MUCKERS 2026 SEPTEMBER CHAMPIONSHIP RACE 1.

ROUTE AND RACE DETAILS:

Columbia Falls | Great Divide | Montana | 14.18 miles | 577 ft. elevation

ROUVY SAY: Ride east-southeast from Wisconsin Avenue in Whitefish, leave the town edge and follow the grid roads toward Halfmoon. Reach the route highlight after the fifteenth kilometre, pass near Country Estates Mobile Home Park, enter the Columbia Falls corridor, then turn south through the final grid section and finish on Middle Road.

WE SAY: forget all that stuff!! It’s TT race time!!! Looked like a toss-up between favoring the TT bike for the flats, or the normal bike so you kept your speed nice and high on the climbs….. what to do!!! WHAT! TO! DO??????


FULL LEADERBOARD RESULTS FROM THIS RACE:

*Points before Ballast Added.

I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ADD NOW BEFORE I FORGET OR MAYBE YOU DON’T READ TO THE VERY END, PLEASE REMEMBER WE ONLY USE THE HR DATA RULE FOR THE FIRST ROUND TT EVENT. BUT SOME OF YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN DISQUALIFIED FROM ONE OF OUR “NORMAL” RACES FOR AVERAGING OVER 5.0W/KG OR BEING UNDER 60KGS SO PLEASE MAKE SURE THIS IS SORTED FOR NEXT WEEK. YOU HAVE BEEN REMINDED 👊

PosRiderTimePtsw/kgmphCat.
🥇Andreas.J.S00:29:01.32455.429.3ELITE
🥈VeloBuch00:29:07.62424.929.2ELITE
🥉Tuden00:29:39.92394.728.7ELITE
4BareRemi00:29:54.92374.528.5ELITE
5Stefan79300:30:19.12354.328.1ELITE
6Stefan_Schmidt00:31:04.22304.127.4A3
7nielsbrynnum00:31:11.32274.027.3A2
8Tim_Hall00:31:16.32244.227.2A1
9lrollin00:31:19.12224.127.2ELITE
10m-forby00:31:21.52204.127.1A2
11Grochang00:31:47.82153.826.8A2
12Sublac7200:32:11.02123.826.4A3
13laborg00:32:15.92093.626.4A4
14MatthiasHeil00:32:18.32073.726.3A3
15EddyDomino00:32:19.12053.926.3A3
16karel_sousek00:32:22.42003.926.3ELITE
17Dave1200:32:35.61973.926.1A2
18MikeHagen00:32:35.91943.826.1A1
19wolli.d00:32:40.41923.626.0A4
20barttt00:32:50.41903.625.9A4
21stfmgr_6500:33:08.81853.625.7A2
22Squalo_delle_Alpi00:33:12.71823.425.6A5
23RJL192500:33:12.91793.525.6A3
24DoubleB8500:33:15.41773.725.6A3
25Yumile00:33:19.41753.325.5A2
26MNHROUVY00:33:27.41703.425.4A4
27Thomas__DK00:33:37.41673.425.3A4
28RaTim00:33:43.41643.325.2A2
29BTK_jiri70_cz00:33:44.61623.425.2A3
30Klinthomie00:33:54.21603.225.1A4
31LinV00:33:57.41553.325.1A6
32rouvy1bryon00:33:57.51523.425.1A6
33DanWren00:34:01.71493.525.0A5
34enry196300:34:12.11473.224.9A4
35S.Ludford00:34:18.91453.024.8A6
36UncleE6400:34:21.11403.224.8A6
37Duckman200:34:28.31373.324.7A5
38SebLS00:34:37.01343.424.6A4
39Bates198000:34:37.91323.224.6A6
40Mick_Michel00:34:51.51303.024.4A6
41Andy_UP00:35:17.91253.124.1A4
424WorldPeace00:35:21.91223.024.1A5
43VilemStrakos00:35:24.41192.924.0A6
44ValRdz00:35:37.21173.223.9A5
45Claus-SK00:35:47.81152.923.8A6
46Nathan140600:35:53.31103.523.7A5
47stelviobound00:36:04.21072.723.6A7
48INGILA00:36:05.91043.223.6A5
49sunniva00:36:10.91023.023.5A7
50Jens_Teisen00:36:30.91003.323.3A6
51Mucker197400:36:39.3952.623.2A6
52TFR_Grandad00:37:12.794.92.522.9A8
53Craighewes00:37:38.994.83.222.6A6
54Dr.Arbia00:37:40.494.73.222.6A5
55simonjp00:38:04.094.63.324.8A4
56Leneras00:38:15.494.52.622.2A8
57Beldar00:38:24.294.42.822.1A8
58Iam.Anders00:38:52.294.32.921.9A7
59Stehling00:38:59.594.22.821.8A6
60PaulC7000:39:01.994.12.621.8A7
61FRydberg00:39:03.7943.121.8A6
62Matik0400:39:22.593.92.621.7A8
63cdtchris00:39:38.493.82.221.5A8
64ommegangster00:39:39.793.72.821.4A7
65Oscarini88.00:39:42.493.62.421.4A9
66comus_Duane00:39:54.793.52.421.3A8
67Sille6300:40:04.193.42.721.2A8
68Per197000:40:10.193.32.921.2A7
69LornMalvo00:40:10.193.22.821.2A7
70VencaM00:40:33.693.12.421.0A9
71Mischi_RSF8000:41:11.7932.620.6A8
72Axel-cql00:41:49.192.92.420.4A9
73SANDOKAN196900:41:52.692.82.320.6A8
74lorybstyle00:42:24.992.72.120.1A9
75black-angus00:43:08.092.62.019.9A9
76NestorBeraBera00:43:23.992.52.419.9A8
77jeromeq00:43:28.692.42.519.6A8
78Alladin_Sane00:44:31.992.32.219.2A9
79Stigseviltwin00:45:03.692.22.018.9A9
80RitaK00:45:06.292.12.118.9A9
81Jan_JANSEN_195400:45:45.3921.918.6A9
8282Jota00:46:29.391.92.018.3A9
83Hendrik…00:46:51.091.82.018.2A9
84Radl_Sepp00:47:34.791.71.918.6A9
85Mikeisriding0200:49:00.991.61.817.4A9
86wtop88600:50:47.291.52.016.8A8
87hinsbergen00:51:21.591.41.816.8A9

