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Official Ride Official TCC King of the Mountains Competition

kpykc

Speeding Up
Jun 13, 2007
805
14
Hi all,

It's been discussed many times, and many attempts were made to organize a race-like event inside of TCC (and many were organized too :)), but it never came to an ultimate test of the climbing prowess of TCC'ers (ok there were some showdowns between Deej and the world..but those were spontaneous episodes, this time it's an attempt to create an annual offical event) because of many things like - what is the best event (road races, hill climbs or VO2 max lab tests), how to organize and why me? This is another attempt to put an end to the controversy - here's the plan of the competition for the title of the King of the Mountains of TCC, which can also be fun at the same time, depending on what your goals are.


EVENT:
Group ride + mass start hill climb (at the end of the group ride). The outcome of the hill climb will decide who the TCC KOM is. If you wish to compete for the KOM title, you have to complete the group ride before starting the hill climb.


Here's how it goes:
1) group ride over a relatively tough course (over a number of checkpoints) at your own pace
2) arrival at the start of the hill climb race, regrouping.
* only the riders who completed the group ride (cleared all the checkpoints) and arrived at the start within a certain time (within 20 minutes) after the leader(s) will be able to compete for the KOM title.
* we wait for at least the first 2 riders to arrive (Clay and somebody-else-who-will-probably-lose-to-Clay-anyway :)) to consder the competition ready to go
3) start hill climb, whoever comes 1st to the top of the climb is the TCC's KOM.


PRIZES:
No prize money or any other gifts will be or should be provided to encourage clean and fun competition.
TCC KOM title is given for 1 year (or until the next similar competition) and will be shown on the forum avatar (by Thomas's accord), and maybe somewhere else like Hall of Fame, and other TCC history books should they ever be written.
Other KOM competitors get an honourable mention on the forum and special avatars for 2nd and 3rd places.

TIME:
June 30 (or July 1st in case of bad weather conditions). Ready to roll from Shin-Matsuda station at 9:30am

COURSE:
Surprise-surprise! "Madness in Tokyo" AKA Best of the West (shortened version).
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1283782
As we know, the Okutama lake climb can be crowded with motorbikers and sport cars, so the course will finish at the Matsuhime toge. Descending to the nearest train station (Otsuki or Okutama) should make for at least 130 km ride.
The start of the mass start hill climb is at 95.5 km mark - at a small intersection of routes 505 and 139.


No entry fees. Since we don't have any budget or volunteers (*wink,wink*) - check points, time cut before the hill climb race and the finish line will only be monitored by participants themselves. It would be helpful, though, if somebody was to at least check the time cut before the hill climb. Let us know if you're willing to do it.

This is a trial event, so let's not think too deep into it and just enjoy some riding and racing, when the time comes. Your input about any aspect of this event is welcome, of course.

Post here if you're up for the challenge - riding a group ride or competing for KOM, or both

TCC_mountain_goat.gif

Here's a little guide for those unfamiliar with the course -

- km 1-5 is a ride on a sometimes busy road. Watch out for traffic and red lights. A big group could cause problems for the cars, so maybe it's better to split up a bit.

- km 5-16 - 1st climb of the ride to Ashigara toge, long with a number of short steep sections, especially towards the end of the climb.

- km 16-23 - descent from Ashigara, there is a couple of steep slopes going down, so be careful and stay away from the opposite traffic lane :)

- km 23-31 - city roads, plenty of vending machines and conbinis (not that anyone needs em this early)

- km 31-37.5 - 2nd climb, Mikuni toge. Very steep road that gets steeper and steeper all the time :)

- km 42.2 - 7/11 conbini.

- km 56.5 - turn off to the left, easy to miss

- km 56.5-62 - 3rd climb of the day up to Dozaka toge/tunnel, steady climb over 5.5 kms

- km 62-71.7 - descent from Dozaka, some tight corners on top, but very smooth and straight at the bottom

- km 71.7 and 74 - turn offs to the right to smaller roads, don't miss and don't go through the tunnels

- km 76.4 and 79.7 - turn offs to the left to smaller roads, easy to miss

- km 79.7 - 83.9 - 4th climb of the day, Suzugane toge.

- km 82 - turn off to the left to a smaller road, easy to miss

- km 84-91 - descent from Suzugane toge, narrow with a lot of debris on the road, which can be slippery in the wet. Be very careful here, as the upcoming cars are not so rare.

- km 93.1 - a big supermarket with a bakery (inside), outside toilets, ice cubes and benches.

- km 95.5 - interscetion of routes 139 and 505, start of the KOM hill climb race.

- km 95.5 - 115.7 - climb to Matsuhime toge, can be brutal in sun and heat, have some water with you before starting it. It takes about 1 hour for fast climbers and 1 hour 20-30mins for slower riders.

Chikako will try to meet the leaders at the 95.5 km mark (which should be around 14:00-14:30), to "register" the competitors and count down for the race start (20-25 mins after the arrival of leaders) and Thomas will be there at the finish line (115.7 km mark).

