{"id":2790,"date":"2017-04-03T09:19:45","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T00:19:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2017-04-03\/2790"},"modified":"2017-04-03T09:19:45","modified_gmt":"2017-04-03T00:19:45","slug":"moriyama-criterium-the-category-4-races","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2017-04-03\/2790","title":{"rendered":"Moriyama Criterium: The Category-4 Races"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n

This is the final installment about the races introduced earlier in\n“<\/span>Watching My First Cycling Road Race<\/a>”<\/span>, cycling races held on closed streets in Moriyama, Shiga, Japan, about an hour's drive northeast from Kyoto.<\/p>\n\n

After the “<\/span>youth races<\/a>”<\/span> were some “<\/span>C4”<\/span> races, races for\ninexperienced riders (or riders who are experienced but slow). If I were<\/span> to ever try a race,<\/span> I'd start<\/span> in “<\/span>C4”<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

This event broke C4 into three different races: “<\/span>C4H”<\/span> for men above\na certain<\/span> age (40?), “<\/span>C4L”<\/span> for men below the\ncertain age, and “<\/span>C4W”<\/span> for women.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 110 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nC4H Rolling Start<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

As before, I situated myself at a pinch<\/span> point in the course loop, so I could<\/span> catch them twice during each loop.\nSometime during the first loop, the motorcycle pulls away and the race is on.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nComedian on the Backstretch<\/span>\nfolks seem to be laughing at something the guy at far right is saying\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\u6ce2\u591a\u91ce\u4e00\u9686<\/span>\u3055\u3093<\/span>\nKazutaka Hatano\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Kazutaka Hatano, whom I would meet a week<\/span> later on my “<\/span>bullet train view ride”<\/span><\/a>,\nwas in this race, and I happened<\/span> to catch some photos of him.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 120mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nField Getting Strung Out<\/span>\nduring the second of four laps\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 130mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHatano-san Near the Front<\/span>\nI'm at a loss to explain how or why he put himself here\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

As I discussed in the first installment<\/a>, it's much<\/i> more efficient\nto draft behind someone than to be the leader, who is essentially an “<\/span>air plow”<\/span> for those smart enough to follow close enough\nbehind. I've never raced so my understanding is in theory and not practice, but generally one doesn't want to be the leader until\nthe last seconds of the race, camping behind others conserving energy until releasing all the pent-up savings in a final<\/span> explosive\nsprint to the finish.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 90mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n“<\/span>Won't Someone Come Up and Lead?”<\/span><\/span>\nwhat I imagine the guy in black thinking as he finds himself in front\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 360 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCartoonish Processing<\/span>\njust playing around in Lightroom\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 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBack in an Efficient Spot<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\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>\/5.6, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSprint Finish<\/span>\n
this guy was strong enough to break away a bit<\/span> early and win by five seconds\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 280 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n“<\/span>Love Me Tender”<\/span><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFighting for Third<\/span>\nseven seconds behind the winner, and two seconds behind 2nd place\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Something strikes me odd about this photo. I know it<\/span>'s a sprint<\/span> finish and that these guys are all fighting against each other\nfor a spot<\/span> on the podium. They're giving everything they have, probably going 50~60kph (~35mph). Yet, other than the expression on\ntheir faces, there's no sense of movement or urgency in this shot. Even their body positions are not all that aggressive looking.\nJust feels odd to me.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 120mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLone Woman<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I didn't realize until it was over, but they started the women's C4 race a half<\/span> a lap<\/span> after the men's, so I totally<\/span> missed it. )-:<\/p>\n\n

Then it was time for C4L, the younger men's C4 race. Before it starts, I'll note that the winner of the older men's C4 race\n(Mr. Love Me Tender) would have placed 42nd, in the back of the pack, had he been in the C4L race.<\/p>\n\n

Ionut, who we saw riding in the pairs race with Stephanie in the first\npost<\/a>, would be in this solo C4L race as well.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 110 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nC4L Rolling Start<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 125mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 110 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nIonut Sandu<\/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>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nThe Race is On<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I said earlier that one doesn't want to be up front (except during the last few seconds of the race), but a notable<\/span> exception is\nwhen working as a team.<\/span> Two or more<\/span> riders working together might work to pave the way for the fastest sprinter to take charge\nduring the final sprint. Until then, the support riders plow the way, burning their energy in the long leadup to the finale so\nthat the sprinter can conserve.<\/p>\n\n

I don't know whether that was the plan for the rider seen leading above, but there were two others behind him with identical\njerseys, so presumably on the same team. If it was<\/span> their plan, though, it didn't work, as the fastest among the three finished\nin 30th place (which perhaps sounds much worse than it is... 30th place was five seconds behind the winner).<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nSC-02H at an effective 26mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>67000 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 400 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nMe Photographing Ionut<\/span>\nwho's in the middle of the pack during this first lap\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>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 125 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nStarting the Second Lap<\/span>\nafter a hairpin turn at the end of the long backstretch\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>\/3.2, ISO 125 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBreakaway Attempt<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Another reason to not ride behind someone is if you're so much stronger than everyone else that you can ride faster alone than\nthe others working in a group.<\/span> This “<\/span>stronger than everyone else”<\/span> thing is usually more wishful thinking than fact, so it's\ncommon to see such attempts crumble as the energy is squandered.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 140 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nIonut Smartly in a Group<\/span><\/span>\ndown the front stretch of the second lap\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

