HMF

I've just started racing (4 completed so far) and it all seems pretty cool. Terrain is pretty similar in all of them (rollers and flats). I'm really lightweight so I should be good at climbing but we don't have too many races with sustained climbs out here. I don't "love" climbs, but I'm good at them. Crits are hugely popular but I don't know that I'd do well in that kind of race. I'll find out soon though

I'm thinking of picking the Tour de Austin in September as my only A race this year. It's 4 days of crits and while it doesn't really suit my body type, I like it because it's my hometown race. Who knows, maybe I could pull something off. Maybe next year I'll try to peak for Lago Vista, the race with the most climbing I've seen so far.

How do you pick your A race? What kind of race is it and why is it important to you? Any tips or advice, ie - Go with your strengths?

WonderLake

Honestly, in your first year of racing I would suggest just going with the flow, racing, and figuring out where you fall into place in terms of your peers. You don't really know what your strengths are yet, more than likely. This isn't to say don't pick a race that you would like to win and work towards that, but I am saying don't over-think your first season.

HMF

No no, I'm not. I'm just doing what I can afford right now and focusing on steady progression in fitness. I was just wondering what the more experienced racers here chose for their A races. Personally, they all seem fun, and none really seem more important than others right now, but I'm new.

Smallguy

My A race is a MTB event on a course I feel I do well on..... it doesn't have allot of overly technical sections.... there are no 10-15 minute climbs.. which are a weakness of mine and there are plenty of spots I can grab a bit of a break after hammering all out for several minutes. This year I'll treat the race as a series of 20 min zone 4-5 efforts with 5 min recoveries and adjust as needed. That is my strategy as of right now after not being on my mtb since October

I do not have any A races for Road because I'm moving up a category this season and I want to treat it as a learning experience.....I'll still race hard and to the best of my ability but I'm not expecting to dominate any races

ericm979

They're the races that are most important to you. That can be because you think you will do well, or its your hometown race, or because you like the course.

A races are just the ones that you plan to peak for and plan your training around. You don't have to feel that you'll be competitive. For me it does not make sense to not have an A race but I like to have goals and make plans based on them. "just race" for a season does not work for me. I need goals.

rruff

Try the Fort Davis (TX) Hammerfest in April. Plenty of climbing... probably heinous winds too. There is the Crest Race in Albuquerque in June that has a very long climb.

Creakyknees

+1 for Fort Davis Hammerfest... also if you don't mind driving, head up to Arkansas for some big hills. And a surprising race in Louisiana - Mt Driskill Omnium has some monster hills. It's not yet on the calendar but I'm told it'll be in June.

Bob Dopolina 

My first A race is a 2 day RR that is an A race for pretty much everyone.

My second A race is another 2 day affair that is within driving distance of my house. The first stage is a technical crit (we don't do many crits here) and I did well there last year so I picked it again this year. It suits my strengths and my team will be able to ride for me for this event.

topflightpro

+2 on Ft. Davis. That was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw Austin on your profile and that you like climbing.

carpediemracing 

+1

They're rewarding because on a good day you'll do well. On a great day I'll still be way off the back in any road race, but I'll be in contention for the win in other races.

I won't do a race "just to experience it", not anymore. I've done too many 60 mile solo training rides with marshals at each turn over roads I never saw before and will never see again.

mattm

Ballard Twilight Crit. One of the biggest crits in Seattle - everyone wants to win it.. It was one of my A races last year, and I won it. (4/5's)

It'll be a bit more challenging in the 3's this year, but I'm still gonna give it a shot.

There's a stage race next month that was also on the "A list", but injury has put that on the back burner. I'll still do it, but expectations are lower now.

fordfasterr

State track elite championships. Doh.

wfrogge

State crit and RR (3 week window)

shovelhd

Hometown race. The start/finish is 2mi from my house. Other than that, any state championship, NRC, or historic classic event. I will have a light schedule this year. See sig.

carpediemracing 

Oh and it's the state crit at New Britain, CT.

badhat

i still think even as a 1st year 4/5 its worthwhile targeting some stuff.

not necessarily for results but just for the sake of having a periodized,progressive, dynamic training plan and seeing how your body responds to changes in training volume and intensity.

even if you dont benefit much physically, the variety and built in rests and peaks are good for making sure you dont overdo it.

i found that having an early season mini peak after build 1 for a couple of our rolling RRs (hugo and deer trail), then going back into build 1 and 2, training through the mid season, then peaking again late in the season for the Mt Evans Hill Climb, our RR State Championship, and the Salida Omnium worked really well for me, though in retrospect my best form came a little AFTER the RR SC, so i'm probably gonna back off a week earlier this year.

people always poopoo beginners taking periodization too seriously, but if you know yourself to be the kind of person who responds well to having a plan and a map to follow through with, it will serve you well.

miwoodar

I concur. Many of us had a serious sport prior to cycling. I came from a swimming background. When I got into triathlons last year the build, taper, peak process was already well engrained into my psyche. This year I've switched my focus to cycling and it was only natural to do it again. Write the plan and do the work. I don't prescribe specific workouts for myself until the day of a ride but I do have an intention/goal in mind before I hit the saddle. JRA training would drive me nuts.

carpediemracing 

It's the only way I train now No motivation for many years to do anything structured. My hard training is usually in races; I do sprint efforts chasing trucks and stuff.

WonderLake

For many, the growth in that first year far out-paces any sort of periodization .

WonderLake

For others, it's not an issue.

flaco

Yeah, Fort Davis. I thought I was a good climber, but I got my ass handed to me in that race. I would totally go again though, if I still lived in TX.

badhat

the guys i know whove been racing for years and still perform well are mostly of the one long ride/one hard ride per week, minimal structure camp.

the guys i know who are newish and still climbing the ranks are mostly more structured.

my hypothesis about this has long been that once you get pretty close to your physiological potential, after 5-7 years of training, where the effort required to make small improvements is really great, and the competition are often paid pros, its not really worth it as an amateur to kill yourself for that extra watt if it courts burnout.

but in those first few years of training, it feels so damn good to train hard and follow a plan and see big improvements.

badhat

fortunately the post he was replying to specified that structure is good for people who like structure.

ymmv etc

Yep

This is a great point. This will be my 4th season racing and last year was the only one where I trained really hard and raced the full calendar. Granted, I'm pretty dim, but I only just realized last year what my strengths are and what kind of races I could podium in. It took being on form on different courses to really get it. Setting a race as "A" because you think it suits you might be silly. OTH, making it an "A" race for some other reason in your first season would be fine.

HMF

Yea, I did a fast crit for the first time this past thursday and didn't totally suck. Finished 18th actually, and I didn't sprint. I have no idea what kind of races I would be best at right now, I just like racing. I plan on racing whatever I can afford this year and deciding doing more event specific training next year. Although I will be focusing heavily on crit specific training for the Tour of Austin in September. I'll probably get started on that mid-July.