locals only
So last nite at the Hellyer'Drome mid-week session i overheard Reaney and Millah talkin' about Track Natz. I did some research ~ and it turns out the Elites will be doing their show in our own backyard (well, the slummy so-cal part anyway). I took a look at the results from last year and it appears the winner for the Kilo was churning out about a 66 second effort.
They didn't have times listed for the 4K pursuit ~ but i reckon they were fast as exlax because BigMickHellman was only 7th and he was a half-dozen seconds faster than everyone else this weekend at Hellyer in the 3k.
The Team Pursuit was won in a blazing fast 4:21 by a young quartet of the beautiful establishment. That seems awfully fast to me.
RobinH tells us that the Hellyer'Drome is somewhere in the 3 seconds slower per kilo range ... and, i can believe it. The winds that swoops over the newly painted fences, the oppressive San Joser heat and smog, the ... undulating cement surface ~ to me, those are all factors of slow that would be negated on the big banks of that So-Cal Cush edifice known as ... the [insert corporate logo]'Drome.
So anywho ... i gots to thinkin' about who amongst the NorCal lovelies will show themselves on the Natzy boards this year. It seems that half the riders last weekend at our Championships had aeither a USA stripe or the rainbows of World domination. I don't think you could throw a chamois without hitting somebody with a big win under their belt.
And so ... i gots to further thinkin' about the possibilities of an uber NorCal squad joining hips in the Team Pursuit at this years Natzy event.
Well, the first person i thunk of was that big-brained AltoVelo nerdling Brian Peterson. He ripped a 70 in the Kilo and that just seems stupid fast considering the winds we had swirling and the heavy air of the Jose. But ... 3 seconds faster?
There are other things to consider other than snow-driven pure riding surfaces and purchasedly-calm air conditions.
There's pressure. Pressure is the quotient in the equation that kills many a performance and alters all too many's ability to ride to potential.
-
Those who rise ...
The Dream Team i envision for the Team Pursuit is Hutch, Peterson, HellMan, and Reaney. These are all guys i've seen step up when the pressure cooks ... each in their own unique ways.
hutch is the Rockstar ... the uber-model. The limelight could never be bright enough for this champion. He is ... golden clad.
Peterson is the fighter ... the calculator, the quiet warrior who will smile as the blade slides between your ribs. This guy is glue.
HellMan is the mad genius - the crackpot towered on crazyhill who shows up to play with only his A-game ... everytime, all the time. speed through weird science.
Reaney is the beast ... he needs the push from the outside to ignite that fuse of explosive power. He is the dominator.
these boys are fast, disciplined, and reliable. I could see the title ripped away from the Establishment by these seasoned hands.
but wouldn't that be a shame?
20 comments:
Stephen Hill, the Elite Kilo winner will be in for AVC this weekend. Talk to him and find out how much of time difference there is between any outdoor velodrome or indoor velodrome.
Let's use Doug Northcott as an example. He's been doing about 1:13 to 1:14 at Hellyer Park Velodrome year around. When he got down there, he did a 1:10. A bit of that has to do with peaking though.
A little FYI, interest in the kilo has waned since it's no longer in the Olympics. Riders who would have contested it previously didn't enter at elite nat's last year, and as a consequence, the winning time of 1:06 was slower than usual. Normal would be more like 1:04 to low 1:05 on that track. However, Stephen says he's going back again this year to get the time faster.
easy tiger......
you still haven't seen the talent for Elite Districts and qualifiers....
a lot of cards haven't been played yet and you are jumping the gun with the oldies station tuned in....
nice team. would love to see you guys get together and hit a team pursuit in the 4:20's.
I think you can do it.
don't geek out on comparing times from different tracks though. that is a lot of speculation for naught.
there is a TT thing down there aug 21 . Another of the talentpool /nat team tryouts. I'm considering. want to try it out?
Right, Stephen's aiming for a high 1:04 at ADT this year. He said he messed up a bit last year.
Brad Huff used a 51x13 or 52x13 (I think?) for his kilo run this year at the World Championships and pulled a 1:06. Here's what he had to say:
“I just knew I had to go as hard as I could in the kilo. I knew I couldn’t spin the gear because I was so far down, so I just put a bigger gear on and just manned up and tried to go for it."
Huff's 1:06 kilo at worlds was in the omnimum, and not done by a guy specializing in the event. Give him a month to specialize and only one event to do that day instead of 5 and see how fast he goes.
J/A's right, some old guys at Hellyer are fast for their age, but against the young guns...not so much.
I don't think there's been a 200 done under 11.6 at Hellyer in a few years. On Saturday there will be a half dozen guys going faster than that-the real deal.
Josiah was saying "My condition is not the best right now. It is more of a 10.9 to 11.2"
Damn.
well, now you've gone and done it.
all this talk of times and you've let loose the track geekage. Which is a little like the time trial geekage, except more brusque.
Both of which, of course, are not as geeky as triathlon geekage.
i've found, through the different sports and other worlds o' competition i've participated in ... that it's the mind that separates most results.
not the place or conditions.
i'll be following the track Natz this year ... for the first time.
i liiike.
trackitis is a weird disease. 6 months ago my eyes would have glazed over reading 1:04, 1:06, 1:WHTVR...
and then
today i was reading the pan am games track results. there's a lot more than one cuban missile on this planet.
i wish i could just pitch a tent at hellyer this fri/sat. double entendre intended.
Well I think it all sounds good on paper. Especially when olaf is do'n the spu'n. Gets he blood flowing any way.
Grey said "pitch a tent"......
Butthead
Almost of the stars and stripes and UCI stripes you see at Hellyer are from masters events. Those riders are fast but the distance and competition isn't in the same league.
when Hellman takes 7th at Elites ... i think you have to consider that "same league".
Steve Hill's 41 years old but he's taught kids a lesson in the kilo last year. :D
Adam Duvendeck is also an elite level jersey holder.
Speaking of the track... if anybody is passing through/near Watsonville. Cal Giant has donated some strawberries for our enjoyment at AVC but our pick up man had a last minute gig and can't make the drop.
If you can help with the pick up can you email me off line and I can send you pick up instructions?
Just in case somebody hasn't seen it before, check out the video of Adam's Keirin win from last years Nationals. It's a classic!
If that link didn't work, just paste in this URL:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1826744020951905581
I have no clue why Hernando isn't planning on elites?
All you need is another set of tires.....
oh, i'm gonna hit the qualifiers at Hellyer.
i'd like to try the madison, team pursuit, points n' scratch, and maybe the kilo.
this will, of course, seriously cramp my cross style.
let me know if there's anyone interested in teamin' it.
Oh, and Gio - i'll send you questions about the Aug 21st thing. don't know anything about it, but may need to race roadie stuff that weekend.
thanks for the heads up.
wait ... that's a Tues/Wed?
what the?
Post a Comment