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2016-17 CX racing thread
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ferralsFree Member
Yep. As I posted on Welsh CX fb page it was frozen with a white icey topping at 2pm yesterday. Even the beach sand is frozen right now! I had a good walk around the course and while in places there was a bit of moisture trapped under the forzen topping much was bone dry. Shouldnt need to clean bike much! I’ve hedged my bets, MXP on the rear, PDX on the front, nothing like indecision!
davidjeyFree MemberLooking forward to it. Had a look at the start list – oh boy, I reckon if I have the race of my life I could just about scrape into 10th place 😕
ferralsFree MemberYou’ll go well david, its a hard course, a lot of elevation changes will need a lot of stamina. Even if I try and spin round it gently my HR goes above 160.
Strava segment here: Welsh Champs course
aPFree Memberjohn_l – Member
Next round in a couple of weeks & then there’s over a month off!See you at Frylands Wood. L and I are Comms again, so it’ll rain…..
matt-lewisFree MemberHello Ferrals,
That strava profile of the course is great. Cheers for that. Any other info about the course? It must still be riding pretty firm down there. Likely to cut up for the seniors but vets should be ok, what do you reckon?
Cheers,
Matt
john_lFree MemberSee you at Frylands Wood. L and I are Comms again, so it’ll rain…..
Good 🙂
ferralsFree MemberAlright Matt, someone rode it today and said bits were frozen solid and other bits were very muddy. Warmer now and not forecast to freeze again so guess it will have thawed out by race day. Should be quite variable terrain. We’re using two main fields. The first one (right hand field) is grass that is constantly kept short and seems to hold a lot of water. This will cut up quickly I think, probably prior to the vets race, especially as all races are using it. The second field drains better and and the grass is only cut a couple of times a year (was cut earlier in autumn), I think this may stay as grass for everyone.
There’s a fair bit of offcamber but nothing tricky apart from one hairpin I’ve nicknamed calamity camber which will hopefully get a few people’s arses muddy. Another sweeping offcamber turn will reward people with the skills to ride it fast but won’t cause any problems to anyone. Couple of bits of tarmac, tiny bit of wooded stuff but primarily grass. Really really looking forward to it, can’t wait to see what everyone thinks of the course 😀
matt-lewisFree MemberCheers Ferrals, sounds great and thanks for the info! See you Sunday.
Matt
ferralsFree MemberHad a great day. We spray painted out the course yesterday so being a slacker left the taping to the others and had a nice lazy morning before heading down to watch the u16/u14 race, do a practise lap and watch the vets and women.
Happy with my race, some good battles: first couple of laps was riding with a guy I don’t normally keep up with till I messed up the ruts and he got a gap, then had another good battle with a guy I’d not raced with before, I’d gap him through the offcamber and switchbacks, he’d get me on th planks and being able to bunny hop the log. Started to fade and he dropped me but still happy – 16th in the seniors race, or 7th if there was a masters cat. Pleased to finish my season on a good note after a couple of really poor races. Nice buzz about the day too.What did you think of the course Fran? We got some really good feedback which I was chuffed with as we put a lot of effort into the design, I’m a bit gutted it was so dry as it negated the technicality of the offcambers but I think it was just as well as Swansea council will be happy the parks not trashed and we might be allowed back!
matt-lewisFree MemberBloody hard course! Good though. Those hurdles and the ‘drag’ up the log were hard going. Great course and the corners flowed really well. Really enjoyed it. Cheers!
Matt Lewis
shedbrewedFree MemberThose hurdles killed me every lap. Really chuffed to have been 3rd man home and for our club to get the team prize.
Thought the course was good, nicer to ride than Builth a couple of years back. Maybe not as smooth as Abergavenny but still good. Great results Iain, Matt and David.moomanFree MemberFrustrating day for me; legs just wouldn’t wake up.
Had some good battles. Great atmosphere and well organised.Congrats to all medal winners.
davidjeyFree MemberGreat day out yesterday – it would be good if Singleton became a regular Welsh League venue.
