San Dimas Pt. 2: Currently a Question Mark?
Today's road stage was great and crappy. Great because I helped my teammates more than I thought I was capable of, saw the front and the wind and more front and wind, climbed hills at a trillion watts, and even felt like my descending skills improved from mediocre to mildly o.k. during the course of the race. Woohoo!
Crappy because I got dropped right when the proverbial crap hit the proverbial fan, my legs gave out when I and We needed them most... As I was chasing into a fierce headwind, a good 20 seconds off the back of a strung-out peleton, I saw the field round a corner and sure enough, it was my other 5 VAC teammates on the front, single file, chasing two High Road riders. I knew at that moment that my chances of chasing down that horsepower were pretty minimal!
Crappy also because, despite the fact that this is not an NRC race, and further despite the fact that there is no safety issue with tomorrow's relatively un-technical crit course (and our field is down to 66 riders now), I and 9 others got time cut! How silly! It's like the officials decided this is the World Championships of Stripmallland and They are going to Exercise their Non-exercising bodies' rights to Enforce Senseless Rules and Watch Girls Cry... I completely understand time cuts in big stage races where you have big fields and potentially dangerous courses, like Redlands or Nature Valley for example, but come on! This is a local race! Our field is not large, and the course tomorrow can accomodate everyone with no problem! Just let everyone race, seriously! I don't regret my race at all though. Yeah, if I had sat in and been a passenger all day, I'd have made it in with the group and I'd be starting tomorrow. But there's no point to that, racing as a passenger doesn't help anyone and it certainly isn't fun or gratifying.
So yeah, I am bummed, because the whole reason I am here is to race hard and take advantage of my one opportunity to contribute to the team this year, and now I don't get to race tomorrow. Greg is probably coming to pick me up tonight, although now I am having second thoughts about that... half the impetus for him coming to get me is he was having dinner with some triathletes, including Chris McCormack and his family, but now by the time I get there everyone will be gone. Plus apparently the brain trust that's running the official side of San Dimas released results that say I and the other time-cut girls have a GC placing, but the stage results indicate the time cut... so which is it?! Are we in the race or not?!
I shouldn't be so high and mighty I guess... Officials are probably underpaid.
Crappy because I got dropped right when the proverbial crap hit the proverbial fan, my legs gave out when I and We needed them most... As I was chasing into a fierce headwind, a good 20 seconds off the back of a strung-out peleton, I saw the field round a corner and sure enough, it was my other 5 VAC teammates on the front, single file, chasing two High Road riders. I knew at that moment that my chances of chasing down that horsepower were pretty minimal!
Crappy also because, despite the fact that this is not an NRC race, and further despite the fact that there is no safety issue with tomorrow's relatively un-technical crit course (and our field is down to 66 riders now), I and 9 others got time cut! How silly! It's like the officials decided this is the World Championships of Stripmallland and They are going to Exercise their Non-exercising bodies' rights to Enforce Senseless Rules and Watch Girls Cry... I completely understand time cuts in big stage races where you have big fields and potentially dangerous courses, like Redlands or Nature Valley for example, but come on! This is a local race! Our field is not large, and the course tomorrow can accomodate everyone with no problem! Just let everyone race, seriously! I don't regret my race at all though. Yeah, if I had sat in and been a passenger all day, I'd have made it in with the group and I'd be starting tomorrow. But there's no point to that, racing as a passenger doesn't help anyone and it certainly isn't fun or gratifying.
So yeah, I am bummed, because the whole reason I am here is to race hard and take advantage of my one opportunity to contribute to the team this year, and now I don't get to race tomorrow. Greg is probably coming to pick me up tonight, although now I am having second thoughts about that... half the impetus for him coming to get me is he was having dinner with some triathletes, including Chris McCormack and his family, but now by the time I get there everyone will be gone. Plus apparently the brain trust that's running the official side of San Dimas released results that say I and the other time-cut girls have a GC placing, but the stage results indicate the time cut... so which is it?! Are we in the race or not?!
I shouldn't be so high and mighty I guess... Officials are probably underpaid.
Labels: enjoy the blog, outrage, racing, Team VAC
posted by Courtenay at 3/29/2008
7 Comments:
Oh Courtenay, I am SO SORRY! This is unfair - and it (for lack of better wording) totally sucks. I don't understand - how can they do this? Is it normal in bike racing to alter the race an enfore a time penalty (or whatever the word is) time box...? AFTER the stage is over? I just don't get it. It's one thing if it was announced BEFORE the start of the race, but do enforce it afterwards. Humbug.
