Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT: Triathlon Forum: Slowtwitch Forums

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Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT

slimfast

Apr 23, 12 12:25

Post #1 of 14 (1118 views)

Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT	Quote \| Reply

Anybody race this in the past, or have any familiarity with the courses? I have ridden sections of Sundays road race course in years past, but would not call myself familiar. How are the road conditions? How brutal are the climbs (I have ridden Rupert Mtn going the opposite direction, but not the way the race goes)? Intel on the TT course? Basically looking for any recon or race reports from previous years.

Chances are that I will unfortunately not have a chance to drive the courses prior to racing, so clearly not ideal, but looks like a wicked fun event.

Thanks

jabbahop

Apr 23, 12 12:42

Post #2 of 14 (1099 views)

Re: Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT [slimfast] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I rode it last year as a Cat 4. From my perspective (not a great climber) it was a very hard race.

The TT is constantly changing - up and down and turns. Very fun though my field went off in the morning in cold rain. There are some pretty sharp turns so I opted to go on my road bike in the wet conditions - a mistake it turns out though one of my teammates did crash in one of the corners. Not a good course for a TT diesel but fun.

The crit is right in downtown and very fun though I had trouble clipping in and was off the back quickly. The course has a little rise and drop in it that make it tough. The rise after the home stretch and then the drop is in a couple of tight corners. Easy to get the pack strung out and snapped.

The road race was brutal and beautiful. Flat for several miles to the intermediate sprint then it hits you in the face with the climbs - long and steep. There were a couple I still have nightmares about. Come around a corner and see not only does the climb continue but gets steeper. I remember watching these people ahead of me zigzag up the last stretch of one of the beasts. The roads were good last year but that doesn't mean they will be this year (see Battenkill). There are a few big climbs and tons of rollers - it seems like up and down all day. The last part is the worst - a long never ending 3-5% rise then a left turn into a 100+ yard uphill finish that gets steeper as it goes.

Beautiful area and they did a great job on the race last year.

slimfast

Apr 23, 12 13:04

Post #3 of 14 (1085 views)

Re: Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT [jabbahop] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Great intel and much appreciated. Sounds like I am in for some fun punishment. The descriptions mention some dirt roads. Do you recall how beat up these sections were (I realize it depends a lot year-to-year)?

carneval

Apr 23, 12 13:09

Post #4 of 14 (1081 views)

Re: Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT [slimfast] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I have not done TotD - but I was wondering if it is worth the money? For perspective, I thought KSR was worth $200 - but the fact that I signed up for KSR this year is actually making me lean against signing up for TotD and spending that money on more but smaller races. Any input from people experienced in the NE racing scene?

jabbahop

Apr 23, 12 14:02

Post #5 of 14 (1049 views)

Re: Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT [carneval] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

To be honest I don't remember dirt roads - oxygen debt I guess. I didn't remember that stage road was dirt until I saw the pictures from Battenkill so I guess you shouldn't trust my memory.

Re whether it is worth it. I live in Vermont so these are my "local" races. I have done Killington twice, GMSR twice, and Bennington once.

I like parts of each of the races.

The Killington TT and circuit races are good for me (no killer climbs) but I couldn't even finish the Killington road race - I tried the last 6 miles to the finish but exhaustion, too steep and wrong gearing. Just turned around and rode to my car.

Bennington is well run and not as big as the other two (at least last year). Doing the TT and crit in one day is very tough and the road race is brutal. It is probably the most beautiful road race but brutal.

I like crits so would choose Bennington over Killington but it is close.

carneval

Apr 23, 12 15:12

Post #6 of 14 (1025 views)

Re: Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT [jabbahop] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

jabbahop wrote:

Re whether it is worth it. I live in Vermont so these are my "local" races. I have done Killington twice, GMSR twice, and Bennington once.

I like parts of each of the races.

The Killington TT and circuit races are good for me (no killer climbs) but I couldn't even finish the Killington road race - I tried the last 6 miles to the finish but exhaustion, too steep and wrong gearing. Just turned around and rode to my car.

Bennington is well run and not as big as the other two (at least last year). Doing the TT and crit in one day is very tough and the road race is brutal. It is probably the most beautiful road race but brutal.

I like crits so would choose Bennington over Killington but it is close.

I actually just moved to VT last year - so hello, neighbor!

Thanks for making me feel better for choosing KSR>Bennington - I like crits, but I like hilly road races more, even though I'm a bit bigger than the typical climber build - so it sounds like KSR is my kind of race.

