[Maggers]

Having seen plenty of threads on the forums about sportives not being races and that people should “pin a number on and go and join a real race” I’m intrigued; how fast do you have to be to stand a chance in a race? How long are they? Do you need a super duper unobtainium frame with a groupset powered by electrickery to stand a chance of competing?

Anyone out there got any experiences of their first ever race?

Topic

[mtbtomo]

Ahhhhh…..
TBH that sounds a
Ahhhhh…..

TBH that sounds a bit more sensible. I got two results in relatively slow paced races so then 3rd cat with the fast lads where I’m still off the pace a bit.

[s_lim]

mtbtomo wrote:S_Lim – did you

mtbtomo wrote:

S_Lim – did you not get the points to move up to 3rd cat? A win (10points)and a top ten (1 point minimum) could or would nearly be enough for 3rd cat (12 points) surely?

I’m under Cycling Ireland, and the points categorisation is slightly different. 8 for a win, and only top 6 get points. To be honest, I’m pretty strong, and if I carry half my points over (plus maintain the training over winter) I should be up in a few races

[mtbtomo]

S_Lim – did you not get the
S_Lim – did you not get the points to move up to 3rd cat? A win (10points)and a top ten (1 point minimum) could or would nearly be enough for 3rd cat (12 points) surely?

[mtbtomo]

4th cat road races are often
4th cat road races are often 3rd/4th cat combined and from what I’ve seen on the BC website, usually between about 30 and 60 miles. Seems about right to me – anything shorter just becomes a sprint like a crit. Closed circuit crits are usually between 25 – 45 mins.

Seemed to me that at the start of the season, loads of people start in 4th cat who are way over and above the ability for 4th cat. They either quickly move up to 3rd cat, or because they’ve just bought a day license and don’t get BC points, they just stay in 4th cat – almost like hustlers 😉

4th cat to me seemed way more serious than any other sporting race or event I’ve ever done. (duathlons, 10k’s, mtb enduros etc)

I actually did my first crit before I did the chaingang with my local club. I had done a few regular club runs though and read up lots and lots on amateur racing, and knew the importance of holding my line etc. I took a “watching brief” in the first race and promptly got jettisoned off the back of the bunch and lapped. You need to get to the pointy end, fitness or no fitness.

[s_lim]

@Jimmy Ray Will: They were
@Jimmy Ray Will: They were Cat 4 only. The first race was on the edge of most folks abilities, the 60 mile race was deliberately lengthy as it was notorious for bad crashes on the finish line, so the organisers concluded that making it longer would make it safer. However, this was only communicated on the day of the race, which was a bit of a joke.

[JohnnyRemo]

I would really, really
I would really, really encourage anyone considering road racing to first spend some time out with a road race orientated club and/or their local chain gang. Ask for and listen to advice – watch and learn from the experienced guys. 4th cat races are crash-fests partly ‘cos so many rock up never having ridden in a bunch before.

(edit) or just saw this

http://www.braveheartfund.co.uk/Community/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13831

– worth checking to see if BC are doing similar in your area

[Scrufftie]

If you want a new challenge,
If you want a new challenge, have you thought about time trials?

It’s not the same as massed start racing but it does have some pluses; there’s no chance of crashing, they are quite easy to slot into a busy schedule and they can be quite social.

If you look around, you’ll probably find a local-ish club with a suitable schedule of weekday 10’s. You get to know people whilst milling about before you start. You won’t break any records without a TT bike but plenty of people turn up on road bikes.

[Scoob_84]

I’ve been doing a few crits
I’ve been doing a few crits this summer. They’re fun, scary, exhilarating and a good work out all at once. Average speeds tend to be between 38km/hr and 43km/hr.

Whist those appear to be fast numbers, you have to take into account the peloton effect. On a flat course without any sharp bends, its easy to stay in the pack. Having said that, i found myself operating at an intensity way higher than what i can achieve on a solo ride.

[Jimmy Ray Will]

s_lim wrote:I went Cat 4 this

s_lim wrote:

I went Cat 4 this year, but only managed a few races, due to having a life that involves children & work. I commute, and use that as training. Bike-wise, I use a Cinelli alloy frame with Campag Chorus (sourced from eBay), and American Classics wheels; whole lot probably worth about £1200 (I also did a crit on my steel singlespeed – that was FUN 😀 )

Four open races in total:

1. 50 mile / 22mph avg. 4 laps with a mile-long drag to the finish line. Went out in a break at the very start, and blew to bits by lap 3. Hung in and finished top 15
2. 30 mile / 24 mph avg. Won it; attacked from the start, was able to get over the windy bits, then soloed from laps 5 – 10. I think the bunch forgot about me.
3. 36.5 mile / 24mph avg. Rode hard most of the race, got boxed in on the final hill and finished top 10. Starting to learn to save energy by not attacking all the time.
4. 60 mile / 22.5 mph avg. Abandoned with 1 lap to go. Worked too hard at the start, with too many wheelsuckers. Got in a breakaway but couldn’t sustain it; the guy who initiated it went on to solo for 3 laps and win by 2 mins.

Did a few crits & club races; they were faster, but because they were shorter, I found them more enjoyable.

