FTP and cycle racing.

harringtonp

Anybody do Roscommon A3 last weekend, what did you make of it as a race ?

thekooman

harringtonp wrote: »

Anybody do Roscommon A3 last weekend, what did you make of it as a race ?

very negative racing i thought. tried a few times to get off the front and was away at one stage only to be chased down by a teammate of one of the lads in the break! all the cute bucks sitting on for the sprint... maybe thats what ill be doing anymore cos the a3 bunches seem to have turned into a4 as there are no juniors in them.

dahat

Macy0161 wrote: »

Pulled the trigger on the licence upgrade on Monday. Considering the Eddie Tobin, assuming the licence arrives in time - tough enough course but would be fairly strung out? Before I apply for my pass for the day, any opinions for my first day out to get shelled out the back early on?

Best of luck and have fun! Don't be afraid to be aggressive during the race, give lads plenty work chasing you down.

Macy0161

dahat wrote:

Best of luck and have fun! Don't be afraid to be aggressive during the race, give lads plenty work chasing you down.

Ha, I'm more expecting to be the one chasing, back on the back!

harringtonp

thekooman wrote: »

very negative racing i thought. tried a few times to get off the front and was away at one stage only to be chased down by a teammate of one of the lads in the break! all the cute bucks sitting on for the sprint... maybe thats what ill be doing anymore cos the a3 bunches seem to have turned into a4 as there are no juniors in them.

Yes it was, cannot understand lads dragging the bunch up to a couple of lads instead of trying to jump across. Its either naivety or trying to set a team mate up for a final sprint

dahat

Macy0161 wrote: »

Ha, I'm more expecting to be the one chasing, back on the back!

You'll be fine, A4 is not as daunting as it seems. I found it great craic.

CramCycle

Macy0161 wrote: »

Pulled the trigger on the licence upgrade on Monday. Considering the Eddie Tobin, assuming the licence arrives in time - tough enough course but would be fairly strung out? Before I apply for my pass for the day, any opinions for my first day out to get shelled out the back early on?

Don't worry, I'll be there to keep you company

sullzz

CramCycle wrote: »

Don't worry, I'll be there to keep you company

Me too ..... Looks like well have a groupetto

thekooman

harringtonp wrote: »

Yes it was, cannot understand lads dragging the bunch up to a couple of lads instead of trying to jump across. Its either naivety or trying to set a team mate up for a final sprint

that last corner 500m out didnt suit me either... if it was a straight drag to the line finish i would have waited for a sprint finish as well. :rolleyes: onwards and upwards...

Chumpski

harringtonp wrote: »

Yes it was, cannot understand lads dragging the bunch up to a couple of lads instead of trying to jump across. Its either naivety or trying to set a team mate up for a final sprint

Both are idiotic reasons. Its not as if bunch sprints are sure things for anybody.

harringtonp

thekooman wrote: »

that last corner 500m out didnt suit me either... if it was a straight drag to the line finish i would have waited for a sprint finish as well. :rolleyes: onwards and upwards...

I don't like sprint finishes in these type of races. There were 4 of us pinging continuously in the second half of the race. Start of last lap we got a man up the road who held a small gap to within 80m of the line before being caught. Was looking at guys pulling the bunch to keep him within touching distance and couldn't understand why they wouldn't try and jump instead. He could have done and would have been happy with the company. You never see this type of stuff in A1/2 races.

Chips Lovell

You rarely see it because the the break is often long gone by the finish. But if it's the last lap, with just one guy dangling off the front within sight? Someone's going to bring that back.

Macy0161

Cycling Ireland saying I should have my licence and numbers next week, so pulled the trigger on the Eddie Tobin...

elchupanebrey

harringtonp wrote: »

thekooman wrote: »

that last corner 500m out didnt suit me either... if it was a straight drag to the line finish i would have waited for a sprint finish as well. :rolleyes: onwards and upwards...

I don't like sprint finishes in these type of races. There were 4 of us pinging continuously in the second half of the race. Start of last lap we got a man up the road who held a small gap to within 80m of the line before being caught. Was looking at guys pulling the bunch to keep him within touching distance and couldn't understand why they wouldn't try and jump instead. He could have done and would have been happy with the company. You never see this type of stuff in A1/2 races.

The A1/A2 race took probably 1.5 laps for the winning move to go. There was non stop attacking in the 1st lap and up to the point the group went. After that there were more attacks with lads trying to get across or make a chase group. Again a chase eventually formed and didn't get brought back. Any other small groups that got off the front were brought back. No real attempts from anyone to ride to bring back either of the front 2 groups, but wouldn't let anyone else away either. The guys that are left behind generally aren't fit enough to be up the road but can ride for a short time to prevent a small group clipping away. Probably similar to A3 race. Not fit to get up the road but can ride for 5-10mins to close down a bit of a move. It all depends what you are looking for from a race...to try get up the road and maybe blow up (or get a result), or ride around in the bunch and get 20th.

harringtonp

elchupanebrey wrote: »

The A1/A2 race took probably 1.5 laps for the winning move to go. There was non stop attacking in the 1st lap and up to the point the group went. After that there were more attacks with lads trying to get across or make a chase group. Again a chase eventually formed and didn't get brought back. Any other small groups that got off the front were brought back. No real attempts from anyone to ride to bring back either of the front 2 groups, but wouldn't let anyone else away either. The guys that are left behind generally aren't fit enough to be up the road but can ride for a short time to prevent a small group clipping away. Probably similar to A3 race. Not fit to get up the road but can ride for 5-10mins to close down a bit of a move. It all depends what you are looking for from a race...to try get up the road and maybe blow up (or get a result), or ride around in the bunch and get 20th.

