Most Aggressive Team- PDT. Blew the race apart with early attacks, making the Cutters work harder than they would have liked and all but eliminating 5 teams with maybe 80 laps in the books.
Best timing- The Weather. Everyone knew rain as coming but the big stuff held off until 90 laps were in the books essentially causing a race to 100 laps as the teams knew the race would be postponed/ ended.
Best Premature Celebration- The Cutters. Eric Young had both hands in the air under yellow after 104laps and was busy commiserating with the other teams before Student Coach Sam pulled him away saying that the race may not yet be over.
Best line of riders- All 33 teams. Seeing them lined up in order on the restart was a fun to see.
Best lapping of the field- FIJI. On the restart FIJI were erroneously placed 2 laps down where they knew they were only 1 lap back. As the leaders slowed at 150 laps they took their chance and unlapped themselves to get back on the lead lap. Therefore The Cutters, ATO and FIJI are now the only teams to have lapped the field at the new stadium. It was a great ride.
Best use of low-technology- The Cutters. There is often mild mockery of the number of people who keep track of other teams progress from behind the fence but the Cutters were the only other team that knew that FIJI were back on the lead lap and therefore knew that FIJI were sprinting for the win at the white flag. Without this knowledge Fiji could have conceivably ridden away solo for the win under everyone else’s noses.
Least deserved result- BKB. Ren-jay Shei attacked early and then often as they tried desperately to unlap themselves after the restart. Somehow they never managed to get more than 1/2lap ahead whilst FIJI slipped away to gain their lap (probably because all teams but one thought FIJI were two laps down). In the finale they were all burnt out and finished 10th.
Best use of resources- The Cutters. Put under pressure early they put aside any thought of lapping the field, made sure there were ahead (1/4lap) at the red flag, were aggressive between 100-150 and then sat in and ate laps between 150-180 when a group sprint seemed inevitable. In the final twenty laps Schroeder and Lusk put the hurt on the other teams allowing Young to get on the bike pressure-free with five laps to go.
Young wins, Sharp in second (pic- Mark Zalewski-http://mzphoto.printroom.com)Most surprising results- DTD in 4th and Beta in 5th. DTD actually had a good gap on occasions but chose not to push their advantage. Beta (and GGC) were 1/3lap down late in the race but clawed their way back into it but just didn’t have the legs in the final sprint.
Best way to deal with the rain- IUSF. Dealt with a unique occurrence with a series of sensible decisions that was fair to everyone. The rule from the IUSF rule book- ‘If a race is temporarily stopped, and IF the Chief Steward rules that the full 200 /100 laps cannot be completed then 101/51 laps shall constitute a complete race’. The IF is important, as fortunately we were able to complete the race. The easy thing might have been to not restart but they showed the willingness to get the full 200 laps in the books.
87 comments:
You forgot the icycle callout. Here is a link to the PS3.1 post with the iCycle individual times. They are absolutely funny.
http://www.little500.com/ps3/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=691
It is just sad that during the final race briefings IUSF never informed anyone, and actually told everyone that if the race is red flagged after 101 that it would be a completed race. FIJI actually asked Mike Howard "If the race is red flagged after 101, is it over?" his responce "No questions asked, no if's and'd or but's, the race is completed if it is red flagged. Would love to have it work some other way."
It would just have been nice to have the rule explained accurately, instead of giving the riders a different expectation.
GP- I could not agree more! This is the best race I have seen. Every contending team deserves credit for getting after it. I had my doubts that teams would "really" get after it because so many times prerace chatter has predicted several teams attacking and nothing ever transpired. Yesterday that wasn't the case. Teams went out there and truly rode for the win. Great job to all and get after it this summer.
Anonymous (comment #2):
I was at the same race briefing and felt that Mike Howard made painstakingly obvious that a red flag would stop the race and every effort would be made to restart the race on the same day. IF a restart was not possible by late evening, then the race would be postponed to 2pm Sunday (if fewer than 101 laps were completed) or considered official (if 101 or more laps were completed). Thus we raced to the red flag just in case 104 would be the end of the 2010 race.
I understand that the situation was new and full of confusion, but I feel that the plan of action was relatively well-explained at the race meeting. I'll be honest in saying that I never heard Mike Howard say what you've attributed to him, though I do think I remember Fiji posing the question at the briefing.
