The A Race
October 16th, 2008 |I’ve been reasonably happy with my results in the A category cyclocross races so far. I finish fairly far down in the standing but I am having a good time.
I have talked to a couple of other racers who are eligible to compete in the A race but either don’t do it (in favor of the B race) or don’t take it as seriously as I am. They both had the same response when I asked why.
They felt bad about getting in the way of the elite racers.
I understand and respect this point. I know I have been in numerous sporting events where someone of lesser fitness or ability has been in my way. I sometimes wonder why they are bothering or wish that they would just move over and let me get by them. However, so long as they are not posing a danger to myself, themselves or the other racers I usually don’t give it a second thought once I am past them.
The problem is that the A Race combines the Elite Category riders with the Masters 35+ riders. This is inevitably going to lead to the field getting spread out and some riders, such as myself, are going to get lapped by the leaders. I was lapped twice by the winner of the Hudson race, once by the top 5 or so. I was lapped by half a dozen riders at Wirth last weekend.
Again, I understand feeling like you don’t want to be "in the way" of other riders. But my feeling is that overtaking and passing riders is a part of racing. These elite riders need to be able to pass each other in order to advance through the field. They are going to probably get passed and maybe lapped themselves if they participate in national caliber events in other parts of the country. What difference is it going to make if they have to deal with getting by me once and a while? It’s probably good practice for them. If it’s late in the race and I have my position secure then I will even yield a bit to these guys if I see them coming up on me, no problem.
I am out there to learn the sport and have a good time. I’m doing both. So long as my race category allows me to enter the A race, and the officials don’t have a problem with me, then I am going to keep doing it.
So while I understand the feeling of those racers who don’t want to interfere with the elite racers (most of whom don’t have a problem with lapping riders anyway) I hope that all of us are entering the race that we want to and are able to participate to the fullest extent that we can. Racing your bike is totally optional, if you are going to do it you may as well do it on your terms.
Be awesome!
31 Responses to “The A Race”
“I know I have been in numerous sporting events where someone of lesser fitness or ability has been in my way.”
I doubt that’s ever really happened.
I rode my first cross race in the C at powerderhorn last year. then I rode the B race in isanti because it also had my age group, 45+. I got lapped by the B guys, and a few of the 45+ guys who were awesome.
One of the younger “B” guys full of himself muttered at me to get off the course as he lapped me. I thought, here I am getting hooked on this cool sport, wishing I woulda found it 20 years ago. and this is the welcome I get from some jerk. I was staying far to the right by the way.
so yeah be respectful, stay to the right, and maybe the powers that be need to seperate age divisions??
leif
“One of the younger “B” guys full of himself muttered at me to get off the course as he lapped me.”
That really sucks. Unfortunately there will always be those types. It’s especially frustrating when there’s a lot of singletrack or not enough room to sort things out before the first constricted area (Lake Rebecca, Boom Island last year), both for those in contention and those trying to stay out of the way.
@Jake: Cross country skiing, not cycling.
And you can stay out of my way Jake.
from a spectator standpoint i think you should stick it out in the A race. you’ll improve faster too.. it sounds like that course was an exception. for us watching it was nice later in the race to see racers spread across the course.. like i told mike phillips; he and j.roy may as well have been off the front. so if you’re having fun.. stick it in the A race.. part of cross skill is passing racers getting lapped
Be awesome!
What an uplifting experience it is to read this blog!
Still not sure which one I’ll do - I think the 35+ used to be run with the “B” race which made more sense to me - if you are an “A” guy why not score in the “A” race?
Thank you for bringing this up. As a newbie I’ve been wondering what’s proper for both parties. Does it change based on which race and which situation we may find ourselves in? In my mind if someone is out there trying their best and they are in the Category race that’s on their USAC card then they shouldn’t feel like they have to move aside.
always move aside, out of respect. passing is an art and if an elite has the nerves to pass me on the outside while i’m moving out of that way then it’s his problem, i’m gonna punch hollywood next time he passes too close though.
always move aside, out of respect.
Right. Because you are clearly all about “respect”…
like da ali g says ‘respekt’….it is a funny thing, but not a contradiction per se, just ask hollywood about cyclocross racing in look shoes, basset creek ‘90 something.
it is a funny thing
No, not really funny at all. More like fucking annoying.
just ask hollywood about cyclocross racing in look shoes, basset creek ‘90 something.
I’m pretty sure that I am not going to ask Hollywood about that.
