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2017/2018 cx racing thread
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garyFull MemberPosted 6 years ago
Wessex CX – used an abandoned golf course; complete with bunker. It was ace – i’m not sure they’ve been back for a couple of years which is real shame.
I think the redevelopment of the site meant they couldn’t sort out a viable course. Shame, I quite enjoyed it there
clockarockinFree MemberPosted 6 years agoit’s not just a newbie mistake but it is a fine balance
That’s reassuring to know thanks! Looking forward to getting closer to that balance at my next attempt. I’ll report back after the next one, possibly next weekend 🙂
whattilerFree MemberPosted 6 years agoI’m looking forward to RAF Halton at the weekend. I’ve missed it the last couple of years as it’s clashed with the 3 Peaks. The prospect of a muddy RAF Halton is very exciting, and the forecast looks very wet for Sunday, can’t wait. I’d have to disagree that it’s an MTB course, it’s got the best variety of surfaces in the CXL along with Corby, which are my 2 favourite CXL courses. Courses that are just grass do nothing for me. This from the BC Cyclocross regulations.
9.2 The course shall include roads, country and
forest paths and meadowland alternating in
such a way as to ensure changes in the pace of
the race and allowing riders to recuperate after
difficult sections.nedrapierFull MemberPosted 6 years agoI’ve done my race for 2017/8. Good fun/”fun”, good beer, good people, mid-table obscurity.
Ticks in all the boxes.
crashtestmonkeyFree MemberPosted 6 years agoWhattiler I mean a course that appeals to MTBers with loads of singletrack, as opposed to the more typical CX course, mainly grass, that my diehard MTB mates sneer at.
I liked Corby too, until it claimed all 3 of our rear mechs (and more than 20 overall) in 2015!
And what forecast are you looking at, BBC has it basically dry and cold all week including Sunday. I’d be happy with mud, it curbs the roadies’ horsepower and I’ve barely used my mud tubs since buying them.
Mrs.ButcherFree MemberPosted 6 years agoAny organisers who build a sand pit around, how much does the materials cost? I was wondering about this and I came to the conclusion you’d need about 9 tonnes of sand for a decent sized pit so £270+VAT excluding wood for the boarding. A lot of cash for what would be a tempory feature. Plus no idea how we’d get rid of the sand afterwards!
The problem is you really need a lot of sand to make it a course defining feature. I think the National Trophy at Derby used 100 tonnes to create a 60m sand pit, and even then, due to the nature of the sand used and the conditions it was packing down and relatively easily ridden. There’s probably better things to spend money on, unless you can really invest or secure sponsorship and make a proper feature of it.
qwertyFree MemberPosted 6 years agoAny organisers who build a sand pit around, how much does the materials cost?
On behalf of LoveCrossed (04/02/18), I’ve just secured sponsorship from a local ground works / building contractor to supply/install/remove a sand pit. My next approach was to be our local building supplies company.
Approach local firms and put forward a proposal.
ferralsFree MemberPosted 6 years agoGood idea Qwerty. Just idle speculation at the moment for next year as we had our race a couple of weeks back, already thinking about how to mix up the course and improve it 😀
Mrs. Butcher – Member
The problem is you really need a lot of sand to make it a course defining feature. I think the National Trophy at Derby used 100 tonnes to create a 60m sand pit,
That is a lot of sand!!
Munqe-chickFree MemberPosted 6 years agoMrs Butcher you could do what Lovelo do for Crossmas and build a bridge like the Belgians do .. 18th December it’s coming back ….awesomez as the kids say 😉
ferralsFree MemberPosted 6 years agoPSA: just in case anyone’s not on social media (as if 😆 ), it just came up on my FB feed that Round 11 of the Western Leagues been cancelled for (I think) this sunday.
whattilerFree MemberPosted 6 years agocrash test monkey – I was looking at the one from Sunday after I’d just got back from another excellently muddy Eastern league race. Sadly you’re right, looks dry now. Still be a cracker though, and the Belgian frites are awesome, we had that guy at our club’s event.
DNFed Corby in 2015 too, survived last season thanks to two bikes, a petrol pressure washer and a pit helper.
13thfloormonkFull MemberPosted 6 years agoAn integral part of CX racing and happens at every race and in every part of the grid, it’s not just a newbie mistake but it is a fine balance.
