Pearl izumi tour series

[jack smith]

anyone been following it? I went today to marshal at durham and i was utterly dissapointed, i got put on the wrong side of a blind corner even after being assured i could watch the race, so i moved to the start finish area, the first few amatur races were good but the actual pro race was naff.
A few riders simply gave in and didnt bother completing it more notably team wiggins. Who also looked like they didnt want to be there anyway.
Now i rode the course and can say it wasnt anything too difficult, a small cobbled climb was the worst bit and im no pro, just a big dissapointment allround really, the reward for helping was supposed to be a treat from the sponsors and all i got was a tiny waterbottle and a pair of size 4.5 socks for standing in the freezing rain For 6 hours.

 

[Hacienda71]

They are crits. Short circuit racing you can't really expect long climbs. It is fast and furious if you go off the back of the pack you're gone hence people rolling around the course. The last two televised highlights were good. Clancey showed his power on the flat and Kristian House (Thoroughly nice guy) in Scotland rode away from the rest brilliantly the guy is a hitter.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

I went today to marshal at durham and i was utterly dissapointed, i got put on the wrong side of a blind corner even after being assured i could watch the race, so i moved to the start finish area.

Good to see your commitment. Not. People volunteer to put something back, not to get something for nowt you twat.

 

[arch684]

I was at Motherwell on tuesday to watch the tour series and enjoyed ever race

 

[jack smith]

I wasnt expecting long climbs i was just saying the course wasnt too difficult so it was abit annoying to watch people just roll around and give up.

 

[172traindriver]

anyone been following it? I went today to marshal at durham and i was utterly dissapointed, i got put on the wrong side of a blind corner even after being assured i could watch the race, so i moved to the start finish area, the first few amatur races were good but the actual pro race was naff.
A few riders simply gave in and didnt bother completing it more notably team wiggins. Who also looked like they didnt want to be there anyway.
Now i rode the course and can say it wasnt anything too difficult, a small cobbled climb was the worst bit and im no pro, just a big dissapointment allround really, the reward for helping was supposed to be a treat from the sponsors and all i got was a tiny waterbottle and a pair of size 4.5 socks for standing in the freezing rain For 6 hours.

Why didn't you do what we always do in Redditch and go and watch it if you want to see the action. As it is free there is no need to try to find a way of getting into watch it for free.

 

[jack smith]

I didn't want to try to get in free I genuinely wanted to help out.

 

[172traindriver]

I didn't want to try to get in free I genuinely wanted to help out.

Fair play to you.
Regarding your comments about some of the riders not being interested is a bit unfair on them. For example at Redditch after 3 laps Steven Burke of Team Wiggins was well dropped and lapped by 5 laps, to someone with no knowledge he would seem pretty crap. Google his palmares (olympic gold medalist) and see if he is that crap. He is a fantastic track rider, but not suited to criterium riding, even Steel Van Hoff Australian national criterium champion and world tour team rider (Garmin) from last year isn't setting the series on fire
Don't forget they were averaging 30mph for an hour at Motherwell. You should try riding in the company of even the poorest riders and their speed with pottering is frightening.

 

[jowwy]

Coming onto a cycling forum like billy big balls and criticising professional bike riders, that can average 30mph in crit races.

I sincerely hope your the next big thing in british cycling and not just a keyboard warrior of the lowest kind....

What a doosh

 

[jack smith]

Wow thanks for that im entitled to my own opinion thanks im mainly criticizing the overall orgenisation of the event.
As for the riders giving up ... none of the other races saw riders giveup and they were pushing it as hard as they could and you could tell, there was also a small local team competing with the pros and not one of them gave in and the kept up too. Im just saying its abit of a lack of sportsmanship. Im not trying to be billy big balls at all. nor do i wan to be big in cycling

 

[zizou]

Courses might seem 'easy' taken at a steady pace but its a different story in a race, its not the average speed that make it difficult either its the sprinting out of every corner. It takes it out of you on a flat course never mind with some climbs. Durham looks bloody hard for a crit.

As for Team Wiggins, its training for them rather than a targetted event like it is for many of the other teams.

 

[jack smith]

I understand totally durham is a hard circuit to race for over an hour but the determination was on the faces of lesser riders who im sure were putting in just as much effort if not more than the pro's. It was nice to see the youngsters race it too before the main race about 50 kids raced it some as young as 5

 

[oldroadman]

Let's see now, 350 metres over pave, narrow, dead turn at the foot of the 10% average climb. Add in another sharp rise, repeat at 2 minute intervals about 32/33 times, average 45+kph. Throw in a few sprint laps, understand that the Tour Series works as a team competition. All easy. Organisation manage to get 10 town centres or close closed, spend huge sums on logistics and top quality personnel, provide free entertainment and arrange coverage on ITV4 + Eurosport. All simple and easy, both for riders, team personnel, organisation. The amateur riders in support events on average laps about 8 kph slower for about 30 minutes. best just go spectate, try to understand what's going on (all on the websites) and try to enjoy professionals putting on a good show at high speed.

 

[themosquitoking]

i'm going to the Croydon one next week.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

All well and good, but he really wanted to help...