Geraint -
Some of this Fiji confusion has come because of the strategy the Cutters took when the weather went south. There was a cluster of teams, mine included, that were a lap down when the Cutters made their attack off the front. We were caught by the Cutters - but not by PDT, GGC, DTD, and Beta - thus placing us 2 down to part of the lead lap and only one down to the remainder of it.
Upon the race restart, we were just put two down from all five of the leaders (as we understood it). Cru restarted 11, Wright 12, and Fiji restarted 13. I'll go back and look at the HDNet recording, but Fiji may have been in the same group with us that was in the awkward 1-2 lap down limbo. I honestly don't think they were on the lead lap. Either that or we approached the second half of the race entirely wrong (and our position was incorrectly announced over the PA).
Either way, though, hats off to Fiji for one heck of a race. That was no small feat to gain back a lap. Impressive riding by the entire team.
A race that will be remembered for quite some time, I am sure.
I realize I'm extremely biased, but I must say Zack "Hank" Lusk deserves everyone's respect as a rider and racer after yesterday!
-Patches
I too am very biased, but my hat's off to PDT for coming from not existing 4 years ago to missing pulling off the (nearly) impossible by .01 seconds.
Anyone who thinks it was .01 seconds between the Cutters and PDT was not at the race or had his eyes closed.
Source: IDS
Whateve the difference, doesn't take away from the acomplishment.
No entry about the women's race?
FIJI was definitely on the lead lap. If you watch the tapes it will be obvious. The race officials immediately corrected the mistake after reviewing the tapes.
Watch out for beta. They are going to tear it up next year. With three rookies finishing 5th... that is impressive.
3 rookies won the race last year...and those same 3 rookies from that team are coming back next year too
For the women's race, everyone was pretty much all together through about lap 80, Teter got a gap, and at lap 90 the Pi Phi/Delta Gamma wreck allowed for 1)fewer laps/chances for the field to catch up to Teter and 2)Teter to rest, so at the restart no one could catch up.
Thanks to IUSF and Mike Howard for pushing forward to finish 200 laps on Saturday! Hats off to Cutters, Phi Delts, Delts for making it a hard and exciting race to watch. It was also great to see teams like Beta (headed up by loyal alum and beta rider, John Grant) hanging in throughout such a brutal race. Congrats to all the riders for giving everything they had!
Ya next year should be exciting again, delts is only losing one guy too
Who won fantasy?
No official results so no fantasy results.
gp
The OFFICIAL Position of the IUSF is that FIJI Made up 2, NOT 1, but 2 laps on field after the restart.
They were erroneously set at 3 laps down. 101 at 104, IUSF CORRECTED THIS TO 102/104!!!!! THEY ARE STANDING ON THIS!!!
FIJI is adamant that they got a lap back (Thats 1, NOT 2). The problem is they are STILL one lap down.
THIS ONE IS GOING TO BE INTERESTING, but I assume this is why official standings have yet to be posted.
"Some of this Fiji confusion has come because of the strategy the Cutters took when the weather went south. There was a cluster of teams, mine included, that were a lap down when the Cutters made their attack off the front. We were caught by the Cutters - but not by PDT, GGC, DTD, and Beta - thus placing us 2 down to part of the lead lap and only one down to the remainder of it. "
So they were actually two laps down? It seems that if you get passed by the leader, you are technically 2 laps down, otherwise upon the restart they are basically just giving you a free lap. I guess you could say that PDT, GGC, DTD, and Beta hadn't passed them yet, but they weren't far behind, and FIJI was closer to two laps down then only one lap.
It's gonna be really difficult to tell from the race tape as FIJI weren't obvious on the broadcast aside from one time they got lapped (after wrecking). I suspect they were on their own chasing for much of the time but if they were lapped when the camera was watching exchanges or sorority girls getting wet then who knows what happened? Because of Kaleb's earlier post I notice that CRU were lapped after 25laps. If they just got another lap down in next 75 laps then that'd be good going. Well done to them!
Isn't this the point of the lap counters and timers in the press box? Or do they not have those anymore.
that's why the race should have been called at lap 104. this confusion is bound to happen when you restart everyone in a single line a pack it all up again. Enough said I think it's time to get Mike Howard out of the King Dick position because he's obviously been screwing teams over the last 2 years after the Cutters penalty last year, and DG exchange/Fiji mishap this year. 4th times a charm isn't it; especially this year?
HDNet shows FIJI getting 1 lap back...they attack around 150 and then you see them catching the back of the pack around mid 180's.
