FRMTB Series Results

I know, finally!! Yes, our apologies for not getting these final points standings posted sooner; but they are now done and ready for your competitive minds to pore over. Since we had to cut the series short, we changed the prize depth from top 5 to top 3 in the main cats, and we decided racers had to have raced a minimum of 2 of the 3 races to get a prize. If you're name is highlighted, send us an email with your address and we'll get the goods in the mail to you. Now on to the points...

Places = Points

Women, all categories

Men A

*Note: for FRMTB#3 we split the Pros out from the A's, but I added their points from that race to their 'A' totals. For the A's that raced that day, you still got your full value.


Men B & C




Men SS, Newb, & Juniors

End of FRMTB Series for 2010

We would like to thank all the racers, racer's families, volunteers, and sponsors who supported the series this year - you made each of the races an absolute blast to be a part of. Unfortunately, the reality is that turnout isn't where we'd need it to be, which, when combined with the time constraints of everyday life, means we are cutting the series short at the halfway point. It seems the sweet-spot for this type of race is in the early spring - wind, rain, and rescheduled races permitting - so that's a lesson learned for us. Actually, we learned a lot of lessons along the way from the valuable feedback many of you gave us after the races. Lessons we'll put to good use in the future.

We're finalizing the point standings for each of the cats this week and will get prizes out the door ASAP to the folks that put the stomp on the competition (nope, we didn't forget about you, the goods are comin'). Aside from that, if anyone wants to grab a pint at the Southern Sun sometime, send us a quick note and we'll meet you there.

Again, thanks for all your support. We'll likely post-up early next year to see how folks are feeling about another series for 2011 (looking at the possibility of a full length xc race in there as well). Meanwhile, keep racing, riding, supporting your local mtb association, helping build trails, and keeping the sport cool.

- Erik and Alec
Race Pace Promotions

Course Description for Race #3 @ Louisville

Didn't get a chance to pre-ride the final course layout until this afternoon, so my apologies for getting this up so late. "Late"... it's after 11pm, it's beyond late; you folks will likely be reading this over your morning cereal on race day. Still, I wanted to pass on info about the course, so here it is. Actually, let me post a pic first...

It looks so tame, doesn't it?

The Vibe
I'm still recovering from the "vibe" of this course. It's hard. Those hills, while short.... wait, what am I saying, you folks know the deal with our courses by now. We build 'em hard. We like punchy hills, maxed out heart rates, and aggressive passing.... and this course has all of it. So nevermind the vibe for now, let's get to the business.

The Teeth
I'd say we've got 3 legit hills on this course, with a handful of tasty rises thrown in between. Many of the rises can be cranked out of the saddle, so look for those opportunities. The longer hills just take horsepower, no way around it. There are some off-camber turns that sneak up on you, as well as ones that require early shifting, so make note of those during your warm-up. We've got 2 pallet crossings along the course: one spanning the ditch at the west end of the infield, and another bridging the creek shortly thereafter. They're not difficult, but do require some attention when coming into them (lactic acid does weird stuff to your brain, so if you see two pallets next to each other, one with a purple panda bear sitting on the middle of it laughing at you, pick the other pallet). The grass is thick, but even after just a few laps this afternoon it already started flattening out, so I'm expecting with folks pre-riding in the morning that it'll be nice and fast come race time. The true teeth of this circuit is that it requires a solid amount of effort for a good percentage of it's length - definitely calorie-up for breakfast.

The Ticket
What I see as the ticket for this course is properly gauging your early efforts, because you could easily burn all your matches in the first 2 laps alone (No joke). Once you do get in your rhythm, however, you can totally start taking advantage of the accelerating opportunities throughout the course (and there are a good amount of spots where you can use momentum to your advantage).

As always, a solid warm-up will be key. For the start, you'll drag race the infield and immediately hit the longest and hardest hill of the course. It doesn't look like much in the picture, but that sucker is straight up mean. Don't underestimate it.

Newbies
The course is hard, yes, but it's a leg and lung burning kind of hard... definitely not a technical kind of hard (the entire length is easily rideable, no technical section to speak of). Follow the advice about the warm-up, pace yourself in the early laps, and you'll do fine.

Hang Out
Finally, hang out after your race. This is a great spectating venue, and the forecast for tomorrow is superb, so bring the family, a blanket or some chairs and stay for a spell. Boulder Sausage and Rudi's Organic Bakery have donated brats & buns again, so the grill will be going for post-race calorie replenishment.

