Apr 17, 2012

Get excited

Let hope for a '07 like sprint. That was exciting!

43 comments:

Todd said...

GP - there have been sprints the last three years too.

Anonymous said...

Not really Todd. Now that the PRO is out of the intramural event it will be back to a sprint scenario.

Anonymous said...

Ignoring the the ignorance of the last post, last year was hardly a sprint. The sprint ended as soon as PDT decided to exchange on the last lap and Eric was allowed to basically roll to victory.

Anonymous said...

Let's not kid ourselves...PDT's last lap exchange was irrelevant at that point. Eric would have won regardless. PDT played a card, blew up the race and all the posers, Cutters had the strength to close the gap and win. End of discussion - the last lap exchange while silly was not going to change the outcome of the race. The PDT rider was gassed and had he continued for the last lap would have been passed by Eric.

Hopefully they've learned from the mistake and with virtually the same cast (aside from the addition of Bruce Dallas) will have another shot at winning.

I agree the last lap exchange was stupid but let's jot kid ourselves into thinking it would have changed the outcome of the race.

Anonymous said...

PDT get off BvN. No one cares if this fictitious Bruce guy has sex with a monkey and then gets pissed on by R Kelly.

Beta is going to piss all over you either way on race day. Drip. Drip. Drip.

Anonymous said...

Eric was dying on the second to last lap. If sharp was on the bike it would have been close, so stop trying to argue the exchange didn't matter.

Anonymous said...

...but sharp wasn't on the bike. So again, te last lap exchange snafu is moot.

Anonymous said...

If it does come down to a sprint, who will lead it out?

Anonymous said...

Stuart vs. Sharp vs. Depasse vs. Kragie. That will be fun to watch!

Geraint Parry said...

Yeah Todd to clarify there hasn't been a competitive sprint since 2007. Yes in 2010 there a few teams on the lead lap (still give Fiji major credit for getting a lap back) but Eric was always going to win....he's frisking US Crit champ now, like the PRO version...

2007 was a good sprint, would Alex have won if not for Issac and the Frenchman coming together? Old news but who knows...

alley fruit said...

Yes Alex would have won!

Anonymous said...

Alex bishop was a monster back in the day, intimidating on the track. Anyone know if he is in the the hall of fame?

Todd said...

GP - Exactly my point;)

Alex had some crazy pop out of 4.

Anonymous said...

He probably still would have won. Plus positioning and finding the clean line is as big a part of the sprint game as power and speed.

On the other hand...I totally woulda crushed him...back in the day, I could throw a bike over them mountains.

Can't wait to see everyone this weekend!

Chartier

Anonymous said...

Can someone please break down the category 1/2 rule in the little 500 for me. I always thought that you couldnt ride in the race if you were a 1 or 2.

Anonymous said...

Yeah there was a time where Alex smoked Hans in Miss n out just like Sharpe smoked RJ. And then someone lapped the field. RJ, I challenge you to try to get revenge and go for the lap on your first set!

Anonymous said...

RJ's no Hans

Anonymous said...

Well Hans was not quite Hans until he lapped the field either! He had never won the race before either.

Anonymous said...

@9:57.... are you serious? you've got about 3000 posts to read

Anonymous said...

Todd - how many times have the Cutters finished outside the top ten?

Anonymous said...

twice. 1995 and 2002?

Anonymous said...

2003

Anonymous said...

@11:29 - you haven't done much research..

Anonymous said...

Todd, your thoughts?

Anonymous said...

What research exactly needs to be done on the topic of Hans' legacy?

It is a fact that he never won the race before that day.

It is a fact that he won ITT's and has the record, and had another close victory relegated to 2nd place.

Had Hans gotten the flu and had a mediocre race or he was taken out on lap one and couldn't re-enter the race, no one would be talking about him outside of being the ITT record holder.

No one hardly ever talks about Kristi Hewitt the women's ITT record holder. If she had lapped the field, there would certainly be a bigger buzz about her legacy.

No one was even remotely afraid of him lapping the field that day. Your brain is working in hindsight which is typical for a person that doesn't understand how the world actually works.

I said not quite Hans, not that it was a miracle as he was still a respected top rider on a seemingly shitty team that lapped the field. His teammates outperformed their "potential" as well.

If RJ did have something happen where he lapped the field, I would be surprised but not completely shocked since he is the best TT'er in the field. Cutters have 2 guys that can chase and stay with him but if they crash and another team or two crashes and RJ finds himself a straightaway up like Hans did, anything is possible.