The question is, were they 1 or 2 laps down? The timing/lap cards should show this. All IUSF needs to do is compare all of FIJI/Delts cards against Cutters.
To the previous poster...this is not Mike Howards fault...his crew did a great job getting in all 200 laps.
Thank IUSF/IUF for another great event. Thanks to the top teams for pushing the pace and making the Cutters fight for it. I've seen 10 races now and this was by far the most exciting.
Congrats to the Cutters...a well deserved victory.
Shady race FIJI, .....THE QUESTION: WOULD YOU HAVE THE BALL TO TAKE THE WINNERS TROPHY IF YOU "WON" and NO-ONE KNEW YOU WERE ON THE LEAD LAP. I AM SURE YOU MADE EVERY EFFORT TO MAKE SURE THAT FACT WAS ANNOUNCED TO THE FIELD.
ZERO HONOR IN THAT, JUST PLAIN SHADY!
I understand why people are confused...but it's really simple. You are not a lap down until the leader on the track catches and passes you. Otherwise, everyone would have been a lap down from Cutters on the restart because they had a gap on the field. FIJI had a wreck and was lapped one time. They were never lapped again. Then they fought hard to get the lap back off the restart.
Let's focus on what's important. The riders should not be penalized/blamed for a mistake from timing and scoring. FIJI's coach alerted the race officials to the mistake at the very beginning of the restart. They had 12+ experienced Little 500 racers in their pit (including a HOFer) tracking the team to make sure things like this get corrected.
I don't really understand IUSF's "official stance" according to the post above, but the result should stand as 1. Cutters 2. Phi Delt 3. FIJI
Shady race FIJI, .....THE QUESTION: WOULD YOU HAVE THE BALL TO TAKE THE WINNERS TROPHY IF YOU "WON" and NO-ONE KNEW YOU WERE ON THE LEAD LAP. I AM SURE YOU MADE EVERY EFFORT TO MAKE SURE THAT FACT WAS ANNOUNCED TO THE FIELD.
ZERO HONOR IN THAT, JUST PLAIN SHADY!
You are an idiot!!!
The point is that NOBODY knew but THEM they were on the LEAD lap, if they knew that they were being "hidden" by the announcers/IUSF even if it was an honest mistake, they made ZERO attempt to LET THE REST OF THE FIELD BE AWARE.
Example: In golf, THERE IS HONOR, if you know you have an unfair advantage IN ANY WAY SHAPE or form! You would penalize yourself.
Wait, it's all making sense now, ......Honor, and FIJI, does not compute! THEY REALLY WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE TROPHY IF THEY "WON", SERIOUSLY??
The only question I have is what the rule is when the leader officially caught them for a second time before the restart. If this is true, shouldn't that be two laps down, or did Fiji slip ahead of them again before the yellow came out? If they slipped ahead of them even by an inch they would only be 1 lap down on the restart.
I am just surprised that no one knew Fiji was racing for the win except Cutters. If you think about it, if the pace is about 45-50 seconds per lap when it was slow, it should only take 10-20 laps or so of decent time trialing to make that up. I was not surprised at all that they lapped the field. Delts were faster than people expected. They just needed to know Fiji was on the lead lap, or at least accept it until proven otherwise.
Woj
You are such an idiot. Either that or you're in delts, beta, or gray goat and are sour that you let the pace drop thus allowing Fiji to get back to the lead lap. I certanly hope no one affiliated with any of those teams who would make such irrelevant and unfounded complaints.
Hats off to Fiji for making up a lap
"The only question I have is what the rule is when the leader officially caught them for a second time before the restart. If this is true, shouldn't that be two laps down, or did Fiji slip ahead of them again before the yellow came out? If they slipped ahead of them even by an inch they would only be 1 lap down on the restart. "
That's the real question. I don't have the race on my DVR so I can't see, but it shouldn't be that hard to see if FIJI got passed on young's last set before the yellow.
This is not golf dude. If Fiji won everyone would be so mad at themselves, not Fiji. Sneaking away is one of the best ways to win if you don't have the best sprinter. The only rule I question is the restart. Could you imagine if someone had 3/4th of a lap lead or more and then had to restart after time trialing for 50 laps of hell? Their legs might be shot and they lose the whole lap they just got. I know it's patterned after Indy 500, but I think it's quite unfair.
Woj
Did Cutters really know Fiji was on the lead lap?
Around 190 you see Clayton look at Fiji as they attack and he didn't react in the slightest.
