Skoda Velo Tour 1 May

Has anyone seen this race...http://www.eschborn-frankfurt.de/
It has a professional division and different weekend warrior divisions, germany's version of a gran fondo. It is 50 euro, starts around 10 am for 100km, 1300 m of climbing.

These are the divisions:
Starting block 1 2 3
Performance group (a) (39-40 km / h)
(b) (37-38 km / h)
(c) (35-36 km / h)
(d) (32-34 km / h)
e (26-31 km / h)
(g) (25 km / h and slower)

Let me know if you are interested.

Would be loads of fun, but a bit too close to the MTB marathon for me

Totally in

I believe we can sign up online, paying with a bank transfer. I will check on it.


Anyone else?

Looks like the first three speeds go off in block one. I just can't justify saying I am going to ride 103 k with 1300 hm at 35k/h. So I will probably post an average speed in the (d) section.

It looks like one giant climb, after that it is downhill or flat. Remember there are going to be a few thousand riders, so finding a group that is riding a good pace and sitting in with them will make a big difference. I agree, D group looks like the place to start.

I'm a newbie to the site, but I'd be interested in either the d or c group. Anybody want to do the Vattenfall in Hamburg in August?

Just wanted to see if anyone signed up. I tried to get into the group posting 33km/hr, but I didn't do one of their events last year so it put me in the 25 km start group. I'm going to try to sneak into the start group I want other wise it will be slow going and or solo riding.

I haven't signed up yet. Still planning on doing it.

Brian, you still going to do this?

Will have to get your info Reed so we aren't riding alone.

Planning on going but haven't signed up yet. Still consider the 70 k one as well. A week in Africa prevented me from getting any riding in, though not complaining about the trip.

Definitely going and riding though

Signed up. Would be good if we could get a few more riders. Start time is 0900 near Frankfurt.

What speed posting did you sign up for?

If it is your first time, it defaults to the slowest group. I think it is the 25km group.

Just signed up for the 100k, in the slow mans group.

Any plans for driving up there?

The KMC Cycling club brought three representatives to the Skoda Velo Tour on Sunday, Soto, Reed and BrianLask. While all three of us were stuck in the slow group, we all made our way through the field at a fairly decent pace. By the time we got done with our first climb of the day we were all around a group or two ahead of where we started. Overall we never found a fast enough group to pull us along for the ride, but finished on a fast note.

This is an incredibly fun event, it has a good amount of climbing (1300 meters is what they advertise) but only one or two sections of real steep roads, as we powered up the long climb blowing past groups of freds struggling to get up the hill. I plan on doing it next year and hope to see a few more familiar faces.

They also have a 70k and 40k ride with very little climbing, but wheres the fun in that??? Thanks to soto and reed for keeping company and for doing more work than I.

When is your normal ride times Brian? I ride through your village during the week on my road rides a few time a week. Would love to see your training routes.

Brian...still having problems with my watch. I will get the info from the ride downloaded tonight and post. It was fun. Wish I could do it again next year.

I have a ton of different routes, mainly broken up into increments of 10 and either hilly or flat rides.
Most of my riding starts in Kottweiler and makes my way through Steinwenden towards Glan-Munchweiler, or from Steinwenden I travel through Spesbach. Usually then I will link up somewhere to the B40 and head back through Einsiedlerhof. Hilly routes involve Eulenbis, Potzberg, anywhere south of the B40 and north on the B270.

Currently I am riding 3/4 times a week, 20ish on Tuesday, 30-32 on Thursday (Quidersbach the last two weeks) and long ride on the weekend. This weekend I am doing the trip from Saarbrucken to Trier.

Once school lets out I will have a little more time to play with the riding schedule, and work on some race prep.

Soto,

You aren't selling me on the Garmin anymore!

Brian...the garmins good. I just didn't feel like messing with it yesterday after I got home. Here is the ride info. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
The results are up on the website. The first finishers rode 2:40. I believe if we had started with faster groups we would have finished under 3 hours, even with the 15 mile climb.

Nice data. Wish I hung around with you guys a little longer now. Of all the rides i've done in Europe so far, that had the most spectators watching throughout the ride. It was awesome to have people cheer you on at every turn.

Reed.... events like these in Europe blow away events in the US; way better support, spectators, geography. See you out on the road.