Wednesday, April 15, 2009

SL Easter 3-Day

[Photo courtesy of Patron Choufflard]

Despite not winning the race I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it for a couple of reasons:

1. Great weather on the last day
2. Great bunch of riders in the local area
3. Team win (AW Cycles RT) on the final day - by Sam Allen
4. Having my wife (Bridget) and kids (Kate and James) there for support - see video below (turn volume down)
5. Fantastic countryside to ride a bike


SL Easter 3-Day 2009 from Rob Enslin on Vimeo.



[I've not had a chance to write a race report yet.. might not even do it.]

I'd be interested to hear what people think about the number of London Dynamo riders allowed to enter despite many people being turned away from the race (from the reserve list). Please comment below if you have an opinion. Thanks.

Final Result (GC): (photo of winners)

1 Steve Calland
2 Richard Hoult
3 Douglas Dewey
4 Sam Allen awcycles.co.uk
12 Rob Enslin awcycles.co.uk

For full results visit the London Cycle Sport website or British Cycling.
Posted by at 8:14 PM
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11 comments:

  1. Rob, this is my first year racing in the Surrey League, so I only know the new Active.com system for registration -- but in years past with the mail-in registration and/or via a team rep, wasn't there a cap on how many members per team could register for any particular race? And only if the race wasn't full could extra members from a club sign on?

    Seems like there still could be a system of that sort implemented through Active.com, though it might take a season or two to filter through. But I do think there should be a cap on the number of riders from a single team in a race unless of course the race isn't full. My two cents.
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  2. @maryka,

    You are correct - there was caps in place previously. I remember riding for Twickenham CC being refused entry cos we had 5 riders already signed up.

    Personally, I don't have any real issues (I've been in that position before ;-)), but I feel sorry for other riders w/o teams to help. Also, it's not as if SL were scratching for riders/entries... there were reserves waiting to ride.

    Still, it was a great race so we - as riders - should be thankful.

    Please say hi next time you see me (if you see me?) at a race.

    -- Rob
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  3. 9 riders in an 80 rider field is not excessive. Likely that riders turned away either tried to enter v.late or EOL because were not many riders on reserve list few days before the event.
    London Dynamo is a big club with a lot of riders who race - is different situation to Plowman Craven putting 8-9 full time riders in a local chipper etc.
    For info we were only allowed 6 riders in the Wally Gimber while the promoting club gave themselves 8 spots...
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  4. As a Dynamo I was worried about this before the event. But one of our riders didn't ride and I think that 9 out of 80 is just about ok.

    No doubt it changed the race, but afterall cycling is a team sport. Also, the race is at the right level for us, we can ride it and have some impact but we are not good enough to dominate and dictate the outcome. As Ian points out, this situation is different to having PCA turn up with a number of riders who are a level above the rest of the field.

    Perhaps the result speaks for itself:

    A different club won each stage and we got a stage plus 2nd overall. Either 9 wasn't too many, or were too weak/stupid to dominate the race!

    Cheers

    Tom
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  5. @Ian,

    Thanks for replying.

    You're probably right - 9/80 is not that excessive. PCA do sometimes take the proverbial p**s in many local events, but there's not much that can be done.

    BTW, I was impressed with your ride - you were super-strong... as usual ;-)

    @Tom,

    Thanks for dropping by. I'm not entirely sure that local cycle racing is entirely a team sport - there are many riders who enter as solos. Rob Hurd, who mostly rides solo, is a crafty rider who can use teams to his advantage.

    Sometimes, even with a big team present, results can be hard to get. Richard, I thought, rode well...even on the last day, but that bunch sprint was a lottery and riders like Steve Calland are crafty and hard to beat in that situation.

    -- rob
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  6. I think perhaps the SL should adopt the policy that other big race organisers adopt: each team enters all their riders on a single entry, with them ranked at the time they're entered.

    If the event is over subscribed, then a limit, say 6 per team, is enforced, and the organiser takes the top x riders in ranked order from the entry form.

    I believe the lion's share of the chasing on Stage 2 was done by Tom/Ian on the closing lap...

    Dicey bunch sprint aside, I think the final day was quick, and it was a lot of fun racing in the sun!

    Rich M
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  7. I'm afraid I disagree - having more than 10% of the field in any race is excessive, particularly one where riders are being turned away and no other team has close to that number. This was the situation in both the 1/2/3 and 3 cat races. Regardless of the results, Dynamo should have taken in upon themselves to limit their entries and allow other teams/riders an opportunity to race. The point is twofold - riders should be limited because of the likely impact on the race, and also to give every club/team the opportunity to enter a number of riders.

    The season is very long, and there were/are lots of races all over the South and rest of the UK. If team racing is going to develop, then it must be allowed to and encouraged, but big clubs/teams like Dynamo and/or PCA entering large numbers into races, whether or not they dominate them, will only serve to stifle this. The announcement of Dynamo's team on LCS earlier in the year seemed a positive move for them, but the 'force in numbers' approve is indicative of a lack of racing nous, and of cohesion within the club.
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  8. For 'approve' in the latter para read 'approach'. Well done to Rob, and all AW Cycles
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  9. @Rich M, I see your point and it might make sense, however, at grassroots level (SL) having a balance of riders is important - to sustain the interest in racing.

    There's no denying the fact that >10% team entry will give that team an advantage. We should do as much as possible to encourage participation and a level playing (racing) field is a good place to start.
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  11. Re Anon
    My original point was that (in 1/2/3 anyway) there were not many riders being turned away. If organisors want to give preference to riders who enter several weeks in advance rather try to EOL after reading the weather forecast the night before then that's fair enough by me. If SL had limited us to 6-8 riders then would have accepted that.
    PS check-out the Les Ingham start list - 11 Norwood Paragons...
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