I'll also probably do GMSR later in the summer, as I have a friend who lives in Warren who is probably doing it too...so I don't have to drive all the way from the Upper Valley each day...

Thanks for the help!

tri_yoda

Apr 23, 12 18:56

Post #7 of 14 (976 views)

Re: Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT [slimfast] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I signed up. I did Killington last year and I have done GMSR a couple of times, so figured I would give this a shot.
Entry fee is pretty steep and I say that even though I signed up before they jacked the prices last Friday. $180. WTF, is this IM Bennington?

How much time did you have between the TT and crit last year?
I am debating the merits of doing one first vice the other. I am going to be much better in the TT than the crit, so I guess I would rather TT first and then just hope everyone is gassed for the crit and it goes pretty mellow.

slimfast

Apr 23, 12 19:00

Post #8 of 14 (973 views)

Re: Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT [tri_yoda] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Yoda, start times are posted for each race and each field so no need to speculate as to whether you are racing tt or crit first.

See you there (we have briefly met at amz in the past).

tri_yoda

Apr 23, 12 19:04

Post #9 of 14 (970 views)

Re: Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT [slimfast] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

slimfast wrote:

Yoda, start times are posted for each race and each field so no need to speculate as to whether you are racing tt or crit first.

See you there (we have briefly met at amz in the past).

Right now they just have all the fields listed as starting at 8 am. Am I missing something?

What field are you racing? I am in 4s. Unless the numbers pick up a lot I hope they just run us with the 3s for the RR and crit.

slimfast

Apr 23, 12 19:05

Post #10 of 14 (968 views)

Re: Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT [tri_yoda] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Go to the race website (not bikereg). They are on there.

Rocky M

Apr 23, 12 21:26

Post #11 of 14 (941 views)

Re: Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT [slimfast] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Have you tried online topo maps to get some sort of elevation profile?
You sound anxious & ready for participating--you must a) be confident & ready to take a challenge
b) like you're willing to give it a go for the sake of giving it a go!

Good luck if you really decide to race! You'll do fine...just don't go to the front & do all the work for everyone all day long. Share the wealth on that...

aarondavidson

Apr 24, 12 8:44

Post #12 of 14 (904 views)

Re: Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT [slimfast] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

With the Mystic Velo Crit overlapping with Tour of the Dragons I will be racing the Killington Stage Race
-- Aaron Davidson

trener1

Apr 24, 12 9:06

Post #13 of 14 (890 views)

Re: Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT [aarondavidson] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I did the race last year.

I would call the TT pretty technical for a TT, lots of sharp turns, and punchy little climbs, so it's tough to settle into a good rhythm, but I would still recommend using a TT bike if you have one because there is still enough straights where you will save time.

The crit is tough and technical, it's got a sharp little climb right after turn one then a long slightly downhill section where you come into a turn at a pretty high rate of speed, I would definitely take a few warm up laps on the course to get used to the lines etc..

The RR is typical Vermont road racing, It has two long climbs along with the usual mix of smaller rollers, if I recall correctly both of the longer climbs had dirt sections, and there was also a dirt descent about 2/3rds of the way through the race, overall I don't think that they change anything, they just add a "cool" factor.
Also if you are going for the win, be aware that the finish is slightly uphill (not a climb, just a uphill sprint) so you have to time your sprint just perfectly.

I will unfortunately be skipping it this year as they moved up a week and it's on the same day as the Turkey Hill race in PA that I really like.

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John Hirsch

Apr 26, 12 8:09

Post #14 of 14 (809 views)

Re: Tour of the Dragons 2012, Southern VT [slimfast] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I did it and liked it. The 3 races in 28 hours is mean but fun. The TT is hilly for a TT which as a triathlete I was a little bummed about because I felt it was one place I might have an advantage but the climbing negated that.

The crit is cool; the basic downtown type. The downtown is nice and good eats and coffee.

The road race is as long as Battenkill, but I suspect much harder as the dirt sections have more climbing to them. Of course you start that race with your legs nicely worked over.

I LOVED it because of how compact it was: 2 days, 28 hours with time Sunday for a run and swim. PERFECT for triathlete who doesn't want to spend 4 days only biking.

I did the 3s and found the feild stronger than a lot of others. I think the hard nature of the event keep the race more selective.

I would have done it this year but the price went up and and nearly 200 bones, I didn't think it was worth the coin, but if cash isn't an issue for you, its worth it.
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