SoCalCycling.com

trwilkerson · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 189

if you haven't heard about Saul, yet check out velonews.com. Keep him in your thoughts. And keep it safe out there. There have been WAY TOO many crashes this year so far. I am calling out the Major Motion kids in particular, that have very little respect for their fellow racers, and are in my opinion the most dangerous racers out there. They may be physically able to race at a cat.3 level but they are not mature enough to be out there. Redlands was rediculous.
Let's try and keep it safe out there.

jh · Joined: 05 Dec 2005 Posts: 270

You are not the first one....trust me. I have seen these guys just stepping on other rider' bike in order to make it to the front at the start line...more than once.

On a side note, one of them came down for the Del Mar Crit and I think I saw him crying...It was good to see him get his clock cleaned Very Happy

. I think all the 3' did, including me...LOL...I am not sure how many 3' finished that race....

JH

trwilkerson · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 189

i was young and dumb once too (now I am old and dumb), but at some point the team manager has to step in and explain to his riders to be safe. I am an aggressive rider, but I am also very safe. There is a differnce between being aggressive and being dangerous.

I think some of these kids could be the next Saul Raisin, but they have to learn, and very quickly, this is not the pro peleton, and there is no room for stupid riding.

It would be sad to have someone end up in the same position as Saul is right now, fighting for his life, due to dumb racing. Crashes happen. We all know that, but if we can make it more of a rarity, rather than common place, i think we would all be happier.

sdbc · Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 51

trwilkerson · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 189

velonews says Saul had surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain, and is now stable. That is great news. Hopefully he can pull through this without any serious long term damage.

As for the MM kids, I am at a loss. I did a training ride with an older (35+) MM guy tonight who is switching teams due to the reputation of the club and the kids. Too bad. Racers can get fined for so many things you would think USCF would have heard about them by now and be imposing fines and/or suspentions.

SoCalCycling · Joined: 15 Nov 2005 Posts: 736 Location: SoCal

I saw Saul riding around Park City, Utah at Nationals a few years ago all day long, literally. This kid was on his bike from morning to night putting the long hours in.

I just read a similar story on Velo News, where he was in Georgia doing laps around a shopping mall for hours.

He is a dedicated athlete that has a bright future. I hope he recovers quickly and is back on his bike soon.

Thurlows Brother · Joined: 31 Dec 2005 Posts: 9

I think you guys are missing the point with MM kids and the cat III's. We all know that some of those kids are ridding above there limits but they are on a development team. The team structure is to build racers and move them up to the big's. If you are having a problem with the way they race respectfully let them know, it has been my experience most of them listen pretty good. The problem I have seen is when a 30-40 year old man is cursing and speaking to some of these kids as if they are adults. If you talk to them like they are kids they usually respond pretty well. I think all these JR teams are doing a great job, MM may have more aggressive riders in there stable but the also will have more kids that have been selected to race in Europe with the national team this summer then any other team in the country, so there doing something right!! This should make the cat III's feel proud of there JR riders. The cat III's are just as responsible for there development as there team managers have been. The competition and the level of racing the III's have raced at is why these kids are racing as strong as they are. So if you are in a race and one of those kids are ridding to aggressive let them know, but when you do remember that some of those kids are only 14 and don't use such a broad brush to paint the whole team as reckless. There are only a couple of riders on that team that ride that way.....
BTW-Tyler Ferrar and Saul went from III’s on the U-23 team to racing Pro in Europe…

trwilkerson · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 189

You point is well taken, and the most important point is that they are 14ish years old. They have very little business being out there in a Cat. III race at 14. I agree with you 100% that you can't get thru to a teenager during a race by screaming at him. But the simple fact is the team management has known these kids are doing dangerous things out there and do very little, that the other racers can see, about it. I have riden with Justin and a lot of the other kids and they are good kids and strong riders, but need to excersize much better judgement. I appreciate what they have accomplished at 15 year of age, but the way some of them race, and the speeds we race at, they are putting their possible future career and for certain my professional (not cycling) career in jeapordy. I want them all to go on to become great cyclist cometeing at the highest level, but the more they learn now the better off they will be in the future.

As for Saul, he is doing better and responding to the people around him. Not sure what his long term prognosis is, but the short term is looking better for him. Hopefully he can bounce back from this crash. I would hate to see any of our young racers in SoCal have to suffer through something similar due to dangerous riding.

jh · Joined: 05 Dec 2005 Posts: 270

I agree with trwilkerson. I think that the people that race in III pretty much share the same opinion....

JH

EDIT: I have no problem yelling at riders that get to the line, cut everybody off and damage my bike BEFORE the race starts. I mentioned this before in a previous post, this is common practice for the MM kids...you put your foot through my wheel and break spokes, you are going to get an earful Very Happy

Thurlows Brother · Joined: 31 Dec 2005 Posts: 9

Sorry, I forgot to mention the reason you see the kids in the III's races. To go to nationals as a Jr 15-16 they have to be a cat III or higher....They are able to upgrade from a IV to a III on all Jr results without doing any cat IV racing...I hope this helps you understand why some of them lack the skills needed to race with the big dogs.

Racermech · Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 218

Hey guys lets keep this on point. If you want to discuss Jr's in Cat 3 races start a new thread.

Let keep this going for updates on Saul!

TIA.

Racermech · Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 218

Stolen from cyclingnews:

Saul Raisin's parents will be taking him home to the US, they announced on his website, saulraisin.com. "Saul is strong enough to move home and we have started the ball rolling." They have a medical air ambulance lined up to bring him to a rehab centre in the Atlanta area. They try to look to the future optimistically, saying, "Saul is improving every day. He is sitting, walking with help, eating, and whispering. All the people here in France have been great to us and especially to Saul. Saul still has a long hard road to travel, but we all know he can do it."

Earlier they reported that the respirator has been removed, hopefully permanently, and that "Saul is sitting in a chair for short times and talking a little. He told us he does not like it here and he is hungry. Saul is still very confused and will be for a while." Because of the coma, he had an infection in his left lung, which is now "a lot better."

This is great news, going home should really help him recover even faster

trwilkerson · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 189

Good news about Saul. I also read that teh respirator is out for good, and that it was removed by Saul, not the doctors, and after a short time put back in for another day, then removed. He's an animal.

Great to hear he is doing better.

jh · Joined: 05 Dec 2005 Posts: 270

http://www.eriksaunders.com

Scroll down a bit.....

JH