Catamount Verge #1 & #2

[onegeardoug]

This weekend, I majored in drafting and minored in humility. As far as drafting is concerned, I discovered just how fine the line is between being smart, being foolish and being complacent. Especially at the front end of a Verge race.

Lesson #1, Saturday, 2 to go and I'm sitting on a wheel in about 10th place. Another rider is a few dozen meters ahead, and there's pressure from behind...of course. I thought I was being complacent, so I went around and closed the gap. Half a lap later, both of those guys were in front of me and I was going backwards. Another 2 riders went by on the bell lap, and I couldn't hold either wheel. I was cooked. I finished 12th overall (including Juniors...who are wicked fast). That pass was foolish, and I paid for it. The smart move was to sit in and race for 8th or 9th. Duh.

Sunday, I spent most of the race bouncing between 8th and 11th overall (again), but trying to race smarter. I spent a lot more time following wheels, and let others pull me up. Some guys went forwards, and some guys went backwards, but for the most part I effectively used those that I could to my advantage. 2 to go and I'm racing Synjen Marrocco, some guy in a red kit and some 90-lb kid named Tyler that was basically driving me nuts all day by passing quickly, then sitting up and blocking the course on the turns. Anyway, I basically sat on Synjen's wheel as best I could on the bell lap and tried to be there for the sprint. (After watching Smudger unleash a WICKED sprint to win the 4 Masters, I was totally psyched to unleash one myself.) I rounded the final turn at the back of this little group of 3 (Tyler got dropped), in the drops and the big ring. I gave all I had left and came around Synjen just as we crossed the line and thought I had him by about the width of my tire. Photo had him by an inch just before the line and me by an inch just after. If only the line were 2-3 inches farther away.... He got 9th and I got 10th overall. But yesterday's less was learned: race smarter, not harder.

For humility, I got a refresher course in "Quad is not Verge". All the fast kids come out for Verge, and the competition is exponentially tougher. I'm stoked to be racing Synjen, cuz he's super fast. I just thought it might be for the podium, not for 9th. Now that I've had my expectations readjusted....

[Bruce]

Way to dig deep Doug. The season's young...plenty of Verge to go. soemthing tells me you'll be coming around Synjen!

Congrats to the placekicker. Wow.

[taudep]

I've got no race report, but I did dig this up since Smudger had a good weekend. He spent both days on the podium, one day on top of it.

[taudep]

Green Mountain Cyclocross is a pretty spectacular venue for a race. It was probably helped by having perfect weather on Saturday. I had two fun days of racing. I wish more Cat 4s went to this race, or at least they put all the Masters and Regular riders together like they do other races as it'd make racing more exciting. However, the courses on both days were great and varied quite a bit. The grass was FAST, and in the morning when it was wet, really slippery. The course seemed to have a lot of fast descents into tight turns. They made us climb a lot for a CX race, which sucked (but isn't that the idea?). On day one, they made you drag race up a gradual climb, only to recover for 5 seconds before sending you up these BMXish whoop-dee-doos that just hurt. The backdrop of the mountains was beautiful, etc...

Here's my photos and links to photos: http://doublehop.blogspot.com/2010/09/v ... cross.html

[taudep]

I should add that Velonews has some nice photos, including one of Christina from Ladies First Racing.

[swawersik]

Nice work guys! I guess I won't be racing cross with/against Smudger for too much longer.

And extremely impressive results from Ladies First, too: five in the top ten on day 2, including the top four spots.

[tsavage]

Nice write up on the Ladies:
http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2010/09/ ... -Day-2.asp


What I found amusing is the start list for the 4s and 4-35+. It was <30 in VT and >120 for Gloucester.

[pierso]

It was an Ok weekend for me with lots of lessons learned. The venue was really sweet and the weather couldn't have been better. It turned into one of those weekends that feels way longer than 2 days, which is always a bonus.

Saturday wasn't quite as technical, in my mind - which I initially thought would be to my detriment. I had a pretty solid race after a somewhat weak start up the big suck-the-life-out-of-you hill. Passed guys the whole time, which was made easier by the fact that the cat 4 field was only around 20 guys. I had a lot in the tank for a several hundred yard sprint, only to be nosed at the line (for 12th...). Guess I should have gone harder, earlier. I noted this feeling for the 2nd and 3rd laps on Sunday when I'd be wondering why I put myself through this again.