Next year, I’m hoping to race a bit more & get up to Cat 3 early in the season.

Was this 3/4 cat racing? If its 4th cat only, I have to question the need for 50 and 60 mile road races. Not on topic at all, but just seems a bit weird to have such long length events for 4th only.

My understanding is distance is added as ability grows as more duration is required to force the difference. 4th cat racing is for those lacking experience, or those lacking the opportunity to train, or in extreme cases, those lacking any athletic ability… having a 2.3 hour race for those people seems completely unnecessary.

[The _Kaner]

over a 2 hour period I am
over a 2 hour period I am solo-ing about 25kph…. :”(
sod the racing malarkey I’m off for a mars bar supper and a litre of Irn-Bru…

[mtbtomo]

Flipping heck Tiffin…. I
Flipping heck Tiffin…. I got two second places in 4th cat crits and the average speed wasn’t much more than 36.5km/h. So I’m now 3rd cat but am way off anywhere near competitive with the majority of 3rd cat riders.

24mph average solo???? I can only just about manage 19mph moving avg on my own on the open road – which can’t be much different to soloing on a race surely.

How have you not got the points from those races to move up to 3rd cat? Or did you not have a race license?

[s_lim]

I went Cat 4 this year, but
I went Cat 4 this year, but only managed a few races, due to having a life that involves children & work. I commute, and use that as training. Bike-wise, I use a Cinelli alloy frame with Campag Chorus (sourced from eBay), and American Classics wheels; whole lot probably worth about £1200 (I also did a crit on my steel singlespeed – that was FUN 😀 )

Four open races in total:

1. 50 mile / 22mph avg. 4 laps with a mile-long drag to the finish line. Went out in a break at the very start, and blew to bits by lap 3. Hung in and finished top 15
2. 30 mile / 24 mph avg. Won it; attacked from the start, was able to get over the windy bits, then soloed from laps 5 – 10. I think the bunch forgot about me.
3. 36.5 mile / 24mph avg. Rode hard most of the race, got boxed in on the final hill and finished top 10. Starting to learn to save energy by not attacking all the time.
4. 60 mile / 22.5 mph avg. Abandoned with 1 lap to go. Worked too hard at the start, with too many wheelsuckers. Got in a breakaway but couldn’t sustain it; the guy who initiated it went on to solo for 3 laps and win by 2 mins.

Did a few crits & club races; they were faster, but because they were shorter, I found them more enjoyable.

Next year, I’m hoping to race a bit more & get up to Cat 3 early in the season.

[Tiffin15]

I’m working in Dubai for the
I’m working in Dubai for the next few months and was considering bringing my bike out on the next trip but after a couple of journeys in the local taxis I was wondering about the wisdom of riding on the roads.

[Crosshair]

Thanks for that crazy_legs. I
Thanks for that crazy_legs. I am tempted I must admit.
I tried CX last year and got slaughtered which doesn’t bode well. I think I should ride with a club a few times before I consider it- never done the bunch thing either.

My job means that spring and autumn are my ‘season’ as June/July is busy/unpredictable.

I usually cram a two month block of training in to get ready for a few xc/cx/Mtb distance events in Sept/Oct but a hernia op and almost two weeks of viruses this year has seen most of that go out the window.

I will see if I can gear myself up for an attempt in 2015- I’ve got lots of big ideas as it is 😉 😀

Ps- the only sight-seeing on one of my 17mph rides is @ the Garmin lol! I agree you can’t push the same without a little competition though.

[crazy-legs]

Crosshair wrote:That’s why

Crosshair wrote:

That’s why I’d not consider a road race then- I’m way too slow!
30mile solo average, 1200ft climbing is just over 17mph.

I tried CX last year and compared to XC I got annihilated!!

It seems living like a monk and training like a man possessed are the first requirements for any serious racing.

Which leaves sportives for fun no??

You’re probably not too slow at all.
30 miles solo on open roads – you’re in the wind the whole time, there’s nothing actually pushing you on (think for a moment about how much you freewheel or just ease up and look at the view…), there’s traffic, junctions etc all conspiring to slow you down. For reference, that’s about the speed I average on most solo rides – anywhere between about 16 – 19mph depending on weather/terrain etc. I tend to reckon on about 25mph average for 3rd Cat racing although again that varies depending on the course, the weather and how much attacking gets done.

But in racing, you’re in the bunch, there’s much less wind, none of the stop-start. You’ll find you’re fit enough without a problem; what is usually more of a problem for first timers is technique, bunch riding skills and “reading” a race – knowing where to be in the bunch, when to attack, when to hang back, when to do the work etc.
There’s a very good and long-running thread over on singletrack if you can be bothered wading through 11 pages of it!
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/how-long-to-be-a-credible-cat-4-or-am-i-just-crap-road-content

The vast majority of folk racing at 3rd and 4th Cat level are normal people with families, jobs, commitments etc, they just like getting out for a thrash once in a while. While they’re likely to be reasonably health-conscious anyway, very few of them will be living to any super-rigorous diet or training plans.

Give it a go – most entry level circuit stuff doesn’t require licences or BC membership or anything too complex (although you’ll have to pay extra if you don’t have them) but for a one-off easy intro to racing, it’s worth it.

[Author]

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