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CHEATERS at Sea Otter 30+ 123 Circuit Race-Dan Vinson,Werts
Mon, 04/10/2006 - 3:52pm
[/b]Dan Vinson (la grange) and Travis Werts (gran fondo team) are big time cheaters.
Beware when you race with them. Travis did it about 3 times, and Dan only once or twice but on the last lap, come ON! both riders were dropped on the hill. The race instructions were that lapped riders could ride at the BACK of THEIR field. but not mix in.
What do these clowns do, they wait near the top of the climb on the last lap and join in on our 10 man chase group, chasing a 5 man breakaway. I wouldn't have been so mad, if both riders hadn't tried to mix it up in the field sprint. WHAT IDIOTS. there is no excuse. Have more respect to the riders in the field who weren't dropped.
pedrobrown wrote:BUT STILL. ALL RACERS know that once dropped (and DAN was riding hard up the climbs most of the day until late, when he WAS dropped)...
YOU DON'T Wait at the top of a hill and RACE the last half lap as if you were in contention. there is NO excuse for that.
I totally agree.
ok, all fine and good, mixed up, confusing instructions, differing start times, poor race promotion/prizes.
BUT STILL. ALL RACERS know that once dropped (and DAN was riding hard up the climbs most of the day until late, when he WAS dropped)...
YOU DON'T Wait at the top of a hill and RACE the last half lap as if you were in contention. there is NO excuse for that.
JoeRacer wrote:On a cirterium/circuit with lots of riders, the officials need to pull lapped riders. This for most is an A race, so need to make racing as fair as possible for the riders...
If not in shape, stick to the smaller eaiser races...
There's a difference between criteriums and circuits. In the former, lapped riders are allowed to sit in the pack, if the officials don't pull them, while in the latter, they are not, whether or not they are pulled. The threshold for differentiating the two is 5 km per lap.
That said, my old experience w/ Sea Otter is similar to what has been expressed: too many riders crammed into too small a space with too little support or attention. Look at what the organization did in Redwood City back in 2001 (I think that's the year): they tried to host a P1 and W12 race there, but had barely informed the local residents, or taken measures to remove vehicles from the course. It was a debacle, luckily not a disaster.
I for one started to boycott the Otter back in 97.
The race is a ego boost for the promoter and Industry nothing more.
It isn't there to promote racing, its a big sales convention.
To me the big cheater is the promoter, the riders who cheat just add to the pain the SOC brings.
The race sucks, just let it die.
As ususall just my .02
ms
I can attest to the start time mix up, it also happened to a teammate of mine.
If I recall, from being a promoter, one is not allowed to change the posted start time. You can run a little late, but once the flyer is published those start times are set in stone.
I think Sea Otter needs to refund registration fees to those who missed thier start due to misscomunication.
Ron
pedrobrown wrote:Dan Vinson (la grange) and Travis Werts (gran fondo team) are big time cheaters.
In Dan's defence, actually he wasn't dropped on the hill, he missed the start (and the race instructions) and joined the field after the first lap.
I have no idea who Travis Werts is.
Dan's problem was that the Sea Otter website, and all of the information kiosks around the venue noted the start time as 10:30, but in reality it was 10:00 am, as stated on this one PDF posted on the SBO website.
I'm guessing that he wanted his $50 worth of racing.
Jonathan
On a cirterium/circuit with lots of riders, the officials need to pull lapped riders. This for most is an A race, so need to make racing as fair as possible for the riders...
If not in shape, stick to the smaller eaiser races...
The whole dropped riders drafting instruction seems pretty confusing.
I guess it is unavoidable and enforcing otherwise would be hard. I was watching the late afternoon wave from the feed zone, and it was pretty sad to see dropped men from the 30+ and 40+ Cat. 5 fields get towed around the course by the Cat. 4 women. They were holding on for dear life!