Greasystain it guarantees you a final race but there are so many people now that there are 4 (i think) different groups and starts depending how you do. The proper mega/A final or whatever you want to call it goes to around the top 50 from each qualifying group.
No thats his other bike – he's riding a Marin in the Mega 🙂 I used to have a Marin so I shall not enter the Marin argument 🙂 And for God's sake do don't call the Whyte Plastic 😉
No, that's the mega affinity that you can show up for anytime until midday. The mega promo (B final) is also a mass start straight after the megavalanche (A final). Based on your time you're given a line letter (a, b, c, d etc). The fast guys are at the front with slower to the back.
After all the mega & promo racers have gone down the snow & glacier it's so cut up and beginning to melt, so no it's a lot slower. Also you don't have crazy French blokes behind you shouting encouraging words such as "alley fat boy, alley".
Yeah, that'll be the iphone automatic spellchecker that's currently driving me up the wall.
To get the atmos', you have to shout it out loud in an out of breath pseudo-French accent (think the Gendarme from Allo Allo). Then as the crazy fecker passes you, you see he is on a circa 1995 Vario death-trap of a bike, sporting 26×1.95 xc tyres and V-brakes, and you feel shit. However, the race is 43km long, and you'll inevitably pass him on the downhill bits as he lights up a Gauloise and fixes his tenth puncture, with his legs splayed out into the only racing line that you can sensibly take at the warp speed you're now doing (because your arms are too pumped to brake any more).
After doing 3 years of the mega I'm not there this year so I'm glum. Really glum.
I seem to recall Dirt magazine describing the Affinity race as the "Homeless crack addict's race". That made me giggle, having just done it.
Bunch of my mates out there, all qualified for the avalanche on Sunday 🙂 all in top 30 of heats too!! Great year for them compared to last year. Must try it myself sometime 🙁
i did a run of 1:52:21 in an affinity race – placed 136 of 400 affinity riders. Recon I could have stripped at least 15 mins off that without a broken hand, but had to take it dead easy as it was (still a dumb idea to race at all). Maybe next year!
the course was (I think) the same as previous years – some dh in it but mostly pretty tame. There was a lot more snow than before though – maybe 3 miles at the top, which made things interesting..
I think the group you qualify for is highly dependant on where you are on the start line. I didn't do qualifying (broke my hand 4 days earlier and wanted to rest it to give it the best chance for the race) but watching it, after the fireroad start there were probably only 10 places or so that could be easily made up – ie if you start at the start, there's a reasonable chance you'll finish there. If you start from the back you have to overtake 160 people before you're in the top race, on a 20 min course that's mostly singletrack. There's also a lot of luck involved – I saw a pilup on one side of the fireroad at the start of a heat that probably put 50 riders back 50 places..
I'm not sure if there's any truth in it, but I was told if you put a club or race team name on your entry form (or I suppose if you use a race license rather than a doctor's letter) you get a better qualifying start position. I put a club name, and was on the fourth row so it's possible. There are some big bottlenecks, but I don't reckon qualifying starting position would stop you getting in to at least the Megachallenger if you were good and fit enough.
I DNFed in quali after two crashes, two punctures and a broken brake rotor.
Mega = fast guys
Challengers = good/average bikers
Amamtures = mostly average riders and some mincers
Affinity 1= 100% mincers, and 90% English 🙂
Affinity 2 = 80% special needs roadies and 20% riders that didn't finish quali.
I'm not sure if there's any truth in it, but I was told if you put a club or race team name on your entry form (or I suppose if you use a race license rather than a doctor's letter) you get a better qualifying start position. I put a club name, and was on the fourth row so it's possible. There are some big bottlenecks, but I don't reckon qualifying starting position would stop you getting in to at least the Megachallenger if you were good and fit enough.
The front row is reserved for teams and certain riders and groups, the rest is determined by the order in which you registered. Last year I was on row 2, this year row 4, year before row 5. Mates registered at the same time through the one activesport account and they were one number apart and on the same row. So it's down to order of registering.
The row on which you start isn't as critical as you think. Mate Danny started from the back row two years ago and still qualified for the mega. Mate nick had a fall at the start line and was pretty much last by the first corner, he managed to climb back up and finished 45th iicr.
It's all down to agression and pedalling at the start. You can make (or loose) 50 places in a couple minutes.
Watch me pass about 50 riders (2 rows) in a few hundred metres before crashing out (entirely my fault, a mincer got in my way!)
My problem was too much aggression off the start. I was so physced (sic) up I went off like a loony when the tapes went up and was on my head after four bike lengths, then hanging out my hoop for the rest of the run.
Totally agree though Conor, your position is decided by how you start, I was on Row Z for the Megachallenger, but finished 117th and that was with people passing me on the climbs; so I must have made 200+ places on the snow!!!
Posted 13 years ago
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