Unfortunately, Sunday turned out to be kind of a disaster of a day for me. Woke up feeling fresh after a great night's sleep, but as I warmed up my legs felt heavier and heavier. The course had a lot more turns, and a run-up with some logs across the trail that I figured out I could ride. A few checks in the positive column for me today. Then out of nowhere I hit the deck around a turn. As I got up, Doug pointed out that I'd rolled my tubular. Bummer. Not sure if I crashed because I rolled it or rolled it when I crashed, but that point was moot. I had 25 mins til the start and my focus was shot. I swapped the wheel out and gathered my thoughts in time to drag my tired butt to the line. I had a solid start and put myself in the top 10 (AKA top half) of the race. I rode the run-up and passed a few people trying to get back on their bikes. I felt good. But then shortly after the barriers I got stuck in the rut in the grass, somebody clipped my wheel in traffic and I was on the ground. I got up and my bars were sideways, shifters awry, etc. Once I regrouped and got the bike vaguely rideable (the bars would be crooked for the remaining 4.5 laps) the entire race had passed me by and the masters were bearing down. After another half-lap of regaining my composure and talking myself out of bailing and heading to the Ben and Jerry's factory for breakfast instead of after lunch, I found that the back end of the race was coming apart in front of me and I could pick some guys off. I ended up taking 5 positions for a 15th place finish. On paper a similar result to the day before, but frustrating because without a face full of dirt I might have had a much better race. Didn't leave anything on the course this time except my dignity, so that was a plus. Back at it next weekend, hopefully with the rubber side down.

Congrats to John for a great race Saturday, only to be topped by an even better one on Sunday!

Pics from the weekend, mostly taken by Sarah, are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/pierso/Gree ... ocross2010#

[Smudger]

Thanks Todd for the posting the pic. I knew I should have shaved!

Everyone has mentioned it and you can see from the pictures but this is just the most magical location for a cross race.

Saturday was physically challenging but with slightly damp grass it was more technical at race pace than it seemed in the pre-ride. After all the falling at Quad I was hoping to be a lot smoother through the technical sections. There was no hole shot as such cause the start was straight up the hill and it was just attrition. Todd and I both had a good start from the front row. I knew one of the other guys would start fast and fade (he's done it in every other race I've had with him). I sat on his wheel and pulled into the lead as we approached the 1st off-cambers and stairs. I stuttered round the corners and with the pressure of the pack behind me made a total hash of my dismount into the stairs and dropped my chain. Pulled it back on but had slipped down to 5th. Immediately pulled back through into 3rd I was able to use my power on the 2nd climb to move into 2nd and going through the lap finish was moving into 1st when the guy in 3rd made a move and put a good gap into me before the hill. I wasn't to concerned even though Doug was shouting at me to jump on his wheel cause I thought he would come back on the climb. Got to the off cambers and found he had maintained his gap. Pushing hard I managed to drop the bike twice in the corners gap remained the same for the rest of this lap then he pulled ahead again on the 1st climb but I pulled back through the barriers and 2nd climb, same on the 3rd lap but at least I rode it clean. Last lap and I really worked on the 2nd climb and thought I might be able to bridge on the flat loop before the finish straigh but never got close enough. Still opened it up for a sprint even though 3rd was well back but I was never able to put any pressure on 1st.

Sunday course was a little shorter but added a run up. It also had a lot of fast off camber descents. Thankfully the grass was drier. Start was again up a hill with no hole shot as such. Settled into 3rd wheel and pulled through into the lead coming out of the run up. The guy that finished just behind me at Quad pulled through into the lead on the descent into the start finish area and promptly wiped out right in front of me. Must have got his adrenalin flowing though cause he jumped up and pulled back to pass me on the descent and this time kept it upright. This pattern repeated for the next 2 laps with the winner from day 1 close behind in 3rd. I thought I would have the edge on fitness as the race went on so going into the last lap I thought it was time to make my move up the hill. Got a gap and started repeating "keep it upright and you've won" in my head. Trying to take it easy on the last off camber before the climb to the run up I loose my front wheel and drop the bike!!!! with "what a tosser" ringing in my head 2nd pulls through as I pick myself up and remount. I didn't panic and got back close to his wheel through the run up. He pulled away on the descent and got a good gap as we exited the barriers entered the long flat loop that would bring us back to the finish. 3rd was getting close to me as I mounted after the barriers but I was feeling strong and put it in the big ring and bridged over to the leader very quickly and sat on his wheel. He made a push through last couple of turns but he was still well within my sights as we turned onto the finish straight. I dropped 2 gears and unleashed what I had. The road work really has paid off cause I don't think I have much of a sprint but I was well clear by the line. Really happy with the win especially when I thought I had arsed it up half way through the final lap.

Really need to work on my cornering at speed. Anyone got any advice?

Thanks to Matt, Mark, Doug, Todd and Gary + all your other halfs for the cheers and support during the races.

[onegeardoug]

Really need to work on my cornering at speed. Anyone got any advice?

You're sure to get plenty of it on this forum! So, I might as well be the first to chime in. The short answer is: Learn proper technique, then practice, practice, practice. Keep reading if you want the long answer...

If I were you, I'd get together with some guy(s) who are good at cornering and get an understanding of the mechanics and technique for how to go fast and stay vertical. Adam spent a lot of time on this at his clinic. Coley probably has the craziest bike handling skilz in the club. There are certainly others who can handle a bike well. I'm not the guru, but I can probably help some.