Anonymous said...

@11:48 cutters finished 12th in 2003, get your shit together

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:29 - great points. The only thing RJ would then need to find at that moment is Erik Hamilton to pull him around for a few laps at mach 3 to complete the lap (Hamilton had a big hand in helping Hans complete the lap which is ironic & funny)

Anonymous said...

moving back to the topic.. what are the odds of a field sprint this year?

Anonymous said...

If the top three have a clean 150 first laps then I like Delts, Cutters, and Beta. Call me crazy, but I think Cutters are happy rolling the dice in a sprint, as will Beta. Delts will look to put RJ on the bike around 180 and let him finish. Most likely marking a 190 exchange from Cutters/Beta and then doing a ten lap TT. Beta will blow up and Cutters will close the gap only to be ridden away from.

Feel free to debate...

Anonymous said...

If Cutters do a fire drill with 12 to go, and RJ is out there with 20 to go, he will not be able to catch every wheel and ride away from anyone for 10 laps.

Anonymous said...

5:20 - how about presenting your best guess

Anonymous said...

Just called the location of Cutters after party and offered triple what cutters pay. Dad told me to put it on his black card. Owner said you got a deal!

Looks like Cutters will be having their 6th place party in the villas.

FRAT

Anonymous said...

RJ is easily the best rider on the track. He will be able to keep up with anyone if it comes down to 20 laps.

Anonymous said...

No, you don't understand. he is not going against one or two guys. He is going against 4 guys doing back to back to back to back all out efforts with exchanges. He cannot cover every one and still win when they are going all out, especially for 20 laps.

Anonymous said...

Phi Delts did the fire drill in 96 and it worked. Gafombi did a version in 03 and it worked. FIJI tried it in 2005 and it failed against Dodds. Phi delt tried it again last year and could count so it didn't work.

I think RJ could hold it off for 20 if he rides smart and drafts off each new rider. No way he can ride away from those attacks, but he can certainly win from 20 laps out if he rides smart. Even with the fire drill.

Anonymous said...

Why did it fail in 05? How many laps did each rider do per set? Was there a dropped exchange? Were they 4 deep like PDT is. These are all important factors in a fire drill.

If they are 2 lap fire drills, what happens is he drafts off the first 2 guys and then he is ahead of them when they exchange, then the new rider comes in and he is tired because they are doing 32-33 second laps before they exchange. RJ would have to either slow down and wait for each new rider or try to drive it home. The acceleration of a fresh rider is very strong as it's like a quals lap pace You don't just time trial for 20 laps at 33 seconds and still have gas against a fresh Sharp with 2 to go. Its too hard.

But it's also dangerous for the team applying the strategy because it's not easy drilling several exchanges back to back without screwing it up.

The fire drill is the best strategy against a guy that is faster than everyone. It's certainly better than just going against him 1 on 1 right? That means he's fresh and you're fresh. id much rather have him doing 20 laps and going all out then just doing an honest last lap sprint.

PDT has the team do do it and win because they have the sprinter. They can also elect to wait and beat him like in miss n out. The Cutters have 2 guys that can absolutely hammer so if there are 3 teams and 1 team is doing a fire drill and the other is not, then it's plausible that the fire drill team can be caught since the two riders are trading pulls.

Anonymous said...

'05 fiji was 4 deep. Their fastest rider (Davis) wasn't able to shake Dodd's 4th starting the attack. They then got a small gap but Moore and Houchens kept it close. Then Leukens was just too fast and brought it right back.

Anonymous said...

What are we setting the odds at that one of the stronger/deeper teams without the elite sprinter, e.g Cutter or Beta, tries to "break away" from the field early on?

In the alternative, any chance the Miami Triad brothers (Phi Delt and Beta) work together, and Cutters and Delts work together because of their pit locations?

Todd said...

Here's another prime bet. There is absolutely no way that RJ gets on the bike with 20 to go with the intention of staying on until the finish. You guys talk about Delts like they are a bunch of morons, but they know how to be there and they will be.

Anonymous said...

Boner!!

Anonymous said...

I just don't see that, no matter how I look at it I don't see them being there without RJ having to do like 120 laps, maybe even 140.

-the word

Anonymous said...

Sooooo, delts are morons?

Anonymous said...

@ 4/18 2:20pm ha,ha,ha.......... The rest is history! Ride away for 10 laps of glory!