The NorCal Classic begins on Friday. Unlike other In-Person Qualifying Events, the NorCal Classic is holding true to its roots and not releasing workouts early. Instead, it appears the workout details will not be released until Thursday, the day before the start of the competition.
But while the details are not known, there are some clues…
There is only one known movement (outside of Heavy Isabel)…a gymnastics complex of a bar muscle-up and a pull-over. That was announced over the weekend.
But looking at the heat sheets gives us some information…
First, it appears there are seven events on the schedule, but Saturday’s schedule on the Frog Grips Battlegrounds stage has a “To Be Announced” section without a time. Additionally, the leaderboard and athlete detail show that there are slots for eight scored events.
Second, the order of events is different for the elite men than the elite women. On Friday, the women begin on the Trailside stage while the men begin on the Battlegrounds stage.
On Saturday, the men will begin their day on the Trailside stage while the women begin on the Battlegrounds stage. And then at night, the elite men and women compete at the same time. At 7:42pm, the men will compete at the Battlegrounds stage while women will be on the Trailside stage.
And then there’s the time between heats. In most cases, there are two heats for the elite division. This gives us an idea of how long each event is given the time cap is usually 3-4 minutes shorter than the duration of the heat.
Friday
Trailside Stage: 12 minutes between heats
Battlegrounds Stage: 12 minutes between heats
Crossroads Stage: 3 minutes between heats, 2 athletes at a time
Saturday
Trailside Stage: 18 minutes between heats
Battlegrounds Stage: 18 minutes between heats
Sunday
Trailside Stage: 10 minutes between heats
Battlegrounds Stage: 14 minutes between heats
All of the listed events on the schedule have heats that are between 10-18 minutes, except for the Crossroads Stage on Friday.
The Crossroads Stage is only used once and it is only for the elite individuals. What’s also unique is that the heats feature only two athletes with three minutes between heats.
Of the announced events with heats scheduled, the longest heat is only 18 minutes. There is one more slot on Saturday that does not have timing or information, but could this Crossroads event be the “long” one for the athletes.
I could see a staggered start for some sort of time trial with two athletes going at a time.
The competition is being held in Discovery Park, which features a 32-mile Jedediah Smith Bike Trail.
What if…the staggered start is because athletes will be on bikes???
They wouldn’t do that, would they?
Or maybe it’s some type of obstacle course? Or a run but there isn’t a good way to start all of the athletes at once? Or maybe they are bringing back the Shaolin Bucket Hold…
I guess we will find out on Thursday.
Forget all that…it’s a Truck Pull!
Â
Â