Pretty spot on analysis I would say. The feeling I got from the A3 race on Sunday is that most riders are of a similar level and you have a stalemate. I've often see this in club racing too and in the couple of open races where I've managed to get up the road and stay away there has been at least one stronger than average rider in the break.

CramCycle

Macy0161 wrote: »

Cycling Ireland saying I should have my licence and numbers next week, so pulled the trigger on the Eddie Tobin...

Could you get the site to work OK? It keeps telling me I haven't completed the form but I have filled out everything but the race waiver is blank and it won't let me by it. Tried it in Edge and Chrome.

Macy0161

CramCycle wrote: »

Could you get the site to work OK? It keeps telling me I haven't completed the form but I have filled out everything but the race waiver is blank and it won't let me by it. Tried it in Edge and Chrome.

Yes, got confirmation email. I had to extend my address as all address lines were marked as required? I think it might have insisted on signing up to emails (not sure how GDPR compliant that is!).

CramCycle

Macy0161 wrote: »

Yes, got confirmation email. I had to extend my address as all address lines were marked as required? I think it might have insisted on signing up to emails (not sure how GDPR compliant that is!).

So long as they have an opt out, I didn't tick that one, it just keeps highlighting the race waiver box (which has no writing).

Macy0161

Found the old thread about to carrying tubes, levers, pump or not, but do people normally carry their phone/ keys for racing? Not sure I'd like to land on either, but at the same time, on normal spins, club races, commuting etc I'm happy enough with them in the back pocket.

Miklos

Macy0161 wrote: »

Found the old thread about to carrying tubes, levers, pump or not, but do people normally carry their phone/ keys for racing? Not sure I'd like to land on either, but at the same time, on normal spins, club races, commuting etc I'm happy enough with them in the back pocket.

If I drove myself to the race I'd always have the keys in the back pocket. The other option is to stick it under the wheelarch or something but that's not particularly secure.

Wouldn't ever bring the phone, I've seen peoples phones bounce out of their pockets mid-race on pockmarked Meath lanes never to be seen again!

CramCycle

I don't leave the keys on the wheel arch, typically look for somewhere to hide it around the place. I can't tell you where though, for obvious reasons :pac:

Macy0161

I was assuming carry the keys, wasn't sure on phone - in case of mechanical/ emergency.

CramCycle

Macy0161 wrote: »

I was assuming carry the keys, wasn't sure on phone - in case of mechanical/ emergency.

I used to carry everything but the keys I am told could do a number on me in a crash (not sure if true but don't want to find out), as for the phone, if I am in the bunch and I crash, the ambulance won't be far behind, if I am out the back, then it's more likely a puncture (hence the tube and pump, and if I am up the road, the comms will see me..

sullzz

Macy0161 wrote: »

Ha, I'm more expecting to be the one chasing, back on the back!

How did it go for you today ?

Macy0161

sullzz wrote:

How did it go for you today ?

Really enjoyed it. Was happy in the bunch and made it around as far as 80, but couldn't hang on on the 2nd last drag. I knew I had nothing left for a sprint, so was further back than I needed to be. I even tried to get away once - well turned into more an injection of pace than an attack tbh.

Got a bit sketchy towards the end of the last lap, was far left and got squeezed from the right one of the times the group was fanned out and a car down, and ended up squeezing a serc lad - I had no where to go. I don't think I could've done anything anyway, but that was the only time I wasn't sure if I could've handled it differently.

sullzz

Macy0161 wrote: »

Really enjoyed it. Was happy in the bunch and made it around as far as 80, but couldn't hang on on the 2nd last drag. I knew I had nothing left for a sprint, so was further back than I needed to be. I even tried to get away once - well turned into more an injection of pace than an attack tbh.

Got a bit sketchy towards the end of the last lap, was far left and got squeezed from the right one of the times the group was fanned out and a car down, and ended up squeezing a serc lad - I had no where to go. I don't think I could've done anything anyway, but that was the only time I wasn't sure if I could've handled it differently.

Well done , onwards and upwards .
Yeah a couple of cars were let down the road on the climb to the finish that caused a squeeze in the group.

harringtonp

CramCycle wrote: »

I used to carry everything but the keys I am told could do a number on me in a crash (not sure if true but don't want to find out), as for the phone, if I am in the bunch and I crash, the ambulance won't be far behind, if I am out the back, then it's more likely a puncture (hence the tube and pump, and if I am up the road, the comms will see me..

Always carry phone and key. Broke a spoke and buckled badly in ras luimni last year. No following car stopped. Knew a club mate was hanging out watching the race. Rang him and he picked me up. Wouldn't have liked to have to walk it

eeeee

I don't carry the phone in pocket (I haven't a car), it'd get battered in a crash. I wouldn't like to think about what keys would do if they got rattled in the pocket in a tip :eek:
Most races are laps, so you haven't too long before one race or another will pass you if you come into bother.

Macy0161

sullzz wrote:

Well done , onwards and upwards .

Looking at moynalty next anyway. Then Shannonside.

sullzz

Macy0161 wrote: »

Looking at moynalty next anyway. Then Shannonside.

Moynaly has a few sharp kicks in it , be careful on the finish , its a downhill sprint with speed ramps on it .
Shannonside is a good course , im hoping to get my upgrade there if not in mullingar the week before .