Around 198 you see Eric and Sharp pick up the pace going into turn three, but it appears they are just fighting for position...not reacting to FIJI.
Hat's off to Cutters if they knew, but I'd be surprised if they really did. At the restart it was announced that FIJI was two laps down...they get a lap back...so now they are 1 lap down. How did Cutters know they were on the lead lap?
Anyway - who really gives a shit. Neither FIJI or DELTS stopped the Cutters from winning. Stop bitching and start training for next year.
Congrats to all 33 teams that stuck out the rain delay...i was surprised that no teams called it a day.
Whatever the outcome, the race was EPIC, Beta rocked, PDT What can you say, I had Delt out or the top 10 prerace, where did that come from? Oh yeah Go Gray goat
FIJI tried for 96 laps to get the press box to correct the mistake. Ask the IUSF workers. They didn't try to "hide" or "sneak" back into the race. They made every attempt to alert the field of their status. Hats off to the Cutters for realizing it before the race officials did.
Woj- They went one lap down. Then they lost a gap of a little less than a straightaway on the Cutters right before the restart. So that means they were one lap down. The straightaway gap was erased (just like it was for everyone else) on the restart.
Ok.
At lap 104 when the red flag was thrown, we (phi gam), were roughly 1.5 laps behind the leader. According to the rules, at the restart, that places us at 1 lap down.
During the 2nd half of the race, we were able to regain the lap placing us back in contention with the leaders. At this point in time, I spoke with my infield judge on multiple occasions, informing him we were back on the lead lap. When there was still confusion, I ran up to the press box to inform the head official that we had made up the lap and were back with the leaders. In my mind, I had done everything possible to rectify and make the officials aware of the situation during the moment. If you, or your team were not counting our laps, and aware of your competition, that is your own fault. I can assure you I knew exactly where our competition stood, and it was not because of the scoring announced over the PA.
My riders did everything they could to put themselves in a position to win the race, take nothing out on them. If you have any issues, please talk to me.
...and yes, we would have taken the trophy if we'd won.
My congrats to the Cutters for one hell of a ride.
-Todd Cornelius, Phi Gam Coach
AMEN!!! RACE PREDICTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR ANYONE!
GRAY GOAT, PDT,CUTTERS,BETA, FIJI, (IN THAT ORDER)
The Real Slim Shady! LMAO
1.)CUTTER (5 PEAT)
2.)Beta
3.)FIJI
4.)PHI PSI
5.)GRAY GOAT
6.)DU
7.)ACACIA
8.)PDT
9.)Wright
10.)DELTs
I realize the race officials were in pretty uncharted territory on Saturday, and did a good job under the circumstances of having to make a quick call to keep things as fair as possible. Tip-of-the-hat to them.
I do hope they do a debrief of this for the future. My suggestion is they re-establish the gaps upon the restart -- at least for the teams in contention (and then put the teams that are 2 or more laps down in a pack on the back stretch.) Take the time for the gaps off of the line at the red flag. Then run yellow for two laps with those gaps and then go.
So there it is. Fiji was never lapped a second time. I thought a Fiji may have admitted that on an earlier post, but Todd would obviously know and he's an honest guy. They would never cheat. The Cutter fence knew and alerted the riders. Young realized it at the right moment when Fowler alerted him with about 5 to go. Everyone knew they were on the lead lap, but when they went off the front it took a lap or two to get the riders to realize it and then chase him. Fiji deserves a lot of respect for that move.
Woj
Who's got what coming back Cutter, FIJI,PDT, GG, BETA, DELTS
We 100% knew! Young was chasing not just riding.
If FIJI won it would have been amazing and not as strange as 1990.
After watching the race again, Fiji wasn't in the same stretched-out group that we (Cru) were in (along with Wright and Delta Chi, primarily), so they weren't lapped twice. It appears that the major error was just in where they were restarted (and how that restart was announced to all the other teams).
There is also some confusion as to where Hoosier Climber was (another team that was announced to be on the same 2-down group as Cru/Wright/Delta Chi), yet the results indicate they were in the 1-down group. Excellent ride for those guys, all things considered.
The write-up in the IDS today does a good job of clarifying the confusion: http://bit.ly/aSmZvy
The IDS also has the full results (which aren't on IUSF.org yet for some reason).
