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| Davidsons. |
Brad
is glad
Phote Credit: Christopher Garvey 2015
he had
some time to race cyclocross
this year.
Brad is not doing too bad,
either.
Catted up from the C's in September,
Brad Davidson was able to experience racing near the front for the first part of the Cross Season, and has not moved back in the pack much in the new upgraded category of Bs.
In his zeal and focus, Brad has even stepped up to advocate within the peloton for positive changes to the rules effecting new racers like himself.
Take a look at a few of Mr. Davidson's words:
Brad Davidson - October 9, 2015 at 4:01 PM
Unlike
the Crusade call-up points schedule which is apparently fixed-depth,
the upgrade points schedule varies by race type and field size:
http://www.obra.org/upgrade_rules.html#cyclocross
... but yeah, it would be nice if the upgrade points list existed somewhere outside Candi's spreadsheet, like maybe at the bottom of the user page where it lists your category?
http://www.obra.org/upgrade_rules.html#cyclocross
... but yeah, it would be nice if the upgrade points list existed somewhere outside Candi's spreadsheet, like maybe at the bottom of the user page where it lists your category?
Not sure it'd help the immediate
issue though, which stems from folks earning call-up points and then
getting upgraded. There's been a lot of list chatter about the whole
upgrade/series points/call-up issue with no clear solution other than
just drinking a beer and trying not to think about it too much.
Brad Davidson - September 30, 2015 at 3:31 PM
I
don't think a rule change is necessary. I get why promoters want to do
things like leader jerseys and series podiums - it's fun to be
recognized and rewarded for your skill - but look at how that's worked
out for GPRM. I'm just a lowly B newbie, but it feels like everyone
who's received a leader jersey in a lower category has been upgraded in
short order - sometimes before they even get a chance to wear it in a
race.
The long and short of it is that
you don't get to win much, and I think that's how it's intended to be.
Just a few podiums and you are kicked up to the next category. If you're
good, and racing even half of what's available in the Portland metro
area, that can happen in just a week or two. If promoters kept that in
mind, it might feel a little bit less like folks are getting punished
for their success.
Category B has been pretty good to me so far, all things
considered. I've been doing better in the weekly series than at Cross
Crusade, where (unless you have a call-up) much is dependent on when
you're picked to line up. Lots of crashes and early-race slowdowns if
you're at the back of the chute. Even so, there's been some fun
back-and-forth battles with folks, people are starting to recognize me
and come up to chat after races, etc. At this point I'm hoping to spend a
year or more in B to build some sort of continuity. I've got another 2
years before I'm eligible for any of the Masters 35+ categories.