Really like the course (railing round ‘smiley face’ at high speed was the best bit) but god it was hard. I got my top ten, just, but crossed the line completely in bits. Went to get my jacket from the sign on tent and pretty much collapsed. Took a good five minutes and some help from a few folks to get me back on my feet.
Fran, I only realised when I saw the results that it was you who had the epic race-long scrap with my team mate Clare! I think I enjoyed watching that more than I enjoyed racing. I was the AJAX bloke who came up and spoke to you both after you crossed the line.
ferralsFree MemberGreat going Thom!
Bit of footage from one of the Bynea guys:
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAtRATvEyZo&feature=youtu.be[/video]crashtestmonkeyFree MemberThe number of people who came off on the 180 off camber left hander not long after the finish straight might disagree, ferrals!
I raced Welsh V40 as a non-native interloper. Hard but fun course at race pace. Drove all that way and ended up having a race long wheel to wheel with another Central League guy who’d made the trip. Interesting to race against other people in different Leagues rather than assuming your usual group position, went into it really tired but enjoyed it so happy enough with 16th.
File treads in Wales in December, madness.
ferralsFree Member@DJ, you must have been posting same time as i was so didnt see your post – great result, well done. Everyone seemed to like the smiley face 😀
@CTM – I only saw one person crash but the photographic evidence shows otherwise, it was the point of the turn though! Glad you enjoyed
re. the toughness of the course, its actually quite lucky the course-setter-uppers ran out of tape as there was meant to be two more steep down, tight turn and back up sections either side of the planked one, which based on post-race feedback might have been a bit too much climbing!
davidjeyFree Memberthere was meant to be two more steep down, tight turn and back up sections either side of the planked one
😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯
Munqe-chickFree MemberHi David! Yes that was me in the Ale skin suit cracking battle with Clare probably one of the best I’ve had all season.. she crashed on the off camber bit and I snuck around her but she managed to claw me back! I’m so glad there wasn’t another lap all I had in my head was where am I going to attack? I have one attack in the legs and it has to be do or die.. alas I didn’t need it!
3rd Senior woman but no medal as not enough Juniors in the race. I don’t mind getting beaten by the James’ sisters phenomenal talent and depth in CX!
Funnily enough when I did my recce lap I was a bit “meh” .. ha ha oh how that changed at race pace! some of those winding long off cambers corners were so fast it was all about confidence in your tyres.. I didn’t crash 🙂
Great day out thanks! Hopefully I will be back for the New Years Eve CX race!
crashtestmonkeyFree Member@CTM – I only saw one person crash but the photographic evidence shows otherwise, it was the point of the turn though! Glad you enjoyed
I saw several, there’s a cracking pic of a Jif racer doing the full Michael Jackson pose coming off the bike-that’s me trying to avoid his stricken bike with the other Central guy right behind.
I personally like climby courses (I don’t have much power, but that’s offset by not much weight either 😉 ). It reminded me (in a good way) of one of the Central rounds at Hemel which also wound it’s way up and down a hill – on a slow recce it also appeared uninspiring but at race pace was a whole different and more challenging and involving experience. Which is just as well as I think I was the last V40 not to get passed by the winner so had the ‘privilege’ of doing an extra lap over some of the guys I’d been dicing with.
TiRedFull MemberRaced our central league V40-49 race today at Hillingdon. First race since the last one we staged a year ago. Got a fine start and managed eighth after the tarmac sprint ( I rode up that slope 52 times yesterday!) Backwards from there. No substitute for skill! Pulled a few places back to finish 17/44. First ever race on drop bars, gears and cantilever brakes.
