Damn, the first night of racing is always a blast. My only goal for this night was to have fun. Since I no longer have the pressure of trying to upgrade, I'm able to relax a bit and enjoy the racing more. The races I'll take seriously come later in the year.
The first race of the night for the 1/2 field was a Miss & Out, which unfortunately was highlighted by poor officiating. Right from the gun, Kruse drilled it on the front. I was hanging out near the back, picking people off on the elimination laps. On our 5th bell lap, I saw a rider sit up and pull out of the pack. Since the rules dictate that this rider would be the one eliminated, I just sat at the back and got a free ride. Imagine my surprise when my number was called for elimination! This is not a big deal for me, since I would have been lucky to crack the top 10 anyway. The really bad part is that this exact same scenario played out at the finish. The 4th-place rider dropped out and the officials decided, without informing the riders, that the race was being shortened. The 3 remaining riders rolled over the finish line, getting ready to duel it out on the final lap, only to hear the double-gun-shot signalling the end of the race. Why the hell they would do this in the first place is completely beyond me, but to do so WITHOUT INFORMING THE RIDERS is ridiculous.
Moving on.
The second race was 12-lap Tempo Race, which means the first and second riders over the line on every lap get 2 and 1 points respectively. My goal, as always, was to take the first couple laps and hang on for dear life. I took the first 4 points of the race, and instead of trying for one more lap, I swung up, recovered a bit, and got back in the pack. I was able to avoid getting lapped (and losing my points) relatively easily, and ended up getting 3rd in the race. w00t!
Now, everyone knows that 50-lap races ain't my thang, but we drove all the way from St. Cloud, and I wanted to get my money's worth, dammit! The plan was to work with Crosby to get him a lap on the field right from the gun. Well, that didn't happen, and I totally cooked myself (and Crosby). Luckily, he is a stud and was able to recover and contend all the sprint laps. I was not so fortunate. I sat up, let myself get lapped, hung on for another 10 laps or so, then pulled out when I realized I had nothing left to go for points.
The only low point of the evening was a crash in the Cat 3 field. Everyone seemed to be OK, but there was an uber-expensive disc wheel that got trashed. That may hurt worse than the splinters!
I got asked for my autograph. Ha!
Pre-race meeting
Frye showed up, but just to watch
Look what Santa brought me!
Ooooh...pretty. These have more "new shoe smell" than any new shoes I've ever smelled.
Ya gotta admit, he looks good in Zubaz.
Hot racing action
Elena is the best teammate in the world, and here's why:
17 comments:
the officials called it right, in a miss and out, if someone pulls out they don't count for the elimination, it is the last person competing that gets called out...
Not if they drop out with half a lap left on an elimination lap.
Everyone who was watching the race (and even the 4th-pace rider who dropped out) said it was called incorrectly.
Crosby and I talked with the officials and I believe we have come up with a much better way of telling the riders that someone is out of contention and the next sprint is the final one.
Not the only instance where the officials dropped the ball last night... But i guess what they say in ultimate fighting; "dont let it go to the officials..."
-JJJ
officiating should never get in the way of riders putting on a show, which it most definitely did last night in the 1/2 M&O. I realize the rules are the rules - but there's gotta be a better way to run it than that.
Batman was pissed about it cause he picked Dubie to win the M&O! He lost some serious coin on that one. He thinks the fix was on.
It was a little sad to not see a single LSC kit on the boards.
Wow! All in all-that sounds like a blast!! I need to make it over there one of these nights-(just to watch)-but I'll bring cookies!!
Olga was sick, I'll be there next week. Everyone who was watching the race said it was called incorrectly? Do they know the rules? I've been racing the miss-n-out for 10 years. Whenever someone is out of contention, you should know to sprint. Sounds like you don't know the rules!!!
in a miss-n-out, ALWAYS sprint, a rider 50 meters back can be considered out of contention. It is impossible for the officials to communicate to the bunch if a rider is out of contention. That's why YOU ALWAYS SPRINT, every other lap, just like Pavlov's dog...
race cookies are a trademark of category 6 racing squad. Elena will be hearing from our lawyers.
skibby, the problem is that 'every other lap' became 'every lap' at a couple of points during the event....
The real Thursday night races are thrown down at Buck Hill.
I was watching and Rookie was the rider who pulled up when T got the hook. He signaled the officials when he crossed the line that he was done.
The finish was definitely confusing. I was expecting another lap myself, bet the riders were even more confused.
I've raced miss and outs all over the world, had them called in languages that I will never understand, in crowded conditions, and on tiny tracks. But never have I seen officiating that was so awful. Not only did they mess up the results, but the spectators didn't know what was going on, and there was no dramatic finish to and otherwise really good race.
It was a disappointing way to start the season.
They also dont know how to announce the winner of the win and out until after the race is done.
-JJJ
Sweet zubaz! And COOKIES!!!
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