Velo-City Chicago, May 21, 2011
(flier courtesy of Cyclehawk, photos courtesy of Eric Day)
All right people! The time has come! Velodromes all around us are opening up and the early season urge to hang out in damp, cold fields for a night is overtaking all of us. What better way to relay that feeling than doing it on a sunny (hopefully) Saturday afternoon in Kenosha?
The weekend starts off right with a little Downtown Shakedown on Friday night, May 20. Meet at Daley at 7PM to get a piece of that action. Bring $5 as it will go towards the NYC tix.
Saturday has plenty o' racing shootin' for the 1PM - 5PM time slot up at the Washington Park Bowl in Kenosha, WI. The bus departs at 11 AM. We've got a good amount of room so far. Those with automobiles that feel they could offer a ride, please come through to Pickens-Kane (Green and Kinzie) and you can park in the lot and join the bus if demand isn't too high.
The categories are broken into your traditional categories: Male messer Female messer Male non-mess Female non-mess
Women's fields have been combined in the past. We could end up doing that again.
This event list is designed to give you participants and fans a taste of the classics of the track. We will offer a tutorial on each race throughout the week. Be aware that it is subject to change!
1) Sprint
Seeded at random. 2-ups, 3-ups, 4-ups. One-offs, not best of 3. There will be a repechage
2) 15-25 lap Scratch (TBD)
First to cross the line after said amount of laps is the winner. Guts on a breakaway or confidence in your sprint? You decide.
3) Miss-n-out
The last wheel across the line of each lap is pulled. Once it gets down to three riders there are no further eliminations and it essentially becomes a two lap scratch.
4) 30 lap points
A track classic. Always a feature, usually final event. Every x number of laps there will be a sprint to garner points. Distance trumps points. If anyone is beast enough to gain a lap on another racer then they will be scored on a tier above that person. This also applies to anyone that laps the field (majority of riders) vs. anyone that might not have been in the field but might not have "gained a lap".
Stay tuned for more details on possible exhibition events. Such as a Kierin with a pace bike over derny. ALSO an Australian Pursuit for all you tough as nails SOB's! Cash prizes going out for that one!
Awards ceremony will be held at the track. The top Male and Female messenger in the omnium (cumulative) results will get tickets to New York City to compete for the big tickets to Poland and the CMWC 2011!! Of course there are plenty of other bits and gifts to give out to errbody else. Don't be surprised if you come up ill prepared to race and get something. Or else come on up to hang out! Get your chill on, your sip on, get sun-kissed and get really good burgers and shakes from neighboring drive-ins. It's all good! It's Kenosha, people! It's a beautiful place!
There may or may not be a suggested donation to participate. Any money left on the table will go toward the CMWC 2012. Stay tuned for more updates. Check out some local media on last year's event to get pumped again!
!! HOPE TO SEE YOU SATURDAY !!