About the time cut - this measure is NOT aimed to make people race from the start of the group ride to get rid of your competitors for the KOM, but to cut the slowest riders, in order prevent the leaders from waiting for a very long time at the race start line; or to avoid waiting for somebody who decided to bail out earlier.
In short, take it easy and save energy for the final climb. It's more fun if more riders make the cut.

---

Disclaimer:
- Join this event at your own risk. Nobody (TCC forum administrators, or organizers of this event), except yourself, can be held responsible for any harm or damage caused to you or by you during this event.
 
I know you don't want input yet but sorry, I can't help myself. Sounds brilliant but let's face it.....everyone knows Clay is the TCC KOM! You at least need to make KOM #2 and KOM #3 or something like that otherwise what's the point? Also if Clay decided to go all out from Minami Ashigara how many people do you think could make the 20 minute cut off? Probabaly a big fat 0!

Also on the 24th there is a JBCF Gunma race which I'm sure he will be attending. If Clay's not there it wouldn't be a real showdown...I mean who wants the #1 title if the fastest climber here can't compete?

Also, not everyone is a climber here....surely some sprint points for sprinters classification would be nice. Of course that sprinter would have to finish the course within a cutoff time....However this course is so hilly there are no places for a decent sprint really....

Again, nice idea but it does need some fine tuning without making it overcomplicated. I know you love that course Sergei and I do too, but why not choose something flatter in the beginning, offering at least 3 points for sprints ending in a long climb like Matsuhime....I think this would encourage some different riders to come too.

Just my 2 cents....
 
I know you don't want input yet but sorry, I can't help myself. Sounds brilliant but let's face it.....everyone knows Clay is the TCC KOM! You at least need to make KOM #2 and KOM #3 or something like that otherwise what's the point?

Also on the 24th there is JBCF Gunma race which I'm sure he will be attending. If Clay's not there it wouldn't be a real showdown...I mean who wants the #1 title if ther fastest climber here can't compete?

Also, not everyone is a climber here....surely some sprint points for sprinters classification would be nice. Of course that sprinter would have to finish the course within a cutoff time....

Mike, your input is always welcome :)
About to the details -
- I agree there should be a list of placings of all the competitors, not only the winner, this can and will be done in some way (by participants or by volunteers).
- The hill climb will only start with at least 2 competitors (no matter the time cut), and depending on their (2 leaders) good will to wait for others if they come later. This is why I want to have a volunteer managing the time cut
- The date can be changed, but only with a reasonable number of requests (naturally, not everyone will be able to attend - family, vacation, racing, work, etc., well it can't be helped, but it's a trial event and needs to be done some time or other)
- This is the competition for KOM only. It is possible to organize a separate event for sprinters - feel free to do so :angel:
 
Mike, your input is always welcome :)
About to the details -
- I agree there should be a list of placings of all the participants, not only the winner, this can and will be done in some way (by participants or by volunteers).
- The date can be changed, but only with a reasonable number of requests
- This is the competition for KOM only. It is possible to organize a separate event for sprinters - feel free to do so :angel:

OK that sounds cool. How about a special avatar for the first 5 places? At least that would encourage people!
 
The dates listed are smack bang in the middle of the busiest racing period - I'd be up for it just for shits and giggles as it damn good race training and after my performance on the KOM's at the Tour of Kumano .....who know's :D
 
Unique avatar for FIVE members?! But that's our only prize :D! Ok.. maybe 3..gold, silver and bronze.
 
I also think all participants should get Wolfpack points for attending and completing the course regardless of place.
 
The dates listed are smack bang in the middle of the busiest racing period - I'd be up for it just for shits and giggles as it damn good race training and after my performance on the KOM's at the Tour of Kumano .....who know's :D

James, it is good for anything - and it would be nice to have you.
Sorry for not checking the race calendar, but there are too many damn races to watch out for.. we'll adjust the timing next time.
 
Great idea!
Especially any awards not based on pure climbing ;)
I'll also be away for the particular weekend you have in mind (iwaki HC) ;(
 
James, I agree about the wolfpack points (don't quite remeber what they were for, though..).
Gunjira, we'll see when the majority of TCC'ers would prefer to ride and might re-arrange.

UPDATE: The date is decided (see the 1st post)
 
I'm down with this. As one of the only '5 who made it' last year, I feel obligated to a repeat of one of my favorite gruelling sets of climbs!
 
dates

Sounds fun Sergei. :) The 24th I have a race in Gunma (so 23rd is also out) but I can do saturday the 30th. :bike:
 
same as above
 
Sounds like a good event, and not too serious with the rules.

Not that I'll really be contesting the KOM, but I work every Saturday. June 24th or July 1st are better for me.

Dave
 
all dates are OK for me :cool:
 
June 23, 24 are out for me - racing that weekend. June 30 , July 1 look ok.
 
James, I agree about the wolfpack points (don't quite remeber what they were for, though..).
Everyone else, please, post your prefered date(s) (among 4 dates provided in the original post) for this event

After all those years, I've in vain tried to understand the TCC point mechanism :D Is it still in place though?
 
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