New Mexico Cyclocross State Championship Race Review

The New Mexico Cyclocross State Championship course was somewhat hard.  It included a lot of tight switchbacks, patches of sand, leaves banked in the corners and a set of stairs.  Overall, a somewhat challenging course, but a lot of fun.

I did several warm-up laps and found where I could pass some people as well as areas where I would have issues.  I also had no flats or mechanical issues before the race started.  So, I finally got set in a place where I wouldn’t have to work my way up from the back of the pack.  That is what I thought, at least.

When the race started I stayed in the pack where I started and thought this was going to be my best race of the season.  That quickly fell apart because of several different factors.  I was towards the front of the pack when we hit the first turn and stayed there untill we hit the first small uphill with a switchback at the top.  This is where everything started to fall apart.  The four or five guys in front of me tried to ride the turn but didn’t have enough speed or space.  They fell over and I was stuck behind them.  Next thing I knew, I was in the back of the pack and watching almost everyone flying by me.  I quickly tried to gain back the distance I lost, but since I am not a pure cyclist this was hard.  Before I knew it, I was second to last.  So, I set in and started to work my way through the pack.  I passed one person within the first lap, but the next two laps were a dry spell.  No matter what I did, it didn’t seem like I could gain any ground.  But, since I live higher up than most people in the race my lungs felt better for longer, as well as, me being a distance racer.  Within the next lap, I passed another person and the lap after that I passed two more.  The final two laps where like playing cat and mouse.  There was a guy about 100 yards in front of me and I was slowly gaining on him.  I thought I would be able to catch him by the end of the race, but he looked back when I was about 10 yards back.  He started to pick up the pace and to pass people.  I slowly lost ground to him, but I passed everyone he passed.

I finished fairly well and I feel if there were another lap I would have caught several more people.  For my final cyclocross race of the season and final race of the year, I feel like I had a great race year.  I started a new sport and I never finished in last place.

Time to start training for next year!

Oh yeah, Wonder Woman was there too.

Drafting

Drafting is a very useful tool when done properly.  It can also be used in several different sports, cycling being the main sport.  But, drafting can be used in swimming and even running as well.

In cycling, drafting can be used in all disciplines.  If done properly, drafting can save up to 40 percent of exertion used by the rider that is drafting.  The benefit you will receive from draft depends on your position in a group and to the cyclist you are drafting from.  The main discipline that drafting is used in is road cycling.  If you watch any professional road race, whether it be criterium or stage races, you will see a peloton form as well as some groups.  All riders within a group use the group to save energy and ride at much higher pace for longer period than a cyclist alone will be able to achieve.  Also, drafting can be used very effectively in cyclocross.  The same concept as in road cycling applies to cyclocross; a cyclist can conserve energy in the group.  Mountain biking can also use drafting, but with the technical nature of the course it is normally harder to properly draft to get the full benefit of drafting.  Not to say that benefits are not achieved by drafting in mountain biking, it is just more complicated and risky.

 This photo is from bikereviews.com. bikereviews.com

There are also many dangers in drafting, whether on the road or off.  It is easy for cyclist to get too close to one another while drafting and touch wheels.  This can cause one, if not both riders, to go down.  If this happens in a group normally the surrounding cyclist, that are also drafting, don’t have time to react, causing a large pile up.  Watch the Grand Tours in road cycling and you will see what I mean.  Also, since cyclists are following each other so closely they cannot see road hazards ahead.  This can lead to cyclist hitting potholes and debris in the road if not informed of the hazards ahead of time with enough time to react; this also can cause large pile ups.

 This photo is from complex blog Complex Blog

The best way to avoid crashes in group while still getting the benefits of drafting is to stay towards the front of the group.  This is not a guarantee that you will avoid crashing while in groups, but it does help.  Staying towards the front of a group allows you to see what is ahead and there are less people to crash and cause large pile ups.  Taking the Grand Tours as an example again, the big names in cycling tend to try to stay towards the front in areas that can be considered dangerous.  The downside to staying towards the front of a group is that you will receive less benefit from the draft.  If you do decide to draft, you will every once in a while need to make your way to the front and do some of the pulling.  This is the payment to the other cyclist in the group for drafting off of them.  If you don’t do this people will not want to ride with you and will try to drop you.

