Michael Mann

My 2-cents

I'm (pretty much) fine with only the top 15 being scored. The officials are working hard, and knowing I need to get to the top 20% (15%?) if I want my name in lights is a good goal to have.
That said, It looks like everyone else in every other cat got placement numbers - to 34th in Cat 3 and 31 in Masters men, so it looks like the "15" rule was applied inconsistently. And I'm glad for them - It would be silly to take that away for the
sake of consistency. I only say something because I briefly considered whether to race Masters or 4/5, and if I had finished dead last in Masters (likely), at least I would have seen it, but in the 4/5s I'm chopped liver. Again, i don't really care.
Maybe there were more volunteers available to score those races and they were busy (racing?) during the 4/5. Or maybe the subtle message that you don't "count" til you place top 15 or race a higher cat is intentional.
I know a lot of guys passed me, and I know I passed a few, especially on the last 2 laps, but other than that I have no clue where I placed. Part of that is oxygen deprivation, part newbie-ness, and part the nature of the course at Tabor.
Because Tabor is a series, it would be kind of nice to know my placement so next week I know whether I improved it or not. But I don't expect the officials to take care of that. One solution (and a good reason to be on a team) is to have friends
racing a different cat keep an eye out for your position and time behind the leader when you cross the line. After all, one of the reasons we race is to compare our performance with others. If I didn't want that, I'd skip the fees and just go hammer
Tabor alone for a few laps. Not nearly as fun.