If you came with kids, I was scoring the early races in the gazebo.
crashtestmonkeyFree Membersadly missed the Hillingdon round due to a mixture of other planned commitments and a visit to the fracture clinic. Frustrating as quite a few of the big hitters in my cat were at the national series round, so everyone finished a good few positions higher than they usually do and banked some nice points (including the people I’m battling with in the league, who all scored season-best positions 🙄 )
Heard it was a good course and running nicely.
qwertyFree MemberI rode the Western Leauges round 12 @ Oldbury Court yesterday, finished mid field which seems to be my spot in CX racing 🙂 Had a few sections of real clag, that my WTB Trail Boss 35c collected on the sidewalls adding a chunk of weight!!! I’d like some Clement PDX – but thats not gonna happen with Christmas looming… 🙁 (anyone know of any tubeless stock?).
[/url]Oldbury Court CX race. by martinddd, on Flickr[/img]
[/url]Oldbury Court CX race stream crossing by martinddd, on Flickr[/img]
[/url]Clag by martinddd, on Flickr[/img]
Pretty sure i got dropped by a 60 year old on file treads!!!
TiRedFull MemberHeard it was a good course and running nicely.
It was. Tempted to try and get my four races in to score on the V40 league. Sunday was my season’s best (and only) result, but many of the remainder clash with the Imperial Winter Series 🙁
Munqe-chickFree MemberImperial *as in London* winter series? sounds like bad planning!
There is a funny video on Western league of someone (only one)riding a stream but actually wasn’t any quicker! good skills though!
Our next CX on Sunday at Berkhamstead looks mega a handbuilt bridge and sandpit! Waffles and mince pies and mulled wine! Can’t wait.
crosshairFree MemberI had a go at Fareham Wheelers round of the Wessex league yesterday. Had one nice attack up the big climb which I made stick. I finished in about the top 85% which is pretty standard for me 😉
I filmed my sighting lap for posterity though which was fun 🙂[video]https://youtu.be/Dlp40TPwFh8[/video]
crashtestmonkeyFree MemberIt was. Tempted to try and get my four races in to score on the V40 league
as you know it’s 4 minimum, then they take your best scoring 8 rounds. Last year was our first time racing and fell into it so I only managed 7 which really irked me as it meant people finished higher in the league only by virtue of having managed to ride more rounds. This year I’m on 7 so far, will hit 8 and hoping to do a couple more which might (touch wood) allow me to drop my 2 worst-scoring rounds. Goal is a top 10 overall, it’s going to be close either way.
If you can make the Lovelo Birkhampstead round, as Munqe Chick says it looks like they’ve put a lot of effort into the course and are trying to make the day a proper ‘event’. I’ll keep an eye out for your bike and say hi (I’m in V40, blue SuperX with flouro orange bar tape and lid).
qwertyFree MemberThere is a funny video on Western league of someone (only one)riding a stream but actually wasn’t any quicker! good skills though!
James from Das Rad Club, i believe he was the only one to do so, that stream was full of rubble with a rooty stepped up exit, a tech move from him that earns him gnarr points 😉
Vid: https://www.instagram.com/p/BN6YX66j89P/?taken-by=dasradklub
aPFree MemberWe’ll be at Sunday’s central league race. Wearing grey jackets and armed with stopwatches and whistles.
Just waiting to get the HSBC branded kit early next year.TiRedFull Memberas you know it’s 4 minimum, then they take your best scoring 8 rounds.
Well I can aim for 200 points, and that might get me one of our club awards. The Imperial Series is near to home, not as muddy, pays Teen2 and is on a Saturday! If the other Central League races were on Sunday, I’d manage a few more. Next week looks a lot of fun though. And you’ve seen the bike already.
rollindoughnutFree MemberI raced my second ever National Trophy yesterday at Shrewsbury. I was pretty nervous, not helped by crashing twice during my sighting laps.
Race itself was proper muddy so, not having a pit crew, I rode my trusty singlespeed. Bagged 25th in vet 40, despite a few more crashes and a backwards and forwards battle with a bunch as each of us took it in turns to slide off the course. 😀Don’t suppose anyone knows where I can see photos from the event? There’s one of me on the BC website and I know Huw Williams was there, but there were a few snappers on the course.