I had wondered about starts, and whether to elbow my way to a position in the start grid which reflected my last placing. I usually start in a respectful ‘back of the pack’ position because I don’t expect to place anywhere significant.
That said, how many of the places gained by elbowing your way to the front of the grid might you reasonably expect to maintain? I finished top third (by one place 8) ) at my last race, despite starting very near the back. Wondering if I could conceivably finished higher if I’d started closer to the front…
legendFree MemberPosted 6 years ago1st race is started near the back (mostly due to being to slack to get there in good time) and got to overtake 40+ riders in the race.
2nd race i was closer to my expected (mid-pack of course) placing. Hardly got to overtake anyone.1st race was way more fun 🙂
crashtestmonkeyFree MemberPosted 6 years agoSadly you’re right, looks dry now
who knows- BBC says it’s dry here in Oxford, outside my window says differently…
I finished top third (by one place ) at my last race, despite starting very near the back. Wondering if I could conceivably finished higher if I’d started closer to the front…
yes, you would. You’ll be getting slowed at every pinch point and corner, the odd second here and there adds up. Dunno which league your in and how much info they produce, but you could look at lap times- you might be coming say 30th but actually lapping at the same pace as the guy in say 15th, but he gained 30 seconds on you in the first lap when you were coming to a near standstill when the field bunched up at the first few hairpins.
Central grid extensively (this year if you pre-enter you get gridded based on average previous finishes, even if you’re in 100th place). In my first season (2015-16) I started at the back first race, finished in top half, so next race got gridded in top half etc etc, from mid-season on I was on the second row. I’ve stopped entering the occasional local Wessex round now as whilst I enjoyed racing for racing’s sake I got more and more frustrated with not getting gridded and having meaningless finish positions.
13thfloormonkFull MemberPosted 6 years agoRats, thought there were lap times available for last race but there weren’t.
During my search though I realised I wasn’t quite as high in the rankings as I’d been making out, let’s say top 36% if you include DNFs 😉
qwertyFree MemberPosted 6 years agoI think the National Trophy at Derby used 100 tonnes to create a 60m sand pit,
The UCI regulations that I found online state a minimum of 40 meters and a maximum of 80 meters for non-natural sand pits. BC just state no longer than 80 meters.
(not 100% sure if my info is the latest version. tbc.)
13thfloormonkFull MemberPosted 6 years agoLochore this weekend, bring on the Spiral of Doom!
(not actually the Lochore on pictured, apparently it’s bigger!)
Not liking the sound of the extra high hurdles though… 😕
legendFree MemberPosted 6 years agoExtra high hurdles and claggy enough to reduce grown men to tears – sounds like we’re in for a treat!
Currently trying to get the bike sorted – just had to use mole grips to remove the summer tyres that came on it!!
13thfloormonkFull MemberPosted 6 years agoWell I’ve been off the booze since Sunday (a big achievement for me :oops:) and resting the legs since Wednesday, so no excuses!
Bike is unchanged, had hoped to sell the front forks and fit some carbon rigids to chop 1kg off the weight but that will have to wait till next season now…
legendFree MemberPosted 6 years agoThis is the first race with my own bike, the stock tyres definitely weren’t going to be up to the task! However I’ve made the questionable decision to go tubeless, with a pair of tyres that have been folded up somewhere for a long time – bet they’re flat by morning!
BenjiMFull MemberPosted 6 years agoFor anyone that did Haigh hall today, well done. Dunno if my Garmin was correct but 1100ft of up in 6.5 miles! It certainly felt like it, anyway. Steve_b77 saw you going round just before we started seniors. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much loam!
mick_rFull MemberPosted 6 years agoHaigh was loamy fun. Managed to reverse last week’s battle and picked up a few places on the last laps. Didn’t see Steve but was looking out for him.
Just going to the youth race tomorrow with one or both of the boys (youngest is undecided but had his best ride of the year today whilst it was still all rideable).
rollindoughnutFree MemberPosted 6 years agoLondon X-League at cyclopark today on a Nat Trophy standard course. Overnight rain meant us V40’s probably got it at it’s best as first adult race, The mud was just right! Nice and slippery but not a bike killer.
Very, very technical circuit with a lot of the drama played out on steep banks.13thfloormonkFull MemberPosted 6 years agoOof, a very pointed reminder of the (well established…) benefits of a warm up today at Lochore. Between getting there late and footering about I only gave myself 10 minutes up and down the road and half a lap of the course to warm up.
