Competiton Fast & Furious At CCCX #1 This Past Sunday
Round #1 of the CCCX Series delivered most of Northern California's Cyclocross talent to the course in what will surely be a prime example of the racing action that will go down during the 2009 Cross season. All of the divisions on the day were hotly contested on a race route that received strong reviews from Cyclocross critics. The 10:00 a.m. "B" Men's division featured some amazing tactical battles and the large number of riders in the Master B 35+ & 45+ groups show Cyclocross's popularity across the board. The main event "Elite" Mens race went down as expected with Cal Giant Inc.- HRS/Rock Lobster putting on quite the epic duel. Lobster riders Josh Snead & Chris McGovern took on Cal Giant's Cody Kaiser & Justin Robinson in a attack filled brawl. When push came to shove, Justin Robinson separated himself from the others when it mattered most and took the win. The "Elite" Womens race saw 2 new comers to Nor-Cal Cross racing have a large impact on the proceedings. Chicago native, Devon Haskill(Velo Bella), who recently signed a Pro Road contract with Team Tibco rode a dominating race off the front and basically soloed to a stellar victory. While Colorado's Kerry Barnholt(Scott/Ritchey) animated the chase action, then contested the sprint for 2nd place with Karen Brems(Webcor). Brems was not to be denied and claimed the silver medal on the day, relegating the talented Barnholt to 3rd place. The Nor-Cal Women's racing is only going to get better with 2 new powerful athletes joining the already stacked ladies "Elite" group. The Mens 35+ A Masters division was by far the most loaded division of pure talent on the day, with multiple National Champions going toe to toe on course. Northern California Masters Cross racing is with out a doubt on the highest level in the entire U.S.A. -3 TIME National Masters Champion James Coates(Cal Giant Inc.) claimed high honors in this legends group of Masters racers...
Madeline Myall(Cal Giant Inc.) has tremendous athletic ability and won the Junior Women's race....
Kerry Barnholt & Stella Carey(HRS/Rock Lobster) lead out the "Elite" Women's race up the main pavement climb....
The short run-up section provided some great action for the fans....
The Master 35+ & 45+ 'B" divisions had some of the best racing on the day....
All kinds of elbow to elbow action took place at Manzanita Park in Prunedale....
Many of the finishes came down to full on sprints between small groups up the final pavement climb, making for great viewing of the racing exploits....
Some great photos can be found here from Scott Mosher......
http://em.scottmosherphotography.com/g/cccx1fall92009
Results will be posted here .....
http://cccx.org/2009/index.shtml
Congratulations to all the people who competed!
Madeline Myall(Cal Giant Inc.) has tremendous athletic ability and won the Junior Women's race....
Kerry Barnholt & Stella Carey(HRS/Rock Lobster) lead out the "Elite" Women's race up the main pavement climb....
The short run-up section provided some great action for the fans....
The Master 35+ & 45+ 'B" divisions had some of the best racing on the day....
All kinds of elbow to elbow action took place at Manzanita Park in Prunedale....
Many of the finishes came down to full on sprints between small groups up the final pavement climb, making for great viewing of the racing exploits....
Some great photos can be found here from Scott Mosher......
http://em.scottmosherphotography.com/g/cccx1fall92009
Results will be posted here .....
http://cccx.org/2009/index.shtml
Congratulations to all the people who competed!
posted by Dusty Downs at 12:48 PM
27 Comments:
to keep the record accurate . coats is 3 time natl. but , whos counting.
we will fix that right away!
Huge turn out, good race dusty.
It is also worth noting that although the master's 35+ did 1 less lap the lap times for the winner of their field (coats) were faster than the lap times of the winner of the elite field (Robinson).... Those Master's guys are sandbaggers!
as long as we are takin digs at masters. you should note that coats is 45yrs old. kramer is 50...old farts.
Hey Anon,
Sorry that you look at the glass half empty. I've raced against those guys- didn't stand a chance in hell of placing, but felt better to get beat by the best instead of a watered down field. We live in Northern California, get used to the competition. If getting onto the podium is that important, race the C's, move to Pocatello, or work on a good Cinzano maneuver.
