How do I get into road racing?

oldwelshman

Bronzie wrote:

oldwelshman wrote:

I have never seen e,1,2,3,4 race

Come and do the Northants Cycle Racing Association Spring Handicaps with me then Dave - 1st one the 4ths group stayed away and the guy who won had never won a race before. Couple of weeks later an Elite started some 10 mins behind our group and came blasting through after 15 miles leaving bodies in his wake - 'twas carnage!

Ah but thats a handicap I meant races where all start together
I might do a few more lvrc this year actually.
I may join you lot on a sunday for training baswe miles as Hemel lot don't do sunday

oldwelshman

Not sure what 4th cat races some of you guys are on about but they are not that fast you should not enter.
It may be that they seem fast because some are at Max HR trying to keep up, but that is a reflection on the individual not the race. There is no way all riders would be on their max as it would slow up as riders would not be able to ride on front for long, but it is easy for individuals not quite fit enough to hit their max a lot.
Most races I do at about 85-95 % hr and am OK. Especially in 3/4 races.
In 1,2,3, can go higher and once at Hillingdon on a silly night I was almost maxed for whol race, especially the start, but that was down to Plowman Craven with Tony Gibb, Gordon MaCcaulet etc going hard.
If you look at av speeds the 4 th cat races rarely average more than 25mph.
Doing longer events wont make a difference, if you get dropped on short rides, will also probab;y get dropped on longer rides, at least on circuits you can get moneys worth jumping back on bunch for training.
This is good as eventually you can get fit enough and fast enough to not get dropped.

Dess1e

I'd agree with OWM, I followed the 4ths at Hillingdon a few times and the riders that get dropped tend to be those who are not confidents anout sitting on a wheel or cornering. Very rarely would I say its completely down to fitness. Hence why joining a club, or chaingang can be inavaluable.

Damien_KW

I think there are a couple of reasons why 4th cat races can seem particularly hard. Firstly everyone new to road racing starts there, which includes guys transferring from other sports such as triathlon, running, swimming etc. Often their fitness levels can be very high.

Good news is that these guys will move out of 4th pretty quickly - I found that early season races were harder than those in the middle of the summer probably as strong new riders had made their way into 3rd by that time.

It can also be hard to do well in 4th cat races if you're not a natural sprinter - as 4ths races are often on fairly flat circuits they generally end in bunch sprints. A way around that problem is to figure out the best wheels to follow and pick up regular points - you may never win a race but eventually you can gather enough points to get up to 3rd and onto hillier road races that may be more suited to a non-sprinter (such as myself!).

Those things aside - the most important thing is to keep at it. Regular racing will help you gain the fitness and - more importantly - the experience to start doing well.

oldwelshman

Damien_KW wrote:

I think there are a couple of reasons why 4th cat races can seem particularly hard. Firstly everyone new to road racing starts there, which includes guys transferring from other sports such as triathlon, running, swimming etc. Often their fitness levels can be very high.

Good news is that these guys will move out of 4th pretty quickly - I found that early season races were harder than those in the middle of the summer probably as strong new riders had made their way into 3rd by that time.

It can also be hard to do well in 4th cat races if you're not a natural sprinter - as 4ths races are often on fairly flat circuits they generally end in bunch sprints. A way around that problem is to figure out the best wheels to follow and pick up regular points - you may never win a race but eventually you can gather enough points to get up to 3rd and onto hillier road races that may be more suited to a non-sprinter (such as myself!).

Those things aside - the most important thing is to keep at it. Regular racing will help you gain the fitness and - more importantly - the experience to start doing well.

To be honest I think you will find most races finish in bunch sprints whatever the category becuase of the nature of circuit races and the lack of agression in riders. It seems these days there are very few willing to attack and have a go
When I raced initially over 23 years ago, most races were road races, and very few crits, then the riders seemed to me more athletic, these days you can get some pretty big (and fattish) riders who can stay in bunch until the end and take the sprints

sheffsimon

amaferanga wrote:

SheffSimon wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

I'm another planning on doing some road racing this year for the first time. Can anyone recommend something not too far from Sheffield early on in the season to get me going? Anyone done the Darley Moor closed circuit one?

have a look at http://www.theleagueinternational.com/northmidlands.htm

plenty for you to go at and TLI races are spot on for your first year of racing. Darley Moor is a pain to get to from Sheff, always cold also, even in Summer!.

also www.nmrrl.org.uk has some video footage of the finishing sprints for the Thursday night TLI road race league in north mids, Might give you an idea of what to expect.

That looks interesting. Do I need to be a member of BC to do these events?

Nope, nothing to do with BC - much cheaper for starters, buy your TLI membership/licence for £16, and then you just pay the race entry fee.

Damien_KW

these days you can get some pretty big (and fattish) riders who can stay in bunch until the end and take the sprints

Fat sprinters? I've never heard of such a thing!

I've just written a little piece on my blog about sprinters. You can probably tell I'm not one myself!

ozzzyosborn206

a_n_t wrote:

grantus wrote:

I also agree that the only way to get race fit-especially for people like me is to train with people who are stronger and get a good doing on a regular basis.

chaingangs FTW

i can't recommend chaingangs enough, during the season we do them every tuesday and they are harder than most road races i did last year and everyone wants a good workout and to hammer themselves whereas in a road race there is more people to draft and everyone wants to save a bit for the end. But tbh i think if you are asking on a forum about racing the best thing you can do is find a local club join and go along to some races, and not be put off by getting dropped on the first lap and it happens to everybody at some point

Infamous

Stupid question number 4684:

On the BC race entry forms, it asks for UCI code, what's that?

jibberjim

Infamous wrote:

Stupid question number 4684:

On the BC race entry forms, it asks for UCI code, what's that?

It's printed on your race licence. I think it's always COUNTRY CODE YEAR MONTH DATE
though.

Infamous

Got it, cheers!