CATEGORY ROUND UP:

Your Category is not set in stone! it is assessed after every race you do with us and possibly changed at the end of the month so please keep this in mind when checking your results

The top 3 in Each Category Leaderboard at the end of the Month, Get the chance to have Bonus Points Added to there World Championship Points BUT only if they managed to secure a top 50 place in the Months Championship.

The winner of the Category will get a promotion to the next category, but only if 2 or more riders have done all 4 races

The lowest points scorer whos done all 4 races will be relegated at long as 4 or more riders have done all 4 races.


ELITE LEADERBOARD SO FAR THIS MONTH:

RiderPointsRaces
Andreas.J.S245.01
Tuden239.01
Stefan793216.21
VeloBuch211.11
lrollin201.51
BareRemi201.51
karel_sousek177.51

A1 LEADERBOARD SO FAR THIS MONTH:

RiderPointsRaces
Tim_Hall214.51
MikeHagen184.81

A2 LEADERBOARD SO FAR THIS MONTH:

RiderPointsRaces
nielsbrynnum220.81
m-forby215.11
Grochang201.61
Dave12194.51
stfmgr_65185.01
Yumile169.31
RaTim164.01

A3 LEADERBOARD SO FAR THIS MONTH:

RiderPointsRaces
Stefan_Schmidt230.01
Sublac72209.41
MatthiasHeil203.41
EddyDomino199.91
RJL1925179.01
DoubleB85177.01
BTK_jiri70_cz159.61

A4 LEADERBOARD SO FAR THIS MONTH:

RiderPointsRaces
laborg207.41
barttt190.01
wolli.d187.21
MNHROUVY170.01
Thomas__DK166.61
Klinthomie160.01
enry1963147.01
SebLS134.01
Andy_UP125.01
simonjp94.61

A5 LEADERBOARD SO FAR THIS MONTH:

RiderPointsRaces
Squalo_delle_Alpi182.01
DanWren149.01
Duckman2137.01
4WorldPeace122.01
ValRdz117.01
Nathan1406110.01
INGILA104.01
Dr.Arbia94.71

A6 LEADERBOARD SO FAR THIS MONTH:

RiderPointsRaces
LinV155.01
rouvy1bryon152.01
S.Ludford145.01
UncleE64140.01
Bates1980132.01
Mick_Michel130.01
VilemStrakos119.01
Claus-SK115.01
Jens_Teisen100.01
Mucker197495.01
Craighewes94.81
Stehling94.21
FRydberg94.01

A7 LEADERBOARD SO FAR THIS MONTH:

RiderPointsRaces
stelviobound107.01
sunniva102.01
Iam.Anders94.31
PaulC7094.11
ommegangster93.71
Per197093.31
LornMalvo93.21

A8 LEADERBOARD SO FAR THIS MONTH:

RiderPointsRaces
TFR_Grandad94.91
Leneras94.51
Beldar94.41
Matik0493.91
cdtchris93.81
comus_Duane93.51
Sille6393.41
Mischi_RSF8093.01
SANDOKAN196992.81
NestorBeraBera92.51
jeromeq92.41
wtop88691.51

A9 LEADERBOARD SO FAR THIS MONTH:

RiderPointsRaces
Oscarini88.93.61
VencaM93.11
Axel-cql92.91
lorybstyle92.71
black-angus92.61
Alladin_Sane92.31
Stigseviltwin92.21
RitaK92.11
Jan_JANSEN_195492.01
82Jota91.91
Hendrik…91.81
Radl_Sepp91.71
Mikeisriding0291.61
hinsbergen91.41

THIS MONTHS TOP 100 LEADERBOARD SO FAR:

*Ballast added to this table

The Aim here is to get into the top 50 positions by the end of each 4 week period. If you do, you get World Championship points that are updated every month for the year.

