Sergio Jr and some of his team riders are planning to race it. I hope all of them are allowed to cross the border :).
Any comment regarding the race will be appreciated.
Sergio
Technically its an omnium not a stage race and this is the first year for the event so there is not a lot that can be told.
Normally I would be all over an event like this, but it is coming just one week after a long trip out to Fort Davis for a stage race and I’m just not willing to spend another weekend traveling. Pretty much any other weekend and I’d be there.
Does Sergio Jr. race as a Jr. or category? I haven’t looked, but it seems to me sometimes the Junior races are limited only to Cat 4/5 juniors. Once you are a cat 3 they throw you in with the big boys. Not sure if that applies for this race.
I’ll be interested to here how it turns out.
i’m doing ‘grande’.
from what i’ve been told on txbra.org:
stage1: 10mile TT. flat, fast, closed course, new black top and very technical.
stage2: crit: same description as above, includes 180deg. corner at the end of a long back straight. Its held at a police training facility and the course is the police training skid pad/course
stage3: 16mile circuit RR. Pretty hilly, no major climbs.
Bring your TT rig if you have one.
****race bible: www.txbra.org/db/events/2009FiestaGrandeRaceBible.doc
I like this line regarding the Friday TT at Ft Sam Houston:
“If you are a concealed to carry Texan, leave it at home or at the hotel. NO WEAPONS ARE ALLOWED…”
Brian
Yes, making a note right now.
Technically its an omnium not a stage race and this is the first year for the event so there is not a lot that can be told.
Normally I would be all over an event like this, but it is coming just one week after a long trip out to Fort Davis for a stage race and I’m just not willing to spend another weekend traveling. Pretty much any other weekend and I’d be there.
Does Sergio Jr. race as a Jr. or category? I haven’t looked, but it seems to me sometimes the Junior races are limited only to Cat 4/5 juniors. Once you are a cat 3 they throw you in with the big boys. Not sure if that applies for this race.
I’ll be interested to here how it turns out.
So it is an omnium. I guess because they are going to race w/o a chip.
Sergio has raced only triathlons in the USA. Will they let him race with the adults if the wants to even if he is 16 and has never raced in the USA? He will race under his UCI license not USA Cycling license.
The road race is only 2 laps of 16.6 miles for the juniors. That is too short of a race for his preference. Something else is that with the Nationals next month I am sure he does not want to try to win the race on a bunch sprint.
If three of them are able to go, I am sure that it will be an interesting race.
Thanks for the link.
Sergio
With an omnium you get points for your finish place for each race and the rider with the most points after the 3 races wins.
Sergio Jr. could certainly race Cat 5 if he wanted. Does a UCI license have a category designation or is it just “junior”? Either way he can race Cat 5 if those distances are more interesting.
Off to Fort Davis I go…
With an omnium you get points for your finish place for each race and the rider with the most points after the 3 races wins.
Sergio Jr. could certainly race Cat 5 if he wanted. Does a UCI license have a category designation or is it just “junior”? Either way he can race Cat 5 if those distances are more interesting.
Off to Fort Davis I go…
Hmmmm… not the best format for a timetrialist and better suited for a sprinter but it looks like an interesting race.
His license has his code and his category U17 (15-16 AG) I do not think he will be interested in racing in Cat 5 but maybe in 3-4, particularly because he will be very careful about not getting into a crash a little over a month before the Nationals.
I was confirmed today by his coach that the race is indeed the Fiesta Grande.
Thanks to all for your comments.
Sergio
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With an omnium you get points for your finish place for each race and the rider with the most points after the 3 races wins.
Sergio Jr. could certainly race Cat 5 if he wanted. Does a UCI license have a category designation or is it just “junior”? Either way he can race Cat 5 if those distances are more interesting.
Off to Fort Davis I go…
Hmmmm… not the best format for a timetrialist and better suited for a sprinter but it looks like an interesting race.
His license has his code and his category U17 (15-16 AG) I do not think he will be interested in racing in Cat 5 but maybe in 3-4, particularly because he will be very careful about not getting into a crash a little over a month before the Nationals.
I was confirmed today by his coach that the race is indeed the Fiesta Grande.
Thanks to all for your comments.
Sergio
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I doubt he’d be allowed to ride anything but the 5 or the Jr. race. U17 is only an age classification, not skill. As such, there’s no indication on his license to give him the authority to ride in the 3-4 field.
The top Texas juniors will never be found in the Jr race (at least this year due to changes in Texas racing). They are racing cat 1/2 or the 3 races, and they will have upgraded to those fields through years of racing.
I doubt he’d be allowed to ride anything but the 5 or the Jr. race. U17 is only an age classification, not skill. As such, there’s no indication on his license to give him the authority to ride in the 3-4 field.
