TD'12 Race Discussion

[Pooh]

It will be a real shame if this all comes down to a mechanical with the finishing line in sight.

Agreed, but maybe bad luck was all that could've separated them?  Mean time Ollie's spot hasn't moved for 30mins+ in the middle of nowhere just north of Pietown.  Hopefully just a tracking glitch.

[spcabin75]

It is always the little things, that derail goals set for the greatest achievements.   Craig still has a victory within reach, but only if Ollie also has some unforeseen mechanical, health or weather related issue.

Second place with such a scintillating pace in the most challenging of all MB races; How outstanding!  One day of his race would be a great achievement for me.

[elobeck]

Oh no! I hate to see a mechanical become the deciding factor over athleticism.
Hope he gets it sorted in some fashion.
The finish line might be "in sight" but those are deceivingly hard, hot miles.

C'mon Craig, go McGyver skills!

Lance Armstrong waited for Jan Ullrich........

but thats road bike racing....

[Firedog62]

Looks like Ollie's just about in Pie Town. It's a 6 hour 70 mile plus gap. Lets see if Craig can pull something out tonight

[mikepro]

It will be a real shame if this all comes down to a mechanical with the finishing line in sight.

Agreed. But let's not get hasty here.  Like fullyloaded says, there's still 300+tough miles South of Pie Town through the Gila.

"Finish line in sight" is more applicable to Silver City then Grants.  I still give Mr. Stappler a good chance of making up all 60 miles.

[RonDog]

Eszter is just entering NM and it seems her pace may have dropped. She has some tough miles to put in tonight too. Go Eszter, zoom.

[pedalingkiwi]

Seems like Ollie has been lucky - but then in races like this good preparation & gear testing contributes a lot towards the 'luck' one has .... go you good thing.

I guess if Craig can get his pedal sorted and then do an even better time from Grants to the finish than Ollie manages then that will suggest he could have at very least stayed with him. He will have had more rest / time off the bike, but I'm sure nervous energy & frustration regarding the mechanical will have sapped the potential value of that, depending on Craig's mental make up. And how hard can Ollie go, knowing Craig is a-comin?? WooHoo, what a 'finish'.

Tried (without success) to upload some pics of Ollie here in his current home town (he's actually a Nelson native) He doesn't just ride bikes good, he turns up to track/trail building & club events lots, was recently seen marshaling spectators and haranguing riders at the Lyttelton Urban DH. I'm buggered if I can find my pics of him riding club champs SS with a gorilla suit on - later.

[mbeardsl]

Craig just called. His pedal is "shot". No where to get one. More than a little discouraged. Trying to figure something out.

Wonder what exactly was wrong.  I can't remember exactly what Justin had happen last year but something along the lines of the pedal not staying on it's axle so he MacGyver'ed a system where he clipped in, duct taped the pedal to his shoe, and pedalled trying to keep the pedal on it's axle that way (or something similar).  Nothing vs that vs flats - I'd take flats regardless of what I'm used to.

I was wondering about Farnsworth.  His spot has been in Steamboat for a day.  Wonder if he is chillin' there or if the spot isn't operational.

Audio from Mark's blog said he was trying to stay positive and psych himself up but his feet were so swollen he decided to stay in the 'Boat for a day or two to recover and hope to move on.  I'm hoping he gets it sorted out in time to stay competitive with Justin.  That will be a fun race.

EDIT: Audio I referenced here - http://febikes.com/2012/06/21/audio-post-25/

[spcabin75]

Note: have Giovanni and Danielo gone off course at Boreas Pass between Breckenridge and Fairly??  Hopefuly this is asimple glitch in the spot tracker.

[mbeardsl]

Note: have Giovanni and Danielo gone off course at Boreas Pass between Breckenridge and Fairly??  Hopefuly this is asimple glitch in the spot tracker.

I *think* that's the Gold Dust Trail section optional for NoBo but required for SoBo.

[bikingbakke]

All I can say is this pedal talk has my gut in knots tonight.  Too bad really.  Craig is McGyverish so I'm sure something will work out.  He's a gear fanatic, was using mainly new and proven parts, and had XTR pedals.  I guess I wouldn't have thought that'd be the weak link at the end of the day either.  Crossing fingers for something that can amount to an exciting, rather than heartbreaking, finish.

[mikepro]

I *think* that's the Gold Dust Trail section optional for NoBo but required for SoBo.

Unfortunately, the tracker shows them taking the FS road down of the pass and not Gold Dust trail.  The red line follows Gold Dust.

[AmyL]

Note: have Giovanni and Danielo gone off course at Boreas Pass between Breckenridge and Fairly??  Hopefuly this is asimple glitch in the spot tracker.

They are now stopped at the Como Depot, where they are likely to learn that they missed the turn.  We'll find out soon (after dinner?) whether they ride back to correct the mistake.

[mikepro]

Eszter is just entering NM and it seems her pace may have dropped. She has some tough miles to put in tonight too. Go Eszter, zoom.

Not just for EH, but for several other riders showing unusually slower days today compared to consistent pace of previous days: I'm guessing heat is taking a toll (in addition to the wear and tear of blazing the route so far).  It looks warm out there.

There's also an interesting "move" a little ways back for the 13th place where I see Georg Deck now 3+ hours up on RB and MI, whereas he was consistently an hour back of them since Lima.  I'm rooting for the 45 yr old German.  Seems like a nice, well-prepared guy, and making good time.

And the tandem ... they were only 2 hrs off the tandem record pace back in Silverthorne, but that gap was back to 16+ hours by Del Norte.

[adelorenzo]

Hard to know what is happening but I would think at this point I would happily buy an entire bike just for the pedals, along with some skate shoes, and just try to get to to the finish line. Hope he figures something out!

[mbeardsl]

So this could be the last stop for the leaders... interesting to see what the tactics will be.  CS making it a full stop and not just a mechanical repair in order to hit the full 280 to the border, hoping to leapfrog OW at some point along the way?  Or does he think OW won't stop so no way to catch him now?

OW doing the same thing, catching one last big meal in Pie Towna dn taking a good nap to hit the final 205 in one fell swoop?  Or thinking CS is right behind him and too stressed with looking over his shoulder to fully relax and recover before the final push?

[cousinmosquito]

I can imagine if I was doing the TD and I fell asleep, and awoke in a town called Pie Town, I'd probably think I died and went to heaven.
Pies. Hmmmmmmmm.

[RobD(NZ)]

Good golly Ollie Whalley!
Not that you will be reading this but...
Go you good thing!

[cousinmosquito]

Good golly Ollie Whalley!
Not that you will be reading this but...
Go you good thing!

Yeah! Pies AND the internet would definitely be heaven.

[MCR]

So this could be the last stop for the leaders... interesting to see what the tactics will be.  CS making it a full stop and not just a mechanical repair in order to hit the full 280 to the border, hoping to leapfrog OW at some point along the way?  Or does he think OW won't stop so no way to catch him now?

OW doing the same thing, catching one last big meal in Pie Towna dn taking a good nap to hit the final 205 in one fell swoop?  Or thinking CS is right behind him and too stressed with looking over his shoulder to fully relax and recover before the final push?

I'm wondering if CS's spot tracker is "somehow not working" right now. That dot is pretty old...