Top 10 at the end of the Month get ballast added which is basically a percentage figure your points get deduced by and lasts for the whole of the year

We use your best 10 Months Out of 12 for the world championship.

PosRiderCat.PointsBallast
🥇Andreas.J.SELITE245.00.00%
🥈TudenELITE239.00.00%
🥉Stefan_SchmidtA3230.00.00%
4nielsbrynnumA2220.82.75%
5Stefan793ELITE216.28.00%
6m-forbyA2215.12.25%
7Tim_HallA1214.54.25%
8VeloBuchELITE211.112.75%
9Sublac72A3209.41.25%
10laborgA4207.40.75%
11MatthiasHeilA3203.41.75%
12GrochangA2201.66.25%
13lrollinELITE201.59.25%
14BareRemiELITE201.515.00%
15EddyDominoA3199.92.50%
16Dave12A2194.51.25%
17bartttA4190.00.00%
18wolli.dA4187.22.50%
19stfmgr_65A2185.00.00%
20MikeHagenA1184.84.75%
21Squalo_delle_AlpiA5182.00.00%
22RJL1925A3179.00.00%
23karel_sousekELITE177.511.25%
24DoubleB85A3177.00.00%
25MNHROUVYA4170.00.00%
26YumileA2169.33.25%
27Thomas__DKA4166.60.25%
28RaTimA2164.00.00%
29KlinthomieA4160.00.00%
30BTK_jiri70_czA3159.61.50%
31LinVA6155.00.00%
32rouvy1bryonA6152.00.00%
33DanWrenA5149.00.00%
34enry1963A4147.00.00%
35S.LudfordA6145.00.00%
36UncleE64A6140.00.00%
37Duckman2A5137.00.00%
38SebLSA4134.00.00%
39Bates1980A6132.00.00%
40Mick_MichelA6130.00.00%
41Andy_UPA4125.00.00%
424WorldPeaceA5122.00.00%
43VilemStrakosA6119.00.00%
44ValRdzA5117.00.00%
45Claus-SKA6115.00.00%
46Nathan1406A5110.00.00%
47stelvioboundA7107.00.00%
48INGILAA5104.00.00%
49sunnivaA7102.00.00%
50Jens_TeisenA6100.00.00%
51Mucker1974A695.00.00%
52TFR_GrandadA894.90.00%
53CraighewesA694.80.00%
54Dr.ArbiaA594.70.00%
55simonjpA494.60.00%
56LenerasA894.50.00%
57BeldarA894.40.00%
58Iam.AndersA794.30.00%
59StehlingA694.20.00%
60PaulC70A794.10.00%
61FRydbergA694.00.00%
62Matik04A893.90.00%
63cdtchrisA893.80.00%
64ommegangsterA793.70.00%
65Oscarini88.A993.60.00%
66comus_DuaneA893.50.00%
67Sille63A893.40.00%
68Per1970A793.30.00%
69LornMalvoA793.20.00%
70VencaMA993.10.00%
71Mischi_RSF80A893.00.00%
72Axel-cqlA992.90.00%
73SANDOKAN1969A892.80.00%
74lorybstyleA992.70.00%
75black-angusA992.60.00%
76NestorBeraBeraA892.50.00%
77jeromeqA892.40.00%
78Alladin_SaneA992.30.00%
79StigseviltwinA992.20.00%
80RitaKA992.10.00%
81Jan_JANSEN_1954A992.00.00%
8282JotaA991.90.00%
83Hendrik…A991.80.00%
84Radl_SeppA991.70.00%
85Mikeisriding02A991.60.00%
86wtop886A891.50.00%
87hinsbergenA991.40.00%

WHATS NEXT TO COME:

Remember you are more than welcome to come and race with us on any of our races even if the championships are of no interest to you. The more the merrier!! These championships are just here as extra motivation and fun ways to train.

Sunday Hill Climb (aka the Sunday hill climb championship)

Alpine Panorama route | Stage 4 | Flüelen – Sörenberg | 38.31 miles | 5,371 ft. elevation

Search “Muckers Sunday” in the event search function on ROUVY to find all the scheduled climbs we have created so far. All start times included in the championship.

