What speeds for 4th cat?

bombdogs

Right, I have finally decided that at 29-years-old I am not getting any younger and following a two year apprenticeship of sorts learning about road bikes I have decided to take the leap and race this year.
Have spent the last five months building up my training to the point where I am maintaining a decent speed of around 25-27mph faily alright with an average HR of 155-165bpm.
Took part in my first chain-gang of 2009 last night. Managed fine and stayed in the bunch even though I only had 10 mins to warm up, whereas everyone else had ridden to the circuit.
Top speed on the night was 30.7mph, with an average of about 23.5mph. Even had enough in the legs to contest the sprint at the end. Didn't win because I was sitting too far back.
What I am interested in finding out is if I am ready to race in 4th cat events this year?
One point, I did notice that some of the blokes in front of me where mashing their pedals, whereas I found it easier to do smooth circles as I have been training indoors on rollers for the last two months.
Bombdogs

chrisw12

I'm not being funny, but you haven't even got to do a search for the answer to this one.

Just look down the middle of the page and try reading the thread about power and 4th cats and you'll find 5 pages of people trying to answer your question. :roll:

warrior4life

I race cat 4 ok and you seem faster then me....

Bronzie

bombdogs wrote:

I am maintaining a decent speed of around 25-27mph faily alright with an average HR of 155-165bpm.

AND

What I am interested in finding out is if I am ready to race in 4th cat events this year?

Stone me - you're ready for an E/1/2 let alone 4th Cats

Slow1972

What you seem to really want is some gratification in answers to a question you can answer yourself.

If you can ride 25 -27 mph on your own and have found souplesse I'm surprised you've waited this long. You must have found the chain gang easy with an average speed of only 23 mph in a bunch, I'm surprised you didnt just ride off the front and show them how good you really are.

bombdogs

Well, I did think about riding off the front of the chain-gang, but I always remember what my dad told me years ago when I was just 15-years-old and playing for a blokes team - he always advised me not too show off in training because I'd get labelled a bit of an idiot and everyone would be lining up to knock me off my perch.
Plus, I didn't know what sort of level everyone else was, so didn't wanna be too cocky, race off the front then someone who is e/1/2/3 cat whizz past me to put me firmly in my place.
Thanks for all the advice, guys. And no, I didn't know the answer myself, as I have NEVER raced before. It's one thing watching from the side compared to being in the mix of it all.
Plus, everyone who has raced in my club has told me that 4the cath is very very hard and the standard is very very very high, so I am a bit worried that I'd just blown out the back.
Bombdogs

shockedsoshocked

Race and see. You'll have to start at 4th cat anyway so there's only one way to find out.

However i'd not use constant speed as a yard stick to measure yourself. Unfortunately races aren't constant speeds, and you're forced to ride at other peoples pace and hold wheels, which is what really takes it out of you. However if you're comfortable cruising on the flats perhaps try some TTing as well?

inseine

Like someone said, I'd skip 4th cat racing and go straight to 1st or elite..............;
You're either not really averaging 25-27 on your own (at that pulse too) or you are very very good. We await reports of your first win (should be your first race!).
I'm not trying to take the p*** but it does sound like you're just telling everone how good you are.

Mettan

It's worth noting that Elite's "only" average 27-28 mph on "easy" flat closed-circuit races - and their averages are typicaly slower again on "on-road" races (because the road surface is typically poorer and its more hilly). Best just getting out there and trying a Cat4 race - enjoy it, keep training, and try and nip a few points in the sprints. At 29, you 've got plenty of time to move up (if you're commited).

bombdogs

Woooah there.
No wonder there are a few adverse responses.
I think people mistunderstood me when I said that I was managing to 'hold' 25-27mph.
I meant 'holding' that speed for around 10-20 minutes, not averaging. Even then, it's usually on the flats - hence why I was asking other, more experienced people if this was any good to just hold in there in a 4th cat race.
Blmey, the only way I could average those sorts of speeds is with rockets up my backside.
On the chain gang the other night, the average speed was about 24mph, with a top speed of 30.7mph.
I managed it fairly OK. I mean, my legs were hurting a bit but that was due to only a few mins warmup.

dennisn

Have you set your speedo correctly? :roll:

Dennis Noward

Bronzie

bombdogs wrote:

On the chain gang the other night, the average speed was about 24mph, with a top speed of 30.7mph.

