So who here races?

[Gistane]

I wasn't referring to the cyclocross, but their monthly road race.

What road racing is in western sydney? I'm in the inner west, so could be more convenient to get to.

Monday nights they race at Penrith Regatta centre start at 6:30pm.
Tuesday nights they race at the Eastern Creek Dragway start at 6:30pm.

Depending if you fall in the masters category there is racing on a Sunday but circuit can vary from Eastern Creek Raceway, Eastern Creek Dragway, Lansdowne or a circuit at Olympic Park.

I think there is also racing on Tuesday nights at Heffron Park Maroubra and possibly racing every Saturday afternoon there as well

 

[Archibald]

Monday nights they race at Penrith Regatta centre start at 6:30pm.
Tuesday nights they race at the Eastern Creek Dragway start at 6:30pm.

Depending if you fall in the masters category there is racing on a Sunday but circuit can vary from Eastern Creek Raceway, Eastern Creek Dragway, Lansdowne or a circuit at Olympic Park.

I think there is also racing on Tuesday nights at Heffron Park Maroubra and possibly racing every Saturday afternoon there as well

Olympic park would be the only one I could get to... (I have no car)

West Head road race this sunday - looking forward to it!

 

[slowoldman]

So another Sunday of races and another Monday with a pair of sore legs!

45+ was in a break and came in 5th, behind 3 former National Champs and a former pro! Great luck I have huh?

35+ I was hanging on for dear life. Started toward the front and actually was in a short lived break. (Had a couple of Monster Media boys in it, but apparently the wrong ones ) Ended up back toward the rear at the end, but we started with 125 riders and ended with approximately 60 so I'll just consider it speedwork.

Will try to post pics when I can find some.

 

[greenedge]

West Head road race this sunday - looking forward to it!

That would have been fun. Did you do two laps or just one/ did you have to cycle there as part of the race???

 

[Archibald]

That would have been fun. Did you do two laps or just one/ did you have to cycle there as part of the race???

I get a lift there with the guy who introduced me to it, so don't ride there - I'd get lost trying to find my way there anyway.

had good numbers - had to split two of the grades because of that.
I'm still doing 1, but have increased my average speed by 2.5kmh over the 3 races I've done.
I find I just can't get fit here in sydney like I could in the UK - I'm lucky to get in 100ks a week compared to normally doing 250+ks a week there. so, god knows when i'll get enough fitness to move up a grade...

 

[CobbleStoner]

So another Sunday of races and another Monday with a pair of sore legs!

45+ was in a break and came in 5th, behind 3 former National Champs and a former pro! Great luck I have huh?

35+ I was hanging on for dear life. Started toward the front and actually was in a short lived break. (Had a couple of Monster Media boys in it, but apparently the wrong ones ) Ended up back toward the rear at the end, but we started with 125 riders and ended with approximately 60 so I'll just consider it speedwork.

Will try to post pics when I can find some.

nice report, that 45+ cat in SoCal is ridiculous, even without the dopers in there. It has to be the fastest masters racing in the world, much harder than masters over here

 

[Michele]

This past saturday, my first race of the season.
Im the guy in green trying to hold the bunch in a 4 men escape group.

 

[usedtobefast]

team mate Christian Kriek winning the Snelling Road Race, professional category.

 

[slowoldman]

Nice win! Those Specialized Cal Giant guys are good!

Another couple of races this weekend for me.

Team was able to get a 2nd in the 50+ from a break. We won the 45+ in a field sprint in one of the fastest races so far this year and finished off the day with a 7th in the 40+ (again winning the field sprint).

Worked my behind off in both the 45+ keeping it together and the 40+ trying to bring back the break, but the guys in the break were working well and were all strong riders.

Highlight of the weekend though was meeting and racing with ScottSoCal.

Good to meet and race with you Scott!

 

[Anonymous]

Nice win! Those Specialized Cal Giant guys are good!

Another couple of races this weekend for me.

Team was able to get a 2nd in the 50+ from a break. We won the 45+ in a field sprint in one of the fastest races so far this year and finished off the day with a 7th in the 40+ (again winning the field sprint).

Worked my behind off in both the 45+ keeping it together and the 40+ trying to bring back the break, but the guys in the break were working well and were all strong riders.

Highlight of the weekend though was meeting and racing with ScottSoCal.

Good to meet and race with you Scott!

Likewise.

Really fun racing with you. You are part of a team of strong old men

This my first race of the year... It's alway a bit of a shock to see how fast/strong guys are. My legs are feeling it!

Tour of Murrieta up next for me.

 

[usedtobefast]

Likewise.

Really fun racing with you. You are part of a team of strong old men

This my first race of the year... It's alway a bit of a shock to see how fast/strong guys are. My legs are feeling it!

Tour of Murrieta up next for me.

good luck. i will not be there. and are you doing the Ronde again? new course,eh?