1-11: Cutters, PDT, Fiji, DTD, Beta, GGC, Sigma Chi, Sigma Nu (Dixie Highway), Phi Psi, BKB, Hoosier Climber
12-22: Wright, Delta Chi, Cru, Sig Ep, DU, Pi Kappa Phi, Kappa Sigma, Theta Chi, Dodds, DSP, Evans (biggest drop)
23-33: Air Force, ZBT, Acacia, Achtung, Collins, Emanon, Phi Sigma Kappa, Sammies, C4F, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Kappa Sigma
On a separate note, this is why I was a little annoyed with PDT stating it was only .01 secs. It diminshes what Young did. He led the charge to chase FIJI then still won the sprint decisively.
I know that BETA, Cutters and GG will all return 3. I'm not sure about the other teams. And hats off to BETA for coming from 29th to 5th in one year.
Todd - I don't think PDT ever stated that it was .01 secs. I believe the IDS reported that.
Who gives a shit about the number of seconds/tenths of seconds...Eric opened more than a few bike lengths. We got beat...bottom line. No reason to be annoyed with us.
Just so everyone knows, our pit knew Fiji was making a move back up to the group on my 2nd to last set, by the end of the set they had toughed back on, however after my set they were chasing again, during my final set 190-195 they did catch and pass me, I did not personally know they were on the lead lap, however our pit and Eric Young did know.
If anyone else talks poorly of Fiji's riding or strategy then I'd suggest you eat a shit pie. They raced hard, worked hard, and gave themselves a chase at winning. They didn't try to hide out, they were just gassed from making the lap back. You are just plain stupid if you don't respect the race they ran.
Congrats to everyone
Clayton Feldman
Yeah, Phi Delts did not say that. It was just some post from anonymous quoting the IDS which was obviously wrong.
Woj
I was referring to the post early in this thread. I've stated on several occassions, everyone rode great! I have no disrespect for PDT's performance.
It was not .01 seconds nor what was it ever reported that way. It was reported 2:09:01. The 2 is hours, the 9 is minutes and the 1 is seconds. You learn this stuff if grade school. C'mon people...geez.
Great race by all, it will be talked about for a long time.
Erik - this is straight from the IDS Blog
"Then on the final lap, the Cutters broke away just after rounding turn two. Phi Delta Theta’s Steve Sharp tried to catch up, but it was no use. The Cutters crossed the finish line, arms raised, with Phi Delta Theta finishing .01 seconds behind."
so...it was reported that way...and not by PDT. Again, who gives a shit...
Where is the wine and cheese? Cutters should host!
Hamilton,
You are wrong.
"Then on the final lap, the Cutters broke away just after rounding turn two. Phi Delta Theta’s Steve Sharp tried to catch up, but it was no use. The Cutters crossed the finish line, arms raised, with Phi Delta Theta finishing .01 seconds behind."
Woj!
FIJI's should host - $30k budget!
Yeah I heard they paid a grand to get 1 lap down. just kidding.
Cutters have a sweet location for their post race party. Do you guys rent this location?
Perfect for wine and cheese - - Cutters host, FIJI pays...win, win.
Actually - the results should read 1. PDT 2. FIJI 3. Delts 4. Cutters
If you notice Eric's sweet victory salute (great job on standing...that was awesome) he is wearing a watch. It clearly states on page 30 of the riders manual;
"17. No jewelry or watches may be worn on the track. Heart rate monitoring devices must mount on the
handlebars of the bike."
Cutters get a 5 second penalty and are regulated to 4th. Of course this rule was not as blatant as BKB having two alumni coaches in the pit for the entire race...
My favorite part of the race was Young sitting up right after the red flag and the two people behind him not paying attention and immediately going down.
there are lots of favorite moments from this race. does anyone have the 100 lap split? i know that at 104 laps (after yellow) we were at 104 and we finished in 209. This had to be one of the fastest races ever, given the rain/track conditions. i know the record is much lower than that but still
The first half was a race record. The second half was slow at times, fast at others. That what happens when the field knows the only way to win is to drop Cutters.
although sharp was behind young he chased down fiji too, hats off to sharp for giving young something to think about on the last lap
Did Sharp know Fiji's were up?
Here was the rule Geraint posted from the IDS a day before the race regarding rain. This makes it seem like the race was over at 104, and makes it totally unclear regarding the women.
- If the race has reached a halfway point (at least for the men) when weather sets in, the race will not be restarted on Sunday. The winner will be whoever is leading the lap when the race is halted. Howard said it could create a Miss ‘N Out-like scenario as teams scramble if rain starts setting in.