Me, I prefer my half full glass filled with Sierra Nevada.
Cheers
Yeah bottom line is the Masters Division is stacked and definitly the most competitve division in Northern Califonia. In the 30-35 National age group both Justin Robinson & AJM have won National Championships recently. Coats, Hoefer, in the 35-40 age group have claimed National wins. And now a 4 time Senior Elite Overall USA Champion Don Myrah is racing in the Masters Division. Then you have guys like Myall, deFiebre, Henry Krammer,Steve Reaney, and a host of others and it is pure hell in the Masters A races. I am going to stick to Master B division where there are 30 other fast Masters racers trying to kick my ass.
Chad
Dude
what about Funke or Maile or even Dalusio. Bottom line top 10 in any of the Master A races is a bitch to achieve.
Foamin Froth
Real men race for an hour + a lap.
me wishes the masters races were for 1 hour plus 1 lap
45 minute race are actually harder because the pace is faster and there is less time to mess around and play out some tactics. it is full on pedal to the medal the entire time while the 1 hour long races there is more time to dilly dally around.
Anonymous is right!
Imagine racing for TWENTY minutes, that would be insaaaane!
wow, wow
Yep. Those lame ass elite men were certainly dilly dallying. A grand old 0.174 seconds slower per lap, totaling 1.392 seconds longer, assuming that difference was all in that one extra lap. If you're going to cry about getting your ass kicked, go play golf. It's racing, someone will win, a bunch of people won't. The Master A's and the Elite Men train hard to be fast, as do the top women. If you train hard, you'll be fast too.
ps. I love that Reaney and Myrah both raced two races that day. Hiyah!
Actually I was looking at the average miles per hour of the Cyclocross World Championships last year and it was 18.89.
We need to simulate the exact degree of difficulty per meter of the World Championship venues to create a optimal match to World Championship courses.
thus our athletes will be ready top handle the World Championship race.
Even if none of our Northern California riders will compete in the Elite World event. maybe in 5 to 10 years there might be someone who will, and it is up to us to prepare that person for exactly what they will face.
Ben Dodge, can you spear head this objective?
Masters "A" riders are sandbaggers? 45 minutes is harder than 60 minutes?
These masters A riders are racing in their appropriate age and ability class. They are elite level riders and they are absolutely competitive in pro 1-2 races. Are they sandbagging? Hell, no! It sounds to me like you're bitter at getting your ass handed to you by better and possibly older riders. Don't like it? Train hard and try even harder. Racin's a tough sport and even the best of us lose more often than not. Get used to it.
45 minutes versus 60 minutes- No, 45 minutes is not more difficult. Try it out for yourself. If you ask most any "A" Masters rider out there, they will tell you that they would rather be racing 60 minutes. Cross is in reality meant to be a 60 minute event. It's the promoters who have changed this because they try to have too many different classes on one day.
Next you'll be telling us it's credible to ride "A" level races on flat bars and mtb's...
Signed,
Another masters A rider
Thomas Frischknecht won a World Championship Cyclocross medal using flat bars! That is super credible!
You going to tell me no?
Actually if your doing well in the A cross races on a MTB or using straight bars or drop bars or whatever, that is credible.
45 minutes or 1 hour, it is all the same. The races I watch, and I have traveled all over the world watching Cyclocross races, the gaps are usually established by 30 to 40 minutes and the race then stays pretty much the same from there. If all A races were 45 minutes the results would basically be the same with the same people winning as if the races were 1 hour. This is for sure. The strongest and most skilled riders find a way to win, 45 minutes, 50 minutes, 55 minutes, or 1 hour.
And actually the first Cross races over 70 years ago were run for 40 minutes. It was only in the 70's and beyond that Elite races went 1 hour. Do your home work before you start making comments please.
T. Ritchey
Sandbagging grey-haired cross racers! Man up!
Thanks for the comments, and yes I did my homework before I made my own. Of course Frischknecht is legit, credible and 100%worthy. He's a giant within cyclesport.