TiRedFull MemberSigned up for Sunday at Berkhamstead. Have to dash off afterwards to collect Teen1 from Uni, so a pre-race performance-enhancing mulled wine and mince pie will be required in lieu of the cola caffeine gel. Targeting top 15. As if! Say Hi. And I’ll also be riding both Imperial Winter Series races the day before.
Munqe-chickFree MemberTiRed what category you in? Seems like entries are good they posted 350 riders to grid and still EOD available! Looks like a cracking event can’t wait!
Anyone else racing the Boxing Day Cx in Kenilworth? Never done it before any handy or top tips?
IdleJonFull Membermooman – Member
The Xmas-x at Caerphilly not motivating many this year. Fingers crossed it not rain between now & then … it may not be too muddy then!!Numbers seem considerably down this year when compared to last year. (As an example, less than 30 v40 men on the start line at Pembrey this year. I seem to remember it being around 70 last year? All the senior categories combined added up to 110ish compared to 170ish last year iirc?)
I was looking forward to racing at Pembrey but thought it was taking the mick to be charging £17 for an event which was £12 last year. (Yes, I’m a tight git!) Charging for day entry in a cross race when you know that well over 100 turned up last week is ridiculous and could well kill the series. Imo of course.
Congrats, ferrals btw. Are you coming to the curry on Saturday?
TiRedFull MemberI’m V40. Just. Cyclocross age groups run earlier than road as I’ve graduated to Masters E (50-59) for road racing.
moomanFree MemberIdlejon – I am not too sure about numbers; it may just be that now they have separated the vets from the seniors the fields look smaller??
There were 62 V40 on start line at Pembrey the other week (according to BC)I know there are a few people commenting on the entry price of certain events, and maybe next year that will have an impact on people turning up.
People have compared the price of CX entry to crit entry, but CX isnt like crit racing. The not so good guys who do crits are willing to pay £10-15 for a 20min crit if theres a chance to get a point on their race licences.
But vast majority who do cx arent slightest bit interested in points, it all about the fun on the day.I am not doing Caerphilly on Sunday (got a cold … honest!) and with all the wet stuff we have had, the reputation the place has for being dire to race at, and the online entry. I expect the lowest numbers of the year there.
crashtestmonkeyFree Memberinteresting to hear numbers. We raced the Oxford round of the Wessex league and it was capped by the organisers at 405 overall; it filled with online entries and there was a waiting list for cancellations!
As M-C says there are ~350 pre-entered in the Central Lovelo Crossmass on Sunday; with 95 in V40. Admittedly that’s on the high side, but I think 60 has been our lowest.
I was looking forward to racing at Pembrey but thought it was taking the mick to be charging £17 for an event which was £12 last year
Really? So you’ve given up on a day out and an event you were looking forward to for the sake of a fiver? I’m tight but that just sounds like cutting of your nose to spite your face. How much is your CX bike and kit worth?
qwertyFree MemberTangs event is now live:
Sunday 29th January 2017.
3rd year of Cotswold CX at Chavenage House, plus it’s the final round of the Western Leagues Series, Cotswold Estate prime venue, fantastic on site facilities & sponsor input, plus post race live streaming of the men’s CX World Champs on a big screen in the main hall.
I’ll be marshalling & heckling from the sidelines.
Come join the Cotswold CX circus 😉
IdleJonFull MemberReally? So you’ve given up on a day out and an event you were looking forward to for the sake of a fiver? I’m tight but that just sounds like cutting of your nose to spite your face. How much is your CX bike and kit worth?
Ha, I know! It was an excuse, not the whole reason. 😳 I was working away all week, have done very little riding never mind training this autumn, and was knackered. Being charged extra to not be even vaguely competitively midfield in a field of 30* (which is basically a muddy ITT) didn’t sound attractive. But really it’s the principle – cross has never been expensive and charging extra for EOL shouldn’t ever come into it.
And really, my kit and bike don’t come into the equation. They get used anyway, they aren’t bought specifically for racing.
*mooman may be right – there were more than I thought at Pembrey but figures are still very low this season compared to the rest.
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