Point being, bike racing is dead and has been.

E

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

I disagree. It looks like the dude's wife is behind the other rider for two of the first pictures. You can see the arm of the rider that goes down is in the foreground in front of the dude's wife in the 2nd picture. Then the next picture it's behind. Looks like the dude's wife came in hot on the inside from behind to try to make a move and didn't make it.

I've always thought that in most any sport the person in front has the right of way. Imagine skiing at a ski resort where all the skiiers BEHIND you have right of way and somebody cuts the inside from behind and clips you?

Bikes in bike races don't have rear facing mirrors. In F1 in this scenario it's a 50/50 blame, they've got mirrors and if the front axle of the attacking car is ahead of the rear axle of the leading car. In bike racing, you can't expect the rider to head check mid turn looking back to see if the attacker will make it or not.

This might be a strategy in F1 (that folks like Senna used to force the recipient of the attack to choose), but I can't say it isn't a dick move in bike racing without mirrors and without spotters and radios.

Also in these disciplines the safety of the incumbent riders is less impacted by newbies making dumb errors compared to road, especially the local crit scene in North America where all people do is go around in squares in close quarters. This is generally the entry point in North America to road riding, no real road circuits.

Yes, true for all three disciplines!

In addition:
-CX and MTB are not pack racing events.
-MTB offers a beginners race/wave.
-Track racing requires attending a coached clinic and practice before allowing a beginner to race. Races are observed by a coach who will take a racer aside and instruct and correct. Beginners are gear inch limited and get the chance to race 2 to 4 times in an evening.

Really?

I thought bike racing was very much alive and well in the United States. Maybe its your west coast scene that I'm thinking of. Bike racing is certainly alive and well in South America and here in Europe.

#82 did not have appropriate situational awareness, judging simply by the video.

Regardless, that was a small enough field such that something like this should not have happened. Plenty of room in that corner.

That's great to hear! If/when there's more public information on that, I'd like to hear about it. Even as someone who could hardly sprint myself out of a wet paper bag, track racing is some of the most fun I've had riding bikes.

I like burn's rules of "being ahead" but I would then say that scenario ain't applying here, that the crashed rider was ahead of the "wife" (who got the DQ and inside line). She's ahead by what 1/3rd of a wheel so if you as a rider can't feel/sense/know someone almost directly beside you in that tight of a situation, you don't deserve to be racing either. So I would simply say his theory wouldn't apply here. Or shall I say in the end I'm not finding much DQ fault in this particular crash. The "wife" didn't imo make a dangerous move at all, she didn't come from 3 bike lengths down and "crash dive" the inside corner. She and the crashed rider came into this corner essentially beside each other, and the 2 got pinched. If that is an automatic DQ result, we probaly shouldnt have crit racing anymore should we? I bet that type of bumping occurs many times in crits, some are able to ride it out, others result in crash like this. But DQ offense? I'm not seeing the dangrous infraction here.



(I'm asking because I used to race bikes a lot but havent in a long time and dont coach a ton of cyclists so I'm not as familiar with the crit scene these days.....)

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

I don't know where y'all are racing but CX in my experience ranks as an extremely unfriendly, intimidating and assholish sport. Even that the highest professional level riders get lapped and yet there is this pervasive culture that if you get lapped you don't deserve to be there and should quit. I remember being cursed both during and after out for simultaneously blocking the racing line and yet not holding my line through a chicane where mud pits encourage you to cut across the corners in a way you wouldn't do it on a road. I was told directly I should have dismounted and stood in the corner to stop getting in the way of the true cyclists. To provide context this was a local race where, as is standard practice, everyone over 14 (males and females) are on the course at the same time i.e. Junior/Senior/Vet combined race. I was a junior being yelled at by the rider and coach of one of the top riders. Its the kind of 'learn your place in the sport' mentality that kills cycling.


That doesn't even begin to hit on the elitism surrounding pit crews and pit bikes. Fundamentally if the sport wanted to be welcoming or friendly they wouldn't force the juniors into the same race as the Seniors. I can't think of any other sport where making a 14 year old girl fight for space on a tight technical course against 25 year old men is considered acceptable.

If bike racing were alive and well in the US, people would be doing it and Americans would be winning international races. You can't have a bike racing culture without a cycling culture, like in Europe for example. We do everything possible to keep kids off of bikes here, even so-called cycling governing bodies. It's madness.

E

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

We had this very conversation just yesterday funny enough at the tri shop with a customer. A cyclists from Texas talked about how the culture/racing scene was just so much different than here in the Triangle (NC). Culture / racing, was just "better" in Texas was his analysis. We had a 30 min conversation on the "attitudes" of riders, etc and how it affects the growth of said cycling group, etc. I think in certain areas it has a deep culture that gets handed down from rider generation to the next and then I think others are just hit or miss areas.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

You mean Americans like Sepp Kuss, Chloe Dygart, Coryn Rivera, Brandon McNulty and Chad Haga, as well as young riders Ian Garrison, Megan Jastrab, Quinn Simmons and Magnus Sheffield? Kate Courtney does ok on the MTB and Clara Honsinger looks like she might figure the CX thing out. It’s not EU culture and never has been. Pro road might be dead to the casual American fan who only knows the Tour de France but if you’re judging by wins/talent pool then triathlon is comatose by comparison.

we went to the moon in 1969.