But, when he rode flat bars in cyclocross, he was riding within the rules as they were. Don't forget that flat bars as such didn't even exist (remember your bullmoose bars)until a few years before that. Of course there were no rules defining the type of handlebar to be used in cyclocross because there had never been anything applicable other than a normal drop bar. So, yes, Frischy riding flat bars was credible...THEN. But what type of bars did he use for cx in the last, say, 15 years or so?
Times have changed and there is a UCI rule (1.3.022) in place that defines the bars to be used. Rightly so because flat bars represent an unfair advantage. They are definitely not in the "spirit" of the sport of cyclocross and I think you'll find few arguments there. So, using them today is not credible and is even banned by the UCI. Why not market flat bars as MTB AND cyclocross bars if they're credible cx equipment today?
Cyclocross was born of road racing and there's nothing at all wrong with hanging on to some tradition and a level playing field is always a good call. Frischknecht will tell you that. 700c bikes with drop bars make it a level playing field when it comes to equipment.
As for the 40, 45, or 60 minutes controversy, the strongest will usually find a way to the front in whatever time is alotted. Not always though. A 60 minute race is 50% longer than a 40 minute race and 25% longer than a 45 minute event. Those differences in time can make all the difference in the world in the racing outcome. A longer race simply adds more dimensions to an athletic event. That's fact.
Signed, that same Masters A rider
P.S. If you're really Tom Ritchey, thanks for everything and I've enjoyed your products since the '80s.
In my opinion if your not using a pure cyclocross bike as defined by the UCI you are RAD! We need more people going against the grain instead of a bunch of spandex wearing, same style of bike riding, percentage counting, rule adhering, UCI fetish crazed lame brains. Jungle cross is the history of cyclocross in this area, and if your not out there just having a good time and racing any kind of bike you got, then you are not doing it right. Next thing your going to tell me is the courses need to meet UCI standards in this area. I could care less the length in time of the races, and the kind of machine people chose to ride. Just race, and do not try to set limits on things or make judgments on others. That anonymous rule crazed fool should be out there disqualifying anyone who takes beer feeds during the races. After all the UCI does not allow beer feeds as it is not in the "spirit" of cyclocross racing. Better yet, lets straight up ban anything and everything that is not ruled tangible by the UCI. This would make things so much better and get anyone who is not full on cyclcocross dedicated in a purely UCI set of standards out of racing.
Zach
yeah Zach
i agree with you bro
i race cross in my baggies and on my mtb with straight bars
my rides are legit and credible and i bet i am having more fun then the heads who worry about what type of handle bars someone is using or how long the races is
i will probably snag a few beer feeds when possible and most of my bros are taking bong hits before they race
cross is fun and that is how it should always be
Kurt
In The City
45 minutes would produce the same winner as 1 hour.
30 minutes would produce the same as 45.
20 minutes the same as 30.
10 minutes the same as 20.
and so on.....
...therefore, We should race for 1/10th of one microquark second.
I have to agree that while most races are determined between small groups by say...30 minutes. Then the final is played out from there whether it be a 45 minute race or 1 hour, most of the outcomes would be similar. However if Cross races were for 2 hours things would be dramatically different. REAL CROSS RACES SHOULD BE 2 HOURS AND REAL MEN RACE FOR 2 HOURS.
Let this be a warning to anyone who thinks 1 hour is the correct time.
WORD^^^^^!
MARATHON-CROSS!!
grand prize: T.Ritcheys worldly mustache clippings!
YEEEAAAHHH JUNGLE CROSS!!!!!! We will race on whutever we got and it's all legit. cross needs to loosen up. no rules is a good rule. who needs them? I'm going to smoke a bowl, drink a beer, wax my mustche up and drill it on forst lap. YEEEAAAH !!! JUNGLE CROSS!!! My DB Apex rocks!! 1987 is going to be agreat year for me and 88 will be even better !!
Moonbeam Mark in the city!
jungle cross went down this weekend fool
that basp course was pure jungle cross and the same guy who was winning in 1987 won today, don myrah
lots of parting going on and a pure jungle cross course
your right......fullmoon mark !!
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