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First Race in 2 Weeks. Seeking Advice.



 
 
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  #21  
Old September 10th 04, 08:42 AM
Ewoud Dronkert
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On 10 Sep 2004 03:13:35 GMT, Tom Paterson wrote:
wheel crossing is pretty common in early categories.


And the women's Olympic road race.
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  #22  
Old September 10th 04, 09:24 AM
Donald Munro
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Chris wrote:
I find it amusing the only a very small percentage of
drugs on the banned drug list have any chance at enhancing performance.


But they do enhance pounding Dickheads ego.

  #23  
Old September 10th 04, 09:27 AM
Donald Munro
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Benjamin Weiner wrote:
Don't worry much about your bike, or food since it's a short crit
(beyond common sense, i.e. don't show up hungry or dehydrated).


Just make sure you don't eat any Spanish fish salad.

  #24  
Old September 10th 04, 09:41 AM
Donald Munro
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Ewoud Dronkert wrote:
Or take the "overview from behind" approach. Most fields inevitably stay
together until the end, with some futile escapes. Start your race in the
penultimate lap.


Jeff Jones wrote:
I have tried that tactic many times in Belgium. By the penultimate lap,
there are so many bits of the peloton that if I've taken the "sitting on"
approach I'll be lucky to finish inside the top 30.


Does the wind play a big role in splitting up the field in Belgium, or is
it 'just' hard racing with lots of break aways (I have heard that
Belgians and Dutch sometimes use a 42 inner chainring instead of a 39 for
when the wind is really bad).

I've realised the only tactic that works is to try to get in as many
breaks as possible,tempered by some racing instinct e.g. "Mario Willems is still in the
peloton. I'll wait." A bunch sprint for the win is almost unheard of in
Belgian amateur racing.


I'd have thought a top placed journalist racer like you would have been
watching the other Italian Mario.


  #25  
Old September 10th 04, 09:46 AM
Ewoud Dronkert
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On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 10:41:11 +0200, Donald Munro wrote:
(I have heard that Belgians and Dutch sometimes use a 42 inner
chainring instead of a 39 for when the wind is really bad).


Sometimes? Because most new bikes come with a 39 by default nowadays,
and most rec racers don't bother, they mostly have a 39, yes. First
replacement is often the casette, 12-21 in stead of 11-25. Then the
inner chain ring to 42, or 47/48 for "real" racers. But that's less
important because experienced riders know a) you don't use the inner
chainring in races, and b) *if* you do, you know you lost anyway.

For me, the 39 comes out of storage only for the Ardennes or the Alpes.
  #26  
Old September 10th 04, 10:26 AM
Donald Munro
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Donald Munro wrote:
(I have heard that Belgians and Dutch sometimes use a 42 inner
chainring instead of a 39 for when the wind is really bad).


Ewoud Dronkert wrote:
Sometimes? Because most new bikes come with a 39 by default nowadays,
and most rec racers don't bother, they mostly have a 39, yes. First
replacement is often the casette, 12-21 in stead of 11-25. Then the
inner chain ring to 42, or 47/48 for "real" racers. But that's less
important because experienced riders know a) you don't use the inner
chainring in races, and b) *if* you do, you know you lost anyway.


I was thinking more in terms of training than racing, however in a really
strong (ie 50Km/h) the wind resistance could have the same effect as
going uphill (at least if you are in a breakaway and riding in the wind
more frequently). Perhaps using the 42 at a higher cadence could save your
legs a bit (ie 42x14=79.3 53x18=77.8' 42x15=74' and 42x11 still gives
you a 100.9'gear approx = 53x14).

For me, the 39 comes out of storage only for the Ardennes or the Alpes.


And a medium cage rear derailleur for the Alps ? :-)

  #27  
Old September 10th 04, 10:29 AM
Robert Chung
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Donald Munro wrote:
I was thinking more in terms of training than racing, however in a
really strong (ie 50Km/h) the wind resistance could have the same
effect as going uphill (at least if you are in a breakaway and riding
in the wind more frequently). Perhaps using the 42 at a higher cadence
could save your legs a bit (ie 42x14=79.3 53x18=77.8' 42x15=74' and
42x11 still gives you a 100.9'gear approx = 53x14).


Wind resistance doesn't scale like going uphill.


  #28  
Old September 10th 04, 11:05 AM
Donald Munro
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Donald Munro wrote:
I was thinking more in terms of training than racing, however in a
really strong (ie 50Km/h) the wind resistance could have the same
effect as going uphill (at least if you are in a breakaway and riding
in the wind more frequently). Perhaps using the 42 at a higher cadence
could save your legs a bit (ie 42x14=79.3 53x18=77.8' 42x15=74' and
42x11 still gives you a 100.9'gear approx = 53x14).


Robert Chung wrote:
Wind resistance doesn't scale like going uphill.


I don't know how it scales, but grinding a big gear into a strong headwind
is pretty hard on the legs (I know, I live at the coast around latitude
34S close enough to the 'roaring forties' as to have more than my fill of
westerly gales to ride into, although it does provide for motorless motor
pacing if you are going slightly downhill the other way).

  #29  
Old September 10th 04, 12:18 PM
John Forrest Tomlinson
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On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 20:03:27 +1000, "Jeff Jones"
jeff@cyclingnews-punt-com wrote:
but in a
kermis it's really just the number of attacks that destroys the peloton. The
attacks start from the beginning and usually you get several groups of 8-10
forming, separated by various intervals. It's quite often that the winning
selection is made on the first lap, as long as it has the right people in
it. But if the bunch is big enough ( 50) then an hour of hard chasing will
generally bring things back together. Then it starts all over again.

What I find mentally hard about it is that when you do get into a break,
*no-one* wants to work, and invariably things fall apart and your effort is
wasted. It seems that everyone wants to attack but no-one wants to go on
with it exccept in rare cases. If you can get into a group that works
together, then you're almost guaranteed of a place. It is is very
demoralising, as one moment you're out in front and the next, everyone in
the group has slowed to 30 km/h and are looking back at the bunch. Then the
counter-attacks come from the bunch and you're suddenly at or off the back.

Kermis racing is like
repeatedly bashing your head against a wall.


A former teammate of mine described the same thing. He said he got
the feeling everyone wanted to cross the finish line alone.

JT

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  #30  
Old September 10th 04, 12:19 PM
John Forrest Tomlinson
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On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 09:42:33 +0200, Ewoud Dronkert
wrote:

On 10 Sep 2004 03:13:35 GMT, Tom Paterson wrote:
wheel crossing is pretty common in early categories.


And the women's Olympic road race.


Wheel crossing is common at a lot of ability levels. At the higher
levels it doesn't result in as many crashes though...

JT


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