# North Boulder Park Criterium



## Campbelllevy (Apr 24, 2008)

Hi everyone, just curious to see if any RBR members are planning on racing in the North Boulder Park Criterium on Sunday. I am going to be down in Denver from Aspen and I think I'm going to give it a go.


----------



## SlowBikeRacer (Nov 7, 2005)

I'm racing the Boulder Roubaix on Saturday. DBCEvents.com
Probably just watching the NBP Crit after racing Saturday.


----------



## godot (Feb 3, 2004)

Good luck at B-R, it's going to be a mess.


----------



## Campbelllevy (Apr 24, 2008)

godot said:


> Good luck at B-R, it's going to be a mess.


Give me the lowdown if you would...not real worried to be quite honest, as I plan to be in the first third without a doubt...


----------



## godot (Feb 3, 2004)

The B-R route is mostly dirt roads, except for the stretch on Nelson Rd. It's been raining all day today, and is forecast to rain all weekend. Just going to be a sloppy race.


----------



## Sherpa23 (Nov 5, 2001)

I wish I were healthy enough to risk it. It's a fun course. What category are you going to race?


----------



## Campbelllevy (Apr 24, 2008)

Thought you were talking about the Crit originally...Pretty scared of a Roubaix type race, as I just got a new Look bike with Sram Red, and not really looking to go the rainy/muddy route just yet with it.

I am going to race Cat 4 in the Crit.


----------



## Sherpa23 (Nov 5, 2001)

The crit that you'll really want to do is the HART crit next Sunday. Great race and definitely worth the drive. The NBP is a good little race but I like the courses that have some rise to them a lot.

Good luck on Sunday. B-R tomorrow does look like it's going to be messy. The cross guys are probably getting hard ons just thinking about it.


----------



## shongalola (Nov 2, 2005)

B-R was super messy and a bone rattler. The guys that brought their full CX setups to play got shelled. Still a roadie's course. I did see one crash as someone avoided potholes, and another when someone hit a pothole and shattered his steer tube. Ouch.


----------



## godot (Feb 3, 2004)

good on you to get out there, it was pretty miserable all over the front range yesterday.


----------



## Sherpa23 (Nov 5, 2001)

Campbelllevy said:


> Hi everyone, just curious to see if any RBR members are planning on racing in the North Boulder Park Criterium on Sunday. I am going to be down in Denver from Aspen and I think I'm going to give it a go.



So how did it go?


----------



## Campbelllevy (Apr 24, 2008)

Sherpa,
It went well, I was actually surprised by how many strong riders showed up; although, I should not have been surprised since a lot of good cyclists seem to call Boulder home. I finished 14th of 30. I was in the top group the entire race, but got cut off on the last lap and wasn't able to make up the time in the final distance, which was really disapointing because the final stretch allowed for a huge sprint run-up to the finish. 

I am going to make the trek down from Aspen to do the Hart Crit next weekend though, thanks for telling me about it - it sounds like a pretty awesome race.


----------



## shongalola (Nov 2, 2005)

definitely one of the best crits in the front range. Always fast and safe. Nice work Campbell. 
For me it was domestique day but did get to play with DFleck up front a little and bring back some breaks. Then someone turned on a sprinkler and watered the turn into the alley. nice.


----------



## Sherpa23 (Nov 5, 2001)

Campbelllevy said:


> Sherpa,
> It went well, I was actually surprised by how many strong riders showed up; although, I should not have been surprised since a lot of good cyclists seem to call Boulder home. I finished 14th of 30. I was in the top group the entire race, but got cut off on the last lap and wasn't able to make up the time in the final distance, which was really disapointing because the final stretch allowed for a huge sprint run-up to the finish.
> 
> I am going to make the trek down from Aspen to do the Hart Crit next weekend though, thanks for telling me about it - it sounds like a pretty awesome race.


Nice. Were you just too far back or was there a gap? Also, how long was the race? Glad you'll do the HART race. It should be pretty fun. BTW, guys go to races all over the front range and Colorado, not just their neighbourhood. Consequently, pretty much all of those guys will be at HART as well so try to remember who was good.


----------



## Campbelllevy (Apr 24, 2008)

No gap, I still finished in the lead group, but I actually got cut off by a rider (I won't go into details - but this guy had obviously never raced a crit) on the first corner of the last lap, I almost went down really hard, but was able to regain my composure; unfortunately, by the time I regained and got riding again I was at the back of the main group, and I began sprinting to catch up on the second longest straight-away, which was down a thin alley (think 10 feet wide), where passing was tough, as at the end of the alley was a hard left turn followed by another S-turn, then one long left turn followed by the final straight-away. I was able to pass a number of people in the final sprint, but was not near the front any longer, but still in the main group.

Surprising actually, there was a one-man break that stayed away for virtually the entire race, and we caught him on the last lap. A pretty cool note on this race, every lap had mini-prizes, so whoever led the lap won prizes as the race progressed. 

I raced Cat 4, which was a 40 minute race. That alley-way turn was sketchy to say the least, there was a small amount of water running during our race, and you hit it going like 25 mph with a hard out-of -the-saddle sprint immediately following.


----------



## fleck (Mar 25, 2005)

shongalola said:


> definitely one of the best crits in the front range. Always fast and safe. Nice work Campbell.
> For me it was domestique day but did get to play with DFleck up front a little and bring back some breaks. Then someone turned on a sprinkler and watered the turn into the alley. nice.


that was a tough race. In fact, i think the work on the front was easier then being 7+ riders back. SOOO much slinky action if you weren't up there. Nabbed a prime and that was about the highlight of the day for me. 1 to go through the finish and i got boxed in. Groups came around left and right and poof, go from 5th wheel to 25th. :mad2: 
from there the race was set, the turns on the back side prevented moving up more then a position or two. faught up to 15th by the end but some clods in the middle had allowed major gaps and by the time we came around the last corner the front was already well ahead.

no upgrade for me this year. Might work from my teamates at HART on sunday and look to 09 to hopefully move on up... (need 10 more points and can't make the Deer Trail2)


----------



## Campbelllevy (Apr 24, 2008)

Yeah, it was a tough race overall. I thought I'd do better than 15th, as I won the last crit here in Aspen (and the competition is fairly ridiculous up here), and also a previous road race. I have a buddy trying to convince me to enter the Eldora Escape Mtn Bike Race on Sunday, so we'll see about the HART crit...It is much easier to get to for me, so maybe just end up doing the crit. 

Agree with Fleck on North Boulder Crit, if you weren't in the top 8-10 people going into the final turn, you might as well just sit up...


----------

