collegiate racing

[pearcem]

ok, so here's the deal. last year, i was a cat 5, and moved to a 4 at the end of the season based on experience, not results. my last serious period of riding was in october, then i got pneumonia for 6 weeks. then i rode a little more, had a crash, and was off the bike for a while. christmas break comes, i get about two weeks in, then i hurt my arm and get put into a cast that prevents me from riding for any remotely significant period of time. i started riding again this week. My school is hosting a Collegiate race in three weeks, and i am going to race. This is my first collegiate race, so I'm a little unsure of what category to do. if i was anywhere near in shape, i would do B, but i'm leaning towards C right now. any advice?

[jbhowat]

I would say C, but it depends on the area of the country. Cat 4 and 5 fitness levels vary wildly between the east coast, midwest, rockies, and west. Collegiate racing actually varies a lot less I think, a B is a B is a B.

Here B racers are often middle of the pack to leaders of Cat 4 racers.

[phillydcbiker]

What college?

[DannoXYZ]

Don't they have a D-category anymore?

[phillydcbiker]

Don't they have a D-category anymore?

Good question. I'm told that it depends on the race organizer and the size of the field.

At any rate, I hope you have a first aid kit with you if you particapte :eek:

[HoosierBiker]

It has been about 7 years since I graduated, but it sounds like you should ride C and see how you do. If you are comfortable and finish well move up to B. I was at a similar level during college. Good luck!

[pearcem]

Wake Forest. i think i'm gonna do the C, after a season of crash filled 5's, hopefully i'll know enough to be able to keep my nose clean. thanks guys

[DannoXYZ]

Never ever give up, that's good! You might want to expand on these points and figure out what you could've done about it:


...then i rode a little more, had a crash,
i get about two weeks in, then i hurt my arm and get put into a cast that prevents me from riding for any remotely significant period of time....When I started racing collegiate, I got through 50+ races my first season with just one crash in the rain. Even though my teammate in front of me had slipped on the wet "T" in the STOP painted on the ground and took me out, I still went out and practiced bunny-hopping over cones for the next couple of weeks.

One of the factors in crashes is probability and statistics. There were two guys on the team that was fairly crash-prone for whatever reason. No one could really pinpoint a single cause or aspect about them that had them crash randomly and unpredictably. However, between the two of them, there was a 100% probability that one or the other would crash in a race. Sometimes BOTH. Yes, 100% probability when you combined the two of them. So one of my main strategies was to stay away from those two guys... as far as possible and always ahead of them. People would ask me why I was always near the front and how I managed to contest all the sprints all the time and my answer was that I really didn't plan on it, I just wanted to get away from those two crashers!!! :eek:

[phillydcbiker]

Wake Forest. i think i'm gonna do the C, after a season of crash filled 5's, hopefully i'll know enough to be able to keep my nose clean. thanks guys
I'll be there. Got the flyer on the ACCC listserv today. We're going to William and Mary the day before. I'll be doing cat C in both.