Course: A flat to rolling 11 mile loop with one small hill.
Course Description: The Snelling road race starts with a neutral promenade from Henderson Park. After about two miles you'll be on Keyes Road heading West. Go over a couple of rolling hills and look to the right as you pass Fields Road and you'll see the finish line. The race starts at this intersection.
Keyes Road is flat with a few small rolling hills. The feed zone is on Keyes about three miles from the start on a small hill. Just after the feed Keyes Road makes a ninety degree right turn and then after about five hundred meters it makes a ninety degree left turn. The road gradually twists and turns uphill and towards the north (All in the big ring though.) until the intersection of Olsen Road. The course turns right here to a north-eastern direction. There is more slightly uphill riding through this section until you get to Los Cerritos Road. The course takes another right turn here back to the south east. After a small descent the course crosses a valley and Dry Creek leading up to the "hill". In a fairly large group this short hill will probably be ridden in the big chain ring. At the top of the hill the road bears right and goes up and down over a few small rollers which will cause more pain than you might think late in the race. At Figmond Road turn left onto the roughest stretch of the course. Figmond Road is approximately two miles long and dead flat. The next turn is Fields Road. From the corner it is about two hundred and fifty slightly uphill meters to the finish line and then another two hundred or so meters back to Keyes Road to finish the loop.
Distances: 84 for the Senior 1/2/Pro Men, and ?? for the Senior 1/2/3 Women.
Road Surface: Mostly good with the exception of Figmond Road which is fairly rough.
Gearing: 42x21 will be more than sufficient. A 12 might come in handy for possible strong tail wind sections.
Facilities: Plenty of parking, restrooms, and water available at the start area (Henderson Park). Groceries, and deli sandwiches are available in Snelling one mile from the park.
Weather: Usually cool, possibly rainy, and most likely windy. The wind is usually from the north.
Feeding: The feed zone is on a small hill about three miles past the start on Keyes Road. The pace can be fairly fast through the feed.
Rules Specific to this race: FULL ROAD CLOSURE. That in itself should be enough to recommend this race!
Prize List: You're not going to get rich here. If you place in you'll probably get your entry fee back.
Race Advice: STAY NEAR THE FRONT! If it is windy this race tends to form a front echelon of about fifteen to twenty riders with the rest riding in the gutter exposed to the wind. You could try and form a second echelon, but more likely than not the other riders will look at you like you're the stupidest person on earth for not following all the other sheep in the gutter! "Well no, I'm not getting any draft here. But I am behind somebody. That must mean something?!" On Keyes Road the wind will be from the right and the race could explode in the later stages into several small groups.
Danger spots include: All of Keyes Road because of the constant probable cross wind. The left turn after the right turn, which is just after the feed zone is dangerous because the field is strung out and turning into a cross wind. The right turn onto Los Ceritos Road is dangerous because the pack has to slow down quite a bit to make the turn. The front riders will make the turn and take off with a tail wind while the riders behind are stuck in traffic. Stay up front for Figmond Road so you can look for obstacles in the rough road and avoid flats. You also need to be ready for the right turns onto Fields Road, and then Keyes Road. Once again the field will string out and the riders near the back will waste precious energy regrouping.
As you can see there is no one big obstacle in this race. There is a long series of small obstacles that will slowly sap your energy. The smart rider who stays near the front and keeps their nose out of the wind will be in a position to go with or make the front group in the late stages of the race.
If it isn't windy, all bets are off and the race will most likely end in either a small break followed by the field or a field sprint. In this case, the final kilometer of the race on Figmond Road can be somewhat hairy leading up to the final corner. Once again, the standard advice is stay near the front, and don't be afraid to waste a little bit of energy to stay there. If you come around the final corner in any worse than fifth position you're not going to win. If it is windy, less than half of the Senior 1/2/Pro riders will finish, and they will be in small groups.
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Corrections and additions, please email me!
Kevin Metcalfe
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