 This photo is from cyclinginfo.co.uk Cycling Info

There are also some rules in cycling about drafting.  The USA Cycling Rulebook has specifics on when and how drafting can be used in the different disciplines.  The major rule is not drafting off of a vehicle.  Not only is this not allowed, it is extremely dangerous.  Also, drafting is not allowed off of a cyclist that is not registered in the event you are competing.  Drafting is also not allowed in an individual time trail.  (a) The qualifying round is a time trial in which no more than two riders may be timed simultaneously on the track. Any rider who is caught must finish the distance to have his or her time recorded [disqualification for drafting or re-passing the other rider]. (USA Cycling Rulebook)USA Cycling Rulebook

In the bicycle leg of triathlon drafting is also not legal for USA Triathlon sanctioned events, look below for the exact ruling.  I believe that in ITU, International Triathlon Union, sanctioned events drafting is legal.  I can’t confirm this because the ITU’s rulebook would not pull up from their Webpage and I don’t participate in ITU sanctioned events.  From the ITU races I have seen, people I have talked with, and ITU bikes that I have help outfit at the bike shop where I worked, I am very certain that drafting is legal in ITU races.

5.10 Position Fouls. In accordance with the Rules as set forth in this section, a participant is not permitted to position his bicycle in the proximity of another moving vehicle so as to benefit from reduced air resistance. While on the cycling course, participants shall not work together to improve performance, efficiency, or position by teamwork or other joint conduct. A variable time penalty shall be imposed for any violation of this section. This section shall not apply to off-road triathlons and duathlons and shall be excluded from enforcement at those events.

a. Drafting. Except as otherwise provided in these Rules, while on the cycling course, no participant shall permit his drafting zone to intersect with or remain intersected with the drafting zone of another cyclist or that of a motor vehicle. With respect to a motor vehicle (including authorized race vehicles); it is the athlete’s responsibility to move out of the vehicle’s drafting zone or to continually communicate to the vehicle to move away.

b. Definition of Drafting Zone. The term "drafting zone" shall refer to a rectangular area seven (7) meters long and two (2) meters wide surrounding each bicycle. The longer sides of the zone begin at the leading edge of the front wheel and run backward parallel to the bicycle; the front wheel divides the short side of the zone into two equal parts. With respect to a moving motor vehicle, the "drafting zone" is a rectangular area extending 15 meters to each side of the vehicle and 30 meters behind the vehicle. (USA Triathlon)USA Triathlon Rulebook

I believe the reasoning behind USA Triathlon not allowing drafting is for the safety of the participants and because triathlons are an individual sport at the age group level.  The average triathlete is not an incredibly experienced cyclist and does not normally know how to draft correctly or safely.  This does not mean that triathletes are not capable of drafting, I am a prime example.  I was drafting in training rides before I decided I wanted to do bicycle races.

 This photo is from Triathlon Training Blog Triathlon Training blog

Drafting in swimming is similar to drafting in cycling.  One swimmer gets behind another to decrease the exertion needed to swim faster for extended periods.  This is not normally practiced in competitive swimming in pools because there is only one swimmer per lane and races are relatively short.  If you watch Olympic distance races, you will see swimmers hug the lane rope to try to get some sort of draft in longer races.  But, drafting in swimming is normally used in open water and longer distance races.  It is most effective in open water because swimmers can get directly behind each other.

There are no rules that I am aware of that don’t allow drafting in running.  I am also not sure of the benefit of drafting while running, but there has to be some, especially on windy days.  I have read that there is a belief that drafting will save you around 2 seconds per quarter mile.  This is not a lot, but in longer races this can be a big benefit.  Another thing that has to be considered while drafting is are you going fast enough for benefits of a draft?  I will explain more about how fast you need to be going to get a draft later.  Drafting while running looks goofy and is an extreme annoyance to the runner in front.  Drafting is not a commonly practiced technique in running and I am not recommending that you practice it.  I have seen it done and I know people that swear it works.  I have also had some people try to draft on me while running.  I assure you, it is extremely annoying to have someone you don’t know that close to you while running.  It also made me speed up in order to drop them.  Also, to get the benefit of the draft the second runner has to be so close that they will occasionally kick the runner in front.  If you and a friend are out for a run and want to try it be my guest, just don’t do it to a stranger unless they draft off of you first.

If you are going to draft in any sport here are a two things to consider: is it safe and is it beneficial?  The slipstream off of another athlete is a teardrop shape, to get the benefit of a draft you need to be within the tear drop.  The tail of the teardrop gets longer at higher speeds and may be not directly behind the athlete in front depending on the weather conditions.  If the wind is blowing 90 degrees from the direction you are traveling it will be behind and to the opposite side of the athlete in front.

Drafting properly takes lots of practice and technique, so practice while training before trying it in a race.  Drafting is a very useful tool to have in your toolbox, but make sure to do it safely and by the rules.

Hello

Hello everyone.  Since this is my first blog post I am going to introduce myself and what I am going to talk about in this blog.  I have never blogged before so this could be interesting.