Tuesday Race Night (aka the w/kg training championship)

2.3w/kg night! we use:

Calitri to Sant’Angelo dei Lombardi – ITALY – CBR | 18.35 miles | 2,047 ft. elevation

we also have a warm up race before the main race. starts at 18:25 UK which gives us 40 mins to get the route below done before the main race starts:

Ferry Lake | East Helena | Montana | 10.1 miles | 915 ft. elevation

Search “Muckers Tuesday” in the event search function on ROUVY to find all the scheduled races we have created so far at the 6 different start times. All start times included in the championship

Thursday Race Night (aka the world championship)

Back to normal draft racing and we use:

Laurel Hill SP to Kooser SP | PA | USA | 14.48 miles | 1,772 ft. elevation

Search “Muckers championship” in the event search function on ROUVY to find all the scheduled races we have created so far at the 7 different start times. All start times included in the championship


TO FINISH OFF:

1st i hope you will all join me in thanking Ste Ludford for sorting out all the scores and putting out the blog while i was away for the last 3 weeks. Truly soooo grateful to him, especially as i enjoyed reading the blog and comments from the sun loungers!

Decent turn out tonight and some old names jumping back in as well which is great to see!

We are now into the final 4 months of possible scores for the world championship so what’s everyone’s aims for the end of the year? Add them to the comments and we can come and re check them in 4 months time! 😜

I know its a while off to Christmas, but if you could get your thinking caps on and let us know what you’d like to see in the shop as possible ideas for Xmas gifts? The shop is the only way we keep this site going and it’s been a good few months now since we had anything purchased. Luckily the profits from the Italy merch has kept the lights on, but we need to see some more activity soon, so please let us know what you’d like to see for sale and if it’s something we can create, Kyle and I will jump on it and get it added to the shop

Quick recap of horrible glitch protocol. You need to let us know within an hour of it happening to you, either by email, Strava, whatsapp, discord, knock on my door, smoke signals, in sight of my house!!! and if you can get someone who saw you finish the race to verify they saw it and roughly where you were, we will add you manually while you get on with getting it reinstated by ROUVY. The way we do the spread sheets means that once we have all the riders we are adding to it, we work with just those riders and finish positions. it’s massively time consuming to re edit it. At the end of the day it’s just meant to be a fun way to train indoors and not 2 nights of sitting at the PC re editing races. We have lives away from this, so we try to get it all done asap after the final race has finished, I’m showered and then sat at the PC. Bish-Bash-Bosh as we like to say in Bolton!

Finally for any newcomers joining in, we love having you with us! But we have 3 simple rules to be involved. You have to supply hr data (but once you become verified by us by supplying it for a few weeks, we will not dsq you if you have a hr glitch so don’t panic if that happens, just get it sorted for the next race. But remember, 2 or 3 races without data and you become unverified.)

we don’t like to see average power over 5.0w/kg in the final results. Short races may see it, but most of the time we don’t really use short races and if one of our races has a rider with this figure, they are either a pro or have faulty equipment. Its not something to stifle you, its a way to keep things close. Same with the 60kgs for males limit. if you are a male and under this figure, well done to you, but just keep your weight on ROUVY to 60kgs on Thursday night. Again, it’s not to beat you up over, it’s just a way to stop people putting in stupid low weights to gain an advantage and to keep things close.

Excellent! I think we can safely say we are on our way! I’ve really missed doing this blog and happy and refreshed now for the run to the end of the year!

Thanks again to everyone for all the help and support and a special thanks to all of you who’ve read my ramblings all the way to here! I bet you are exhausted! Thank you and see you next week!

Mucker1974

Neil Rushby

co-founder of muckersworldwide.com and race organizer! Been into cycling since a kid and spent most of the time on BMX and mountain bikes. Took me longer than most to get the road cycling bug but I was bitten around 5 years ago when I finally got a fully fledged road bike that fitted and I let the flat handled road bike go...

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60 Responses

  1. Steven Ludford says:

    Took a look at the earlier times and my TT ‘reference point’ Bates1980’s time suggested sub 35 minutes was possible. Calculated that I could expect to achieve 3.0/3.1w/kg for that timeframe and forged my plan, ride at that power regardless of what is happening around me .. and basically, that’s my ride. As before, whether I pass or get passed by people, it’s fine, just get to the line as quick as I possibly can. Although, taking 10 miles to overtake Eric did take longer than 2 oil tankers passing each other 😉😂.

    • Eric H. (UncleE64) says:

      Great ride Ste! I saw you lurking behind me and figured “it’s only a matter of time” knowing that you’re pacing was probably perfect – as usual. I was hoping I’d get a burst of adrenaline when you came by and we might hunt down rouvy1bryon and LinV but it wasn’t to be. As Neil mentions below, A6 was packed for this first Sep race. It will be great if everyone who showed up today can do all 4 races. Game on!

