"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - 40+/50+ category

Here's a start-time lineup for a local upcoming road race. My question is what is 40+/50+ ? (men 40 and 50 and older?)
If so, can 40+/50+ men compete in cat 5? How do 40/50+ categories compare to cat 5?

9:00 am 40+/50+
9:05 am M4/5
9:10 am W3/W4
12:00 pm M1/2/3
12:35 pm M3/4
12:40 pm W1/2/3

The 40+/50+ is for anyone over 40, but they score the people over 50 seperate. For this instance it does not look like someone could race 40+/50+ and the 4/5 because the races over lap, but if someone wanted to race the 40+/50+ and the 1/2/3 they could do that. Hope that answers your question.

-Matt-

Originally posted by pistachio
can 40+/50+ men compete in cat 5? How do 40/50+ categories compare to cat 5?
Yes. USCF rules allow 40+ men to compete in Cat 4+ events, but the organizer may impose the requirement that non-Cat4+ riders ride the Cat 5 event.

My understanding is that many 40+ riders former competitive racers, who're just doing it for fun, now. In other words, they're awesome.

You will find the 40/50 class being one of the fastest races, right up there with the 1/2/3. Most of the 35+ guys I talk to also race as 2s or 3s.

Go with the 4/5 race and have fun.

Originally posted by roadbuzz
My understanding is that many 40+ riders former competitive racers, who're just doing it for fun, now. In other words, they're awesome.

don't they normally call this group 'masters' ?

anyhow I've met my share of racers who are old enough to be my father, and they sure are good regardless of their age :)

Originally posted by VegasCyclist
don't they normally call this group 'masters' ?

Yes, in general those older age groups are called "masters". They can be split into "master 35+" and so on.

Originally posted by Styk33 Go with the 4/5 race and have fun. [/B]
What styk said. This was the advice I was given for my first race (which was snowed out, and rescheduled for May 3 :rolleyes: ). Aside from being faster, they mostly know each other and are clique-ish, and wary of newbies.

Thanks for the info folks! I'm 45, looking for something more challenging than centuries and yet still fun. Sounds like cat 4/5 is my best bet, although I've heard that these guys are a little unpredictable (like me). It all sounds a little harrowing, but I guess it's like jumping in the deep end of the pool for the first time - just do it, eh?

Just do it. If you don't like it, you can always just stop riding and go home.

Lots of fun, even if you get dropped like I do.

Originally posted by pistachio
Thanks for the info folks! I'm 45, looking for something more challenging than centuries and yet still fun. Sounds like cat 4/5 is my best bet, although I've heard that these guys are a little unpredictable (like me). It all sounds a little harrowing, but I guess it's like jumping in the deep end of the pool for the first time - just do it, eh?

For your own saftey go with the old guys not the 4/5's;)

Stay out of cat 5. Racing with us cat 5 guys is harrowing. I need to freakin win a race out right so I can move up, screw 10 races. I'll get killed if I stick in cat 5 that long.

fubar5, consider yourself lucky you can move up without having to do your 10 races. Over here in CA we have no choice but to bare it out :D. They used to let you upgrade if you got like 2 recommendations, but they dropped that last year.

I think that's the rule over here..I was talking to a dude and Team EarthFare about which races to do, and he was the one who told me to forget doing ten races..He said I could win, or place 1st 2nd or 3rd in three races. I should probably double check eh? Either way, my plan at the next race is to attack a few miles from the finish. What does it matter if I blow up and finish last or something??? It still counts towards the 10 I have to do, and I'll get experience with attacking and stuff like that.