COURSE NOTES
Abita Springs Time Trial
The Time Trial starts alongside the Tammany Trace bike path in the heart of Abita Springs. The TT is a one-way 3-mile route along a two-lane road with a good to very good asphalt surface. Because it is a one-way Time Trial, riders will have to ride back to the start/finish area on the same road. It is extremely important that you do not ride back two-abreast and that you stay as far to the right as possible so that cars passing you from behind do not have to go very far into the oncoming lane where the other riders are doing their time trials. Riders start at 30-second intervals. Your number goes on your right side.
Parking: There is some parking along the Tammany Trace and near the Park to your left as you enter Abita Springs on Hwy. 59. There is also parking around the field in front of the town hall on Level St. about a block past the traffic light. Do not park anywhere near the start because we need lots of room so that cars can maneuver around the riders waiting to start.
Special Rules: Riders who ride back from the finish two abreast or otherwise block the road will be penalized. Riders start in order of number within their groups. Check the Race Bible for details and estimated start times. Your official time starts whether you are there or not, so don't miss your start!
Stoney Point Road Race
This is a new course with lots of rolling hills and good road surfaces. The entire circuit is on typical two-lane country roads, some of which are rather narrow. There are lots of the low rolling hills typical of this area, none of which are particularly long or steep. The second turn comes up suddenly just after coming over a little rise, so be prepared! Likewise, turn #4 (the left-hand turn) comes up suddenly after a slight downhill. The course will be open to traffic and of course the center line rule will be in effect. We will allow both lanes to be used only for the final 200 meters before the finish (not for the hot spot sprint), but keep in mind that it is always possible that a vehicle will manage to get onto the course as the sprint approaches so be sure that the road is clear before crossing the center line. We expect to have a lead motorcycle and a following car/wheel truck. All of the classes will be on the circuit at the same time. It is probable that the Cat. 1,2,3 field will catch and pass the Women and Juniors before they finish, but it is not usually a problem. Race numbers go on the right side, back and right shoulder. Details are in the Race Bible - be sure to read it before the road race.
Time Trial Results: We should have the TT results posted in the parking area about an hour before the start.
Parking: Parking for the Road Race will be in an unpaved field downstream of the start/finish near the Stony Point Baptist Church. Absolutely please respect church property so we can use this course again!
Wheel Trucks: Each group will have a single wheel truck. Please bring spare wheels to the wheel truck, which will be in the parking area, well ahead of time. Wheels will be "neutral" which means we won't take time to look for your specific wheels while the pack rolls off into the distance. Be sure to mark your wheels with your name and number, and if you receive a wheel during the race, bring it back to the wheel truck immediately afterward. The wheel truck will generally stay with the largest group in the race. If you leave wheels at the road race, they will be at the officials' table at the criterium. If you leave them at the criterium, call the promoter and we'll have them shipped back to you at your expense.
Special Rules: We use pack timing for the road events, which means that everyone in the pack gets the same time. There are bonus points for the top three places, but if it ends in a field sprint everyone else who was in contact at 200 meters to go gets the same time, so there's not much point in sprinting if you don't think you can make one of the top places. You must have done the Time Trial in order to start the Road Race. If there is a pack sprint, you need to check in at the start/finish immediately afterwards so the official can get your verbal sign-in, otherwise we may assume that you did not finish. Yes, we will penalize riders who we catch advancing their positions while over the center line.
Results: It usually takes quite a while to sort out the Road Race results and GC placings, and we don't start until we're back at the host hotel. We are usually able to post the results by 10 p.m. at the latest. We put them in the window of the officials' room, but the best way to find them is to check the NOBC website. Results will be uploaded there on Saturday evening as soon as they are done. Results will be posted first thing at the Criterium as well. If you find that we made an error, let the official know as soon as possible.
Covington Criterium
This is a typical old-town criterium right in the middle of downtown Covington. The road surface is reasonably good on the front half of the course but quite rough in spots, so choose your tires carefully! We'll be starting and finishing in front of the new Tammany Trace Trailhead for 2008. There is parking around the corner near turn #2. After the finish of the Cat. 1,2,3 race, everyone goes down to Buster's on Boston Street (on the course), where we do the awards ceremony. Results will be posted behind the officials tent. All of the event details (wheel pit, free laps, start order, hot spots, etc.) are in the Race Bible, so check it out. You have to finish the TT and RR in order to start the Criterium. You will need to move your race numbers to your left side for the criterium.
Parking: There are a number of free public parking lots in the area of the start/finish. Of course, if you park inside the course, you'll be trapped for the duration. Take a right on N. Florida St. as you enter Covington.
Wheel Pit: Please bring spare wheels to the wheel pit before your race and be sure to mark them with your name and number. Wheels will be neutral if we get enough, otherwise we may have to resort to wheels-in, wheels-out.
Special Rules: We usually try to avoid pulling lapped riders if we can, but of course all riders finish on the same lap as the leaders. If you are lapped, your finish time will be calculated using the USCF formula. Ties on GC are broken by using tenths of a second from the Time Trial first and if that doesn't break the tie, then it's done by calculating the sum of stage placings. If there's still a tie, then the placing in the criterium determines the winner. We won't worry about tie-breaking for riders whose final placing is beyond the prize places in order to speed up the results, but we'll break those ties later if possible before posting the results to the NOBC website. The criteriums are all time-based (i.e. 60 minutes plus 2 laps). The officials will start putting up laps-to-go cards when the leaders have 5 laps to go. Once you pass the start/finish line with 5 laps to go, no more free laps will be granted. We use pack finish timing just like the Road Race, so if there's a pack sprint, you will need to check in at the start/finish for a verbal sign-in with the official, otherwise you might get a DNF. If you do drop out, be sure to let the officials know so that results don't get delayed because they're trying to figure out if you finished or not.