    • Eric H. (UncleE64) says:

      Almost forgot: thank you so much for filling in for Neil last month. Smoooooooooth 😉

    • Paul bateman says:

      I did wonder after i finished if anyone would notice the mistake i made………taking that bloody BMC teammachine instead of the Trek TT bike.

      Defo sticking with TT bikes from now on unless there is more than 200m to climb

    • Neil Rushby says:

      smashing TT ride yet again Ste! i was just behind you in the first few hundred meters and even thought “ok, just hold onto him” but by the time the thought had finished, you’d gone 😂. Being a seasoned TT rider, it’s always great to hear how you approached and rode this event. cheers again for everything

  2. Neil Rushby says:

    1st proper race ride back after 4 weeks away from the championship. Went TT bike and my aim was over 23.5mph average. Was looking good for the first 5 mins or so and was holding a nice 2.8-3.0 and feeling ok. Hit the first proper kicker and was out of the saddle, doing 4,0s and thinking “i must have needed the holiday after all!”

    crested the hill and thought I’d recover down the other side…. i had to recover all the way to the bloody finish!!😂😂😂. OMG! i was dead!! wasn’t expecting to activate survival mode so soon, but it was required. now it was just concentrate on momentum. As soon as i got over 24mph on the greens, I’d be trying to recover, then I’d go all out to stay at 3.0s on the yellow and climbs to the end. Somehow managed it, but i fell short of my aim and ended up in what must be record set for most consistent 51st places in a year! one place off the world championship spots so hopefully i creep into it by the end of the month.

    My aim for the rest of the year is basically be in the top 50 at the end of each month as I’ve already had 2 months with zero scores so nothing in reserve if i have a stinker. And A6 looks packed this month so bonus points aren’t coming unless a miracle happens. My other Aim is to be in A6 for December…. not too bothered what cat i’m in for the other 2 months…. as long as it’s not A5 again!!😂😂😂🥵🥵

    • Eric H. (UncleE64) says:

      Welcome back Neil! Hard to believe you finished 51st yet again. Must be your (un)lucky number!

    • Brian Westfall (4WorldPeace) says:

      I was wondering how you were going to respond after 3 weeks of holiday. If I took 3 weeks off I would be toast!

  3. Mike Hagen says:

    TT time! Usual strategy: get up to speed and try to hold a steady 3.8-3.9. I’m still a little torn whether it’s worthwhile to ramp up to high 4s on the climbs and get them over with quicker, or whether it better to maintain a steady W/kg. I ramped, and suffered on the third bigger up we had. I’m pretty happy with the effort overall. Had the devil’s own time getting away from the Shark, Squalo_delle_Alpi, and never did overhaul MatthiasHeil, but had a nice back-and-forth with Dave12.

    With folk coming back from summers off, I’m just going to keep hammering and hope to maintain my GC standing. It’s interesting to see how the various ballasts riders have is affecting the standings, eh? Then it’s just TimHall and me in A1; not sure if I envy those in A6–looks very competitive there!

    • Brian Westfall (4WorldPeace) says:

      Agreed, A6 has lots of strong riders. Almost glad I’m hanging in A5 this month! 😉

    • Tim_Hall says:

      Good luck this month to you in A1, Mike Hagen.

      I wasn’t feeling so strong pre-race so I set out for sub-FTP for most of the race and decided I would kick it up with only a tiny bit remaining if I felt like I could survive until the finish. I think it was a good choice, even though my performance on the flats and inclines could have been better/smarter. Actually, I was lucky to even finish this race as my left crank arm fell off during my cool down.

      Personally, I never like doing TTs each month before the official start, but I realize halfway through, or with a quarter remaining, that since I’d been able to do as well as I had thus far, I might as well fight it out to the end. I recognize that it’s a good way to check on non-varied sustainable power, which I am loathe and unwilling to do otherwise.

      As to others riders and drafting, I am not able to join the main group at the main time due to the time difference, so I usually battle it out with a smaller field… until recently with EddyDomino and enry1963. Smaller fields makes it feel like almost every Muckers race is a TT when riding in or attempting to make a breakaway, but at least during most of the non-TT weeks, the routes are punctuated by rolling and short, hilly courses.

      Good luck to you and every other rider this month. I’m looking forward to any and all punchy and rolling races.

    • Neil Rushby says:

      hoping once a few more riders come back, the categories will even out a bit but yes, A1 has been a strange one. It’s not helped only ever having one or 2 of the elites finishing so we’ve not had anyone drop down from that cat for ages, but hopefully we see a difference soon.

