2009 Track Scratch Race Bs, June 17 - SprinterDellaCasa Helmet Cam

New England Velodrome and Cycling Park. Opening Scratch race for the Bs. Entire 12 lap (x 318m) race. Cat 4 on the track (grandfathered in). My 8th race ever on the track, but I've been racing 26 years on the road. Max speed approx 33-34 mph. 14.8 second 200m time (slow, but I didn't jump until after the 200 meter line).

NE Velodrome: http://nevelodrome.com.
Blog post on this day: http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.com/2009/08/dateline-2045-17-june-2009-illu...

Stills by Craig Roth, used with his permission. There is a review of the used images just before the credits. His Picasa page from this day: http://picasaweb.google.com/junkernaut/20090617_OmniumWed_week2?feat=directlink#

Fixed gear stationary bike is a Schwinn DX-900.

Bike used is an old Riggio steel track bike, about 18 pounds. Specialized TriSpoke front clincher, 32H Sun M17 tubular rear wheel on a Superbe Pro hub. Vittoria Rubino 23c front, Conti 19mm tire in rear. SPD-R pedals. Thomson seat post, Titanio saddle, Mavic crit bars (aluminum), generic tubular steel stem (14 cm), 51 cm frame. BMX chain. SRAM crankset (cheapest one). 50x15.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• cycling
• track
• velodrome
• scratch race
• sprint
• fixed gear
• bike
• racing
• URT
• Mysterio
• Craig Roth
• DX-900
• trainer
• spin
• cadence

[souvla]

Nice videos of yours, keep 'em coming!

Just wondering, tough: aren't there any pure climbing races in the US

or is it just that climbs are not your type of race?

(i m asking because i see lots of uploads from crits or so by american guys,

none from a real climb race, however).

I wish you a succesful comeback in the races- from (hilly) Greece!

[SprinterDellaCasa]

@souvla Thanks! For hilly races, I don't climb well enough to make them interesting. In fact I'm so slow on any regular climb that I've had others ask if something's wrong with my bike. To see me crawling up a hill at some slow speed, that wouldn't be very interesting. I think that generally speaking you don't see many climbs in helmet/bar-cam clips since they take so long, it's hard to see the grade in a clip, and it's not tactically interesting.

[superbubbleman]

My, my your legs are beastly. Seriously, what's your height and weight if you don't mind me asking?

[SprinterDellaCasa]

@superbubbleman The trainer clip indoors I'm about 190 lbs. The track clip I'm about 180-190 lbs, not sure. I'm 5'7" and this was NOT muscle, I was just really fat. I should be about 145-155 from what I can tell (I was 155 going into 2010). Currently 165-170; the scale says I'm 25% fat, i.e. 40 lbs of fat (2011).

[thelehmannator1]

Great jump at the end. Any chance you'll get back up in the coming season?

[SprinterDellaCasa]

@thelehmannator1 I hope to race on the track again. I haven't been to any track races since the end of 2009.

[pcfxer]

@SprinterDellaCasa Get some power in those legs ;). High tension low cadence intervals for you sir! Worked wonders for me. Oh and false promises to myself (Keep the tension on this hill and you will enjoy Ben and Jerry's ice-cream, beer and wings). Of course I don't because that'd take away any benefits from the training :).

[SprinterDellaCasa]

@avladescub oh and I've been racing crits for decades too and this was my second year on the track other than a two race excursion in the 90s. Remember that you can't coast, even a bit. I still try and "set up the pedals" which means "coast for a millisecond". The others have been kind to me and not yelled at me, but I feel really inadequate on the track. Ride your track bike on rollers - it's very educational. good luck.

[SprinterDellaCasa]

@avladescub Thanks! You should read the comments below to help get going. I went wide (out of the sprinter's lane) in the finish - that's a no-no. Watching other track races, like real ones, I realize that's the case. Also I'm a gear pusher so I use a big gear (50x15). I tried using a 48x15 and rode myself right off the back before it got fast! The guy Brian is using a huge gear (48x14 I think) as prep for a pursuit later, hence his cadence is low.