WTH dude does his first Cat 3 XC race and gets 6th?
Isn’t cat 3 the cat 5 of MTB around here? Definitely a good result still, I’m sure your bike handling from all the dirt rides transfers over pretty well… and the fact that you’ve got a good motor
Coldest/wettest race to date today. My wrists kept freezing up and sending weird tingles down my arm every time I shifted. No power in the legs as expected, felt slow as heck but finished with the pack. 6th of 10 or something, not many wanted to show up and get soaked in 40 degrees today.
Also found out I got 16th yesterday of 51 starters, so not as far back as I thought. Only 31 finished, so that should illustrate how tough the attacks/surges were
Cat 3 is the slowest category, but most of these fuckers have some serious power and speed.
Hush. Crits teach you how to ride a wheel, take a corner, and actually handle your bike. They are just a shorter, more intense road race.
I miss riding. Actually i miss training. 14 hours a day is killing me. Friends get faster and I get slower 
Two weekends ago was my season opener. 64mi RR and 55min crypt the next day. Racing on a steel bike is weird, man. Could be that cranks are shorter than I normally use for racing and I didn’t change my position from commuting. I literally took the racks off and changed tires. Nothing notable happened besides taking a $25 prime from a buddy on a propel with enves.
In my opinion that is pure 
These guys are fucking nuts, that move on the inside for the win especially
Are all pro/1/2 races like that?
In southern California…yes. 3s are like that too. You should come down for a race some time.
What a fucking move in that crosswind. Fuck yes.
One dude wanted to win… Other dudes didn’t seem so into it.
Yeah. No.
Yeah. No.[/quote]
You don’t think so?
Could be mis-reading this group, but the one guy has two teammates on the front with 22 seconds to go and some dude comes around him like he’s standing still. Maybe I missed something earlier in the video.
Looks to me like the front guy (#6) on the lead-out train waited a little too long before pulling off, causing the speed at the front to drop a bit. Also looks like the crosswind was coming from the left and they didn’t expect anyone to try to squeeze through the sheltered side. Notice how second leadout guy has to get back up to speed (#48). Winner jumps early and hard up the sheltered side and slingshots past, which makes them have to sprint to try to reel him back, but there’s too big a difference in speed and it’s too late. They should have stuck closer to the gutter and that leadout guy should have pulled off earlier.
AKA, one dude really wanted to win and the other guys not so much.
WTF do I know, though? I don’t race.
In all seriousness, that’s the kind of shit that pisses me off in p/1/2 races… this isn’t the Tour, you’re not getting a green jersey, there are no podium girls. You and I have to go back to our real jobs tomorrow. Don’t you fucking dare risk my safety over your office park crit glory.
Both those teams are pro conti. Lulz.
Man, fuck that guy.
I guess that’s why I don’t race on the road though. I’m slow and I don’t have the patience for that kind of shit.
Fuck that music even more.
lol@ the music. fuck, 2010 dumbstep comeback.
but yeah - dude had some serious balls pulling that shit. watching the whole video, couldn’t tell if that kept being the same guy or if it was a different guy on the same team who attempted that move like 3 times before he successfully hit it and moved up at the right time.
he timed it just right and slingshotted around, and he did it early enough to get a gap. so his time was good. risky? yes? unsafe? yes? but no one got, so fuckit, he won fair and square.
crits are about owning your move. you gotta take a space and commit to it, otherwise you won’t win.
And that is why I’ll never be a “proper” racer-bro.
I’d freak the fuck out and probably hurt myself and others badly while freaking out…