  4. Eric H. (UncleE64) says:

    Strategy here was to not overcook it early, ride the flats at 245-250, hit the “climbs” at about 260-270W and shoot for an overall average of about 245W. The plan worked pretty well, I started out the first half mile or so in 41st and gradually moved up in the first third of the race – averaging 248W. So far so good. The middle part is where I think I lost some focus. I was deathly afraid of going too hard on the bumps, but maybe should have upped it just a bit there since there were a few good spots to back off a bit on descents. The biggest problem for me was constant shifting (really need to get off my wallet and trade in my aging Saris H3 for something like a Kickr Bike Shift). Thank goodness the shifts were smooth, but every single one costs a bit and disrupts rhythm. Had some good back and forth with RaTim and Duckman2. Really wish I felt strong enough to go with RaTim when he eventually left me but ended up “only” at 241W for the 2nd 3rd and with SLudford in my rearview mirror.
    Continued trading spots with Duckman2 for a bit and spied LinV and Rouvy1bryon ahead and SLudford closing in behind – all 3 in my category. Gave it a bit more, but was still too afraid of blowing up and did only 244W for final 3rd – which is where I ended up for the race average. Overall, pretty close to my target, 29th in the race (36th for all events) and a faster time than I expected, but “only” 4th in what looks like a very competitive A6 this month. Kudos to SLudford for staying away from me after he passed and to LinV and Rouvy1bryon for never letting me get within shouting distance.

    Had no clue where I am on overall GC until I looked just now. I missed a fair chunk of races and didn’t get to do all 4 in May, June, or July, so my hope is that I can do all 4 in each of the remaining months and then see where I end up! November will be tough because of Thanksgiving falling on the 4th Thursday and December 24th is the 4th Thursday that month, so we shall see.

    • Brian Westfall (4WorldPeace) says:

      A6 is extremely competitive this month isn’t it. Finishing 4th in A5 and having 6 riders in A6 with better times than me is just a little disconcerting.😬

    • Neil Rushby says:

      cheers for the comments Eric. Nice to see a strong pack at the top of A6 which you are very much involved in. It’ll be all about who does all 4 AND who just pulls a few really good results out of the bag as well.

      On the December races, i will probably do as i did last year and have the final race of the championship as the TT race and hold it over 2 or 3 days. Can’t do much about December the 4th though (which is a Friday by the way) so we will have the races on the 2nd and 3rd for the that round, which will be the first race of the month and NOT a TT (as explained above)

      • Duckman2 says:

        Great fun with the back and forthing. Great job cranking out some watts and finishing so well. I’ll expect you’ll be in A5 soon.

  5. Brian Westfall (4WorldPeace) says:

    So I trusted the analyzer and went with the TT Bike. I reviewed the prior raises as usual and watched one of the races as well. bates1980’s 24.6 mph avg speed was my stretch goal but, that was a pretty far stretch so I set my bottom at 23.5 but, would work hard to break 24 mph. bates1980 out pointed me by 30 points in lasts months TT so my next goal was to cut into that. The plan was to start strong, get the TT bike moving, and stay above 27 mph until the first climb. Then work hard on the climbs without burning it up. Got up and over without blowing it up and not loosing too many spots. Rested a little on the descent but, kept the speed up and caught a few riders(Andy_UP and SYLV30330). Rode with them the rest of the way, they would pull ahead on the kickers and I would catch them on the green. Close to the finish Andy_UP pulled ahead and I was able to finish just ahead of SYLV30330. Good race for me with a 42nd place finish, a 24.1 avg mph, and only 10 point behind bates1980😅. Somehow I managed to place 4th in A5.
    Plans for the rest of the year are, do all remaining races, maximize points, and leave it all on the course! The last 3 weeks without Neil went flawlessly, thanks to Ste and all who supported Muckers!!

  6. Bart Cuppen says:

    Nice route for a TT, and great effort by all, seen from the results table!!
    I took an earlier time (16:30) and it was a lonely ride on screen, but bikeanddogtrips was on the chat for moral support.
    As a sub 70kg guy I was worried my pure watts were too low, but managed a decent time for my category, but we’ll see next rounds is I can uphold against so many strong guys and girls, see ya

  7. LinV says:

    Great race for me. Over the past year, I’ve very quickly changed from ‘meh’ to falling in love with the time trial: for some reason, in (flat-ish) time trials I can suddenly ride with people I normally never even see, and push average watts I normally never reach. Probably some sort of positive feedback loop, but it’s really cool!

    Unfortunately, it was also my last time trial of 2026. I’ll still be around for about two weeks and will try to do the races but then I have some medical stuff coming up (nothing serious). My doctor has forbid exercise for a while and then only Z1 until the end of the year. My Mucker Races are anything but Z1 :). It sucks, I’ll miss the feeling of pushing myself and riding with you all, but I’ll be back in 2027 (although a lot less fit).

    • Sunniva says:

      Take care Lin and look after your health. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for your speedy recovery 🙂

    • Klinthomie says:

      I am gonna miss competing with you, Lin. Take care and I wish you speedy recovery. Great effort yesterday, too!

