Starting Racing

grantus

Sorry if this has been done before.

What kind of level of fitness do you need to compete at cat 4 level?

I know perhaps it's a 'how long is a piece of string' question but, just roughly, ie if you can do a flat 10 mile TT in sub-25 minutes would this bode well. I'm probably closer to 27/28 minutes at present.

Also, what kinds of distances are the races, etc.?

Would be interesting to hear from people who've taken the plunge into racing over the last year or two as to whether it's harder or easier than they expected, etc.

Sorry if this is really vague but any comments or advice would be welcome as I don't know anyone who races.

Cheers

JC.152

You could try out races like TLI and turn up and ride races before doing Cat 4s so that you get experience before doing BC races

Bronzie

grantus wrote:

What kind of level of fitness do you need to compete at cat 4 level?

I know perhaps it's a 'how long is a piece of string' question but, just roughly, ie if you can do a flat 10 mile TT in sub-25 minutes would this bode well. I'm probably closer to 27/28 minutes at present.

Also, what kinds of distances are the races, etc.?

You have to be pretty fit but not ridiculously so to hang in there in a 4th cat bunch - average speeds will be 23-25mph but it's the change in pace that you may find hard to cope with at first - speeds can often jump from 18mph to 30mph if someone launches off the front and everyone scrabbles for wheels in their wake. It soon calms down again though!

As a rule of thumb I'd suggest a 10 time of around 26 mins as a minimum, but of course it depends on your course etc - to be honest, you'll need to try it for yourself to answer your question.

The difficulty of the course has a major bearing - a lot of 4th cat only races will be on a closed circuit like Hillingdon etc - you will need to be able to hold your speed through corners and jump out of each corner without going into the red which is a challenge in itself. Other courses can be much easier with less hard efforts required to hang in at the back.

4th cat only races will be around 30 miles at the max (about 1hr20mins).

If you have one near you, I'd highly recommend having a go at track racing as an entry to bunch racing - it's flat, the races tend to be short and fast but with less changes in pace, you don't need to be able to corner that well and there's less to think about in the way of what gear to use etc as you only have the one! It will also teach you how to pedal. (PS I'm talking about outdoor tracks of which there are quite a number across the UK, not indoor ones like you see at the Olympics - most tracks have a weekly track league that runs one weekday evening from April to September.

Join a local racing club to meet more experienced riders and they should be only too happy to point you in the right direction.

grantus

Thank you.

Jez mon

I would say that 27/28 minute 10 mile TTs are acceptable to start with. Especially if you are just using a standard road bike with no tribars. I did more or less a 29 minute 10 TT in training, (not fully flat out and on a slow course) and am doing my first race of the season this week (exams mean no racing, caus I'm not that good)

I read recently that if you can cycle at 18mph for an hour, you can ride a 4cat race. This seems to be pushing it, but in general once the racing juices gets going, you'll be amazed at how much hurt your legs can take

Titanium

Just go. If you get dropped in your first race, don't sweat, try it 10 times and you'll come good.
It comes down to a lot more than fitness, you need to refine your skills and to be comfortable in the pack.

richa

I'd like a go at Road racing next year too. But don't fancy the ignominy of getting dropped after 5 mins of a 1hr20 race.

Can anyone translate Cat4 standard into a Richmond Park 3 lap time?

Based on the lowest categorised rider on the RP Thread it would seem that sub 4 hrs is required for Cat 4?

Titanium

Having lived near Richmond Park, I can't advise you on what times work for racing. Racing is not like time trialling, like I said above it comes down to skills as well as fitness, this is what makes it fun. If you see a race and the riders average 25mph, that doesn't mean much as the guys could be doing 35mph at some points during the race and 20mph at others. It's all about coping with speed changes, so you will find a correlation between faster Richmond Park lap times and racing categories but they are not the same.
Find a good club where the guys race and get advice from them, it's good to race with others.

Bronzie

Jez mon wrote:

I read recently that if you can cycle at 18mph for an hour, you can ride a 4cat race.

Probably not a million miles out on a flat course with few bends - on a small circuit with even a moderate climb in and a few sharp turns...................well, it starts to hurt pretty quickly.

Don't worry about getting dropped first time around - most people probably do. Just make sure you come back next week, and the following week and before too long you'll be hanging in there, and in the following weeks, riding up the front etc. The best way to get race fit is to race.

