SoCalCycling.com

yoyo · Joined: 08 Dec 2005 Posts: 20 Location: OC

i got a flyer in Arizona about the westlake vilage stage race. Please tell me it is a mistake that the entry fee will be $135 for a 2 day stage race!!!
If it is not a mistake then you (THE PRMOTER) are a highway robber, and i hope someone else will promote a race that weekend so i have another option.

GET REAL

TheSpartan · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 71

Not only that' check out the distance of the "Road Race" 21 miles! The cat V's are doing 14 miles!! I DO however appreciate the effort. I have seen 3 stages in 2 days before, the tour du pont has done it in the past. But for $120-$135? SDSR is 3 stages for $85, much better.

qtip · Joined: 23 Feb 2006 Posts: 4

It's actually $110 if you register now, but still way too much for a 3 stage event, especially when the road races are so short. From their website:

Registration Pricing is as follows:
Before April 1: $110
April 1 through April 19: $120
April 20-21st: $130

trwilkerson · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 189

from what i have been told the RR is so short because it there will be a very steep climb in it. Not sure about my source in that one, but considering where the race is being help (geographically) it is most likely the case. If that is truely the case I am sure that is why the RR distances are so short.

TheSpartan · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 71

I got a nice expensive glossy flyer too this weekend. This dude is doing a great job promoting it, and to be fair the course looks great. I still aint doing it but who knows, California has alot of racers, he may break even or make $$. If he had added another lap to the races I would have paid $100, as it I'm doing Sea Otter, SDSR and Palmdale for my stage races. Good luck to him.

sdbc · Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 51

qtip · Joined: 23 Feb 2006 Posts: 4

You've got to understand that a triathlon promoter is putting the race on. If you read the site, you can see that it is being heavily marketed to beginners and triathletes who have never road raced. He's got 5 different first timer divisions as well as a cat 5 divison. These are actual examples from the FAQ page:
Can I compete in the Road Race and Circuit Race on my Triathlon bike?

What is a peloton?

Now I have nothing against beginners or triathletes(I've done my fair share) I'm just trying to point out that this race might not be run like your typical stage race.

Also, it says "awards at least 3 deep in each category" which if also done in a triathlon-like way will be medals or plaques or something, so anybody out there looking to score some cash(especially pros), I wouldn't count on a big payday.

The cost of the race is also right in line with triathlons, actually cheaper. I bet you he actually had to be talked down from a more expensive price.

Hey, I hope it goes off well - the more races the better, but hopefully there will be plenty of people around with experience putting on bike races who will be there to ensure everything comes off ok.

sdbc · Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 51

trwilkerson · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 189

if i am not mistaken the USCF does not allow aero bars in road races, crits, or circuit races. So no the tri-geeks won't be using them except in the TT.

scottie · Joined: 28 Feb 2006 Posts: 285

think i'll be heading to CBR El Cajon. Pitty since the idea of a stage race in that area was cool BUT someone who knows how needs to be running it.

sdbc · Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 51

trwilkerson · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 189

sdbc unless you plan on sand bagging in a beginner class you have nothing to worry about do you.

Michael Epstein · Joined: 15 Mar 2006 Posts: 5

I wanted to take a moment to address some of the concerns expressed on this site for our event. First and foremost let me clear up the pricing issue. The Stage Race Entry Fee is $110.00. More importantly, numerous discounts are available, including $ 10.00 off for registering at one of our official bike shops and $15.00 for any team that sends 10 riders to the event. So our actual fee nets out to between $95 and $100.00 AND it includes a custom event T-shirt and water bottle. San Dimas is between 85 and 95 depending on the category, so we are within $5-$10 of that race. Due to the area we are using, which I believe is some of the best riding to be found, our costs (Police, Permits etc.) are extremly high and I beleive justifies the minimal cost difference.

Second - do we have categories for first timers ? - absolutley, one of our many goals is to bring new people into the sport of road racing, this increases sponsorship opportunities for everyone, including individual racers, teams and other promoters. First timers will make up less than 25% of our field and more importantly we are offering a $7500.00 cash purse to the USCF categories. We beleive this is a great start for our first year and we intend to increase it each year.

Distances - most of our distances are in line with the standards established by USCF for upgrade points and the reason some of the distances seem to be on the short side is due to the demands of the road course, which features a 1 mile climb each lap and is sure to take a toll on some riders.

Lastly, I can assure you we have a long term commitment to this race. It has taken us over 2 years to get it off the ground. We defintely are not perfect and will make a few mistakes along the way. That said I can assure that we are creating a race that you will look forward to coming to every year, with challenging courses, excellent organization and a comitment to the athletes that are competing. Our goal is to provide much more than you usually receive at an event, to make it a race that you want to bring your friends and family with you, to join in the fun. We hope you join us this year as we launch the Conquer The Canyons Westlake Village Stage Race!

Please feel free to e-mail us directly with any questions or concerns at mesp@mesp.com.

jay · Joined: 08 Jan 2006 Posts: 10

Michael... It sounds like you have a wonderful challenging course. Which is why it may be a very good idea to have the Cat. 4 Women start a minute behind the Cat. 1-3.

Challenging climbs and exciting descents are such a fantastic part of this sport... why not allow those Cat. 4 women to enjoy it without pushing them over the edge. This will also allow your Cat. 1-3 riders to feel a bit less concerned.

You are certainly not new to this and understand that there are lots of strong Cat. 4's especially those that come from the triathlete ranks but strength does not mean solid riding skills and can almost make the situation worse. You know the deal... just strong enough to be in the wrong place.

