Chertsey Handicap this weekend

Simon Notley

I'm planning on racing in the E123 handicap at Chertsey this weekend. I know the course well as I have raced there many times but have never done the handicap. Does anyone know how these are generally run? As a third cat, how much start do I get over the Elites?

pinkbikini

I think you get 2 mins start over the 2nds, then another 2 minutes before the E1's go off. So 4 minutes head start. From what I've seen, 3rds always get caught anyway, both by 2nds and E1s, so trick is to not knacker yourself trying to stay away...

Kléber

You might not stay away but in handicaps if everyone thinks this, you might as well pull up by the roadside and have a cup of tea until the next group pulls up. If you get organised and do it properly, you'll get a workout and above all, make the elites work their legs off to catch you.

deejay

Kléber wrote:

You might not stay away but in handicaps if everyone thinks this, you might as well pull up by the roadside and have a cup of tea until the next group pulls up. If you get organised and do it properly, you'll get a workout and above all, make the elites work their legs off to catch you.

I agree and it depends what sort of thirds you start with as some may be seconds next year.
There's no point in starting if all you can do is wheel sucking and that's no way to improve your fitness, surely.
Mind you, if you think you can out sprint the Elite's then why not just start with them anyway.
Have a nice ride though. !!! you'll soon find how fit you are.

A small point but 2 & 4 mins H/Cap over what Distance. (maybe I missed that)

Simon Notley

It's an 80km race, so 2 or 4 minutes is really not much at all... they could pull that back within a lap. I don't rate my chances sprinting against the elites, but I rate them far higher than the chances of holding a four minute lead for that long!

Will be interesting to see how it unfolds... I think my fitness is good but an 80km circuit race against elites will be a real test.

pinkbikini

I didn't mean don't try to stay away! I meant be sensible in how much effort you personally expend versus other 3rd cats. Over the Chertsey course, that distance and that head start it's unlikely that the 3rds stay away, unless there are some very strong ones.
I always think handicaps make the 3rds seem like the rabbit to the greyhounds! But then I'm a very average 3rd cat... :-(
@deejay - there's every point in starting even if all you are planning on doing is wheelsucking the E1 group when they catch you. You don't think that would be a good workout? Why not? Plus it's early in the year...

deejay

pinkbikini wrote:

@deejay - there's every point in starting even if all you are planning on doing is wheelsucking the E1 group when they catch you. You don't think that would be a good workout? Why not? Plus it's early in the year...

Choices that's all, just giving him something to think about but 4 mins for 50 miles is almost a Scratch Race.

don key

The 3rd vets are given a lap minus 150 metres so if they sprint with 150 to the catch they will llap the elites, a Twickenham rider won the Thursday handicap on the road around Chertsey last year and he was a 3rd vet. It was a great win and came out of a four man heavy duty through and off, turned out three of the four were Twickenham riders but only one was wearing team kit.

genki

don key wrote:

The 3rd vets are given a lap minus 150 metres so if they sprint with 150 to the catch they will llap the elites.

Is that legal, or would they be DQ'd?

don key wrote:

a Twickenham rider won the Thursday handicap on the road around Chertsey last year and he was a 3rd vet. It was a great win and came out of a four man heavy duty through and off, turned out three of the four were Twickenham riders but only one was wearing team kit.

There's definitely a better chance for 3rd and 4th cats to stay away on the the Thursday evening h/caps which are usually 30-35miles, not the 50 miles at Chertsey. At the end of season h/cap championship the groups are at 3 minute intervals for a 60 mile race. At Chertsey the problem is the course only take 4.5mins to lap so you can't give the groups longer intervals than about 2 minutes.

Simon Notley

Well, it came together after only 15km as expected and then the pace went crazy! We were lapping at almost 45kph average for a while until there was a crash which caused everyone to sit up a bit. I managed to stick in the bunch but wasn't even in a position to think about going with the winning break, which was mostly elites and firsts. I was just happy that I finished without being dropped!

Mettan

From one perspective the Handicap system seems a bit silly - not sure how 4th cats, Women & Juniors are meant to race "against" Plowmen Craven, Rapha Condor and the like with a 3 minute start over 50 miles (or similar) ........ atleast allow them to finish and get a time and placing (aslong as they don't disrupt the E12 riders) - is it really too much to ask for novices/lower cat riders to be able to roll in at 2:10-2:25 given that the E12's will be coming in at 1:45-1:55 (over 50)?

Simon Notley

4th cats and 3rd and 4th women get their own race... it's us third cats that get the worst deal!

There are dedicated thirds races during the summer season though, so I'm not complaining, I'm grateful to the Surrey League et al for making it possible for me to race my bike without travelling for hours.

don key

Simon Notley wrote:

4th cats and 3rd and 4th women get their own race... it's us third cats that get the worst deal!

There are dedicated thirds races during the summer season though, so I'm not complaining, I'm grateful to the Surrey League et al for making it possible for me to race my bike without travelling for hours.

We actually get a great deal but don't realise it fully until the season is more advanced, there's no training like it, we warm up for 15 or so miles and then it's hell for leather for the next 30. Never have I been able to train like that.

Today my legs are super strong whereas when I was doing 85-100 miles of a Sunday a few years ago I would be wasted for days, convincing myself that I did a great job.There was a lot of hanging on for dear life in mid race yesterday but doing the through and off and trying to contest the sprint after 48 miles is for me a very good indicator.