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

Right. Too bad cycling culture is so diminished here that sales are booming for road, MTB, e-, gravel and kids bikes, and gravel races can’t begin to meet reg demand. What a tragedy!

And yet

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

Certainly a whole lot less people cycling now than in April around here. Like I literally see one person on the Beeline when I ride. It's like peak cycling outside weather in AZ and there are far less people cycling. So, dunno.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Yep, we actually have an embarrassment of riches now and more coming over the next decade. Honestly, in Paris we could field two women's teams and probably clean up with gold and silver in virtually every discipline. If she stays interested and healthy, Chloe will be the greatest female cyclist of all time, only perhaps eclipsed by Megan coming in right behind her. And, yeah, they're both my clients so I'm a bit biased, but I know their numbers and the world has never seen the likes of those two.

What's most interesting to me is what the Williams brothers are doing for the American cycling scene. Never have I seen weekend warriors come in and know anything about American racing. That's changed dramatically over the last 18 months. It seems everyone knows who the Williams are, and they have the unique opportunity to create an American racing scene that could draw cyclists from other parts of the world here for American style racing, not Euro racing here in the US, which never works. There's far more potential here for athletes to create their personal brands outside of teams and the revenues that come along with it. For women, it's a no-brainer - there's more opportunity here in the States to build on the women's side.

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Jim Manton / ERO Sports

It seems to me like the US is finally embracing the crit scene, instead of almost apologizing for it like they used to.

It’s not European style racing. So what, it’s something that is uniquely American, so embrace it. Honestly, some of the pro crits in the US seem like they’d be a blast to go and watch.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Here's just what I've seen coming up in 4 or so years in central NC as a bike rider:

I LOVE our central NC cyclocross scene. I did 3 or 4 races in 2019, and about cried when 2020 was called off as I wanted to do them all. I feel the culture there is awesome due to the group rides, teams, and shops involved pushing a positive environment. You've got the Crankarm no-drop weeknight rides with a jolly atmosphere where they once in a while take the group to Dix for a lap during the ride. You've got a jolly bunch from 12th State doing Umstead laps on a weeknight welcoming folks.

Road: Attitude wise, I think it's fostered initially on the "weeknight worlds" circuit. Instead of the wise teaching the new, the wise simply cuss at the new then bump fists together as Cat 1/2's and peel out of the parking lot right after the ride. Stick around, give the new guys some advice from a genuine point of view. Talk with folks. Bring folks into the fold. Make them want to come back, don't make them dread coming back!

Story on road is that one of my first "weeknight worlds" I assumed whatever strategy was fair game if safe. I didn't care for the 350w ftp Cat 1/2 guys forcing an equal rotation, so I sat my ass on the front and eased it up a hair and my next guy did the same to slow the rotation a bit and maybe get into un-equal turns.

Freaking 1/2 guys started cussing and swearing a storm. OK, then make an attack and drop us, douche.

That FIRST worlds experience pretty much made me apprehensive to do crits or other stuff for a whole year. Or go back to worlds.

I just came on the wrong night. The normal guys at that group are great. Even one of them got yelled at, someone who had been racing for at least 5 to 7 years.

TT scene in central NC: I do the DPTT stuff, nice guy to put that on! I just wish I had a core TT group I could grab a beer with when something has a ride. Chit chat. Great folks, I just can't ever hang out. I always have to drive, ride, drive home. I may try to do a Weds night Strava timed thing at PNC arena and beer at Raleigh Brewing after if Covid ever calms down.

What the Williams brothers are doing is nothing short of spectacular. Like Kate and Chloe are doing on the women’s side, they’re creating newfound interest and doing it with a positive and inspiring message. I hope they achieve everything they set out to do.

So, not to jump out in front of things, but the entertainment industry, for better or worse, has taken interest in the Williams, Legion, and crit racing. I think you're about to see cycling events presented in ways never thought possible. They (Hollywood) want to create EVENTS - downtown in major cities, huge parties with world famous dj's, live coverage of the race with every inch of the course covered, on-board cameras, drones...everything. It's not for us old folks...they don't, and shouldn't, want to market to us. None of this master's racing crap before the main event. No, they want younger folks, and they're already getting them. Justin and Cory are going to shake shit up, and I can't wait to see it.

One of my favorite postings from Justin over the last few months was when they announced the women they'd signed to Legion. Someone asked, "Are you starting a women's team?" Justin replied, "No, they're on the team." I remember punching my fist in the air thinking "F*ck yeah!"

If you're reading this and don't know about the Williams, do yourself a favor and listen to the Rich Roll podcast with Justin as a guest. I can only dream my daughter brings home as fine a man as him some day. During the interview, he says something like, "I'm not asking anyone to give me anything. I'm going to go take it by working my ass off."

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Jim Manton / ERO Sports

That seems like a fun time.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

absolutely outstanding conversation. i loved how he presented himself, his work ethic, and talking about his background and how his dad taught him. his dad was HARDCORE.

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80/20 Endurance Ambassador

I just watched this one a couple of days ago. Very cool.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

That's pretty cool. I admit that I've always been sort of skeptical of the Williams' in the sense of asking "well how would they do in Europe?" when that is completely oblivious and ignorant of the fact that what they are doing here in the US is amazing. Their YT videos are awesome and very watchable, they are both very marketable and seem quite earnest; it's pretty exciting that they are being given (nay, EARNING) the platform to reach a hugely under served audience.