Within two laps I had to stop as I genuinely thought I was having an asthma attack, lots of desperate wheezing going on! Stopped for a couple of minutes and of course watched a veritable herd of other riders spin past.
Got back into the race slowly and actually started picking up a few places, felt great on the last lap and put in a big dig to try and catch someone on the line, gave the spectators a brief bit of entertainment! Did a brief google on exercise induced asthma, the big cause is high exertion in cold air (tick) and a known preventative is good warm up (not tick 😳 ). That’ll be why all the fast boys are spending 45 minutes on rollers before the race… 🙄
The Spiral of Doom required some interesting race craft! Very slippy so just holding a tight inside line the whole way round wasn’t possible without dropping your speed, and of course any time I did drift wide some bugger would sneak through the open door!
Got easier in the latter laps when I was just chasing places and mostly time trialling, could stick to the less slippy outer lines and just crank round.
Last race of 2017/2018 season for me I think, enjoying myself but got a long distance challenge to train for now and can’t take enough time away from the 3 month old to train for both!
legendFree MemberPosted 6 years agoWell today I got caught, past and gapped by another forum user (who may have just posted above) 😳
Wasn’t on it at all today, worst result ot my short career so far. Even though the course is annoyingly flat I still should’ve done a bit better
schmikenFull MemberPosted 6 years agoGreat course at the LRCXL today at Beaumont Leys, a proper MTBers course. Got the hole shot and had a strong race, finishing inside my goal of top 15 but just outside the top 10 with an 11th.
Got caught a couple of times behind slower back markers going into tight twisty bits, lost out by 20s to 10th place. Big efforts needed prior to choke points next time!
13thfloormonkFull MemberPosted 6 years agoanother forum user
Yeah sorry about that… 😉 Was being 100% sneaky and had checked some race numbers at registration, you were on my list of five riders I knew or who had pipped me before! I was lurking behind your back wheel for a little bit until I knew could pass and also put a dig in after to deter re-passing! 😀
Would have stayed to chat in person afterwards but my wife had been dutifully standing at the sidelines waiting with the wee man and he had just decided he’d had enough as I crossed the line!
Weirdly exhausting course for one with no elevation, that mud wasn’t deep but seemed to clag the tyres up extra fast, felt like I was riding on a puncture the whole time…
legendFree MemberPosted 6 years agohe had just decided he’d had enough as I crossed the line!
I felt much the same when I crossed – straight to car, no chat in the tank for anyone 🙁 Definitely a draining course, claggy enough to give me all sorts of pedal trouble too. Wasn’t expecting that
13thfloormonkFull MemberPosted 6 years agoI know! First time my Time pedals have struggled, that combination of fine sandy stuff on the steps combined with muddy shoes seemed to just overwhelm them. Still sneaked a few places on people who seemed to be struggling worse than me at that point 8)
My results for the year then were 89th, 39th, 49th, which averages at 59th out of an average field of 110ish I think, so not quite the top half of the table I’d aimed for but lots of good lessons learned for next year, lighter bike, maybe some of those Baby Limus tyres everybody else seems to be using, better warm ups.
Garry_LagerFull MemberPosted 6 years agomick_r – Member
Haigh was loamy fun. Managed to reverse last week’s battle and picked up a few places on the last laps. Didn’t see Steve but was looking out for him.
Just going to the youth race tomorrow with one or both of the boys (youngest is undecided but had his best ride of the year today whilst it was still all rideable). Enjoyed the Haigh course a lot but v hard with the runups and deep loam – managed to hang in there, felt quite like a mountain bike course. Passed one lad in the latter stages on the pitch near the end of the lap – you know when one HGV overtakes another HGV on the motorway doing 56 mph versus 55? Felt a bit like that, only me trotting at 2.1 mph, him at 2. Attritional stuff.
Respect to anyone racing both days there – couldn’t contemplate racing a bike today.Gave tubeless a try for the first time and have to say they were flawless [and trivial to setup]. Be interested to see how they do over a few races / different conditions.
legendFree MemberPosted 6 years agoAnyone got any thoughts on Specialized Terra tyres? Seem to be one of the few mud tyres actually available at the moment. Priced like you’d expect from Specialized, tread looks fine. Anyone? Not in a huge rush as this weekend is apparently likely to be wetter than yesterday, will really need something in the second half of the season though
steve_b77Free MemberPosted 6 years agomick_r – Member
Haigh was loamy fun. Managed to reverse last week’s battle and picked up a few places on the last laps. Didn’t see Steve but was looking out for him.I was there, just a bit shit as I really don’t like running at all, managed to drag my carcass round to 60th place out “sprinting” my mate on the final lap.
