New to racing

ToffoIsMe

I didn't mean 27-29mph for the duration of the race. 27-29mph bursts are not uncommon. Usually only for a few minutes at the very most.


You also need to think, the TDF stages are mostly 100+ mile races. Its a lot harder to keep a high average speed for that long. I bet if any of them were in a cat 5 length race (usually around 20 miles around here, give or take) their average speed would be well over 27mph because they wouldn't suffer the fatigue associated with the longer races they do.

Bobby Lex

......not to mention the fact that they race 21 days with only 2 days off & not to mention that their average speeds include stints in the Pyrenees and Alps with the attendant above category climbs.

Bob

Eastway82

But the average speeds for those stages aren't much slower than flat stages, because they make up so much on the descents.

Bobby Lex

Not really. If you do a 20 km climb at 17 kph (vs. 50 kph on the flats), you simply can't make up the time lost on the descent.

Bob

ToffoIsMe

Exactly. If you put a cat 5 racer in those conditions the average speed over the entire tour would be what? MAYBE 12-14mph?

NewR3

Average speed has little to do with road racing. Road racing is more about acclerations way outside your comfort zone, recovery, bike handling, and accelerating and recovering again, and again, and again. If your training rides are group rides, and you can safely ride hard with others, handle your bike, take a drink, etc., sign up for and commit to doing a series or group of races, not just one race. Most people get dropped in their 1st race, so it's not advisable to base a decision about whether you like racing or not until you do a few races. Depending on where you are in the world, alot of race seasons are winding down.

One of the other posters was complaining about the pace of a cat 5 race being slow (I however didnt notice that poster stating their race result), that's true, there will be times when you feel like you're toodling along doing nothing. Then just when you think racing is easy, a big acceleration will happen and you'll find yourself at or beyond your limit - that's when people get dropped.

Crashing happens at all levels of the sport, worst race I did this year had 6 or 7 crashes, and it was a Masters 30+ race, comprised mostly of Cat 1s and 2s. Crashing in Cat 5 happens too, my observation is that Cat 5 crashes usually are caused by the lack of experience the riders have.

Eastway82

True, I hadn't thought it through... but it's not far off over a whole stage distance, especially as they're often climbing a lot faster than 17kph - and even a hard mountain stage isn't all up and down, and usually has at least some flattish fast stuff to contribute to the average speed. Last stage of this year's tour (flat): 40.78kph. Stage 18 (last mountain stage): 37.15kph. You notice I'm carefully avoiding the fact that the last stage is always a bit of a procession, and that other flat stages were well up in the mid to high forties...

vio765

ok, i will help you out instead of giving personal experiences and such. if you are apprehensive, you arent alone. it would be smart to enter a 20K or 40K TT. regardless of your equipement, it is an excellent start to race. after that, enter in a Cat 5 RR (read: not crit) and just sit in. if you want to pull, go for it. winning or even making it into a breakaway or something should not worry you, just ride. repeat the above advice until you become comfy with the race scene. you must conquer one battle at a time.

rgunn1

I'm trying to make the decision as to wether or not I will race this upcomming season. I can't find much info on amatuer racing except for what I can dig up on forums. So are your typical cat 5 riders just beginners, or is it a mix of experienced riders who are just starting to race...? How do you advance through the higher categories? Is it all based on number of races, or is there a point system in place that determines advancement? I just don't know how it all works. I guess if I hang around a little bit I might could learn something...

ToffoIsMe

There will probably be some more experienced riders that have never raced before, but that shouldn't keep you from entering. They will have just as much trouble as a beginner if they don't have a feel for group riding and tactics. To upgrade from Cat 5 to Cat 4 you simply need to start 10 races. I dont think you even have to finish them for them to count. From 4 tp 3, 3 to 2, etc there is a points system where you get X amount of points for finishing in X place in X race.

Aaron H

I would echo the comments that the bike handling plays a big part, I did have a bit of a lively first race as it was a town centre crit, scared the living crap out of me.

But the road races were a totally different matter, I'd probably say sit in the last 3/4 to 1/2 of the field in your first couple of races, not too far back or you'll just fall of the back of the feild on the first lap, but don't have any expectations of what it's going to be like and when you feel comfortable try a few things like moving up and down the bunch, mixing it up on the climbs, doing a bit of work at the front and trying a few suicidal breaks.

The breaks are brilliant, I did one in my first road race and the adrenaline was running around my body like lightning. Even though I was caught within a couple of miles it was well worth the experience, and in my books it's more than worth doing, it'll give you a lot more strength and well, there's probably quite a few roadies here who'll back me up on this but if you sit at the back all day waiting for the finish and do nothing it's not worth the effort being there as you might as well be out on a training run.

Remember, theres no right time to start, you'll learn the skills for racing actualy getting out there and doing it.