{"id":2783,"date":"2017-03-20T22:13:54","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T13:13:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2017-03-20\/2783"},"modified":"2017-03-20T22:13:54","modified_gmt":"2017-03-20T13:13:54","slug":"watching-my-first-cycling-road-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2017-03-20\/2783","title":{"rendered":"Watching My First Cycling Road Race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 150mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRace<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I saw my first cycling road race yesterday, a small<\/span> local affair. Road racing is quite a bit<\/span> different\nthan the only other kind of bicycle racing I've seen, cyclocross<\/a>, so\nit was a great<\/span> experience.<\/p>\n\n\n

The races yesterday were \u300c\u7b2c5\u56de\u5b88\u5c71\u91ce\u6d32\u5ddd<\/span>\u30af\u30ea\u30c6\u30ea\u30a6\u30e0\u300d, the fifth Moriyama City Yasugawa River\nCriterium, with short races all day over a loop<\/span> on closed-off public roads.<\/p>\n\n

It was a 32km (20mi) ride to get there, so I left with<\/span> some friends from Kyoto early, to arrive in time\nto watch some other friends race.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nSC-02H at an effective 26mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>5500 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 50 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nEn Route<\/span>\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nSC-02H at an effective 21mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1700 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 50 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I brought my Nikon D4 and big Nikkor 70<\/span>-200\/2.8<\/a>, schlepped in a backpack,<\/span>\nso I don't<\/span> have shots of the uneventful-anyway ride there.<\/p>\n\n

I had researched the event the previous day, and taking into account the course, what roads would be closed, good vantage for\nphotography, etc. I picked<\/span> a spot<\/span> that gave me easy access to riders at two opposite sides of the loop.<\/p>\n\n

We arrived while the first race was going on, and so I used<\/span> the opportunity to practice with the camera...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBreak-Away Leader<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPack Follows Behind<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nSC-02H at an effective 26mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2800 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 50 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nMe in Action<\/span>\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHuge Lead<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

This particular race was 12 laps around the 2.2km (1.4mi) loop, so I had<\/span> plenty of opportunity to try\ndifferent approaches.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 220 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I think this guy went on to win by a 20<\/span>-second margin.<\/p>\n\n

The second race of the day was the one I came<\/span> to watch, a pairs<\/span> time trial\nwhere teams of two riders start at 15-second intervals, racing against the clock for three laps (taking about 11~12 minutes).<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nSC-02H at an effective 21mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 50 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nIonut and Stephanie<\/span>\nin orange\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

We've seen both Ionut (pronounce yo-notes<\/i>) and Stephanie on my blog in the past,\nStephanie here<\/a>,\nhere<\/a>,\nand here<\/a>, and Ionut\nhere<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

They were to be the second team to start, so I was<\/span> down at my spot waiting with the camera.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 280 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFirst Team<\/span>\nhusband and wife\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 170mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 280 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSecond Team<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFourth Team<\/span>\nHiguchi-san and Oyama-san\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I also knew that Higuchi-san (the lady in the shot above) would be riding this race. Manseki and I did<\/span>\na ride<\/span><\/a> with her last year, and I often<\/span> stop by a cafe<\/span>\nwhere she works on the way home from a ride.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Higuchi-san had mentioned that the sixth team was strong, so I watched<\/span> out for them as well...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 220 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSixth Team<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

It's much easier to ride directly in the slipstream behind someone, rather than being forced to push through the air all by\nyourself. When both riders in the team are of comparable strength, they'll take turns at the front, but in these male\/female\npairs, generally the man rides in front the whole time, allowing the woman to go much faster than she would on her own, thereby\nallowing the team as whole to finish more quickly.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 180 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHalf a Lap<\/span> Done<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 140 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 120mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 1250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The difference in posture among the three pairs is striking, with the final pair\nin a much<\/span> more aero posture. They clearly had experience doing this.<\/p>\n\n

Not only is the individual position of each rider on the bike important, but even more-so\nhow closely tucked in the second rider is to the first, to take maximum advantage of the draft. In my limited<\/span> experience, it's difficult to stay tucked in closely, especially on a course<\/span>\nlike this where the road rises and falls and turns. If the front<\/span> rider is too strong out\nof a turn<\/span> or up an incline, the second rider is dropped and draft is destroyed. If the first<\/span>\nrider is not strong enough, the whole team goes slower than they need to. I suppose<\/span> they\nneed a lot<\/span> of communication and experience to stay tightly in sync.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nNot Quite Tight<\/span>\nbut still getting a benefit of the draft\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 80mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTight<\/span>\nthis pair worked as one\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOne of the Male-Male Teams<\/span>\na different race, but running at the same time\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 90mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 450 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nVery Aero<\/span>\nit's as uncomfortable as it look, but is fast\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nNot so Areo<\/span>\nbut having a grand time\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

One more comparison of the three teams I was<\/span> watching:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 160mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 280 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

She's so far back in that last photo that she's not getting any benefit from the draft.<\/p>\n\n

It seems clear who's in their first race and who seems to have a lot<\/span> of experience. I shudder<\/span> to think what I'd look like. Maybe next year I'll enter and we'll find out.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 360 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nConsistently Tight Formation<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFinal Sprint<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 140 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAll Done<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nSC-02H at an effective 26mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1400 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 50 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nStephanie and Ionut<\/span>\nwin eggs for third place\nphoto by Manseki Kanemitsu<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Stephanie and Ionut got third place, which is pretty darn good for their first race. (Stephanie has a long<\/span> history of solo\ntriathlons, but I think<\/span> this was her first pair time trial.) Their prize was a dozen<\/span> eggs each.<\/p>\n\n

The pair whose form I liked came in second place and won gyoza. Amazingly, for all their better form,\ntheir time was only two seconds faster per lap (6 seconds overall) than Ionut and Stephanie, which just goes\nto show how strong Ionut and Stephanie are to begin with.<\/p>\n\n

I never saw the team that won, probably because they started in a slot<\/span> that put them opposite the teams I was<\/span> watching.\nThey won by a 35<\/span>-second margin.<\/p>\n\n

While milling around after the race, I noticed<\/span> (and immediately respected) this guy:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 360 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMan of the Year<\/span>\nlittle girl is so happy because she has the world's most cool daddy\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

There were still races all day, but I'd seen what I came<\/span> for, so I headed<\/span>\noff to explore some nearby mountains, but I'll leave that for another post.<\/p>\n\n

Continued here...<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I saw my first cycling road race yesterday, a small local affair. Road racing is quite a bit different than the only other kind of bicycle racing I've seen, cyclocross, so it was a great experience.<\/p>

The races yesterday were \u300c\u7b2c5\u56de\u5b88\u5c71\u91ce\u6d32\u5ddd\u30af\u30ea\u30c6\u30ea\u30a6\u30e0\u300d, the fifth Moriyama City Yasugawa River Criterium, with short races all day over a loop on closed-off public roads.<\/p>

It was a 32km (20mi) ride to get there, so I left with some friends from Kyoto early, to arrive in time to watch some other friends race.<\/p>

I brought my Nikon D4 and big Nikkor 70-200\/2.8, schlepped in a [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,1,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2783"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2783\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}