.

Still, as JP mentioned in his post, I think the bigger difference is HOW and WHEN the race goes hard. You'll often have more than a handful of the same riders who do both races. Olson, after winning the Masters, raced and completed the pro race. He wasn't doing much in the pro race, but he was there.

Olson, after winning the Masters, raced and completed the pro race. He wasn't doing much in the pro race, but he was there.

I might give that a shot next year.

I can't say it enough - that's a really fun race.

Interesting looking through the results.  Augusto from Mengoni won.  The first pro, Kyle Wamsley, was sixth.  The first group stayed away for a long time.  The first chase group started pretty late, I think with less than five to go.  I definitely didn't play the end well.

Looking through the results, I see that I missed a few Kissena's in my initial shout-out. Vlad and Daniel are the dudes I got to chat with after their race, but we had a few others out there too. I'd love to hear how their races went too.

Joel de la Garza raced in the cat 3/4 race.
Wes Tillman cracked the top 10 with a 9th place in the Cat 5 race.
Edward Nolan raced the 45+ category.

It was my first race back after my crash earlier in the season.  Was mostly a confidence builder, and didn't want to mix it up too much.  The 3/4 was damn fast - I finished off the back but not in last.  

35+ camera love

http://youtu.be/M13VVPE-wXs

... shout out to the long sleeve skinsuit

Is this on the radar for anyone? Sunday 9/15

I like this race.  Easy to get to via NJ Transit and well organized.  The course has changed over the years, two versions of a dogbone, but last year they moved away from that to a rectangle.  I liked the course.  a rise on the backside, and some corners to help with breakaways.

probably will skip this year as the NY State Track Champs are the same day.

I've always enjoyed this race too. Though, I'll be in Vermont crossing it up. But this is a good close "out of town" race for the team's flatlanders. Also depending on the course, could be a nice intro to crits type course. Some tight handling, but plenty of straightaways for you to muscle back anything you've lost. #justbecauseyoudon'tclimblikeanangeldoesn'tmeanyouhavetoraceonlyNYCparkcircuit.

Sorry Lads; Catamount calling.

I love this race. I'm still too injured to ride, but I will go watch this.

$6500 for the 1/2 means it's going to be a good one. Used to be more though. Still.