    • Manuel Lamber SHARK says:

      We wait you here when you are in biggest form, gook luck for all 🫶🏻💪

    • Eric H. (UncleE64) says:

      Glad to hear we still have a few more races before your “rest period” to lock horns. Looking forward to competing with you the next couple of weeks hopefully and will await your return to Mucker’s racing in 2027. Wishing you the best for Oct/Nov/Dec and beyond.

    • Brian Westfall (4WorldPeace) says:

      Wanting the best for you Lin. I can only imagine how hard it would be not to ride for over 2 months. Well, maybe when you come back next year I can actually compete with you for a couple of months. But I’m sure it will only be a couple of months,lol!

    • Mike Hagen says:

      Best wishes, Lin! Don’t be concerned about losing fitness. In the long run it’s only a blip. I was off the bike for a month and a half, it took four months to get back into top shape, but it’s all a distant memory now. Your health is the important thing to focus on.

    • Neil Rushby says:

      Hi, i’m so happy you found a new “love” in the TT race! Really wasn’t sure how using it this year as 1 of the 4 races in a month would be received but it seems to be the one most talk about and “think” about.

      Good luck with the medical stuff, we all really wish you a great outcome and a speedy recovery but i have a challenge for you. When you are allowed back, please still join us and lets see if 4 LinV efforts at zone 1 gets you into the top 50! If you can’t trust yourself then fair enough 😂, but i could always add an extra rule just for you that if i see zone 2, you get a dsq 😉. But joking aside, we will all be thinking good thoughts for you. take care.

    • Duckman2 says:

      I’ll await geeting thrashed again once you return. Smooth travels and recovery.

  8. I set my goals and put them on a post-it. I’m not sure I looked at them during the race but now I can compare them to my results. The race was short so I hoped to really push my watts higher than normal. I’ll be in Paris next week during the main ride so I really needed to have a good start to the month. I worked backwards from the rouvy analyzer. The analyzer predicted that I could finish in 36:30. I’m happy to report that I finished 25 seconds faster. Since the analyzer predicted that I needed to average 23.3 mph I set this as my carrot. As soon as I hit a bump or lump my goal was to get my speed back over 25 mph as fast as possible. I didn’t really pay attention to the watts, just the speed. It worked, I set a new ftp and came in first in my category. I’m over the moon. Next week will bring me back down to earth. I’ll be racing in the recon race, no drafting, I hope it counts, I don’t know? From the profile it’s not the worst profile to solo, I would probably be isolated anyway. I think I’ll be back to focusing on the watts, with more focus on sprinting over the top when possible, so hit the bottom hard, tempo up the climb and sprint over the top. As for the end of the year goals, I have no long term plan, just ride every race I can and see what happens.

    • Sunniva says:

      So that’s why I couldn’t catch up with you. You stuck to your plan and did a really great job. Bravo, Chuck 🙂

    • Klinthomie says:

      Congrats on the effort! And yes, the wednesday recon will count.

    • Brian Westfall (4WorldPeace) says:

      Great race Chuck! Lately I’ve also spent more time focusing on average speed. Seems to make a difference.

    • Neil Rushby says:

      Mucker!! i thought i’d caught you on that first climb and all was going well, then you did your mad kick, i died and the gap did nothing but increase!! you smashed me up! well done!

      yes the Recons count. I made them non-draft as i didn’t want to create a “rival” race that took people away from the main Thursday race, but wanted to help those riders who couldn’t get to the Thursday race at least get some points on the table. Good luck with your 2nd TT then! 😉

  9. Sunniva says:

    Like most of us, I checked the times from previous rides and used an analyzer to see which bike would perform best. And, as usual, I ignored the analyzer and didn’t choose the TT bike 🙂 The start was tough, my tired legs just didn’t want to go. My strength returned in the second half, though, when I saw that I had all the riders from the higher categories within sight and was battling only against Stelviobound. Maybe the TT bike would have been better for the second part of the course, I don’t know. I feel like I gave it my all, averaging 3.03 W/kg (188W). I was dripping with sweat when I got off the bike 🙂
    Stelviobound was stronger than me and managed to pull away, but I’ll keep fighting in the coming weeks 🙂

    • Brian Westfall (4WorldPeace) says:

      I contemplated not using the TT bike but, ended up going TT. I had one of my best, if not my best, TT efforts, so I’m sure I would have been trying to match you if you chose the TT. I finished at 3.04 w/kg (211) which is very rare for me. Always nice competing with riders that we only normally see passing us isn’t it. 😅

    • Neil Rushby says:

      Stelvio was really strong tonight. I’m hoping the longer races in the month might bring me closer but credit where credit is due, he did really well. Will be interesting to watch your fight this month and i will see the rider who comes 2nd next month when i drop down!