 

[Anonymous]

good luck. i will not be there. and are you doing the Ronde again? new course,eh?

Thanks.

Yeah, back to Belgium. It will be a bit different this year. The Cyclo will have a different course than the pro race. It's about 15kms shorter and will have climbs that don't appear in the pro race.

The Cyclo will not do the three finishing circuits. Something about 20,000 riders on smaller loops at the same time.

 

[yenrod]

I have done MTB races back in the late 80's & road races around 2000...but now just ride chaingangs for fitness...the way some people ride them you'd think its a race...lol

 

[Michele]

One question for you guys from US; by the images and videos I've seen about criteriums in US, it looks like most of them have very wide corners so you end up never touching your brakes.
Am I right? I guess its due to the fact of wide roads compared to most european ones.

 

[CobbleStoner]

One question for you guys from US; by the images and videos I've seen about criteriums in US, it looks like most of them have very wide corners so you end up never touching your brakes.
Am I right? I guess its due to the fact of wide roads compared to most european ones.

yes, most of the biz park crits have very wide turns, but riders still over-brake constantly. there are a few 'grand pix's' that will make a tight, 6 corner course, but most are 4 corner, wide, and extremely short (some adult men's catagories will only race for 30 min)
then small budgeted road races (most) will be on narrow back roads with the center line enforced (open to car traffic, usually by weekend enthusiasts that don't like 'bikers' getting in their way), so you get a mass sprint (the race is usually not long or hard enough to drop enough guys) on a 1.5m wide lane of the road, very dangerous

 

[Anonymous]

One question for you guys from US; by the images and videos I've seen about criteriums in US, it looks like most of them have very wide corners so you end up never touching your brakes.
Am I right? I guess its due to the fact of wide roads compared to most european ones.

More or less true. There are some factors... This past weekend I raced three different masters classes and all of the fields were 100+ riders. So if you are positioned near the front you tend to not touch the brakes.... Of course if you are back in the field then it's a bit of chaos. Bumping and nervous riders all over the place.

The slowest average speed for the races this weekend was 27.8mph (nearly 44 kph) and the fastest was 28.7mph (46kph). Two of the races resulted in field sprints and one had a 6 or 7 rider break that stayed away.

 

[Boeing]

One question for you guys from US; by the images and videos I've seen about criteriums in US, it looks like most of them have very wide corners so you end up never touching your brakes.
Am I right? I guess its due to the fact of wide roads compared to most european ones.

good observation. anyone here from socal old enough to remember the crits in Laguna Niguel at the ziggurot building? talk about a wide berth

 

[CobbleStoner]

good observation. anyone here from socal old enough to remember the crits in Laguna Niguel at the ziggurot building? talk about a wide berth

I miss the Ziggurot crits, there was really only 1 turn on the whole course, and a hill, not your average crit course. we would ride Como St. in the morning, then a Ziggurot crit in the afternoon, good times in OC

 

[Michele]

The slowest average speed for the races this weekend was 27.8mph (nearly 44 kph) and the fastest was 28.7mph (46kph). Two of the races resulted in field sprints and one had a 6 or 7 rider break that stayed away.

More or less the same average we do here in Italy althought we dont have those wide roads.

Anyway thanks for the info guys.

 

[slowoldman]

More or less the same average we do here in Italy althought we dont have those wide roads.

Anyway thanks for the info guys.

The smaller and more technical crits are definitely more fun. I think we've lost a lot of those here due to the liability worries of the promoters. Funny thing is there is generally more crashes on the wider courses than the more technical ones. People try to move up in odd ways on wider courses. I definitely prefer tighter corners and smaller roads where you have to hold your position with strength and bike handling. Just makes the racing more fun......

 

[usedtobefast]

I miss the Ziggurot crits, there was really only 1 turn on the whole course, and a hill, not your average crit course. we would ride Como St. in the morning, then a Ziggurot crit in the afternoon, good times in OC

was that indeed. Bandini Mountain! the first open category race i ever did did was there. it was a torrential downpour and you could not see anything.
the Chester Holyfield Building.

different weeks went in a different direction. ok who else remembers Stan Solin?

 

[Boeing]

I miss the Ziggurot crits, there was really only 1 turn on the whole course, and a hill, not your average crit course. we would ride Como St. in the morning, then a Ziggurot crit in the afternoon, good times in OC

sometimes we'd surf SanO or Trestles in the AM then ride it in the afternoon. although results suffered those days.

I drove through there after riding Aliso Creek on the Mtn bike and it looks weird.

that hill was a bich though

 

[slowoldman]

sometimes we'd surf SanO or Trestles in the AM then ride it in the afternoon. although results suffered those days.

That sounds like a GREAT day, who cares about results on days like that..

 

[Michele]

Last saturday got in the escape group and ended 7th.
Quiet impressed with the high average speed as we're still in early season.

 

[virandociclista]

Race in Brazil

In a breakaway with the flaanders jersey.



then more two guys joined..