In which case, you should be able to hang in fine with a Cat 4 or 3/4 race, especially early season when few are at their best fitness.

As has been said before on this and many other posts, it's not average speed but the changes in speed that do the damage - one minute you'll be cruising in the bunch comfortably at 23mph, next minute it will string out a bit and you'll be chewing bar tape doing 25mph+. This is why short intervals are good training for road racing - repeatedly going into the red and being able to hang on is what it's all about.

Certainly sounds to me like you are ready to dip your toe in the water - good luck with it fella.

mattfaulkner

Erm, the pro's do 22/23 in training, so if your doing 27 mph average then you are insanely good, unless your training run is 5 miles behind a car 8) .

mclarent

mattfaulkner wrote:

Erm, the pro's do 22/23 in training, so if your doing 27 mph average then you are insanely good, unless your training run is 5 miles behind a car 8) .

Not to be an ar*e, but wouldn't that be 22/23 for 5-6 hours? I.e. a distance ride, not a paceline?

bombdogs

Thanks for all the advice, guys. Feel a little bit better aboutt hings now - althought I am still nervous as hell.
Just one point that I'd like to make, the level that I am up to now has taken a LOT of hard work, hours spent training when I'd much rather be spending time with my friends and family, cutting out certain foods, reducing meal portion sizes, giving up drinking and being a bit of a robot when it comes to focusing on my riding.
If it hadn't been for getting my backside into gear and getting a proper coach, then I wouldn't have dropped a stone in weight and improved as much as I have.
Still a very very very long way to go, but like socrates said "starting something is halfway to finishing it"

nferrar

As others have said just give it a go, surprised you've been as dedicated without the fun part (racing) to keep you motivated. As long as you can live with the changes of pace (i never could and much preferred TTing) then you should be fine. If you go off the back and abandon in your first race or two you certainly won't be first. I'd also make sure you have a decent warm-up before the race in case it goes fast from the end of the neutral section, oh and get used to bunch riding by doing more club runs.

love2ride

I raced in a cat 4 race and I'm only 14 and you sound much better than me so Im sure you could.

page23

not being funny or 'owt but i think you might want to check the calibration of your speedo. on your own, 27mph is FAST and if this is your true average over say two hours then i think you ought to be turning your hand to time traialling and elite racing.

however, road racing ain't always about pure speed and/or watts. sure it's great if you've got it but some people are extremely good through drafting, picking the right breaks, attacking a the right time etc.

page23

bombdogs wrote:

Thanks for all the advice, guys. Feel a little bit better aboutt hings now - althought I am still nervous as hell.
Just one point that I'd like to make, the level that I am up to now has taken a LOT of hard work, hours spent training when I'd much rather be spending time with my friends and family, cutting out certain foods, reducing meal portion sizes, giving up drinking and being a bit of a robot when it comes to focusing on my riding.
If it hadn't been for getting my backside into gear and getting a proper coach, then I wouldn't have dropped a stone in weight and improved as much as I have.
Still a very very very long way to go, but like socrates said "starting something is halfway to finishing it"

you're great.

mate, you need to chill-out a little more with your riding if you want to last the 'distance'. fine, be disciplined but if it's making you unhappy at times already then i think you may struggle to reach you true potential.

additionally, i'd also suggest not going anywhere near triathlon...

Ste_S

As others have said, don't worry about average speed, worry more about changes in pace and perhaps more importantly the ability to recover quickly after hard efforts.

Also, make sure you've had lots of practice riding in a group. If you're riding chain gangs though, sounds as if you'll have no trouble