That's all out of me. See you at the races!
-Erik

Parking for Sunday's race @ Louisville Rec Center

Good morning everybody. It's Friday, end of the work week, and gateway to what is shaping up to be a stellar weekend, weather-wise. I'm just posting a quick note here about the parking situation for Sunday's race in Louisville. As with the fall 'cross races at the venue, the Rec Center folks have kindly asked us to restrict our use of the parking lot to the 4 farthest rows in the lot so the regular Rec Center patrons don't get crowded out. Totally fair. If that area of the lot is full by the time you get there, we've got 2 additional options for you:

- Police Station: just west of the Rec Center on Via Appia. We'll be able to use the 2 farthest rows for overflow if needed.

- Street parking in the neighborhood to the east: Just follow Via Appia east past the Rec Center, take your first right on Pine, and then the first right again on Owl. As we want to keep the neighborhood folks happy, I suggest no setting up the Slip 'n Slide on their front lawns too early in the morning.

Available Parking [click to enlarge]

(I know, I've got mad Photoshop skills)

I'll post a course description later today. For now, just know that this course will involve a lot of change-ups... a lot of accelerations.

Boulder Sausage Brats will be on hand, as will veggie options (both with Rudi's Organic buns), IZZE has provided drinks which we'll award as prizes for results and primes this go around (as well as water bottles and other goodies). If you have something you want thrown on the grill, bring it and we'll take care of it for you. Ah, and don't forget the sunblock.

Favor to ask: If you have the time to spare today, email a friend and tell them it's time for them to tie on a number plate and toe the line. The series needs a big turn-out for this race, so the more people that take the start, the better.

We look forward to seeing you all at the race Sunday. Stay tuned later today for the course description.

-Erik

FRMTB #2 results

Gorilla-style results posting. Looks like the ACA just posted results (http://bit.ly/a16zSS). Seeing as how FRMTB results seem to flicker on and off on their site for some reason, here are the copies from the ref's forms. The ACA judges are in charge of scoring all results for each race (meaning we, Race Pace, have no say in terms of disputes). That said, if you see you got 4th, but know you were in fact a lapped rider, give us the heads-up so we can pass the points out to the right folks.

And check out all the pics (via links) available on our Facebook page.

Thanks again to all for coming out.


Junior Women and Junior Men



Newbie Women and Men



Senior Women B and Women's SS



Senior Men C



Senior Women A



Senior Men A



Senior Men B



Men's SS

FRMTB #2: The NAAC, A Race Preview

[UPDATE 4/16 @11am: Tomorrow's race is ON!!! OFFICIAL FLYER]

Ready for another local-grassroots-yet-surprisingly-tough-as-all-hell mtb race? Because we've got one for you. We just got back from the NAAC where we spent the afternoon finalizing Saturday's racecourse. Mwahahaha! I let the evil laugh sneak out only because this course is going to be another sleeper - somewhat similar to Bear Creek in that sense, but an entirely different beast. When driving by the NAAC, the terrain doesn't really look too challenging, does it?....a small knoll, a mound, no long hills, no rock gardens, how tough can it be? [que evil laugh again]

View The NAAC in a larger map

First, the Flow

The flow for the NAAC course is swooping. It swoops through turns, it swoops up climbs, and it swoops down descents. That's probably the most I've ever used that word, but truly that's what it flows like, and it gives the course a really sweet rhythm. Compared to Bear Creek, which required a lot of steady state effort in long vectors, the NAAC throws direction and effort changes at you in quick succession. So acceleration and high intensity bursts will be key to moving up places throughout the race. That, and being able to find the rhythm of the course so you rest wisely and burn your matches wisely.

Those Short Climbs

1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Count 'em; per lap. They're really short, they're really steep, and they're really plentiful. Rest assured they're also really rideable though, because they definitely are - in fact, in your mind you'll be certain you can clear each and every one of them in your middle ring (might want to swap-in your Cancellara quads for that goal, if you know what I mean). Yup, the climbs at the NAAC have bite. Taken by themselves, none are overly difficult. But as a collective, they will put a serious burn in your legs. And that's just lap 1.

Trail Conditions

We're still cutting the trails, how's that for fresh-from-the-kitchen service? First and foremost.... no goatheads. Yup, it's a goathead free course, so no worries about punctures (unless you fly off course and t-bone a yucca plant). The soil is mildly soft right now, but a group of us plan on putting in a couple laps Thursday or Friday which will then firm it up and give it that extra speed factor. To muscle the steeper climbs out-of-the-saddle you'll need a rear tire that can grab well.

