Race Rep…Actually, I Don’t Even Talk About the Race....I Merely Bitch: USGP Mercer Cup 2009

So, I have been taking a hiatus from complaining on this blog. Rosey has pointed out that I have a tendency to find the negative even in great situations. This post represents my return to negativity, so if you are not into it...move on.

Problems that I had with the Mercer Cup USGP:

1. The registration line was super long. In practice they had one person signing in all category. This is supposed to be one of the biggest races on the east coast, Couldn’t they try to do at least as good a job as our local promoters?

2. The line was so long because they were handing out triathlon style transponders. Seriously.

3. Transponders are the solution to a problem that does not exist in a well-run cyclocross race. When’s the last time that you heard of someone who skipped a lap and got a win? Even when a few oddities have happened, the result was corrected quickly and amicably. If you try to say that they could come in handy for a photo finish, I can point out that it is the front most part of the bike (tire) that determines whether you win a sprint, the transponder was supposed to be strapped to your ankle.

4. Even with the transponders, results were posted without finishing times, even for the elites.

5. You were responsible for the transponder. If you failed to return it, you’d be billed for the price of a new one, $109. My transponder was far from new. Like cyclocross racers doesn’t have enough shit to worry about before and after a filthy race.

a. Furthermore and perhaps worst of all, they gave you no receipt when you returned the transponder. If the promoter claims that I didn’t return the damn thing and decides to bill me, I have almost no recourse.

6. They mowed the grass the day before the race, which is awesome. They didn’t pick up or rake the cut grass off of the course. Not awesome. The combination of wet conditions and the clods of grass clogged drivetrains, wheels, brakes, pedals and cranks. $1000’s of dollars worth of components were destroyed because the promoters didn’t properly prep the course.

a. I guess that I can accept this level of course prep at a local grassroots race, but this it USGP!

b. And if you want to argue that it would cost too much to rake the grass up, they should have cut the stupid transponders out of the budget and pocketed half that money and spent the other half to pay to have the course raked.

c. Also, half the staff was walking around in custom embroidered USGP weatherproof clothing. That likely cost 10 times what proper course prep would have. Nothing like having your staff look pro while your course is not even prepped as well as a local race.

d. If you say that they had no way of knowing that the weather would cause this sort of a grassy mess, I want to point out that they have been running this race for 3 years at the same venue and most prior years there has been similar conditions.

7. On Saturday, during the B Men’s Start the last of the B women finishers were still on the course, in the starting straightaway! 100+ keyed up men had to sprint into and around women who had just finished racing. Obviously this caused a couple of crashes, one of which ruined my Saturday race. This was the most bush league start I have ever been involved with. beyond amateur. After I complained to someone else, I was told that this has happened in previous years at Mercer.

8. Staging order in the B race was strictly based on registration order. This made for an unsafe start, as serious contenders who registered late had to fight their way through slower riders who had no chance of placing high. For instance, I started in 65th both days and I finished 25th and 18th respectively, which means that I passed 40 riders during my race. Most of these passes took place during the starting sprint and it was sketchy. I’m not saying that I should have had a call up, but they should find a better way to decide staging order (use standings in big local series’ or maybe crossresults.com points). The data to come up with a more logical staging order is freely available on the internets.

9. The course was bland and featureless. If it hadn’t rained, this would have been the most boring race of the season. Actually, even with the rain and mud the course was pretty boring. No elevation change, no interesting chicanes, few off cambers. It was mostly long straight sections broken up with wide turns. Just a power slog. Boring. Since I don’t give a shit about USGP, I won’t be traveling to this race next year to race their featureless course.

10. The B race was at 9:30 am. I am not sure why they did this but it sucked. It meant that out of towners definitely had to stay over in NJ on Friday as well as Saturday, which increases the price of the trip and the hassle significantly. The early start created all sorts of headaches for teams that have up and coming B riders as well as elites. Some elites had to be at the venue as early as 7:45, since that is when their team vehicles were going over (if a B rider wanted a preride, they had to do it before 8:30.

11. The B race was “40 minutes,” which translated to 4 laps. Most people were doing sub 10 minute laps, so the race was likely shorter than billed, closer to the length of a C race. Actually I don’t know how long the races took since they never posted times with the results! Even in the hellish conditions, the races felt short.

12. Overall, at every opportunity the promoters made it known that they were not concerned with the quality of racing for the lower categories. The attitude of “only the elites matter” permeated the whole event. There was no overt disrespect, but a few times when I had basic questions, like about a bike wash station on Saturday morning, I was told that it was definitely available for Pros, but only maybe for a B racer. Obviously there were exceptions, like SRAM neutral support who are always helpful and respectful even when you have crazy questions or requests.

Positives:

1. Overall, I enjoyed the trip. I traveled with Cary (who beat me both days), Bradshaw (rode well in the Elites) and Dave Chui (who shuttled us around all weekend and took 2nd in the hole shot on Saturday)

2. We ate well. Malaga in Trenton had great paella and Vincent’s had a fried and sugared zeppolini’s that were worth a separate drive to ഞ

3. Hanging out with the Philly crew is always fun and it was a highlight this weekend

4. Watching Tim Johnson tear the course to shreds on Sunday, hanging it all out on every corner, while trouncing Ryan Trebon was great.

Going south to race really helps me appreciate how great we have it in New England. Our races are well run, cat 4’s are usually are made to feel welcome and wanted. Many of our courses are world class and challenging, even on a dry day. I’m glad that I am doing some local racing next weekend.