Is this TT per qualification only?

Yeti racer wrote:

Is this TT per qualification only?

Yes, you need to buy a license and travel to Colorado Springs. If you can afford those things, you are qualified. :-)


Seriously, all you need is a license. For the TT you can be a cat 5. For the road events you'd need to be a cat 3 unless you're 60 I believe then cat 5 is okay.


I did a bit of looking through the BRAC web site to see what races were held in Colorado Springs. If I had to guess, this is likely to be the road race course.


https://www.strava.com/routes/13429290



They held the Junior and Master state RR championship on this course last year on 8/12. Also worth noting that Pikes Peak is traditionally on this weekend. Was 8/11 last year. So if all you want to race is the TT, do that and then to the Pikes Peak fondo on the weekend. Just bring appropriate gearing for a mile at 10% at almost 14,000' above sea level.


The road course looks like a race of attrition. Not particularly hard, but will wear on you. That and it peaks out at ~7,200' above sea level. But the climb only averages about 3%.

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Kevin

http://kevinmetcalfe.dreamhosters.com
My Strava

Edit: I'm a slow typer. So what he said ^

You only have to qualify by being in the proper age category. RR and crit are cat 1-2-3 only for some age groups.

Word has it that the TT course will be in Fort Carson and the RR course will be AFA worlds.

Ask around the local cycling community and more info should be available. Plenty of riders with connections to the folks at USAC.

That's the truncated version of the course. Totally dictated by one climb, recovery, descent, climb again. The full Worlds course is longer, has a longer less steep climb and more rollers over the top. Much more suited to tactics.

carlosflanders wrote:

That's the truncated version of the course. Totally dictated by one climb, recovery, descent, climb again. The full Worlds course is longer, has a longer less steep climb and more rollers over the top. Much more suited to tactics.

I don't really have any knowledge, I was just taking a guess given that this is a course that is CURRENTLY being used and it's on the Air Force Academy grounds. If you're talking about the full worlds course from 1986 I am pretty sure that will not be used based on the press release from USAC.


"Riders across multiple age groups will be racing in the home of USA Cycling, Colorado Springs, Colo., on parts of the 1986 UCI Road World Championships course in August."

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Kevin

http://kevinmetcalfe.dreamhosters.com
My Strava

I have raced at Air Force probably five times and there have been about four different coarses. The one consistent thing about them all is that they will be a mixture of long'ish shallow climbs and maybe a couple of short punchy climbs of the 75 yard variety. Toss in one or two fast docents with a corner or two and there was probably 2 miles of dead flat stuff by the football stadium a couple years back. Nothing like the long climbs that decided the Utah and Bend races.

My guess would be that the route will be determined by what is available. They will be busy tormenting the incoming cadets in August and the fall sports teams may be practicing, so I would be surprised if they ran through campus. I think the loop you showed on Strava would limit access to the visitor center. My guess would be they would use the upper part of the Strava loop and run the route down and across the lower sports fields and by the pool, but that is a total WAG.

The one commonality is that they have never been pure climbers coarses. They are consistently hard and you will need to ride intelligently to do well, especially if it is breezy. I would guess it will be a race of attrition

I have no idea what they could do at Fort Carson for the TT. I have never been there. The outside bet would be to run the TT in South Park. Probably 20 years ago they ran a National record challenge up there. Bostick, Frye, Colby... were all there. There was new pavement, but the weather was unusually bad on both occasions. That would be a super fast coarse on a good air day.

The longer version of the course has been and is currently used in the AFA RR every April for more than a decade. Shorter version has been used in August at the Thunderbird RR for the past two years.

The full worlds had a couple of diversions but the long course is 90% of that. The short course is 70%.

We'll have to wait and see which version they use. The longer is far better for a RR, IMO. The shorter is a succession of hard hill reps.

Edit: Here's the longer course as used this April and with minor variations for many years. Runs clockwise.
https://www.strava.com/segments/6965064?filter=overall


For reference, the shorter course: Used in August 2017 and 2018 for Thunderbird RR
https://www.strava.com/segments/15801158?filter=overall

Would be great to use the long course but hard to see them shutting down most of the campus for several days.

Definitely a power climber's course. Bigger guys who can climb and have good fatigue resistance are well suited. Wind can make a huge difference. April is always windy, August much less so.

That said, the only thing I'm sure of is that Mike Carter will win his age group.

Don't have any more info about Fort Carson but my source is reliable.

I hadn't really thought of that and I thought it was funny, but ya, that is a very safe bet

Wait... Are you [grumpier.]mike Carter?

I think they require a double triangle frame, so there is that, but I cant remember back to june for sure

My guess would be that they determine which route has the crappiest pavement, then choose that one.

Oh hell no. The only thing we have in common is the first name. I bet I out-weigh him by 40-50 lbs and I certainly lack his talent.

I put my money on Grumpier Mike or Carter on a TT any day.

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BoulderCyclingCoach.com

I'm the race director for the Darkblade Systems Road Race on the Air Force Academy, one of two yearly Air Force Academy Colorado races. grumpier.mike has nailed the nature of road courses on the base. I've been trying, but I still don't know the nationals course.

As for the TT, I have no idea. I can only assume there will be some climbing involved - it's Colorado.

Michael

If you need any suggestions, I really like the northern coarse that has the short punchy climb just north of the hockey and basketball arena and then drops down in front of the stadium.

The idea that because 'it's Colorado' everything needs tailored to climbers is stupid. If they put a serious climb in the TT (like the hess TT), I hope the average field size is less than ten. I won't go and I live in CO.

Keensburg is too far away. So is Alamosa. Anything around Colorado Springs is hilly. I like Test Track Road in Pueblo, but that's probably too far away too . . . and it has a few hills.

The old Tri lake TT might be a good option. Maybe a little short for a national but the climbing is not steep and it lends itself to true TTers.

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BoulderCyclingCoach.com

Tri Lakes is nice - still hilly - but likely way too short for a national race.

My preference would be Test Track Road near the Pueblo airport, but it's probably too far from Colorado Springs to hold the TT race. Test Track would make a good 40K race.

Michael

Not that it's much of a data point, but I did elite nationals in 1987 in Denver. The TT was in Castle Rock and the RR was on the Morgul Bismark course. Those two courses are over 50 miles apart. Pueblo is only about 41 from COS according to Google Maps...

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Kevin

http://kevinmetcalfe.dreamhosters.com
My Strava

I will be disappointed if they use the Keenesburg course. Facilities lacking and the pavement is crappy.

I've been looking at google street view and it looks like there are a lot of flatish paved rural roads east of CO Springs. Am I getting the wrong impression?