Please consider this for the safety of the women's USCF Race.

scottie · Joined: 28 Feb 2006 Posts: 285

your distances are half of most other stage races and most of us don't live near one of your bike shops nor do we have 10 or more team mates. So your fee is still about $40 above what it should be.

good luck

jdh92688 · Joined: 09 Dec 2005 Posts: 38 Location: Orange County, CA

I'm part of the San Dimas Stage Race management. I'm willing to say that I have always known MESP to put on top notch events.

qtip · Joined: 23 Feb 2006 Posts: 4

[quote]
Distances - most of our distances are in line with the standards established by USCF for upgrade points and the reason some of the distances seem to be on the short side is due to the demands of the road course, which features a 1 mile climb each lap and is sure to take a toll on some riders.
[quote]

Thanks for responding to this thread and clearing up some things. Much of what you said wasn't on the website until very recently.

Regarding the distance, a one mile climb shouldn't shorten the race that much, even if done once per loop. There are other races out there with that much climbing and more. Nelson's Landing had a 9 mile climb, for example. You could keep the ultra short distances for 1st timers and lengthen them for UCSF racers if your concern is for everyone to be able to finish as you state on the website. Also, racers wouldn't be as upset about the price being out of the norm if the road race wasn't so short.

More missing info: Will the race be chip timed for GC purposes, or will the race be scored by points(omnium style).

scottie · Joined: 28 Feb 2006 Posts: 285

i had a few private messages from the organiser and firstly i'd like to say sorry for seeming harsh in my previous posts, but he has now told me that the distances for a couple of the catagories one of which is 35+ will be made longer.

this alone now makes it a race, cause as we all know the road stage in a race like this is always the most value for money.

i think i can say thinks for quite a few people for being felxable and making the improved change

Michael Epstein · Joined: 15 Mar 2006 Posts: 5

Once Again - thanks to everyone for the comments and inputs. Unfortunately we cannot respond to or accommodate every request but here is what we have done:

Discounts - Discounts are now available to all USCF racers.

Distances - please re check the road race distances on our website - many have been recently changed (some today, some in the past 2 weeks).

Miscellaneous - No Chip Timing, Yes to Overall Time For GC (its not an omnium), Women 4 will race separately from 1's and 2's.....

jh · Joined: 05 Dec 2005 Posts: 270

I am starting to like this race.... Smile

Thank you fo rthe additional info.

JH

TheSpartan · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 71

I have not checked the website, but I cant help but respect a promoter that listens and works hard to put on class act. With the increased distances my team has said lets do it. See ya there!

trwilkerson · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 189

i thought it was a great race. The only complaint I have is that the roads for the crit were a little narrow. We only had one lane all the way around the course, and the left side was sketchy due to the cones and the speed limit signs that people kept hitting. I will be back next year. Hopefully with better legs for the RR. That was one tough course. That climb seemed to come around quicker every lap.

TheSpartan · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 71

Sorry to disagree but it wasnt that bad' we had a few bang the warning signs.....not a wide open course but it was a nice circuit. The thing that Westlake did so well, that races with much more experience fail to do is to widen the finish. The last 200 yards opened up so you had 20 guys across safely instead of 4 or 5 like SDSR or LAX. Well done.

For the racers, we let the promoter down a bit' I know the distances were not super long for the 4's or 5's but yet those fields filled well or was close. The womens fields were a grand total of 30 pro through IV.

For the promoter he was aiming high for what I think was mini-sea otter. He had a bmx ramp, the vendors etc etc...it was nice. I just hope it will return for the same $$ rather than a price hike...oh' and increase the distance of the RR for those cats that did show.

p.s, it's almost 5:00 monday and I'm still looking for GC and stage 3 results. I know the show is over but I'd like to see how everyone did.

Thanks!

bike001 · Joined: 24 Apr 2006 Posts: 4

it was a great atmosphere, but it felt like the promoters lacked the one important thing, a focus on the little details that are important to the racers. the TT results weren't posted by the time the circuit race went off on saturday, so no one knew anything about their standings and had no idea of tactics. then, the gc standings weren't posted until sunday morning and only at the race, not online. again, no one knew where they stood or who was important to watch. and now it's 5pm on monday night and the results from yesterday aren't up, but some photos are (one photo is even of a mountain bike race??).

also, i agree that the circuit was too narrow and very sketchy. i was behind a rider who smacked a sign and was right in front of a crash at the finish because cones came out of the right side suddenly and weren't clearly visible.

maybe next year they'll focus a little less on getting people to watch the bmx stunt team and more on getting the actual details of the race sorted out in good time.

TheSpartan · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 71

That was well put and now its 7:00 and still no results.

SBO · Joined: 24 Apr 2006 Posts: 1

MESP put together a great race. It was a fun atmosphere!

As far as the results go we just could not get them from the TT to the CR fastest enough. It is no easy task to run two seperate stages of a stage race at the same time and stay with in the USCF rules.

Please do not blame MESP for the slow result postings to the website. We sent them the complete results but due to a comunication error it was in the wrong format for them to post to their site. I resent them as soon as I learned of the problem and they should be up in the morning.

As a racer I know you rarely see all the hard work that goes into to putting on an event such as this...but as one of the crew who worked this event let me tell you the folks at MESP worked their (&!^#$$ off to make sure a good time was had by all.

SBO

TheSpartan · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 71

Thanks for the reminder. I dont think anyone is saying they wont race it again next yr. MESP did a great job but openly asked for constructive criticism. We're just trying do that, and I'll be there next yr!

Racermech · Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 218

First off I did not do this race. But I have done many MESP mtn bike races in the past and they allways did a great job!

My personal suggestion would be to maybe drop the t-shirt and bottle thing. It might only drop $5-10 off the entry but for some people that will make all the difference. I would say most of the people that race really dont care about a shirt. The juniors would still dig it (as I know I did when i was younger) but for the rest of us we could take a pass on it.

Just a suggestion.