Belltown Throwdown

STAGE 1 Cycling Club and AirLine Cycles are bringing mountain bike racing to East Hampton (or Portland as the case may be). The Belltown Throwdown is back! 

The Men's and Women's Pro/CAT 1 events include cash prizes.  STAGE 1 offers pay & prize equity between all men's and women's events. Single Speeders are getting the same money and are expected to do that extra lap to earn those bucks!

ALL INFO SUBJECT TO CHANGE AS EVENT GETS UPDATED.  WE THINK THE CATEGORIES AND TIMES WILL REMAIN AS THEY ARE.  IF THEY ARE CHANGED, AND YOU HAVE ALREADY REGISTERED, YOU WILL HAVE THE OPTION OF REQUESTING A REFUND

IMPORTANT NOTES: 

1.  All dogs must be kept on leash (6 feet or shorter).  No exceptions.  A loose dog is dangerous to itself and the racers.

2.  The great folks at YMCA Camp Ingersoll are providing this venue and it's a great one! Because the course is sited on private land, and is used for camp activities, it IS NOT open for pre-riding before race day except at the scheduled preview times. Please respect the YMCA and do not poach the area beforehand.  We do not want to lose the venue! We will work to set up scheduled previews times in advance of the race, and, on the day of the event, we have built-in time before every race to allow warm-up, pre-riding, and course preview. You will have the chance to see the route before hand.  

3.  No open alcohol containers. (YMCA property rule, not ours)

4.  PRERIDING THE COURSE WILL BE AT THE DISCRETION OF THE OFFICIALS.  THE COURSE MAY NOT BE OPEN FOR PRERIDING BETWEEN RACES.  We tried to build time into the schedule to allow it, but there may not be time.  All prerides must begin AFTER the finish line and you must check with the officials/volunteers at the officals tent to see if it is permitted at that time.  If you are preriding, DO NOT PASS ANY ACTIVE RACERS.  If you pass an active racer, we reserve the right to DQ you from your event and you will not get a refund.  You have been warned.

5.  In the interest of serving our racers, if you cannot attend we will refund you for any reason at any time up to a week after the event.  Email us.  If you wanna make up a funny story, great.  If you just woke up and had a case of the "Sunday scaries", that's fine too.

6.  Want to help out?  Sign up to volunteer: Send us an email.

7.  The Stage 1 Cycling Club strives to create a friendly, welcoming, and inclusive environment for our races and events. If you are a beginner racer and the entry fee presents a barrier to entry, please contact us and we'd be happy to offer a reduced or free entry to our events.

8.  Promoter reserves the right to combine age groups with less than 5 racers, as long as it doesn't change start times or categories.  i.e.  If there are only 3 men signed up for the Cat 3 Men 50+ and 3 signed up for the Cat 3 Men 40-49, we would consider combining those groupings into one Mens Cat 3 40+ group, because really, it's a lot more fun to race against more people.

ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THIS PAGE (EXCEPT THE DATE OF THE RACE) IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE UP UNTIL YOUR RACE STARTS

 

Prizes and product brought to you by AirLine Cycles & the great folks at:

 

 

  

 

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

We've tried to schedule things as tight as possible.  We realize that some of the races overlap.  In order to give the most groups their own individual time slot, we had to do this.  We realize it is not ideal, but we think that the last racer from each race should finish prior to being overtaken by the lead rider from the following race.  

 

Race Start GroupLast Racer FinishEstimated Podiums8:30am9:35am10:00am9:30am10:45amnoon10:30am11:45amnoon11:30am1:30pm2pm1:30pm3:30pm4:00pm3:15pm5pm5:15pm

PRIZES

We've got great beer from Fat Orange Cat as well as additional merch and prizes.  Payment schedule for Pro races is as follows:

5 or fewer | $85 — $65 — $45
6 racers | $85 — $65 — $45
7 racers | $105 — $85 — $65 — $45
8 racers | $105 — $85 — $65 — $45
9 racers | $125 — $85 — $65 — $45 — $30
10 or more racers | $150 — $100 — $75 — $45 — $30

CONTACT INFO

If you have any questions, please email us at [email protected].  