My name is Russ and I have been racing in different sports for the past 17 years.  I started out as a swimmer on a local pool’s summer league.  Then, I join my high school swim team and started coaching the team where I got my start swimming competitively.  During my junior year of high school, I got more serious and joined one of the local club swim teams and got considerably faster.  After my last high school swim season was over, I felt kind of lost and started looking for a new sport.  Triathlons were on the up swing, and still are, in Oklahoma, so I signed up for my first one that summer at the pool where my high school team practiced.  This is when my obsession with bicycles started.  I raced triathlons throughout college and started the triathlon club at my university.  After college, I found myself in almost the same situation as when I was in high school, the major difference was I could still race triathlons.  So, I started looking at my options for just bicycle races and running.  

I have become more comfortable with all three; triathlons, bicycling and running.  Triathlons, bicycling and running is what this blog is going to be about.

Just to get this clear, I am not some guy that just decided one day that I am going to race and was instantly good at it, though my little brother would say otherwise.  I have worked hard and I have had to overcome many obstacles.

The first major obstacle was transferring from being an athlete that just raced for fun in the summer and was pretty good for that small league to moving into the big world of high school swimming.  My high school team had 8 lanes to practice.  Lane one was the fastest and lane eight was the slowest, I was in lane seven.  I worked hard that year and was one of two guys on the team willing to swim the 500 yard freestyle.  By the end of the year, I moved up to lane six.  That summer, I went back to my summer league and was unbeatable.  The following high school season I realized the only way I could go faster was to drop some weight.  When I say some, I mean 70 pounds in total.  I started out weighing 210 pounds, a pretty dang heavy swimmer.  I made myself an exercise regiment to lose the weight.  It consisted of push-ups, crunches and running stairs before school, then swim practice during school, and running and weight lifting after school.  This totaled to around 4 hours of exercise a day.  In a three month period, I lost the 70 pounds and was down to 140 pound, pretty light for a guy who is 5’10”.  My new body felt amazing!  I had more energy and I felt like my limbs were feathers.  This really helped me to drop a considerable amount of time in my races.

Then I got the bright idea that I wanted to be a body builder.  I started lifting weights more and got up to 170 pounds.  At first, this also helped my swimming because I had more power behind my shoulders and was able to move more water with each stroke.  Then, I started to get to bulky and started to plateau.  This was about my senior year of high school.  So, to counter the plateau I join the local club team known for making anyone faster.  With this team, I practiced twice a day on top of training after practice myself.  I had one practice before school and one practice after school.  Both practices pushed me so much harder then I had ever expected.  I was getting cramps so bad in my legs that it took one person to hold me down and another person to straighten out my leg.

About half way through my senior year, my orthodontist informed me that my lower jaw was too big and I needed surgery to correct it.  I was given the option by my parents to wait until the summer, the summer between high school and college, or have the surgery during Christmas break, middle of swim season.  Most of my family and friend thought I would choose to wait till summer, but I chose the Christmas break option.  I was out for 3 weeks; it was supposed to be 4 to 5.  I lost a record of 20 pounds from this surgery because it was so painful to eat and I have 4 plates and 20 screws in my jaws.    As you can guess, I felt totally different when I got back in the pool.  I lost all my body fat and some muscle, but more importantly, I could not dive into the pool off the blocks because of jaw.  I had to totally change my event mid-season. I started training for back stroke and ended the season 1/100th of a second off of state cut for Oklahoma.

At this point, I started to think about triathlons.  I am by no means a runner and, at this point, I absolutely hated it but I saw the benefits in it.  I had always enjoyed bike riding for fun.  So, I went out to the local bike shop and financed the cheapest road bike I could get.  That was all I needed to get hooked.  I started training everyday and with my experience as a swimmer I took second in my age group at my first race.  

It was in this same summer that Oklahoma City had their first premier triathlon that is now held annually  It is the Redman and they offer half iron distance and iron distance every year.  I watched as the racers were out on the course for hours long past when the sun was going down.  I decided that day that I was going to complete the Redman.  I have now done 5 half iron distance races and one full iron distance race.

During high school and college, I had several job relating to racing.  I was the coach of the summer swim team where I got my start and  one other summer league team.  During my senior year of high school, I started to help coach my high school team.  While in college, I did some private coaching on the side for the triathletes on my college club team and for some swimmers on my old high school team. My senior year of college, I was hired on at the local bike shop as the resident triathlon expert.  I was trained in how to fit bicycles and I gave advice to the customers on how to get faster in their races.  I loved working with bicycles and racers every day, but I found out that I am not the best at selling things because I have trouble trying to get people to spend more money than I believe they should spend.

Now I have graduated from college and moved to New Mexico.  I started getting a little burned out just doing triathlons and I have started looking around at what other endurance races I can do.  I have now done a half marathon (found out I am still not a runner), a century bicycle race, and started competing in cyclocross.  I am also helping coach the local high school swim team.