The top Texas juniors will never be found in the Jr race (at least this year due to changes in Texas racing). They are racing cat 1/2 or the 3 races, and they will have upgraded to those fields through years of racing.
The Cat rating is a USA Cycling exclusive. The UCI Cats are: Youth (U17), Juniors (17-18), U23 (19-22) Elite (+23) and Masters (+30). The Cat rating in the USA may also consider skill (my guess), and this is important. Even LA can crash in a bad day, but DZ has proven to us that riding skill and riding speed are two different things g.
I wonder what happens when an experienced European (not like my son that is a U17) Elite rider comes to race to the USA. Does he has to race in Cat 5? and if so for how long?
If this European rider comes to his first USA stage race and he races under Cat 5 the initial TT, and finishes with a better time than most of the Pro/1/2 Cat field. Will they let him race in Cat 5 for the next stages of this race?, Or will he be upgraded to a higher Cat than 5 because he demostrated in his first race that he is obviously not a Cat 5 lever rider? How many races does he needs to do before he can race in an appropiate Cat?
Sergio
If this European rider comes to his first USA stage race and he races under Cat 5 the initial TT, and finishes with a better time than most of the Pro/1/2 Cat field. Will they let him race in Cat 5 for the next stages of this race?, Or will he be upgraded to a higher Cat than 5 because he demostrated in his first race that he is obviously not a Cat 5 lever rider? How many races does he needs to do before he can race in an appropiate Cat?
Sergio
No way would they say “Gee! This kid smoked everyone in the 5 TT. Let’s move him to a harder race!” Cat 5 to Cat 4 in the US requires 10 mass start (not TTs) races. There have been and will always be riders who smoke the 5 fields, but they must still wait their 10 races.
You may want to contact the promoter. Don’t know how UCI licenses play in the fold or if he’d have to pay an extra $10 US (each day) for a 1-day USCF license. You can also make a post on the forums in www.txbra.org (either the general discussion of Texas road racing section).
The Pro/1/2 TT is not a “harder race” than the 5 TT race. It is exactly the same race.
The example I gave was not about a kid but about an European Elite racer. It would be absurd to let a 16 year old race against the Pro/1/2 field. Even if he manages to ride faster than most of them at the same TT.
Thanks for the tips.
Sergio
With an omnium you get points for your finish place for each race and the rider with the most points after the 3 races wins.
Sergio Jr. could certainly race Cat 5 if he wanted. Does a UCI license have a category designation or is it just “junior”? Either way he can race Cat 5 if those distances are more interesting.
Off to Fort Davis I go…
Justin in Austin-
Good luck at Hammerfest.
I had planned to do Fiesta, but I don’t think I can leave work in time to make the TT on Friday… still up in the air.
Hell, I was supposed to be at Hammerfest, but Lumberg wanted me to hold his hand this weekend.
Nevertheless, I squeezed in an awesome swim/bike brick.
He’s racing on a UCI license - he’ll be able to at least do the IIIs.
Just rang one of my buddies who is an official here in TX -
Sergio, Jr will be considered a 4, thus eligible for the 3/4 race.
He will have to race Junior Gears (52x14), even in the senior categories.
He’s racing on a UCI license - he’ll be able to at least do the IIIs.
Just rang one of my buddies who is an official here in TX -
Sergio, Jr will be considered a 4, thus eligible for the 3/4 race.
He will have to race Junior Gears (52x14), even in the senior categories.
It is a training race for him, particularly the TT stage. It is hard to find races with TTs down here and he needs to do them as a practice for the Nats.
Regarding the crit and road races, I can imagine that the field will be very small in the Junior race and he is definitelly not interested in that. He told me that he better stays in México for a copule of races if forced to race with the Juniors in a small field. I am sure that he will do fine in that 3/4 field.
We are aware about the Junior gears, that will be no problem.
Thanks for the info!
Sergio
The Pro/1/2 TT is not a “harder race” than the 5 TT race. It is exactly the same race.
The example I gave was not about a kid but about an European Elite racer. It would be absurd to let a 16 year old race against the Pro/1/2 field. Even if he manages to ride faster than most of them at the same TT.
Thanks for the tips.
Sergio
I didn’t say it wasn’t the same race. Merely implied that officials wouldn’t bump someone to a tougher field based on TT results from the same stage race/omnium.
BTW, it’s not uncommon for kids to race in the P/1/2 field. There’s a REALLY strong kid (16, racing age of 17) from Texas who actually headed to Belgium this week for some racing with the US Junior National Team. He just came off a 16th place finish in the P12 field at Fayetteville. He had the fastest overall TT time on the day, beating several domestic pros and a former international pro. In the last 2-3 years some other top Texas juniors have been more than competitive in the P12 fields as well as getting top results at Junior Nationals in many disciplines (road, crit, TT, track).