since this is my first year of really racing cyclocross, i started off in c’s. last weekend, in granogue, i had a blast at my race, and recovered from a terrible start to finish 2nd.
here’s the complaint: i should’ve won. the race was supposed to be 40 minutes, but the powers-that-be rang the bell after only 2 laps, so the race ended up taking 26 minutes. as soon as i heard the bell, i attacked my little group to try to catch the solo leader, and while he tried to hold me off, he cracked halfway through the last lap. i put 45 seconds into his 1 min lead over that last half-lap! i just ran out of real estate, and i definitely finished with gas left in the tank.
before i get flamed, this was only my 2nd race. i’ve already decided to upgrade to b’s. i also know that what’s done is done, and i don’t care about the merch i would’ve won. i don’t plan on doing anything about this situation, other than bitch here on slowtwitch, and maybe on the mac site. still, i really wanted to win (who doesn’t?).
i feel like i was wronged by the officials. do you agree?
Yea they probably should have told you before the race started that it was shortened (due to time constraints?), but thats bike racing. Unless you know the guy or asked him, he may have “sat up” for the last half lap and won by 15 seconds.
Depending on conditions when you are in the lead you try not to crash or have a mechanical on the last lap. I saw Tim Johnson “give” Mark McCormick a podium with less than 200 meters to go when he slipped and crashed on the track at Alpenrose a few weeks ago in the Grand Prix feature event.
You should be happy to have finished second, nice race. G
Yes, but
a.) if you were in contention for the win, why did you let that guy get such a big lead, even if there were thirteen minutes left
b.) sometimes officials make mistakes or misjudgements, sometimes races get cut short to make up time when things are running behind. YOu can’t do anything about the situation as this does not qualify as something you can protest and the only way you can protest something for a USCF event ( and most other bike races) is within fifteen minutes of the end of the event or fifteen minutes of the posting of the results. Considering what was on the line and the category, there is no way in heck you could have gotten things changed. I assume everyone got the bell on the same lap and even if the officials neglected to put up a lap card countdown, the bell for the final lap rules.
c.) do a last C race and win it from the front this time instead of playing around, just to show them you deserved to win that other race!
The duration of the race is dictated by the 1st (2 usually) laps. They take the leaders time and figure out how many laps will make X amount of minutes. Since your course was long, they had to trim it back. So, it can be artifically long or short, depending on the pace. Now, your region may be different, but I doubt it. If you only rode (3) laps, I’d say your region may need to rethink their course design.
No…you shouldn’t have won, you were the 1st loser.
dude… this was granogue. it’s one of the more famous courses in america. a few hours after my race, ryan trebon, tim johnson, barry wicks, mark mccormack, matt white, jesse anthony, and others rode the same course. i don’t think it’s course design.