 

OTHER INFORMATION / RULES / FAQs

 

How long is a lap?

- We'll be using the same or a similar course to last year and we expect each lap to be roughly 3.5 miles with almost 500 feet of elevation change.  This strava link should be useful to some people:  https://www.strava.com/segments/34279102
- Juniors 9-12 and 13-14 will be running laps on a shorter course.

How can I have have fun and make friends at the races?

- First, be nice.  Smile.  Have fun.  Woop it up and encourage others to do the same.  You're on a mountain bike, and even if you are suffering unmercifully - this is still fun! Really! Also, try and attend podium ceremonies and cheer for people. Racing is hard and it's great having friends and other riders cheer you on.

- Second, don't be a sandbagger.  Don't be the guy or gal who hangs out in the CAT 3 or 2 race and wins by 5+ minutes. That's no fun and no one is impressed with a sandbagger. It's far better to gut out a top ten or twenty in a higher category than cruise to podium after podium in a lower category race.  If in doubt, cat up! If you do sandbag, we will tease you and we may also elect to award you a big bag of sand for your efforts. ;-)  USAC allows all MTB XC racers to pick their category, so you don't need to earn points to upgrade.  If you are an experienced cyclist in any discipline of bike racing, you should probably start in the Cat 2s at least. 

How about passing?  

Be polite and communicate with other riders. USAC Rules 5.D.1.(c)-(d) tells us about passing in XC races. Simply put, if you get lapped - and it happens to the best of us - respect the race leaders and yield the track as quickly and safely as possible. You don't have to stop, but just move to the side and let the faster riders proceed. Also, do not obstruct riders who are in another race. That's lame. Yes, it's hard to watch a 13-year-old on a single speed cruise by effortlessly, but that happens.  Let em' pass. And, to those of you who might lap or pass someone competing in another category, remember to *politely* give a shout and let the rider know you're coming and what side you plan to pass on. Be sure to say "thanks" and offer some words of encouragement. Don't sneak up on people and try and ram past them. That's lame.  Remember the Golden Rule!

So, do I always have to let people pass? 

If you are vying for position with another rider in your own race/category, that's a little different. The USAC rules say that the lead rider "owns the track," but s/he may not intentionally obstruct or interfere with a rider who is attempting to pass. In other words, the lead rider doesn't have to let you just cruise by, but they CANNOT intentionally pinch you out, cut you off, or change lines in an attempt to prevent the pass. That's lame, dangerous, and it's not how XC racing works. Simply put, if you are behind a rider in your own race, don't just yell "track" at the top of your lungs and expect the leader to pull over and let you pass. If they don't want to yield, you'll have to wait until you hit a section wide enough and try then.  If you're the rider in front, don't purposely obstruct the passer. Yes, you don't have to move over, but you also shouldn't intentionally block the trailing rider.  

Is it ok to "cut" the course just a little bit?   

No. No. No. No. No. It's all about honesty and fun. Course cutting is cheating plain and simple and it will result in immediate disqualification.  Our course will be well marked to avoid any "accidental" cutting.

I'm on a single speed.  What gear do you recommend?  

The course has ups and downs, straights and curves.  Run the gear that you think will best serve you. 

Can I wear headphones and listen to sweet tunes while I race?

Nope. You'll have to rock out to the sound of your pounding heart and heavy breathing. We will have a DJ on site, so for about 400 yards of the course, you'll get to hear bumping tunes mixed in with the cheers from tens of spectators.  

How's the parking situation?  

Plenty of parking within eye shot of registration and the course. 

Why does your event schedule look different than many of the other CT races?  Why am I racing at a weird time?  

In the past, we've had complaints of women feeling uncomfortable racing with men on the course.  At our fall CX race we ran all the women at the same time (instead of the pro women with the pro men) and got mostly rave reviews.  We think that this format will provide a more enjoyable experience for all racers.  If we're wrong, let us know and we'll think about a different format for next year. 

How about food?  Will there be any available?

You bet!  Craftbird, whom you may remember from our CX race in the fall will be back.  We can't promise that we'll cover every desire or every dietary requirement, but we've got something. 

 

The Belltown Original 

Est. 1987

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