Parting Thoughts

Several of the 'climbs' on this course can barely be labeled as such - especially when standing flat-footed in the parking lot looking across at them. But it's these short uphills that will be the true deciders for how your race will progress - more specifically, it's how quick you can accelerate up to speed after topping out on them that will determine if you will be a passer or a passee at the NAAC. Get the flow right, that elusive rhythm, and you'll be able milk rests where there shouldn't be any. Get the flow wrong and... [que evil laugh again].

It's going to be another fun day of racing come Saturday. Another hard day too. But that's what this series is about - hard, fast, and fun racing. You each brought it last time, and we're looking forward to watching you battle it out again on this very different course. We're also stoked about the vibe each of you have brought to this series so far - it's cool, it's local, it's laid-back.... and when the Ref gives that "go" it's all-out, red-lined intensity.

See you Saturday.

Bear Creek: Course & Conditions

Wow! OK, I realize that as the promoter for the series that I’m supposed to be excited about Saturday’s Bear Creek race no matter what, but as a bike racer of 15+ yrs and having just got back from pre-riding the course, I tell you this is going to wind up being one of those Do-Not-Miss races for the spring season. Seriously. The course just flows and kicks at all the right times, especially at the higher speeds for this new circuit-length racing format.

Trail Conditions
That was our worry driving down to the course today, that the trails would be mush. Big surprise!... the trails were bone dry for 99.9% of the circuit. Where it wasn’t fully dry, it was only just damp – no mud – and will likely dry out fully by the end of Thursday or Friday. We actually bumped into Bear Creek’s Regional Parks Supervisor who was also out pre-riding the course (on a SS, go Drew!) and we all chatted about how impressed we were at the trail conditions after this week’s sunshine.

For those people asking about racing their cx bikes, there are sections where the trails are a bit chopped up from horses and bikers riding it when everything was muddy. These spots have enough chatter that they might just rattle the pearly whites out of your noggin if you’re on a cx bike; personally, I’d stick with a mtn bike for this one.

The Course, The Flow

So looking at the course map you’ll see many of the trails are the same ones used during the longer races at the park. The kicker is that at this newer, shorter race length, the higher speeds just rock at bringing out the course’s teeth and its flow. The 2 hills, while short, are punchy as can be, and will max out your HR for sure when hitting them at speed. This is where the attacks are going to come – fast and furious. Ok, I say 2 hills, but really there are 4 sections of the course that are uphill enough to put the hurtin’ on you. Overall it’s a power LT course – great for testing your early season form; even better for building it.

As for the flow, it’s there - especially at speed when mashing the pedals for that extra MPH of ‘go.’ Thin singletrack links up to winding sections of smooth downhill – including a brand new section the park rangers just put in at the NE corner of the course (I zipped off-trail during one of the off-camber turns… fun).

There are ample opportunities to pass on the course – offset equally by sections where you better have made your pass beforehand otherwise you’ll be blocked out. That’s what’s going to keep the elbow-to-elbow racing spicy, because folks are going to throw-down the attacks something fierce before each of those no-passing sections.

Oh, there are also two small bridges on the racecourse. My advice: Don’t go in the drink. (It’s a bit of a drop-off.)

Lap Times
Our group that went down had a pretty good representation, including Men’s A, B, and C riders. Wish we could have had a Women’s A or B rider as well, but none could make it given the time. Here’s what we got for lap times:

• Men’s A – 12:30 per lap
• Men’s B – 15:00 per lap
• Men’s C – 17:45 per lap

I know! Those are some loooooong lap times. Circuit-style, baby.

Now, these longer laps will make it a bit interesting for coordinating the start times for each cat - since people are going to be spread all over the course - so check the board at the registration table for any updates. We built in an Open-Course slot (read: lunch time) from 12:10 to 12:40p, which should allow the schedule to reset again prior to the A’s heading out on time.

Parting Thoughts…
This is going to be one FUN race come Saturday. The course vibe and rhythm is perfect for the 40-60min time length. It flows, it kicks, it punches… it leaves you with a big square-mouthed smile at the finish while trying to catch your breath. Saturday’s forecast is for 58 degrees with sun and a mix of clouds – perfect race weather – and from the sounds of it we’ll have a great turn-out (tell a friend). Bear Creek only had this one date available for us, so this is the one and only time we’ll be able to race this course circuit-style this year. With that in mind, and given the rockin’ course vibe, I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s definitely one of the Must Hit races of the spring season.

Thanks for all the positive feedback, and we’ll see you out there on Saturday.