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Race chiba CX

andywood

Maximum Pace
Apr 8, 2008
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I will join the Chiba CX on January 5th.

I watched the first lap of this race last year. The course and conditions may differ but I made some quick intial notes below.

What do you think
@GrantT ?

Cheers, Andy



>>chiba course notes

・start / grass 1

grass climb from the start
winding uphill, inside line
look for compact grass track
big ring?

grass downhill
two off the bike jumps
pust the bike up the slope before jumping back on

flat grass winding for a few hundred metres
tight right angle left with narrow exit
another tight left and right

・asphalt 1

asphalt
bunnyhop onto grass
more asphalt
ride down the steps

・beach

soft sand
grass again
deep soft sand
how far can you ride it?
decide point to get off

push bike
can ride again on compact sand near the water
get onto hard sand first before jumping on for faster transition

・off the beach

dismount again
push initially
deep soft sand
ride again or keep pushing?
which is faster?
probably best to run to grass before jumping back on

*try to be first out of this section

soft sand before
cocrete ramp up to grass

・forest 1

single file through the trees
no chance to move up

if in a group, draft and rest
space to move up after 200 metres? or no space?

tight left and right

・asphalt 2

asphalt again
chance to move up

・forest 2

single file through the forest
tight lefts and rights

・grass 2

wider on the grass
chance to move up
climb and then fast descent all on grass

・forest 3

short forest section

・goal

6 minute laps so 5 or 6 in total

・summary

the climb at the start is key for initial good position

difficult to move up in the forest sections
follow the wheels here and micro recovery if possible

the beach transitions are a chance to move up and crucial practice points

the second asphalt section is a chance to move up

the second grass section too

then the climb at the start of each lap
 
It think that's a pretty good summary. The grass climbs are good places to move up. The second asphalt section as well is good for overtaking if you are on someone's tail because it's so wide and asphalt is great for getting sprint power down. Other than that, the sand can be mayhem on the first lap but also a great place to work those long legs and run past a bunch of people in one go. If the weather's good, unzip your top and give it some Hasselhoff for the cameras :cool:
 
It think that's a pretty good summary. The grass climbs are good places to move up. The second asphalt section as well is good for overtaking if you are on someone's tail because it's so wide and asphalt is great for getting sprint power down. Other than that, the sand can be mayhem on the first lap but also a great place to work those long legs and run past a bunch of people in one go. If the weather's good, unzip your top and give it some Hasselhoff for the cameras :cool:

Thanks a lot! Good to know.

The course reccy will be important I think.

As for DH, I was thinking of the big man as I was running, with my bike not the red torpedo thing he has, on the beach this afternoon.

Been a Hasselhoff fan since the Knight Rider days.

In the top 5 with A Team, Airwolf, Dukes of Hazard and CHIPs.

My dad always made sure we had Baywatch on the telly on a Saturday evening too.

The way he cracked the German music charts based on his surname alone is also testament to his greatness.

As celebs go, William Shatner, particularly with his rendition of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, was arguably the better singer.

But he never cameoed in a New Order video.

The Yebis is flowing.

Beam me up Scotty!

Andy

 
Just got in and cracked open a cold one!

I came back in a rental car. Could've carried on to Chiba.

Years ago I hit a deer in Nikko on the way to Utsunomia for the Japan Cup.

Sans voiture I rode the rest of the way to Utsunomia by bike and hitchhiked home.

Must be getting soft!

Sorry we can't meet tomorrow but I'm sure we'll have chance again. Enjoy the MTB park!

Andy
 
A non race race report below!

Next up CX Zao!

Andy



「cyclocross chiba DNS」

disappointed to DNS my first race of 2020

more than the race itself
I can't help to think
"it's a shame to do a taper
when I could have done a big chunk of work"

still we are only 5 days into 2020!
get a grip son!
all focus on cyclocross zao now in 2 weeks time!

some race simulation today
a chance to test the legs

nowhere to rest on the 5 lap superprestige C5

the legs are good but
like the car engine yesterday I was overheating on the 3rd lap!

somehow manage to keep it going

and squeeze it all out by the end

two weeks to zao

will try to get a little faster still

here we go!
 
At least you got out unscathed. Good luck at Zao.

Yeah lucky in many ways. I went home in a rental car and visibilty was really poor, even descending slowly it was like the millenium falcon going into hyperspace. Someone had crashed just at the bottom of the hill.

How was the race by the way? Saw a few photos on Facebook. This guy always puts loads of photos up.



Hope you had a good one!

Andy
 
Slow start, eventually caught up with the front pack, then errors and bad luck took me off the pace and I finished 10th.
Louder crowd than usual thanks to the star factor of Hatanaka and two Blitzen pros in the race. Fun race overall.
Thanks for the name, he definitely has the best photos.
Good you didn't get caught up in any serious business and made it home in one piece.
 
A non race race report below!

Next up CX Zao!

Andy



「cyclocross chiba DNS」

disappointed to DNS my first race of 2020

more than the race itself
I can't help to think
"it's a shame to do a taper
when I could have done a big chunk of work"

still we are only 5 days into 2020!
get a grip son!
all focus on cyclocross zao now in 2 weeks time!

some race simulation today
a chance to test the legs

nowhere to rest on the 5 lap superprestige C5

the legs are good but
like the car engine yesterday I was overheating on the 3rd lap!

somehow manage to keep it going

and squeeze it all out by the end

two weeks to zao

will try to get a little faster still

here we go!

Bummer. I was looking on Strava for the results and wondered why they weren't there. Hopefully a present of a bit more rest before Zao.
 
Bummer. I was looking on Strava for the results and wondered why they weren't there. Hopefully a present of a bit more rest before Zao.

I was well rested before Chiba which was a shame.

A bit of hard work planned before some more rest.

4 of us Niigata guys are going to Zao together and staying in the same hotel. Could get messy!

Andy
 
Strava HR file is pretty solid!

You should give TTs a try!

Andy

I've a feeling that heart rate might not tell the whole story of this race.
One of the guys in the race who posted on Strava has both heart rate and power data. It shows the whole story.
Race profile
power1.jpeg
Single lap
power2.jpeg
Might be good for a 1 minute TT, then another 1 minute TT, and another, etc.
 
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I've a feeling that heart rate might not tell the whole story of this race.
One of the guys in the race who posted on Strava has both heart rate and power data. It shows the whole story.
Race profile
View attachment 19354
Single lap
View attachment 19355
Might be good for a 1 minute TT, then another 1 minute TT, and another, etc.

His HR seems pretty steady once he gets it up.

There is a delay for some reason before he gets right in the zone?

I would imagine power will be all over the place in CX?

This my HR data from the Toyama CX last month.

IMG_20200109_204126.jpg

4 laps. The curve is defined by 4 blocks of 180HR which was running on the beach.

My TT pace is 170 to 175 but I think, from observations I've made, that I can add around 10 beats for running at the same level of RPE. Due to physically carrying your body mass in running? Or just because I'm an untrained runner?

Anyway 180 feels good for the run.

It drops a little for the TT on the sea wall after the beach.

Up again for the demands of the forest.

A little microrecovery on the asphalt at the start of each lap.

Looking at the 4 laps together. The 1st lap is a little sluggish. So I wonder if I warmed up well enough.

Mmmm

Andy
 
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There is a delay for some reason before he gets right in the zone?

I would imagine power will be all over the place in CX?

The delay is probably because he spent the first lap or so being held up in the pack.

When I run on a beach it's the Baywatch theme song in my head that gets my heart rate up. Might be different for you.
 
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