galen_52657

Really there is a crash in just about every race from Cat-5 to pro. The old guys are about the safest in my opinion as long as they keep the Cat-5's out of the Masters field. Most old guys know they don't bounce like back in the day.

A big part of how safe the race is going to be is the type of course and the size of the field. You could have a field of 150 on a long hard road race and if there was a hard climb it would be safe because the race would be groupettos after the first climb.

Conversely, crits with a lot of braking and jumping out of corners seem to be the most crash-prone type of race in my experience. When higher order bike handling skills come into play 4 or more times per mile, the law of averages says there is going to be a screw-up some time. Also on flat crits the field can be large and hang together to the bitter end which will almost guarantee a crash.

El Diablo Rojo

Yeah I totally agree, this season I'll be doing the 35+ c4 or 45 masters races for that very reason. 20 year olds don't understand that crashing on Sunday means not going to work on Monday or longer. Having kids and mortgage kinda puts things in perspective.

I'm only doing 4 or 5 open cat 4 races but I'm doing in a support role for some of the younger guys on the team in races that don't really suit me.

botto 

not my video.

dan.lavelle

"Oh! Ay-ya...oh no"

haha thats hilarious. Right into the back of the wheel he was supposed to be following, he carried a good 5mph more through that corner and down he went...hahah.

merlinextraligh

IIRC it was Hiroshimin (Sp?) that posted it, and I think that their group was OTB of the main pack, and catching a single rider from another category.

GaryA

I still don't see how the rider ran into the back of the slower rider. If you have the whole road he should not be that hard to avoid and it doesn't look the the rider being overtaken made any sudden moves.

botto 

cat 5. nuff said.

patentcad

I've seen plenty of UCI race crashes that occurred for 'no reason'.

It's the **** happens factor in bicycle racing boys. Get over it.

Next topic.

MacMan

One of the main reasons I race M30+ - almost no yelling. Just a gentle touch on the leg or shoulder is generally all that is required and nobody freaks out when you do it. The 4s don't seem to be much better than the 5s in this respect.

EdZ

This is all you need to know.

patentcad

On a fast group ride last fall we're humping up the road @ 27+ mph in a single file fast paceline. A rider 2 guys from the front has his CRANKARM SNAP OFF IN MID PEDAL STROKE, which natually causes him to inadvertantly swerve, and the 4 guys behind him promptly have a mini pile-up into him.

The lowest Cat rider in this bunch was a 4. The rest were 3's, one Cat 2. Fortunately my Cat 4 ass was far enough back to be a bemused spectator of all this carnage. From that vantage point it's entertainment. The next time of course, I'll be in the crash.

And nobody got hurt. But the guy with the busted crank did have to call home for a lift from his wife.

Like I said, **** happens. And what's the BEST thing about bike crashes? Typically by the time you realize you're crashing, it's over. No fear. Just consequences.

patentcad

On a fast group ride last fall we're humping up the road @ 27+ mph in a single file fast paceline. A rider 2 guys from the front has his CRANKARM SNAP OFF IN MID PEDAL STROKE, which naturally causes him to inadvertantly swerve, and the 4 guys behind him promptly have a mini pile-up into him. It was awesome, like a Hollywood stunt shoot, bodies and bicycles flipping into the air like they were shot out of a canon.

The lowest Cat rider in this bunch was a 4. The rest were 3's, one Cat 2. Fortunately my Cat 4 ass was far enough back to be a bemused spectator of all this carnage. From that vantage point it's entertainment. The next time of course, I'll be in the crash.

And nobody got hurt. But the guy with the busted crank did have to call home for a lift from his wife.

Like I said, **** happens. And what's the BEST thing about bike crashes? Typically by the time you realize you're crashing, it's over. No fear. Just consequences.

And before you get all upset about 'injuries' remember this: flesh heals. Dura Ace does not.

SteveE

Quite obviously, the rider in front was well below the posted 30 MPH speed limit.

Voodoo76

Started as a 4 (5 didn't exist yet). There were stupid mistakes but it seemed like riders were a little more willing to give. Probably because for the most part we all realized we didn't know what we were doing.

3's seemed like the worst, more agressive riders making dumb mistakes. Some too full of themselves to listen and correct mistakes.

2 and up there is more peer pressure on those agressive riders to clean up their act (rider have been known to yell at you).

'nother

I thought that was just BF folklore.

urbanknight

From my personal experience, I have yet to see a SINGLE cat 5 race without a crash, but have seen plenty of 1/2 races without one, although there is usually elbow rubbing and close calls.

I believe it was John Warden who was famous around here and on the national pro and 1 circuit who was known to gladly take himself out with a competitor to give his teammate an advantage. Rumors, so take them as you will.

zzzwillzzz

i'll believe almost anything about john wordin

Bobby Lex

Well, I did 19 races last year (10 USCF Points Series races, 9 USCF-approved training crits) and saw 5crashes. 9 races were Cat.5 (4 road races, 5 crits.). 1 was 45+ Masters (crit.). The training crits were mixed fields, Cat.5 to pros, men and women combined.

My teammates were involved in crashes in the 4s, 3s, pro 1/2s, 45+ Masters, and 55+ Masters.

Crashing is definitely not exclusive to the 5s by any means.

...and he wasn't a Cat. 5?

Bob

zzzwillzzz

no he's a pro/cat1. he ran the mercury squad

'nother

So there's no video?

platypus

I've seen several cat5 races without crashes, this year alone. In the EB series out here, of the 8 cat5 races I've seen/raced I believe that 3 or 4 of them have been crash free.

urbanknight

I heard the rumor when he was racing for Nutra-fig.

Yeah, I believe you, there are probably many clean cat 5 races, but I do think crashes are more common in cat 5 than many other categories.

merlinextraligh

In our training race series in Alachua today, they split the 4/5s after a crash last week i the combined 4/5. This week, very bad crash in the 4's, no crash in 5's and the 5's were faster.

Just one anectdotal report. But apparently completing 10 races doesn't make you instantly safe.