Woj
That does make it sound like the race shouldn't of been restarted. However, as a rider, I'm glad they restarted the race and allowed the riders to compete for the whole 200 laps. It was an epic day and one that will go down in Little 500 history.
haha oops, i forgot about the watch. shit, that would have sucked to get nailed for that one...
i don't know about the other riders, but that was one of the most epic days of my life. i'm honored to have participated with everyone, and i can't wait for next year's LITTLE 500.
Eric
Epic race, glad I got to see this one. Definitely one for the history books.
Cutters - Despite the "Just kidding! We're going to give everyone else a second chance" re-start, way to pull it out. 2 wins in 1 day, proving to anyone who thought otherwise, you guys deserve that official "W."
PDT - Very respectable race performace; so close to tipping the scale. Nice work!
Fiji - Way to keep at it. Great finish.
TMT...uh...I mean, Delts - Solid race. Classy group. When I passed through, amid the rainshower of debris being thrown at the Cutters fans and the chants of "Ma-jor Tay-lor!", I got a little confused.
Beta - You guys should be so proud of yourselves. Great building year for the team, can't wait to see you guys out there next year!
Greeetings to all in web world! Been involved in a great many races, but that may have been the most fun and memorable.
Really thought IUSF did a great job under some tough circumstances!
To be honest, I didn't think Cutters could restart themselves after the "mid race" celebration. I was very impressed with them, learnd alot, lining up next to them, Eric Young, tough as nails!
Hated last year, because I felt like TMT and Delts and others didn't press like we should have when they were down. This year we left NO cards on the table, just got beat by a great team.
PDT, great to have you back! Super aggressive!
FIJI, Nice job playing the cards you were dealt, (Yes that's my second gambling reference) Todd, I wouldn't have spent a second alerting anyone, not your job! Great ride!!!
Gray Goat, Way to keep the hammer down! (and you guy are the L5 Lifetime achievement award winners for Hottest Coach!!)
Thought Delts were amazing, and executed very well, should be fun next year. Murv, you will be missed!
As for TMT? I believe it was Douglas MacArthur that once said, "...
Finally, as for all the chirping about the race, as the coach that has finished second more than the next 3 combined, Hear me on this. There are 2 Levels of Little 5, WINNING and the field, I literally feel no different after a race 2nd, 3rd, 4th, ect. (Provided of course we are on the lead lap, AND WE ALWAYS ARE.)
Great job Everyone!
Courtney Bishop
Coach,DTD
Shout out: Woj and Teter, keep it up!
A giant WTF goes out to Schroeder of Cutters for making multiple attempts to exchange in front of PDT's pit. I am surprised this has not been brought up for discussion. Wouldn't his actions be considered impeding? He also had the audacity to flick the middle finger to Drummy (one of PDT's pit crew) when he asked him nicely to move out of the way. Hats off to PDT for racing with true sportsmanship and fighting until the end.
Courtney's post is pretty hilarious given the 20394823049822430892342 phone calls he made immediately after the race and into Sunday morning. Nice attempt at saving face.
I have already stated this, but Schroeder has been doing this since track season started and PDT has never said one word until the race was already going. This is not impeding unless he runs into another rider or messes up their exchange. Clearly you are in at least one other pit before you start running so, if it doesn't impede them why would it impede another pit. There is no written rule against this, and maybe they can make one for next year. Michael (Patches) is a super nice kid, and he had a lot of emotions running out there and to have to change your exchange routine mid race is not something comfortable to anyone.
Woj
Come on Woj - - you should know this...
Team Manual Page 37 - section V - 2nd sentence...
"The rider taking the exchange may begin running to pick up momentum in the pit
immediately preceding his own. "
Now, he never impeded, but it got a little annoying when he came down 4 times in a row to set up for an exchange - - only to have Clayton ride by. Things get very crazy in the pits and it's already crowded. These rules exists for a reason. I'm sure he's a nice kid, but he shouldn't have been lining up that far down.
Nice call out! I thought it was a little unusual for him to be doing that, but he said he had been practicing that way all season. I have not seen a manual in 10 years, and would probably never never come across that rule because we don't run very far during exchanges.
Woj
As far as a middle finger in the race, not the most appropriate. But I'm glad someone brought this up. Why don't we talk about sportsman-like conduct?
Sportsmen of the year goes to... the frat fans. (I'll spare calling out specific fraternities.)
