I knew it was the Zebraman.

It wasn't the worst idea in the world. For me, it was a mild bummer because racing for a box of Clif bars is always an inspiration.

My teammate liked it, and I totally respect her point of view. This is what she put in her race report:

Quote:At the start line, they informed us that the mentors in the race would be picking the “winners” based on their use of skills and racing techniques. Perfect – I might have a chance!

That's when I asked if this was going to be like Miss America. I mean, I hadn't even prepared myself for the interview question.

Then my teammate wrote:

Quote:She and the rest of the front line were assured that, yes, the top riders across the line would receive the points. The rest of us now had our goal: we were racing for style!

Well, I can't say that racing for prizes would have changed my result. In any crit, I'm just happy if I can stay upright and not get dropped. I thought this was a smooth race, no one did anything silly and I think we all had a good time. I know that I did, and I especially appreciated the post-race talk. I felt very excited about trying my next crit, which would be in the Cat 3s at the Giro which was a whole new experience of pain and suffering. I wouldn't have even entered it without some positive crit experiences like at Albany.

Later, my teammate went on to say:

Quote:A tip from Taitt Sato, one of the mentors helped me. She advised me to get out of the saddle coming around the 2nd turn. This is a minor uphill stretch on the course. I did it every lap, and passed riders every time.

I'd been racing for like three years by this time, and my teammate maybe had done like three races, and we both learned tons. So I know for some, maybe mentoring isn't necessary, but I think others would agree with me that we all have so much to learn. When some talented, experienced riders say they'll ride with us to show us what to do, I'll take that opportunity every time.

It's true, Katie. It was totally whacked.

Put a Zebraman in charge of prizes and you never know what's going to happen.

The mentors were instructed that the Prowess Prizes (they chose five riders to receive the prizes) could be based on any criteria of prowess they chose -- including finishing position.

But if someone made a wild, dangerous move to win, they wouldn't necessarily receive a prize for their reward -- especially in a race in which winning was not the sole or even primary objective.

Once again, it's all about experimenting to make the quality of the sport better. That aspect of our experiment apparently failed the whacktitude test.

Jesster Zebraman
Eagle Racing Team

I raced in the W4 race at the Albany Crit, and I liked that it was a mentored race, and I already sent Jesse (or someone at the BBC) an e-mail telling him so. My teammate thought it was a great experience, too, and was thrilled about the tips she learned from the mentors during and after the race.

I think I was one of those career 4s that Lorri was talking about. Thanks to all these positive (upright) experiences, I was finally able to upgrade, and I think mentored races played a huge part in that. So call me biased, but I think mentored races are great all year long. I wish there had been more of them. I woud have done more criteriums.

The prize structure was completely whacked, though.

Katie Kelly

I'm sure at the scheduling meeting in a couple of weeks we will have situations where two or more clubs will want to put on an event on the same day. It might be good if in some of these situations one of the clubs put on an event mainly aimed at beginning riders with mentoring and skills practice. We currently have over 1,000 Cat 5s and 1,000 Cat 4 men and another 300+ Cat 4 women in our area. A race that draws 500 total riders or more tends to be a pretty large race for this area. IN theory you could have 4 separate events on the same day for just Cat 4 or 5 men and each of these events draw 500 riders.

Larry Nolan and Dylan Casey gave free mentoring/advice to the Juniors before their race at Cat's Hill and it was well received. Even though they didn't RIDE with them, their comments about navigating the course safely were helpful to my daughters. Dylan even walked the course with many Juniors to share his insight and experience.

These free sessions could be extended at other venues with large numbers of newbies and/or at particularly technical courses. How about more events without Elite 1 or 2 men and women? Then time could made for mentoring sessions in between races.

I was beginning to miss you, Warren.

I love the Early Birds.

In fact, I was a mentor for the W4's at all four weeks of Early Birds last year, which is why I was such a dedicated enthusiast when it came time to organize the Albany Crit.

I just don't think the EB's need to be the only mentoring of the year. Many people start racing after January, don't like racing in the cold, or can't make it down to Fremont. Or some just want more input. And if certain events are willing to offer training, what's the possible harm?

This is a really REALLY dangerous sport. It seems like the more training novices can be offered, the better. Perhaps offering it to M5 and W4's with < 10 races experience is a good idea. But frankly, if mentoring is clearly noticed in the race flyer, why have the <10 limitation?

Anyway, viva Early Birds! I'll see you out there, Warren. But don't look for me in Berkeley blue. I'll be adorned in the dramatic sunset colors of the new Eagle Racing Team!!

Jess, Steven, et al, you can be a mentor in the W4's races at EB's. Some of us guys have done that so now we're privy to some top-secret insights.