Go to a park and setup some race-like turns, with tape on both sides if you can. (Cones don't really give you race-like boundries.) Off camber, tight, twisty, fast. All kinds. Practice. Push yourself to go faster.

Then, when pre-riding a course, evaluate the line for every turn. What's the fastest line? How do you maximize your exit speed? What line will the masses be on? Is that the fastest? Probably not! One valuable lesson from Adam's clinic: The worn, brown line in the grass is not necessarily the fastest, it's just the one that everyone else has been taking. I can cite several examples from this weekend, and basically every other race, where there's a faster line with better exit speed...that no one else was taking.

For what it's worth, I thought you did a very good job on Sunday. The down-hill twisties by the Porta-Johns were tough in the 4 race cuz the grass was wet. Guys were dropping like flys there, and you stayed upright every lap.

[rusto]

Colin Reuter gives us a lap via video on day 2 (turning off "HD" seems to keep it from hanging).

[Smudger]

setup some race-like turns, with tape on both sides if you can. (Cones don't really give you race-like boundries.)

This was my own personal takeaway. I think when we are doing hot laps I can get round the course pretty smoothly but when there is a distinct boundary caused by the course tape I struggle with apexing the turn

[Bruce]

that was fun to read! way to bring it home...amazing you had presence of thought going that hard.

amen on the turns. i'd be up for that --I have a bunch of tape. probably the best practice is to just race...

...one of the things I remember from Adam's clinic (8 years ago!) is doing laps on a steep off camber and progressively taking psi out of the tires just to show yourself how much of a difference it makes...and to find the limits.

barrel races with other people pushes you to go fast, be aggressive and experiment with different lines...cutting inside, etc. can be done on hillside. doubles as good 1 min interval. Tom Stevens does this every week at his practices. why not use tape?

[taudep]

I seriously need some help on driving the bike.

I'd be up for some barrel racing, and course simulated s-turn stuff. Heck, I'd even go so far to say that I'll load a bunch of water into my trunk just so we can slick the turns up for some practice doing it in the damp, too.

[swawersik]

One of the things I realized at Cross Camp (insert "band camp" wisecrack here) is that I tend to focus my sight on things I'm trying to avoid hitting, like the tape on the outside of a turn, invariably putting me into whatever obstacle I'm trying to avoid. I'm working on forcing myself to look at where I want my bike to be when I exit the turn. It's surprisingly hard to do.

I think marking out some S-turns with tape for practice is a great idea.

[rusto]

I seriously need some help on driving the bike.

I'd be up for some barrel racing, and course simulated s-turn stuff. Heck, I'd even go so far to say that I'll load a bunch of water into my trunk just so we can slick the turns up for some practice doing it in the damp, too.

Todd, were you at that Crit clinic Mazzola held earlier this year? I've found that turning the same way he had us turning in the sand works great for slippery cross surfaces.

Not sure if it's over or under steering, but basically, you keep the bike MUCH more upright than you would on a "normal" roadie turn (where you lean the bike to the inside of the turn). As you go through the turn, your hips stay with the bike but your upper body leans towards the inside of the turn. I've also found I can cut a much tighter turn when I'm in the drops, even at low speed.

[michaelcole]

I tend to focus my sight on things I'm trying to avoid hitting, invariably putting me into whatever obstacle I'm trying to avoid. I'm working on forcing myself to look at where I want my bike to be when I exit the turn. It's surprisingly hard to do.

Dropping that bad habit will leap you into another level of cornering expertise. Keep working.

The brown worn out area, as Doug mentioned, it should not be thought of as a single line to follow. It's a collection of lines, most of them bad. Some people are coming in wide so that they can come out tight. Some are doing the reverse. Many are going in wide and coming out wide as well.

Rule number one of cornering: you can go in tight or come out tight but not both. You need to pick one. It's simple physics and like gravity, it sucks but it's the law. I would normally recommend going in wide and coming out tight.

If you are trying to pass in a corner (You'll make a statement by doing this.) you need to do the reverse of the guy in front of you. If he goes in wide then you go in tight and pass him before the apex. This is the hard way to do it and it is more likely that you will appear to have just cut him off. Even if you take the spot, you probably end up looking like a dick.

If the guy in front of you is typical, he is aiming for the corner instead of setting up. He's trying to go right at the post and hoping to come out as tight as he can. No one ever told him about rule #1or he just thinks he can break the law. You will set up properly by aiming for a point wide of his target and you will hold more speed going into the apex. You get to come out of it tighter and faster and go "under" his line as you come out of the corner. BAM, you just made this guy think that he has to work harder than you just to have a chance, because you obviously out maneuvered him.

Barrel races are good practice but I agree that you need an outside marker of tape or something to keep you honest.

Good luck padawan.

[taudep]

Good info to think about. Thanks.