You are not high and mighty. Just airing your grievences. And you have every right to be upset.
Hang in there - I really enjoyed reading the part of your day where YOU MADE A MOVE AND WEREN'T A PASSENGER! THAT YOU HAD THE GUTS TO GO OUT THERE! NO REGRETS!
If that's how they're going to act, then they don't deserve to have you in their race. (NOW whose being high and mighty!)
I had better pipe down. I'm not in my "biking shape" anyway. :)
Courtney-- I think you know what I am going to say.
First off, you said it all in your post, "...if I had sat in and been a passenger all day, I'd have made it in with the group and I'd be starting tomorrow. But there's no point to that, racing as a passenger doesn't help anyone and it certainly isn't fun or gratifying."
You're absolutely right. There is NO point to racing and just sitting in to finish.
Cycling, unlike Triathlon, is NOT about your personal best. It is about the greater aspect of the TEAM.
What you can do to contribute to the team, at all costs, is what makes cycling such a brutal and honest sport... and also what makes is so beautiful.
The year I was on Ford-Basis I was time cut on the road stage. I gave everything I had when Chrissy Ruiter flatted on one of the laps. I saw her on the side of the road, with a moto, and didn't think twice about it. I stopped, knowing that I probably wouldn't make it back into the race. She got her wheel changed, and I made the furious chase with her... for maybe a half lap or so... until I was cooked, then she had to go on alone.
I ended up all alone, in the wind, and I didn't get to race the next day.
But Chrissy did get to race the next day.
I gave everything, because she was my teammate. It was the team that was more important, my race was a part of the team's race... I did my duty, and I was proud of my effort... although my only disappointment was that I couldn't have given more.
You did what you were supposed to do yesterday. You left it on the road for the team. None of your teammates will be upset with you for that, and you should hold your head high because you did what was needed for the success of the TEAM.
Congratulations, you are beginning to learn what it's like to be a Cyclist. :o)
thanks alisha! thanks especially for sharing your story about the 2005 race... and you pinpointed how i feel exactly - i feel good about doing my job and racing to help the team, i just wish i could do it again today. i didn't have high expectations coming here, my training this winter has had nothing in it that would help me be a rock star on that course, but i did hope... we'll see (going to at least try to argue the whole "i'm still on the gc you released" point)
and marit: time cuts are usually part of the rules in stage races, they always have a "race bible" for stage races and usually there is something in there about time cuts. but, the only races i have done that have actually enforced them are nature valley and redlands. those are both really big races and it's important to pare down the field for certain stages to make it safe for everyone. gila and mt hood didn't time cut when i did them. last time i did san dimas they didn't time cut either (in 2006), and honestly i don't see the point in enforcing it because our field isn't very big and the crit course is nothing staggering, plus this is a local race with a good portion of the field being local racers and a few newbies, so i am of the opinion that it's good for the sport to let people race today. but, to answer your question, it WAS in the rules, and we just happen to have a set of officials here who feel like following rules rather than common sense. also the cut is 5% of winner's time, which is pretty tight - and if i had been able to ride harder when i was all by myself, that would have meant that i didn't ride hard enough when i was in the race, if that makes sense.
it happens to everyone though... toyota superstar ivan dominguez got time cut yesterday too.
ok i am stopping blabbing about this! plus apparently greg and macca are going to try to get together to train this week so i will get to say hi and pepper him with questions and take photos of the boys' butts while i am sitting on their wheels... woohoo!
Way to work the front and descend like a mad-woman! Bummer about the time cut, but like they say, that's bike racing. :)
I'm so sorry you didn't get to race today! At least you worked the front and did your part yesterday!
We are going to be looking forward to those butt pictures!!
Oh bummer! but, it does sound as if you worked hard for the team and took one in the end ... !!! Bike racing is so darn complicated. I was like, "what?" when I was reading your blog...SORRY about how that turned out, C.
Jen H.
Awww Courtenay! That SUCKS! I was so bummed to read that. :(
But...what one of your readers said is so true...it's not about the individual, it's about the team. That's what's so COOL about cycling. :)
Great job, in any case. There will be more.
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