Yeah, hats off to them and to the hundreds of 4-letter words and middle fingers thrown up over the course of the season to and about riders they don't even know (and these are NOT restricted to being directed at the Cutters). A tip of the hat to them.
-a Greek, non-Cutters rider or alumni
I prefer not to post my comments, but I think that it should be noted that Michael did come up and apologize to me after the race. He said that his adrenaline and the moment got the best of him – which is completely understandable. No hard feelings on my or PDT's end of things.
Too funny, but I think saving face would ruin my image, dont you think?
Pam did a great job resolving/explain everything.
I did leave out I was Extremely impressed with BETA. After this run and with Grant, they will definately be a force next year.
Have to go work on a proposal. Trying to market the health benefits of dust to Dyson! :o)
See you Wednesday!
Either everyone is completely in agreement or I am completely out of line by saying that Feldman should be put into the Little 5 HOF... I can imagine there are those who (strongly) disagree...3 Championship rings, would certainly have my vote....
He should be on the ballot this evening at the banquet. However it might serve him better to be put on the ballot in a later year when people don't know him so well and his achievements can stand alone. At the banquet it comes down to a popularity contest and other riders are fed up of the Cutters (including Clayton) kicking sand in their faces the past 3 years.
"kicking sand in their faces the past 3 years"
How is winning the race "kicking sand in their faces"? The point of the race is to win. That is what we have done. If a person is bitter because he lost, that is his problem not ours.
Clayton should be in the Hall.
I'd ask all of you to go back and watch the last two years. The guy put the team on his back and made it happen. He closed gaps, he ate laps, he put pressure on other teams, he said I'll get us to 195 if it kills me and then he did it.
BS, his 3 wins are circumstantial. He individually was responsible for NONE of them. Never closed a race, just a team member on great team.
HOF?
Please.
Perception is reality. If you have a successful franchise then people dislike them during their period of dominance. The Cutters have won therefore they have kicked 'sand in other peoples faces'. It's not my opinion, it's a fact. The other fact that is that many of the people at the banquet are the ones that have sandy faces so will be biased against Clayton. Contrast him with Craig Leukens whos race palmeres don't quite match up to Clayton in a numbers sense but he was universally liked. Rightly or wrongly Craig is in the HOF.
Anon 12.11pm- His wins are not circumstantial. Yes during his first win he was the 3/4th rider but the past two years they wouldn't have won without him. Maybe 3 other riders on the track saturday would have been able to substitute for him. Mark Cavendish will only win sprints if his team get him to the finish and that in part is true for Eric Young as well. How many laps did Clayton ride? 100? 110?
If Patches and Hank win their third rings next year by making similar contributions as they did these past two years then I would question whether they are HOF but I think Clayton has contributed enough.
I will vote for him to be in the HOF! and i have the sand still in my face. he won 3 races. and after all the talk of him not coming back this year, believe me him coming back was the difference in them winning or young struggling to keep the team in the pack after each attack. same with last years race. as long as he doesnt give a speech i will write his name down for our team.
GP - I agree with what you are saying and the fact that people are jealous is silly.
Great point regarding the number of people on the track who could replicate his performance.
Regarding Luekens, I would have voted for him. I remember being in the pit his junior year and thinking, when is this guy going to graduate? He had longevity, impact to the race and was a significant contributor to a win.
Feldman is a HOF'er. His race day performances speak for themselves. He sandbagged all spring. I've never seen a guy so happy to bow out of MNO.
Longevity????? Please! My mom has longevity! I like Luekens, and Clayton, alot! But HOF? Political for Craig, as he got it handed to him every raceday until his win,which was the year of the crash!
Save the HOF for undeniable superstars, Lantz, Arnesen, Noverr, Woj, ect. Those guys made an impact on the race!
Dont lower the bar.
I didn't say longevity was the only component, I said it was one of the components.
If you don't think winning four times makes an impact, you are crazy.
I agree with that, I would rather see Kirkam go in as a coach than Clayton, really it is his doing. speaking of crazy why in gods name would anyone think to vote 2 BKB's as all star. Uh, bad race day reformers. year in, year out.
Clayton wrote all the workouts this year. That's a tough job. Kirkham is the Phil Jackson of the team though. Fowler is in the pit every year. A 4 headed monster with Neville, who is the brains behind the fence with his instant calculations and always knowing what lap every team is on.
Makes sense, put em in as a team then, But singling one rider that is clearly a product of a system just doesnt seem right.
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