Just done race 5 and its getting better
MikeWW
Posts: 723
Well, still training hard and entered local race tonight. Smaller field but some decent riders. Starting to feel a lot more confident now. Gone from wanting to survive and just finish in the bunch to thinking more about getting a win. Had a few too many digs and went away for a couple of laps but wasn't building up a big enough gap to make it stick so backed off and had plenty left to deal with the counter attack. Chased most of the breaks down and was probably a bit too active(but I'd paid £10 and didn't want to just sit in the bunch) Average just over 24 mph and it was starting to feel slow(what a change from when I first got on a bike 11 months ago) Anyway was just about in position to contest at the end but got baulked slightly(my fault should have been a bit firmer) but got 6th which is best so far. Feel pleased that as a late starter at 47 I'm starting to get on terms-shows there is hope for anybody
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well done!0
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That's great Mike, well done. Good to read too as I'm in month 8 of my return to cycling and planning to start racing in about a month or so. Had my first anaerobic interval session for about 13 years last night and my lungs were searing at the end. Did you find this too?0
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Good effort mate
I am of a similar age (48 next month
) and had planned to start racing in june - unfortunately I broke my wrist in may and am still in a cast with 2 pins in the bone
Still hoping to get a couple of "taster" races in August and then plan a propper programme of events for next year 0 -
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BeaconRuth wrote:Well done MikeWW. Which race was it?
Ruth
Was at Curborough last night organised by Royal Sutton
Others have been at Mallory on a Tuesday night and over at Shrewsbury on a Saturday
Trying to fit in between ferrying my son around for MTB and road racers plus a few MTB races myself0 -
Nice one Mike... 0
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Ah OK. The reason I asked is because my club promoted a 4th-cat race at Tudor Grange in Solihull last night too. Sounds like there are plenty of mid-week racing opportunities in the Midlands at the moment. Can only be a good thing. From the photos it looks like the bunch at Tudor Grange last night was quite small but I guess that's no bad thing if you're doing your first ever bunch race.MikeWW wrote:
Was at Curborough last night organised by Royal SuttonBeaconRuth wrote:Well done MikeWW. Which race was it?
Ruth
Others have been at Mallory on a Tuesday night and over at Shrewsbury on a Saturday
Trying to fit in between ferrying my son around for MTB and road racers plus a few MTB races myself
Ruth0 -
Tudor Grange last night was ace. Great circuit, just technical enough to make a difference.0
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More racing at Sundorne tonight (Thursday), part of South Staffs & Shropshire Road Race League. Two further league events due to be held at the circuit in July, see http://www.sssccrrl.co.ukAspire not to have more, but to be more.0
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BeaconRuth wrote:
Ah OK. The reason I asked is because my club promoted a 4th-cat race at Tudor Grange in Solihull last night too. Sounds like there are plenty of mid-week racing opportunities in the Midlands at the moment. Can only be a good thing. From the photos it looks like the bunch at Tudor Grange last night was quite small but I guess that's no bad thing if you're doing your first ever bunch race.MikeWW wrote:
Was at Curborough last night organised by Royal SuttonBeaconRuth wrote:Well done MikeWW. Which race was it?
Ruth
Others have been at Mallory on a Tuesday night and over at Shrewsbury on a Saturday
Trying to fit in between ferrying my son around for MTB and road racers plus a few MTB races myself
Ruth
Are there any more 4th cat races in Solihull? I am looking for some around the banbury area if possible...
Thanks0 -
Hi Tim ,thiscocks wrote:BeaconRuth wrote:
Ah OK. The reason I asked is because my club promoted a 4th-cat race at Tudor Grange in Solihull last night too. Sounds like there are plenty of mid-week racing opportunities in the Midlands at the moment. Can only be a good thing. From the photos it looks like the bunch at Tudor Grange last night was quite small but I guess that's no bad thing if you're doing your first ever bunch race.MikeWW wrote:
Was at Curborough last night organised by Royal SuttonBeaconRuth wrote:Well done MikeWW. Which race was it?
Ruth
Others have been at Mallory on a Tuesday night and over at Shrewsbury on a Saturday
Trying to fit in between ferrying my son around for MTB and road racers plus a few MTB races myself
Ruth
Are there any more 4th cat races in Solihull? I am looking for some around the banbury area if possible...
Thanks
There are two more in this series, check the Beacon Roads CC website for details. My third place last night got me promoted to third cat so I can’t ride them. It’s a nice circuit this one, I really enjoyed myself.
