Whats the diffrence between
 

Racing 40 masters or just 45 years old plus ? Last week I raced 40 year old up masters , I see a race labeled 45 plus .. Would I be better of going cat 5 ?
peace

better for what? nobody can tell you what is better, just see how it goes. Masters races usually have pretty decent fields, usually old but still very fast guys. Just go in whatever age group you fit in to. I'd race Masters over Cat 5 any day, Cat 5 is usually too slow and prone to accidents from novice bike riders.

You'd probably stand a better chance at winning at Cat 5 race than a Masters 40 or Masters 45+, if they are "open" categories. The top guys racing in these categories are ex-pro, cat 1, cat 2 racers. At least that's my experience in NorCal. My racing buds keep telling me to try Masters 35+ 4/4 instead of Masters 45+ or 55+ open categories.

10 years ago, I would have told you to race with the Masters.
But nowadays, the 45+ field is only slightly slower than the 35+ which is ALMOST AS FAST as the Pro-1-2.

Plus, those guys have all been racing for a long time, so they'll school you on the first lap.

Usually :rolleyes:

In a Masters field you are often up against a handfull of old Cat2's looking for a little gas money, to subsidize their afternoon of getting pounded on by the younger guys in the 1/2 race. So you have fast experienced riders in a typically short race. The upside is that these are a bit smoother and safer than 4's or 5's. I have seen some promotors limit Masters fields to Cat3 & higher. In that case you only have to contend with old sandbaggers.