I suppose that all the hours Steven has spent coaching W4's, juniors and assorted newbies at the track has provided him with no relevant insights.

The Jesster wrote:But as long as you mention it, Velo Girl, how about you permit two men to race in the Women's category of your crit - with no prizes - just so we can "experience what it's like to race in a women's race" just once. I'd happily sign up for the experiment without expectation of further reward! WHAT DO YOU SAY, CASEY? ARE YOU UP FOR IT?!? :wink:

Jess, unfortunately, I don't think we could do it even if we wanted to -- sorry.

Okay, perhaps the "prowess prize" was a failed experiment. But I was under the impression that novice fields weren't supposed to receive prizes. If that is true for M5 fields, one wonders why it is not the same for W4 fields? (The answer, as I heard from the Velo Girls, is that while w4 is a novice field, it is not an auto-upgrade like the M5 field). So now I understand.

What I don't understand is why those silly men in the Cat 5's race SO DAMNED HARD when there's no prize money at stake for top finishes? Maybe it's the pride of winning or finishing well? Maybe it's the joy of competition? Maybe it's the learning experience? Is the difference between enjoying a top finish whether or not you get the $10 - $20 cash (or a t-shirt) from Velo Promo? OF COURSE NOT.

Another thing I don't understand: The mentoring and the absence of prizes for the M5 and W4 fields was clearly and unmistakably indicated in the race flyer! So how could anyone have been disappointed?!?

And hey, didn't the Albany Crit have (maybe) the coolest primes and prizes of the year? A "case of cold Pyramid Beer" prime in nearly every race? $40 bottles of wine? We had 6-9 primes in each prized field! And but for a few W4's who wanted more than was indicated in the race flyer, everyone went home very happy. Including some of the mentored riders, according to Casey's poll! So ....vive la experiment!!

But as long as you mention it, Velo Girl, how about you permit two men to race in the Women's category of your crit - with no prizes - just so we can "experience what it's like to race in a women's race" just once. I'd happily sign up for the experiment without expectation of further reward! WHAT DO YOU SAY, CASEY? ARE YOU UP FOR IT?!? :wink:

As one of the women's mentors at the Albany crit I received some feedback from the racers in the W4 category -- everyone who spoke to me was positive about the mentoring aspect, but highly disappointed by the prize structure in their category. The "prowess prizes" didn't strike them as fair (especially that late in the season) or offer any incentive to really race. Personally, I heard that the mentoring was helpful for the racers trying their first race that day, but those women who had raced before felt very short-changed by the prize structure; I'd be curious to know how many of the women who complained also mentioned that.

The upcoming scheduling meeting for the 2007 season is just around the corner and this would be the perfect opportunity for satisfying specific Women's goals and requirements in racing. When you promote your own event, you take ownership and get to organize it for your own interests - if your team or organization is heavily supported by Masters or EMen Cat 3's or Women - that Piper gets to call their own tune. This is the best chance to move from the "They ought to..." stage of race evaluation to the "Here's what we're going to do..." stage of race promotion. I love it! Northern California has so many weekends available to split categories - if we don;t offer regular racing opportunities to our beginners, why should they keep a license? I hope to see numerous Women's teams taking a Velogirls page from 2006 and schedule an event of their own - we need more promoters and/or teams to offer events and the best part - you get to run it your way. Hope to see you all in Burlingame on Monday, November 13th with your new races for the 2007 calendar. It should be a dynamic season.

Tom S.
Pilarcitos Cyclesports

Remember that the Cat 5 men's race was also mentored at the Albany Crit so one would be jumping to conclusions if they thought that any or all of the feedback I mentioned came from women.

:wink:

Wow, one way to interpret that last statement is that men are incapable of empathy and should not attempt to exercise that ability... :)

In Casey's sample of only 60 surveys returned (all new racers, remember?), he cited "A few people also noted the mentored races at the Albany Crit as a helpful thing."

This certainly doesn't seem to be a majority as you site, Jess. Casey, can you tell us just how many new women racers made that comment?

Of course, as a race promoter you can choose to do whatever you want with your races. And as a racer, I can choose whether or not to give you my $30.

While I think that mentoring and clinics are some of the best ways to develop a safe learning environment for new racers, I disagree that mentored races are always a positive addition to the racing calendar.

It has been my personal experience in W4 races (something neither Jess nor Casey can say they have unless they raced as women at some point in their careers) that many times mentors get in the way and affect the outcome of the race. There is one mentor in particular who many feel is just getting a warm-up out there for the W1/2/3 races.

I always find it interesting when men think they know what's best for women's racing.