Don't give up the day job just yet then!
You think?
new season
- Thread starter VamP
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You think?
oldroadman
Veteran
- Location
- Ubique
At £13 a week, I can think of better contracts..But who cares if you enjoy the racing, that's surely waht it's all about for 99.9% of riders. At least it should be, give your best and see what happens. Sometimes it's £13!
Erm. That's two week's worth. And doesn't include cakes and fuel.At £13 a week, I can think of better contracts..But who cares if you enjoy the racing, that's surely waht it's all about for 99.9% of riders. At least it should be, give your best and see what happens. Sometimes it's £13!
Pedrosanchezo
Veteran
- Location
- Perthshire, scotland
Profit in bike racing? I wish. Todays CX race had me sitting about 15th place with 25 minutes passed and i was making steady progress. On exiting a tight bend i went passed a rider who seemed less than pleased and decided the try extra hard to catch me. I was approaching a tight, muddy 90 degree turn so slowed down to accelerate out hard, next thing i know my back wheel is locked up and my bike is not going where i put it! I managed to stay upright but upon quick inspection my rear derailleur was snapped off and jammed in my spokes. The guy in question continued on with some bent spokes - he did manage a barely audible "sorry" as he continued on. I walked back to the start considering the cost of fixing the bike. Glad it was only Shimano 105 and not Dura ace. 
Cest la vie
Cest la vie
Pedrosanchezo
Veteran
- Location
- Perthshire, scotland
These guys are so funny. They are at every CX race in Scotland.
Profit in bike racing? I wish. Todays CX race had me sitting about 15th place with 25 minutes passed and i was making steady progress. On exiting a tight bend i went passed a rider who seemed less than pleased and decided the try extra hard to catch me. I was approaching a tight, muddy 90 degree turn so slowed down to accelerate out hard, next thing i know my back wheel is locked up and my bike is not going where i put it! I managed to stay upright but upon quick inspection my rear derailleur was snapped off and jammed in my spokes. The guy in question continued on with some bent spokes - he did manage a barely audible "sorry" as he continued on. I walked back to the start considering the cost of fixing the bike. Glad it was only Shimano 105 and not Dura ace.
Cest la vie
Yeah I have three Ultegra derailleurs in various stages of dismantlement at home. Plus the two currently on race bikes. That's not counting the road and MTBs.
Mr Shimano sends me Christmas cards.
On the upside, National Trophy at Milton Keynes yesterday was without any expensive mechanicals. Great event, was amazing to watch Ian Field at work. I finished 33rd from about 65 starters, which I am reasonably happy with considering the quality of the field. Could have done with a bit more confidence on the off-camber sections.
Pedrosanchezo
Veteran
- Location
- Perthshire, scotland
Good effort and great result in a tough field.
I've now had time to asses the damage and it amounts to one rear derailleur knackered, one Ultegra chain warped in 3 places, one bent hanger and one pretty buckled rear wheel.
Trued the wheel myself but the parts cost me £50, which i will fit when snail mail delivers them. Suppose it could have been a lot worse.
The most annoying thing is being taken out of the race half way through and not even being able to warm down afterward. Stiff legs today.
oldroadman
Veteran
- Location
- Ubique
I had a wander over to MK as well and the performance from Ian Field was a masterclass from a rider who is a regular top 20 rider in the major Belgian races. He was always in control and looked untroubled, even when some others were struggling with the pace (if there's a Utube check the steps and little climbs). What was impressive was the excellent team support from the Hargroves squad, who rode well and covered everything so far as I could see. Doubtless Mr H was well pleased. The circuit was really good, not a mudfest (which is what breaks bikes), fast and with some tricky technical sections. Bit of a queue at the catering stall, but the overall presentation and organisation looked good, with quality commentary keeping everyone informed. Maybe the wise heads at BC will think about having a national championship there one day?
I know, the commentary I heard beforehand was that the Bowl was a bit of a so-so venue, but I thought it was superb. Apparently it is usually a lot more muddy than this though.
Ian Field was unbelievably smooth on the sketchy off cambers. I watched open-mouthed when Jody Crawforth rode up the steps. Phenomenal bike control.
Agree Hargroves rode a superb team race, helped perhaps by Paul Oldham's crash on lap 2, and the mechanical and injury he picked up there that prevented him from taking the fight to Field.