Little lad had a proper rough time, crashed 5 times in his U8’s race including a trip into a bed of nettles and one OTB moment. At one point he’d dropped to 26th but fought his way back to 16th one place behind his nearest league rival. I wish I was as good as him 😆
Garry_Lager – Member
Gave tubeless a try for the first time and have to say they were flawless [and trivial to setup]. Be interested to see how they do over a few races / different conditions.It’s ace, stick with it.
mick_rFull MemberPosted 6 years agoWhich category were you racing Garry? Definitely like an MTB course in places so suited me fine. I’m surprisingly finding the running suits me so as we have a gap for almost a month I’m going to try and practice a bit – Stadt Moers is certain to be muddy.
Must also apologise that my kids were part of the bridge jump “whip it” heckling crew 🙂
I ran tubeless Schwalbe X-One Bite for the first time (same setup as my eldest lad) and have to say they were fabulous. More grip / less clogging than I’ve ever had before. Almost pointless running anything other than a mud tyre for the NW races……..
LSFree MemberPosted 6 years agoStadt Moers? Is that the place in Whiston? I raced there years ago and seem to remember it was a little like this years’ Nat Champs venue in Hetton.
steve_b77Free MemberPosted 6 years agoLS – Member
Stadt Moers? Is that the place in Whiston? I raced there years ago and seem to remember it was a little like this years’ Nat Champs venue in Hetton.That’s the one, a mixture of gravel covered paths, some block paving, a bit of tarmac and a sodding slippy muddy hill with some wooded bits.
LSFree MemberPosted 6 years agoYes I recall it now, just looked back and it was 2006 when I was there, didn’t seem that long ago 😯
schmikenFull MemberPosted 6 years agoHaven’t tried the Terra, but my go to mud tyres are either a Challenge Limus or FMB SuperMuds. Limus are faster but SuperMuds are like shit to a blanket.
leggyblondeFree MemberPosted 6 years agoCyclopark London League was indeed a fantastic course; slippery off-camber and rutted goodness with fast sections in between. Something to sort the more experienced cross racers from the MTBers and roadies.
4th in the seniors for me was a reasonable way to end 2017, this cross season has been a disappointment for me personally and so I’m taking some time off racing, I’ve been going since march.
@legend the new Terras have more bite than the previous versions. Never been a mega grippy tyre to rival a Limus etc but a good choice especially for those courses that are a mix of mud and fast or slippery on top of firm.
legendFree MemberPosted 6 years agoShould probably have mentioned that I’ll be running them tubeless, which I believe really rules on the Limus (which i had a loan of for a couple of races and got on well with) and probably the Supermuds too?
2018 Terras looks like a step up indeed. Cant see them anywhere yet though. Really just wanting to avoid the clag-fest of yesterday – there not fun in trying to get mud off the bike in short carry sections
Stocks seem incredibly low of most options too
simondbarnesFull MemberPosted 6 years agoAnyone got any thoughts on Specialized Terra tyres?
I think they’re a great all round tyre. They’ve been redesigned recently to be a bit more full on mud I think but not sure that version has landed over here yet.
No racing for me this season as my knee is screwed but did ride out to Haigh Hall yesterday and took a few pics on my phone and drank some hot cider…
[url=https://flic.kr/p/GM5mzt]20171119_145935[/url] by Simon Barnes, on Flickr[url=https://flic.kr/p/21ETi61]20171119_150033[/url] by Simon Barnes, on Flickr[url=https://flic.kr/p/DzP9io]20171119_145725[/url] by Simon Barnes, on Flickr[url=https://flic.kr/p/GM6iJM]20171119_145349[/url] by Simon Barnes, on Flickr[url=https://flic.kr/p/21EVag9]20171119_133256[/url] by Simon Barnes, on Flickr[url=https://flic.kr/p/DzR4Kw]20171119_130507[/url] by Simon Barnes, on Flickr[url=https://flic.kr/p/GM6HNP]20171119_124624[/url] by Simon Barnes, on Flickr
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