Bottlebutt 100 & Hairy-Butt 50 - 10th September

T

tcurr

Squid
Real Insurance XCM Series said:
Hi guys,

with only 4 events in the Series instead of 5, the big question is whether we still count 3/4 events or whether we reduce it to 2/4. There are numerous pros and cons, some detailed in the following article - http://www.cyclenation.com.au/News/DisplayNewsItem.aspx?niid=7704

Please let us know your feedback.
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I'd have thought its only fair to reduce to 2, otherwise competitors who were relying on the last 2 races to make up the 3 will be eliminated through no fault of their own. Given it sounds like this would include the World 24hr Solo Champion this would be a shame and devalue the series a bit.
 
Pizzaz

Pizzaz

Likes Dirt
tcurr said:
I'd have thought its only fair to reduce to 2, otherwise competitors who were relying on the last 2 races to make up the 3 will be eliminated through no fault of their own. Given it sounds like this would include the World 24hr Solo Champion this would be a shame and devalue the series a bit.
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Well... 'through no fault of their own' is a little bit of a stretch :) It's a series... often the winner of the series doesn't need to win every race, just be there or thereabouts in all of them. For one reason or another quite a few guys (myself included BTW) have missed races that make up this series - either because they clashed with other stuff or because of the weather. To date, only one of the events has been cancelled due to weather with one rescheduled.

If winning the series is a priority then people will make an effort to get to as many races as possible - given the way the weather has been this year, something getting cancelled was always on the cards. To win the series you need to do well at the majority of the races... that's not 2 of 4...

Sure, its more of a big deal at the pointy end but we finally have an honest to goodness marathon series up and running with decent prize money on the line for the series winners... it needs to reward the riders who showed up and were consistent... perhaps this will motivate people (myself included) to prioritise races that are part of the series over other races which (after all) is probably the main reason why the promotor of an already successful race would want to get involved with the series at all.

Just my 0.02c...
 
M

Mediocre

Cannon Fodder
Pizzaz said:
...we finally have an honest to goodness marathon series up and running with decent prize money on the line for the series winners... it needs to reward the riders who showed up and were consistent... perhaps this will motivate people (myself included) to prioritise races that are part of the series over other races which (after all) is probably the main reason why the promotor of an already successful race would want to get involved with the series at all.

Just my 0.02c...
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I agree with Pizzaz.

I thought the idea of a state marathon series was brilliant, and entered all the events to be a part of it, giving priority to them when they clashed with other races.

To be honest, I probably wouldn't have entered Bottlebutt if it hadn't been a part of the XCM series. Now that it no longer is, I reckon the scoring system should revert to counting your best 3 out of 4 results. I could be wrong, but wasn't that the original plan anyway when the series was first announced minus the Fling?
 
RED_RACER

RED_RACER

Likes Dirt
make the fling worth 2 X the points or make the dash for the cash count as one race. That would be cool to see more people having a go at it to raise money for a worthy cause.

There still is the Walcha 100 and Dwellingup 100 before the end of the year :)
 
Antsonline

Antsonline

Likes Dirt
bt100 said:
I can't see why the BB can't be included if they come up with a date that is before the fling.
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People that are towards the front of the series have to plan their racing, and training accordingly (otherwise, they would be unlikely to be near the front), between now and the Fling there are all of sort of other races that have been booked and paid for.
Frankly, the BB was already a bit of a pain because it coincided with the Tour of Timor.

Since thinking this 3/4 or 2/4 or whatever, I have argued either way given my mood.
Currently, I think 3 from 4 is fairest.

People (including myself) have made an effort to get to the races - in some cases at personal expense (Husky getting moved had financial implications) singularly to remain competitive in the series.

In the same way that a random mechanical failure can end anyones 'series' (so maybe its best not to race the lightest tyres etc) its best to get early scores on the board safely and then have options. What we face now is a reason why we got the scores on the board.

I'm currently in the 3 results from 4 races camp. It wont be popular at home as the other half has only two results to count, but "thems the breaks".

I like the fact that this is being discussed though. Cyclenation and Real Insurance have injected huge passion, and built real commitment in what is really only V1.0 of the series. I hope (and will be doing my best to ensure) that they arent too put off by the bad luck this year (Angry Doc cancelled, Husky rained out and moved, and now BB postponed/cancelled).
We need this sort of thing for the sport to grow.

More local MTB racing and support on Cycling Central. Yes please.
 
tate6969

tate6969

Likes Bikes
Assuming the bottlebutt is not going to form part of the XCM Series, my thoughts are that 2 races doesn’t really constitute a series, and only counting your best two may devalue it. If the series was important to you, then as previously mentioned you probably would have prioritised it as such and attended at least two of the three that have already taken place (CP, DW, H).

That being said, at the start of the year no-one expected the angry doctor (or subsequently the bottlebutt to not go ahead), so no matter what happens it’s not going to please everyone.

That aside, im for either counting the Fling as 2x maintaining best 3 of 5 races, or change it to best 3 of 4. Counting results from the dash for cash when it isn’t a marathon race doesn’t make sense to me (sorry Jason!). Equally, I don’t see the logic of giving points to people who purely entered the BB if the result of the race (if and when it is finally run) don’t reflect your points allocated for that race.

It must be said though, that the XCM series is a fantastic idea (albeit with some teething problems in the first year through no fault of anyone really), but lessons learnt for next year will make it even better. Cant wait to see what happens!
 
JD26

JD26

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Technically a 'series' should reward the rider who can a) get to as many races as possible, and b) be consistent in them.

Both of these things are hard enough to acheive: time, resources, training, effort, sacrifices etc

Having said that,
The 'take 2' option is an indicator of technically who the best riders are on ability.
The 'take 3' option then rewards the consistency of a rider over a variety of courses over a relatively long time

Personally, the 'take 3' option suits my overall series standing (and ego) better, however, the 'take 2' option is where I see myself in overall ability compared to people I race against.
 
Antsonline

Antsonline

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alchemist said:
Hmmm, same weekend as the opening National Round,
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well, there goes 6 riders
sorry, irony never comes over well via 'tinterweb

I hope that it being moved, and withdrawn from the XCM series, and being less than a week after the Fling, doesnt affect the numbers and then jeopardise it being run in future years.

We want more races, and more choice, and hopefully at the start of next year, with the Angry Doc being back too, we'll have a very full calendar of marathon races.

I'm one of the very few making the trip to Perth that would have been doing the BB. Bit of a shame, but it was just as harsh for those entered into Timor when the Husky was re-scheduled.
 
top_oz_bloke

top_oz_bloke

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Seems like pretty tough timing to have it right after the Fling.

Successive weekends away is seriously going to cut into my brownie points.
 
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