The Bowl:
I had a look and found this on the race. I have to say it does look like a nice setting (btw @VamP kudoos on the photo
). Looking at the video, during the first tour I had the feeling this was just a very fast race. But a bit further on, I did have the feeling that that long bendy uphill piece was probably taking each round more and more out of everyone's legs . And that uphill piece (steps) in between the trees looked pretty cool
Field looked indeed very comfortable (and had a pretty huge gap on everyone)... I might be tempted of taking him in my Fantasy team next year, since he seems to be really interested in riding a lot of international races (and still being pretty young). Following his footsteps overseas, might not be a bad idea for some of those other riders. The commentator said the guy in second place was U23, so he really should come over here to make an extra step forward (I know... easier said than done, financially and emotionally).
This track actually looks like a great location to have an international race. I believe the spectators will also have a pretty big view because of the "bowl" relief, makes me think of Ronse (where the track is located on a hill), where spectators can see most of the track if they stand on the top) ... maybe the organizers should try to get a WC over there. The only thing is that - despite all this - I had the feeling there weren't many spectators around.
(but of course I don't know if this event is like a big thing in the UK or not)
I guess you mean in the Veterans race, right? Is that you at about 2m05 overtaking someone?
No, we don't have that.
I had a look and found this on the race. I have to say it does look like a nice setting (btw @VamP kudoos on the photo
Looking at the video, during the first tour I had the feeling this was just a very fast race. But a bit further on, I did have the feeling that that long bendy uphill piece was probably taking each round more and more out of everyone's legs . And that uphill piece (steps) in between the trees looked pretty cool
Field looked indeed very comfortable (and had a pretty huge gap on everyone)... I might be tempted of taking him in my Fantasy team next year, since he seems to be really interested in riding a lot of international races (and still being pretty young). Following his footsteps overseas, might not be a bad idea for some of those other riders. The commentator said the guy in second place was U23, so he really should come over here to make an extra step forward (I know... easier said than done, financially and emotionally).
This track actually looks like a great location to have an international race. I believe the spectators will also have a pretty big view because of the "bowl" relief, makes me think of Ronse (where the track is located on a hill), where spectators can see most of the track if they stand on the top) ... maybe the organizers should try to get a WC over there. The only thing is that - despite all this - I had the feeling there weren't many spectators around.
(but of course I don't know if this event is like a big thing in the UK or not)
I guess you mean in the Veterans race, right? Is that you at about 2m05 overtaking someone?
Yes I am old thanks for pointing it out
It was the perfect spectator venue, but cyclocross is almost entirely a participant sport in the UK. There is no awareness among the public at large. I estimate less than a thousand people spectating at this event, and most would have been racers from the other races, families and friends.
I'll take a look at the vid later
Edited: thanks for the find, have watched and yep that was me at 2.05, riding the Vamp line
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I had a look and found this on the race. I have to say it does look like a nice setting (btw @VamP kudoos on the photo
Following his footsteps overseas, might not be a bad idea for some of those other riders. The commentator said the guy in second place was U23, so he really should come over here to make an extra step forward (I know... easier said than done, financially and emotionally).
That’s the problem. There are dozens and dozens of riders who finish top 10 in World Cups/World Champs as juniors/u23s who cannot make a living from cross. This is because the pro scene at World level is constrained….. not much more than a handful of teams and they have relatively small squads, so there appears little hope for British u23s who consistently get lapped out of races at this level. They may be at the sharp end of British cross but that says more about the lack of quality in the over 23s. Looking back a few years, a number our u23s just about made the top 10 in Trophy races, but did finish on the same lap as the World’s best.
The issue for British cross is that it haemorrhages virtually all its young talent. During my involvement with the GB squads over a 5 year period over thirty different riders were selected for Junior and U23 European Cups, World Cups and World Champs. Those guys would be between approximately 22 and 27 years old now. Only 1 rider was on the start sheet for the Durham Trophy and 3 for MK. That’s a frightening attrition rate.
The situation has not been helped by the growth of the pro road racing scene in Britain as a significant number of the above riders switched to UCI Continental teams and some higher than that. IMHO in the last few years British cross has grown dramatically as a participation sport, which is very positive, but in performance terms, not that it was ever great, it has dropped back.