35+ has always been in the A race…start behind the “fast” guys and let them by when they are lapping…stay in the A race…much less attitude from “C” and “B” superstars.
sorry boss,
i think we need a
commentjudgement from cycbercop on this…Look at Love Chunks droppin’ his white kierin gloves.
The funniest part about all of this is that those 45+ guys should be racing in the A race and would easily be getting top 10s.
Yeah, I am talking to you Gregg and Jim Bell!
I liked my categories in the Bassett Creek 1993 series:
Hard
Harder
Hardest
series implies the ’spring cyclocross’ series….a brilliant but unorthodox series(not uci santioned)
rock on Baba…bring back Bassett Creek. The self selection was awesome
SR…top 10s in the As. Would love to see it.
“a brilliant but unorthodox series(not uci santioned)”
If by brilliant you mean pulling barriers out of the woods and yelling “GO”, fine. If by UCI sanctioned you mean boring, fine also.
bring back Bassett Creek.
Bring back more than once per year? Or were you thinking Battle Creek?
I used to do the A race but after officiating last year, I realized that lapped riders make it more difficult to score, so I thought I would do Nuxie a favor this year and do the B’s. I will say though that getting passed in the A race was a lot nicer than getting passed in the B race. The A guys always give you respect, in the B race it’s guys who aren’t even in contention who are jack-asses when they pass you…
There’s no right answer here, it’s fun to push yourself in the A race to see how you stack up, but it’s also fun feel a part of the competition in the B race. If you top 3 at any time, it’s time to move up.
“I realized that lapped riders make it more difficult to score”
This has been a bit of a sore spot with me. When we moved from Hard, harder, hardest Ken Ring was the only official present, and results were up for all categories before the next race started. I don’t know how he did it, but it was great from a promoters point of view to pay only one official. The races weren’t as big then, but we would get 120-140 on occasion. Plus, I miss the puff of Lucky Strike smoke at the finish line as I mounted after the run up.
Why does anyone care about the results past the top 3 anyway?
I make no apologies to my approach of assigning multiple officials for each race. It is a bit of a sore point with me that some still hang onto an unrealistic view of the past compared to the present (in my opinion), or that doubt the value of having multiple officials at an event. (Soap box warning). The feedback I have received from the vast majority of people who were around in the “good ole days” has been very positive and has emphasized the increased level of professionalism our current approach has brought to officiating in Minnesota.
Today, when we get 120-140 riders, divided between 3 fields, we also usually get the complete results up before the next race starts… we did at St. Cloud this year for certain with somewhere around 130 - 140 riders.
Once the number of riders per field goes much above 50 riders, unless the course is long (over 3 km), it does become much more difficult to score. If there are 100 or more in a field, forget about scoring it in a timely manner (this is where we cue up the transponder debate). If you don’t believe me, come try scoring it yourself. And then hand write 60+ riders names and categories in the few minutes most organizers used to allow between races in the past. That said, we most likely can get the top 3 to 5 places out very quickly. It’s “75th place” that is the difficult one. Kudos to those race promoters that allow sufficient time between races to actually allow time to get hand-written results cranked out before the next race begins.
My memory of the “good ole days” with respect to officiating isn’t so rosey. I raced road and track in those days. I remember results being posted for only the prize list places. If you finished out of the money, tough luck seeing your name in print. Of course my memory is from road & track events. Cross is definitely easier to score as long as the fields aren’t huge. Today, we do our best to place everyone. This comment also is not intended to say the officials weren’t good at scoring. They did quite well considering they usually worked alone. But rule enforcement was minimal or non-existant, and their ability to respond quickly to emergencies was extremely limited.
Having only one official at each event? Count me out. I have no interest in being involved in that kind of potential cluster. I’d rather go canoeing. Afterall, I officiate because I have a passion for the sport and enjoy officiating. If it ceases being enjoyable, which it would for me if we turn back the clock at local events to the old days, I’ll find something else to do with my free time.
I’m tired of that cop out. A race, by definition, is a comparison against others. Otherwise it’s a lot cheaper to go on a training ride, and only people with a shot at the top three would come out. Even if you’re racing not to be DFL, it’s still a race.
bring back the days when racing was about having fun, testing your fitness and camaraderie… i like chile` on a chilly day
Above was my reply to “Why does anyone care about the results past the top 3 anyway?”. “Reply” feature seems not to be working.
@Steven: I excel at the cop out.
I blame Baba for all of the problems!
I would tell it to him in person, but he is always at a different coffee shop than I am.