Golden rule when starting out is to stay off the front if at all possible and ride close to the rider in front of you (without overlapping wheels).

Doobz

I would also suggest doing some club/group riding before you start racing if your not already.

Racing in a group is a pretty intense and you need very good bike handling skills. There are so many tits who just throw their bike around and not think about their line etc and you end up on the floor or in a bush while they are up the road without any clue what they did.

Good handling skills and the ability to pre-empt situations will help you out. There is also nothing wrong with letting everyone else do the work at the front and in the first few laps.

Look for the riders who look as if they are saving themselves for the last laps because they will be the ones to watch out for.

genki

Doobz wrote:

I would also suggest doing some club/group riding before you start racing if your not already.

Racing in a group is a pretty intense and you need very good bike handling skills. There are so many tits who just throw their bike around and not think about their line etc and you end up on the floor or in a bush while they are up the road without any clue what they did.

I'd echo that. Cat 4 racing sounds fun and it is, but by definition you've got a lot of riders who have either never raced much before, or who are not very good at racing (or both). As a result, the number of crashes and near misses is high. I started racing last year and in the four 4th cat races I did I got knocked off twice by idiots riding into each other just in front of me and causing pile-ups. As Doobz says, often the culprit doesn't even know what they've done. I'd love to have had a chat about it with the guy who put three of us into A&E the last time I raced at Chertsey. So by all means have a go at racing, but it's not just about how fast you can go and whether you get dropped or not. Please remember to ride with a bit of care for the other riders around you, even if you are pushing yourself to the limit.

incog24

This sounds a little silly, but if I turn up on an old steel racer with downtube shifters would I just get laughed out the group (Go-race event)?

andyp

incog24 wrote:

This sounds a little silly, but if I turn up on an old steel racer with downtube shifters would I just get laughed out the group (Go-race event)?

Only by those who feel superior, i.e. numpties.

When I first raced a guy used to turn up every week on a filthy old steel bike with 27" wheels and he had, shock horror, hairy legs. He was always there or thereabouts at the finish.

Go for it - stuff what anyone else thinks.

Bronzie

incog24 wrote:

if I turn up on an old steel racer with downtube shifters would I just get laughed out the group

You might well get a few odd looks, but like Andy says, just go for it

PS It's a LOT easier racing with STI levers than downtube shifters as you can change gear without fumbling for the levers and without taking your hands off the bars and you can even change whilst braking into the corners

incog24

Bronzie wrote:

incog24 wrote:

if I turn up on an old steel racer with downtube shifters would I just get laughed out the group

PS It's a LOT easier racing with STI levers than downtube shifters as you can change gear without fumbling for the levers and without taking your hands off the bars and you can even change whilst braking into the corners

This is true, downtube shifters do seem to require you to predict whats going to happen a little better, but I suppose that'll help in the end. I'd much rather be on an STI equiped bike, its the lack of money rather than desire! I decided that since I want to race, I might as well just race now rather than wait until I get a new bike. My main worry is responding to sprints as I won't be able to change as fast, but on a track that should be less of a problem I imagine.

Jez mon

All depends on the track. After one or two laps you'll notice a pattern. You'll need to change up here, change down there etc. It depends on the track, but a lot of Crits are, sprint, easy(ish), corner, sprint again...

huggy

I did my first junior race last week on Castle Combe race track, it was so much fun! Don't worry about the race, just enter it. It's incredible when you have competition just what you can do, it really feels different from a training ride. The pace changes are a bit deadly as some guys got completely dropped off the back on one corner, so I'd suggest riding in the middle so you can see roughly what's happening and also get some good drafting.

I got forced to the front for about 5 minutes I was very burnt in the legs after that so don't let it happen!

Also, you need to be pretty good at jumping out of the saddle sometimes to speed up a bit, though it might just be because I'm not very good at that...

boybiker

My first cat 4 wasn't too good as I got taken down when someone else crashed but it was wildly exciting while it lasted and I am doing another this weekend, if you can do a reasonable ten time then you will be fine keeping up with the pack, you just have to watch out for numpties who clearly haven't ridden in a group before and be prepared for the pace changes. I loved every second despite the crash.
Just be ready to jump up and start stamping on the pedals