  10. Klinthomie says:

    I tried to follow a strategy I made with AI. It lasted for about 5 km, then I couldn’t hold back anymore. People were blasting past me, and I felt like I was falling behind. Maybe next time it will work for me, but I feel like I work best when I am in front trying to fend people off, instead of trying to play catch on climbs. But I don’t know … I am still very new to racing, pacing and strategies.

    If anybody has any tips, hit me up!

    I ended up at 24th on race night. Got overtaken by Ratim and BTK_Jiri, and almost caught Thomas Lyhne at the end – but no dice! Felt a bit disappointing, losing (or not winning) those 3-4 spots at the end, but hey, it is what it is.

    On another note: A4 is no joke!

    • Eric H. (UncleE64) says:

      I think you did great! You can blame the 3-4 places on me for not getting closer to you. I’m suspect if you saw Uncle E gaining on you it would have provided the necessary motivation to pass Ratim, BTK and Thomas – or maybe not – those 3 are all powerful and you should be happy to have finished in such great company 🙂 Cheers

    • Matthias says:

      Pacing and strategies: “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” sums it up for me. I’m always slightly mystified about people explaining their carefully laid-out strategy. The only “strategy” that makes any sense to me is to hit it hard (and I don’t mean the “silly start” which is obviously just a joke) and see what happens. Which is, of course, that Mike Hagen flies past me on the first climb 🤪. But he would do that even if I tried to hold something in reserve (however one does that) for when we meet. So all this negative split stuff, target power, target speed etc. is all very nice but what if you don’t have the legs when the moment comes, or the plan to save energy means you drop out of a group you could otherwise stay with? Stuff happens. Just stay on the limit and make things up on the fly. For me personally it’s actually quite rare that I have a total meltdown before the end, and even if that happens at least I know I’ve given it all. Quite possible that I’m just lacking discipline or whatever, but I love racing like that. Don’t overthink it!

      • Eric H. (UncleE64) says:

        I’d come here for the Hagen Heil interplay even if there were no other content 😉

      • Neil Rushby says:

        Nice to hear from you Matthias, it’s very rare but when i get the notification you have commented, i always wonder what have we done wrong now! 😂😂😂😂, But this one isn’t too bad and it’s in reply to Klinthomies post about pacing so, erm, yeah…. are you mellowing with time Mucker??? I must say that i think most of us hit the other 3 races of the month with a similar mind set to yours, but the TT is slightly different in my eyes and i secretly like the planning before it and then seeing if i can execute it. Maybe if you were in some of our shoes and trying to just get into the top 50 (or 51 in my case) you’d probably try to plan it, but you are you, a top powerful rider who even if you bonk, you’ll still smash most! But each to their own as they say and thanks for jumping into the conversation.

        • Matthias says:

          Actually I ride the draftless (!) TT exactly as if there was drafting — it’s all in your head anyway! So I fight to stay on wheels even though it makes no (objective) difference until the finish line. Makes the main event (with more potential wheels around) much more fun than doing the backup events with just a few people on the road. I actually never really understood how rouvy implement the drafting. It’s clearly there (as you find out when you get dropped) but you can’t “feel” it. IRL if you come out of somebody’s slipstream at 35km/h+ you definitely feel the moment your nose hits the wind. Not unlike reaching the bottom a climb, which you do feel in rouvy! Very odd. Anyway; looking forward to another free-style mindless hammering event next week.

        • Matthias says:

          Also, just to clarify that I totally agree with “each to their own”; it’s just that Klinthomie asked, so I couldn’t resist offering my two cents worth…

          • Klinthomie says:

            I appreciate it, Matthias. I feel seen. I suspect we have the same temper. Oh well, I tried to be clever with a plan, it was worth a shot – back to getting punched in the face (and lowkey enjoying it).

  11. Manuel Lamber SHARK says:

    What can I say? I was pretty sweaty after the Spanish team race with my buddy RaTim, and when this TT kicked off, I really didn’t know how I’d fare. I managed to keep a good pace and stayed close to my favorite “Canadian Grizzly” for a few kilometers, but I just can’t keep up with the speed of a youngster in his category 😁. I focused on a couple of familiar friends nearby—MNHROUVY and Yumile—thanks for the moral support… I’m happy with my 3.4 W/kg average, especially after the previous race, and pleased to have taken 1st place in A5 after reluctantly leaving the tough A4 category.
    Sharky’s goal for the finale? First, I’d love to race in the same category as my friend Klinthomie, and—as a bit of a pipe dream—actually win A4 for once. Mind you, it’ll be incredibly tough because there are some real powerhouses here. Thanks to everyone who rode with me! 💪🫡👋🦈

  12. Eric H. (UncleE64) says:

    I’m impressed that you did the Spanish race just before the Mucker TT – that was quite a warm-up! Good luck this month in your quest to climb back to A4 and I hope once you get there you can achieve your goal.

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