Originally Posted by
kbarch
I'm aware of all that, actually. Have seen a masters field lap a cat 4 field in a circuit race. It's the fact that they are grown ups that makes me a little more comfortable. Mostly/more grown up, but not entirely.
Oh, and I've crashed already, too.
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FFS. Masters is just an age group, and an optional one at that. A Masters Cat 4 still has all the pack handling smarts of any other Cat 4 (i.e. typically still in need of some development). If Masters races are safer it's because the 1s and 2s at the front push the pace so the dead weight gets dropped OTB where they can't do as much harm. Most of the people in elite/senior fields are grown-ups, too, not school children.