Forced vs. Voluntary Upgrades--Opinions?
03-21-07, 05:04 PM
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Originally Posted by cmh
What do you at BF think of that?
--Steve
03-22-07, 07:10 AM
#52
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Originally Posted by cmh
Here is an interesting situation for you to contemplate. Here in Oregon (racing under OBRA, not USACycling), we have a very talented 15 yr old that races in the 3s. The OBRA upgrade rules stipulate that 60 pts in 12 months is an automatic upgrade to Cat2. This 15 yr old races Cat 3 only enough to stay just under the 60 points. When he gets up to 55 pts or so in 12 months, he races Juniors for a couple weekends to keep from upgrading. This is on advice from his coach, who thinks he is too young to race Cat 2 distances and therefore should hold off on the upgrade. Maybe his coach is worried that he will burn out. Based on his numerous Cat 3 and Junior wins, he would not get shelled as a Cat 2.
Personally, I don't mind racing against him in Cat 3 (he just won the race I was in 2 wks ago). He probably helps make all of us Cat 3s a little bit faster, and it is just for fun anyway. However, I think he would learn more and improve by racing with the P/1/2s. I hope his coach isn't holding him back.
What do you at BF think of that?
Personally, I don't mind racing against him in Cat 3 (he just won the race I was in 2 wks ago). He probably helps make all of us Cat 3s a little bit faster, and it is just for fun anyway. However, I think he would learn more and improve by racing with the P/1/2s. I hope his coach isn't holding him back.
What do you at BF think of that?
We have a kid like that around here, he's 17 or 18 now, defending nat'l Jr. RR champ and now a Cat 2. I would expect him to turn pro in the next couple of years, then I can say that when we were both Cat 4s he once rode me off his wheel in a breakaway, even though his dad had to drive him to and from the race. He's on a developmental team, something that could probably really be of benefit to your local Jr.
03-24-07, 10:03 PM
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Originally Posted by El Diablo Rojo
... We had a simi pro mtb'er start racing last season and won 10 cat 5 races in row, by just riding off the front of the field on lap one. Game over. At least here in central Texas you can get your 10 races out of the way by the end of March if you want to race two times a day on some race weekends.
I also think all roadies should should have to race mtb every once in a while. Yeah, you can ride in a straight line, but when things get a bit sketchy roadies are SCARY! Honestly no roadie I've ever met comes anywhere near the bike handling skills of an expert+ mountain bike racer, and it's much easier for a mtber to gain road skills needed than it is for a roadie to gain the tons and tons of skills mountain bikers have, since we already have exceptionaly control over our bikes. I'm by no means saying mountain bikers who are new to the road aren't sketchy, they ARE, but they learn the road skills pretty darn quick and once they get the right skills, they tend to be a lot safer than the roadies who can't even hop a curb if they have to.
Last week I had someone rip out 4 out of 16 spokes on my front wheel in the final sprint, putting it inches out of true with the hub sideways, and I held it up - because it felt exactly like hitting a sand pit, a common feeling in the mtb world. I've also hopped over crashed riders before, been fine when pushed into the dirt, etc etc. The roadies on my team always tell me how they would have crashed, and I say ride your mountain bike!
/rant