Pics are here...
http://picasaweb.google.com/beaconrcc/T ... 123062010#0 -
Hello ju5t1n,
Did you pre-enter the other races. I spoke to Doug last night after the race and said that its fine to race the other races as far as he is concerned, otherwise i cant race the other two after my win. I did pre-enter for the whole series. There is an overall series prize after all.0 -
No, I just entered on the line so I won’t lose out. Well done on the win BTW ...good race last night, did you like my crazy lone breakaway?0
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I do love crazy lone breakaways. You cant let sprinters have the wins every time. On another day it could have stuck and early breaks were chased down quite quickly last night (not by me :oops: )0
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It’s a short circuit, less than a km I think. I was trying to get a lap up
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An excellent idea 8)0
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First of all, well done. 6th is not bad at all!
Secondly, why chase them down? Why not JOIN them? Breaks like the ones you had earlier in the race where you got no gap is because numpty 4th cats feel the need to chase everything down like a terrier.MikeWW wrote:Had a few too many digs and went away for a couple of laps but wasn't building up a big enough gap to make it stick so backed off and had plenty left to deal with the counter attack. Chased most of the breaks down
Don't chase, BRIDGE. Let a gap open up, then jump with authority (i.e., nobody on your wheel) and bridge over to the guy and presto suddenly there's a break with both a gap and more than one guy. Chasing -- aka dragging the entire bunch up with you as you slowly reel in the guy with the gap -- is just senseless in a 4th cat race with no teams. The break you bridge to might not stick (given the propensity of other riders in the race to chase) but at least you've given it a try rather than riding negatively.0 -
Thanks maryka
Good points. When I say chase I do mean bridge, although thinking about it there were some times when me and a couple of guys were doing all the work to bring the group back :oops:
Got another one tomorrow so will try and do better tactically at least 0 -
maryka wrote:First of all, well done. 6th is not bad at all!
Secondly, why chase them down? Why not JOIN them? Breaks like the ones you had earlier in the race where you got no gap is because numpty 4th cats feel the need to chase everything down like a terrier.MikeWW wrote:Had a few too many digs and went away for a couple of laps but wasn't building up a big enough gap to make it stick so backed off and had plenty left to deal with the counter attack. Chased most of the breaks down
Don't chase, BRIDGE. Let a gap open up, then jump with authority (i.e., nobody on your wheel) and bridge over to the guy and presto suddenly there's a break with both a gap and more than one guy. Chasing -- aka dragging the entire bunch up with you as you slowly reel in the guy with the gap -- is just senseless in a 4th cat race with no teams. The break you bridge to might not stick (given the propensity of other riders in the race to chase) but at least you've given it a try rather than riding negatively.
Did you skip 4th Cat, then?... Or were you just born good!?Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!0 -
hopper1 wrote:Did you skip 4th Cat, then?... Or were you just born good!?
Am I right or wrong though?
I should add that many women's races are just as bad as 4th cat men's. There's something about one person launching an attack off the front that brings panic into the heads of everyone else "oh no I'm going to be left behind!". So the first few in the bunch up the pace and suddenly everyone else follows suit with that pack mentality (though the ones at the back often have no idea why it suddenly got faster, only that they are now hanging on for dear life).
I think it's just sheer inexperience and excitedness that drives the bunch to mindlessly chase back attacks. Also that most guys who attack don't have the ability to keep it going, so they inevitably blow up and come back. In women's races, it's much the same (lack of racing experience -- after all there are 25 or so women's open road races in the entire COUNTRY over the season, most women either race with men or race circuit/crits with fewer than a dozen other women). Plus the fact that the depth in the women's field is so much less, and teams are either really strong or really weak. And I think women (and 4th cat men) are less confident in general, so more inclined to chase (ride negatively) than attack/bridge (ride positively) as the outcome is more certain.
So you see a lot of chasing in flat women's races. The exception is races on hilly and selective courses which inevitably turn into attrition-fests rather than being breakaway-driven. The attacks go, the bunch chases, whoever can't hang on gets dropped and the "break" is created. Then it all happens again next lap til you're left with the top 5-10 strongest to battle at the finish line.
Anyway I digress. One of the things I like when I race with 3rd cat men is that breaks are allowed to go and guys will bridge over and try to make it work. The bunch sometimes chases but often doesn't unless one or two teams are super organised. Makes for a much more interesting race imo.0 -
Well race 6 was today and although I think I only got about 10th was reasonably pleased
Sat in for the first 15 mins then missed getting the 2nd prime(sp?) by about 3". Attacked at the end of the 3rd prime and got away for a couple of laps but the guy I was with didn't have the legs. Didn't chase anybody down just went for the bridges as maryka was suggesting. Made a lot of sense and actually started to see some of the more pointless chasing. Was a slightly quicker race at 25 mph which made it a bit easier. Some dodgy riding but I guess that goes with the territory 0 -
hopper1 wrote:maryka wrote:First of all, well done. 6th is not bad at all!