After the stretch above, the riders disappear from my view for 30 seconds or so, to reappear at the start of the long backstretch...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 180 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWhat On Earth.....?<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 150mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nIonut Leading the Pack<\/span>\nwhat on earth are you doing Ionut????\n(besides plowing the way for the earlier breakaway rider who has now returned to the fold?)<\/small>\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>\/2.8, ISO 125 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nEnough Energy to Smile<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The reaction of me and those with me was “<\/span>oh no, Ionut, what are you doing<\/i>!? Big mistake... get behind someone!”<\/span>.\nThose who had raced said that until you had experience, it was difficult to moderate oneself during the heat of the race.<\/p>\n\n

However, yet another reason one might want to be at the front of the race is to control the pace, either setting it\nfast because you think you can burn out sprinters who might be fast at the end but who don't have the endurance to keep\nup a blistering<\/span> pace for the whole race, or to keep things slow so that you yourself don't get burnt out.<\/p>\n\n

It's this final reason, to slow the pace, that Ionut later said was his plan. But we didn<\/span>'t hear that until later,\nand didn't think of it ourselves at the time, so the whole time he was in front we were cringing.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 150mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 110 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nField Getting Strung Out<\/span>\non only the second lap\n(but they're still almost all faster than me)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 125 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSpectator Shift<\/span>\nto the other side of the loop\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 125 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTactical Game<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

After the hairpin that ends the loop, there's a descent<\/span> (seen in the background above) where speeds can get quite\nhigh if someone attacks (tries to break away), so I imagine<\/span> there's a lot<\/span> of jostling for position during this section.\nIonut is finally not leading, but he's also still not drafting so the performance penalty is the same.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nIn the Lead Again<\/span>\nas his spectating friends shake their head in wonder\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>\/8, ISO 1100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nStarting the Last Lap<\/span>\nstill not drafting )-:\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In the photo above, Ionut isn't drafting, but someone is drafting him, the guy in the center of the photo\nin red and black clothes, with a GoPro<\/span> slung under his white handlebars. He posted<\/span> the video from the GoPro on\nYouTube... this link<\/a> opens the video at the spot the photo above\nwas taken; you can watch from there or move around to see the whole race or just the finish (he came in 9th,\n1.5 seconds after the winner).<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFinal Sprint<\/span>\nMr. Blue won, Mr. Red Hat came in second, and Orange Socks came in third\nBlue is Satoshi Yoshida (\u5409\u7530\u8061),<\/span> Red is Masayoshi<\/span> Hieda (\u7a17\u7530\u6b63\u4f73),<\/span> Orange is Seiya Iwata (\u5ca9\u7530\u8056\u77e2)<\/span><\/small>\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>\/4, ISO 220 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFierce Competitor<\/span>\nmiddle-schooler Seiya Iwata beating Ionut and 55 other adults\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Orange Socks — Seiya Iwata (\u5ca9\u7530\u8056\u77e2)<\/span> — is in middle school (about 14 or 15 years old) and, according to my web\nresearch, has been racing like this for a decade<\/span> longer than I've been cycling at all. He doesn't appear in any of the photos\nexcept these two at the finish because he was always tucked in behind someone, drafting, and not sitting photogenic (but inefficiently) at\nthe head of a pack.<\/span> He may well<\/span> be the most experienced rider of the group. That's not saying much for a “<\/span>C4”<\/span> race, I suppose.<\/span> One expects<\/span> that he should be moving up to “<\/span>C3”<\/span>, at least if the rules allow someone that young to do so.<\/p>\n\n

In the photo above, Ionut is at the far left. He came in<\/span> 6th place, 1.2 seconds after the winner. Full results are\npublished here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

There were, of course, higher-level races held at this event, all the way up to the semi-pro “<\/span>C1”<\/span>, but I didn't<\/span> see those races.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the final installment about the races introduced earlier in \"Watching My First Cycling Road Race\", cycling races held on closed streets in Moriyama, Shiga, Japan, about an hour's drive northeast from Kyoto.<\/p>

After the \"youth races\" were some \"C4\" races, races for inexperienced riders (or riders who are experienced but slow). If I were to ever try a race, I'd start in \"C4\".<\/p>

This event broke C4 into three different races: \"C4H\" for men above a certain age (40?), \"C4L\" for men below the certain age, and \"C4W\" for women.<\/p>

As before, I situated myself at a pinch [...]","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\/2790"}],"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=2790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2790\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}