4th cat racing

Keeping up on a club run is a bit different to keeping up in racing. And depending on your physiology, you might be aerobically fit, but not have a particularly high top end.

If you genuinely are fit enough, then it can take a bit of time to learn good positioning. Like all the previous posts, races are about doing as little as possible until the crunch comes. Unless you're committing to a move then you want to be hiding in the bunch and listening /watching for moves. Sitting at the back is an especially bad move because you just have to work harder every time the pace goes up.

It will come but there are probably 40 other riders in the race who also "want it a lot"

4th cat racing is the weirdest of the bunch. The level of riders is so varied it can be a real headache when it comes to know what to do - there could be someone who's got half decent fitness and fancies a go lining up next to someone who's been doing 20 minute 10 mile TTs for years and just fancies something new, so it's one of the only types of race where the strongest usually wins, depending on the size of the group.

The things to do are to prepare well with food, drink and a warmup, knowing the course - where you can move up and where you need to be coming into the start/finish, and knowing yourself, your limits and what you can do that other riders can't.

After that, it's a case of doing as little work on the front in the first half of the race as you can, working out who's willing to work, who isn't, and how far from the finish you need to go to give yourself the best chance of  a result. Oh, and remembering that there is probably almost always next week to have another go.

My only win was in a 4th cat race, I have good sprint power, but after watching lots of other people do work, I chased after a guy going solo in the last lap before overhauling him just before the line, the all-in effort was about a minute.

There's no greater feeling than being able to boss a field like that, and you'll probably only ever get it in a 4th cat race, haha.

So, eat welll, warm up, don't do too much work, time your efforts to give you the best chance of success.

I know it sounds stupid but read a few books as well around racing, will do wonders for your tactics. The Racer, Boyracer, Shadows on the Road and The Rider by Tim Krabb. All have plenty of good bits of information and tactics

As above. work out how the races are won and adapt accordingly. 

Often 4th cat races will do one of two things;

1. there will be one or maybe a few people so strong the race will blow to bits

2. the far more likely option is that the race will ultiamtely come down to a big sprint.

Lets focus on the second option unless you are ridiculously strong. 

As mentioned, placement for the sprint is very important, as is saving your 'powder' for that gallop. What circuits are you riding on typically? Are they relatively technical or not? 

If technical, there is a whole host of skills around placement in the bunch and using brake points to save energy, move up etc. 

If less technical, then the focus will switch to placement with regards to wind direction. Man I miss one local circuit that used to be an exercise in gutter exploration. I digress. 

Anyway, sit in the wheels as much as possible, then look to place yourself in the top 5 -10 for the last five minutes before the finish. Practice your sprint outisde of racing to work out if you have a strong kick, or are better at longer efforts. Whichever works best for you make sure you replicate at the end of the race. 

Are you getting to the sprint, or popped before? 

I found watching amateur crit race videos on Youtube quite helpful, to see how the winners position themselves, watching other riders and trying to anticipate what they might do, and how you would position yourself if you were there.  Obviously not as good as actually racing, but all grist to the mill.

What sort of racing are you doing... road or crit?

where are you racing? is it a technical circuit, or something more flat out like a motor racing circuit? or are you road racing? 

If you're finishing in the bunch at the end with a sprint, its just race craft to position youself at the right moment

Fitness is useful in racing, but what is really important is race craft, tactics and strategy. Look at who wins your races, and how they win. Are they sprinters? How do they get to the front at the right time, when do they start their sprint, what were they doing for the half hour before the sprint, where were they in the pack. Are your races won from breakaways? Have you been in the breaks, did you work harder than the others?

Quite simply a race that finishes in a sprint is only about 1 km long. everything that happens before is immaterial. Getting to the start of that last 1km in the best shape you can, in the smallest bunch you can is the most important thing. Then over that last hectic minute and a half saving your energy for as long as you can is the next most important thing. 

As you've just started, there is a lot of learning to do young Padawan. Note who has won races, follow them around in a race for a few races, and ask them about their experience, ask them to tell you their stories of the races they have won. Most people respond better to "How was your race  last weekend" than "How do I win against you next time?".  Ask seasoned riders in your club and bunch about tactics and race craft, find a mentor.  I can't keep up when our local Cat 1 riders put the acid on in training, but I still beat them in an occasional club race, and occasionally feature in a regional race simply due to 30 years of knowing how much effort I can afford to put into an effort, and more importantly keeping my place in the front portion of the bunch without using very much energy at all. Mean while all the young hotshots are out in front killing themselves with futile attempts at a break away in the wrong place or putting in 700W efforts down the outside of the bunch to get to the front .

You don't need a power meter, without a good coach it's probably of limited use to you, if you have good fitness you just need to learn good race craft, and that's where other people's experience comes in. Go and ask, and watch, and listen.

Have you analysed where things have gone wrong,/asked people within your club what you could change/what you might be doing wrong, e.g. is it a tactical matter as opposed to physical performance? What do you percieve as to being your weaknesses either physically, mentally and indeed on any given course

Also it's your first season, are your expectations too high to move up the ladder so quickly, racing is becoming really popular and there will be many who are in the same boat as you, really want it and decently athletic but far from the finished article.

As above, serious training requires serious kit these days and to have the correct thinking on how you train but also how you race, get input from respected riders that know you personally too.

Good luck.