Secondly, why chase them down? Why not JOIN them? Breaks like the ones you had earlier in the race where you got no gap is because numpty 4th cats feel the need to chase everything down like a terrier.MikeWW wrote:Had a few too many digs and went away for a couple of laps but wasn't building up a big enough gap to make it stick so backed off and had plenty left to deal with the counter attack. Chased most of the breaks down
Don't chase, BRIDGE. Let a gap open up, then jump with authority (i.e., nobody on your wheel) and bridge over to the guy and presto suddenly there's a break with both a gap and more than one guy. Chasing -- aka dragging the entire bunch up with you as you slowly reel in the guy with the gap -- is just senseless in a 4th cat race with no teams. The break you bridge to might not stick (given the propensity of other riders in the race to chase) but at least you've given it a try rather than riding negatively.
Did you skip 4th Cat, then?... Or were you just born good!?
+1
I'd have just said Knob.....0 -
SteveR_100Milers wrote:hopper1 wrote:maryka wrote:First of all, well done. 6th is not bad at all!
Secondly, why chase them down? Why not JOIN them? Breaks like the ones you had earlier in the race where you got no gap is because numpty 4th cats feel the need to chase everything down like a terrier.MikeWW wrote:Had a few too many digs and went away for a couple of laps but wasn't building up a big enough gap to make it stick so backed off and had plenty left to deal with the counter attack. Chased most of the breaks down
Don't chase, BRIDGE. Let a gap open up, then jump with authority (i.e., nobody on your wheel) and bridge over to the guy and presto suddenly there's a break with both a gap and more than one guy. Chasing -- aka dragging the entire bunch up with you as you slowly reel in the guy with the gap -- is just senseless in a 4th cat race with no teams. The break you bridge to might not stick (given the propensity of other riders in the race to chase) but at least you've given it a try rather than riding negatively.
Did you skip 4th Cat, then?... Or were you just born good!?
+1
I'd have just said Knob.....
Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!0 -
Race 7 tonight. Didn't warm up much and sods law that 2 guys make a break on the first corner of the first lap!!!!Didn't worry for a couple of laps but then the time got up to 40 secs and nobody wanted to work. 2 or 3 of us started to but everybody else just wanted to sit in.
Tried a few digs but then everybody chased until they caught us and then they sat up again. Spent far too long working on the front and with 7 laps to go sat back thinking I'd recover for the sprint and 3 jumped away while I was further back so that was 5 off the front!3 laps to go and I have a big go but get caught with just over a lap to go.Wasted by now but wanted something from the race so absolutely killed myself in the sprint and got 8th.
Tactically a disaster but lessons learnt and I know I'm getting stronger and at least a bit closer to getting Cat 3.British MTB Champs round Saturday then back to a crit race next Wednesday so will see what happens0 -
Still a decent result. It does annoy me the amount of people who don't want to actively race but who want to stop anyone else attacking.0
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Pross wrote:Still a decent result. It does annoy me the amount of people who don't want to actively race but who want to stop anyone else attacking.
Why is that? Have noticed it more and more.
Am just working on making sure I can jump gaps better without bringing the rest with me as just sitting there for an hour seems pointless0 -
My only experience recently is as a lead car but on the the Welsh Champs a break got away and the favourite missed it. Whenever he tried to get across he was quickly hauled back by others who didn't even have team mates in the break. Fortunately he managed in the end and the peloton just gave up after that other than chasing down the few who did make an effort. I'll be glad to just sit in myself (just because that will probably be my limit) when I get back into racing but I won't chase others down either.0
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MikeWW wrote:Pross wrote:Still a decent result. It does annoy me the amount of people who don't want to actively race but who want to stop anyone else attacking.
Why is that? Have noticed it more and more.
Am just working on making sure I can jump gaps better without bringing the rest with me as just sitting there for an hour seems pointless
See my comments on Cat 4s above.0 -
Well fingers crossed next race(or 2) should get me to Cat 3. Only trouble is its all the same races!0
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well no more racing for a while. racing in the british mtb champs at dalby yesterday and big off. type 4 acj dislocation -shoulder busted. trying to get them to operate and wire it but even then its at least 6 weeks 0
