C_Heath

I have been thinking about "trying" one at the end of summer. I think the one I want to do is a 30 minute deal, Cat 5 and open to the public, Max 25 riders. I know, Ill be one of those guys coasting and looking over the shoulder for the pack to come by lol.

Just would like to do it to say I did.

Im an average rider, average 16.5 -17 mph. Im a sprinter, NOT a climber.

"Be honest, you cant hurt me" :55/Rad 2006'

bigskymacadam

definitely give it a try. it's a lot of fun. and go earlier in the summer so that when you get the bug there's some racing left in the season.

DrPete 

I just started racing a couple Cat 5 crits, and it's tougher than you might think.

When you say 16.5-17mph, what kind of distance are you talking? Hills or flats?

The course I race on has one descent and one climb, so the average is probably less than a flat race, but i've averaged 22-24 mph on a course with a hill, and I've finished at or slightly below mid-field. That's also combined with being comfortable in a pack that's not there to help you and not crashing on the tighter turns on the course.

Don't let me discourage you--I've totally had a blast and my goal is just to improve each time, but it WILL be faster than you probably think.

DrPete

C_Heath

Well, Id love too, however, cycling in NC is kinda like Hockey in NC. Well, I take that back. There are some awesome clubs here, just not a ton of people with in 30 miles of me, Ill have to drive. Heck, one club even races around a real reac track, like a half mile!

I saw a clip of one race on the bell lap, sheesh, looked like a motorcycle race! It was Cat 2/3 as well though. I hear in Cat 5 is you see alot of crashes.

I wil still have to wait till the latter part of summer. If I get the bug, it will be something to give me something to look forward and train to over the cold months.

Thanks

C_Heath

Oh, Im sure. I would never expect to go do good at something like that, I always expect the worse and if it is, Im not suprised and if its better then I pumped. In the flat flat flats, yes, I do average 20-21. I live in the Foothills of NC and have what most riders call rollers, I call them hills but they are really rollers. I have a 25 mile loop that I run 3 nights a week and on Saturdays that I have averaged on a good day, 17.88, where the norm is 16.5 17MPH. There are 2 courses here, the race track (flat circle, banked) and another course, which I think is a road course type setup with 1 climb (small) and some uneven rollers.

I think Ill try it, looks fun, who cares if Im last right?

KevinF

Cat 5's crash because of somebody else's accident. Cat 1's crash by someone else's design.

I wish I could take credit for that. No idea if it's true or not, but I have a feeling there is a certain element of truth to it.

merlinextraligh

it takes a bike, a license and a little nerve. I'd suggest finding the local training ride where the fast guys ride and giving that a shot a few times before you enter a race. Most important thing is being comfortable riding in a pack at speed. If you done some fast group rides, particularly where people are bieng competitive (i.e attacks, town limit sign sprints) you should be ready to give it a shot.

As for average speed, it's really not about average. 30 minute Cat 5 crit, might average 23-24 miles and hour. But if you can't accelerate into the low 30's you're going to get dropped coming out of corners. Criterium racing is about short intense bursts, and the ability to repeat that. I'm not saying this to discourage you from racing, but rather to suggest that you spend some training time before the race working on short intense intervals with limited rest between intervals, rather than working on average speed.

This file gives you some idea of a Cat 5 race. It's not the best example because it was a very small field and split up quickly, but I had it handy. As you can see it fired up to almost 30mph right off the gun.

WD_40

If you're riding 30 miles, three nights a week, I think you'll do fine. I'd be willing to bet you won't finish last.

Most of the races I've done, the riders have actually been pretty good. This past Monday's race though, holy crap the riders were bad! On turn 3 of only the 2nd lap there was a massive pileup. At least two people with broken collar bones and one with a mashed up face - also one taco'd wheel.

RoadToad

shhhh...we are trying to encourage him...

urbanknight

Good thing they limit it to 25 riders. Out here, it's usually a big start with 50-100 morons who don't seem to know that the rubber side is supposed to be on the pavement. Try to stay in the top 10 positions most of the time to avoid a crash. But definitely try it and hang on until you feel like you're going to puke. If you can't hang, train a little more and try again in a couple weeks. Your body will need to get used to the high demands racing puts on it.

Corsaire

If you can't avg 24-25 mph at least for a distance of 25-30 miles per se and aren't able to accelerate in the low 30's like someone said, you'll get dropped. Period.

Corsaire

Jakey

You have to have the desire to crush souls. ...if you enjoy making people suffer, and feel comfortable going through corners at 25mph with riders on all sides of you....go for it.

CastIron

Cat 5 is called 'Citizen' for a reason. Show up with a working bike, a helmet, and the entry fee and buy a day license. Then ride fast when they tell you. It's not that complex. It's the bike racing equivalent of open mike night.

PedalMasher

I raced my first criterium a few weeks ago, and it was da bomb. I can honestly say it was the most fun 45 minutes on the bike ever, except for the intense sufferring the last few laps when the pace kicked up.

If the course is flat, you should be OK if you can accelerate out of the corners to 28-29+. It will help immensely if you have a stiff frame/wheelset. The Swan Island crit had a slight hill coming out of the first corner and that's where all the attacks were made. I about killed myself a couple times chasing out of that corner, but managed do well.

If there are hills, even small ones, on the course, prepare to suffer like you never suffered before. I got on the wheel of a bull near the end. This guy had won a preem and contested a few others. I was buried keeping up with this guy as he led me into the straightaway at the front. I suggest staying behing someone fast if you can.

Stallion

averaging 24-25 mph for a distance of 25-30 miles is pretty intense. Are you talking about averaging that speed on a completely flat route with no wind? merlinextralite's data indicates that his average speed throughout the race was probably 21-22mph for the entire thing. I do agree though, short, powerful bursts of energy are needed to compete in crit racing.

Chucklehead

you should see Cat5 here, then.

Corsaire

In fact, I was refering to a rather flatish course under normal conditions, no much wind at all. You'll be surprise how fast can those Cat 5 can crank it up, and how explosive they can be out of the corners!
(not trying to make it hard on a hilly course)

Corsaire

C_Heath

I think Im ginna go watch first lol. Theres one coming up next week, Ill be on the sidelines.

EdZ

Cat 5's are Cat 5's not because they are slow, but because they dont know how to race yet. Every Thursday I do a traning crit, which contains Cat 5,4, and ocassionaly some 3's. The average speed last week was about 25 mph, and this is with a hilly section. The hill isnt that long, maybe 1/8 of a kilometer, but you do it every lap, and its about a 6 or 7 percent grade. If its your first time, yeah, you will be hurting, but stick with it.

CastIron

I don't need to.
Cat 5 exists--everywhere--for the purpose of having people who have dick for racing experience see where they stand and get introduced to racing. They might be fast, talented, very serious, or a whole bunch of other things. Or not. It's a crapshoot. What they haven't done--all of 'em--is earn their Cat 4 designation.

operator

Jeeze 20mph for 20-30miles? That's it for me.

Jakey

Well...when tucked into a peleton... you aren't suffering nearly as much as the guys in the front. So...eh.. we have group rides around here that average 22 for 30 miles.

Chucklehead

where are the cat 5's here? apparently you haven't seen everything, have you?

rruff

As I recall, when I started I was able to maintain ~22mph on the flats by myself, and I had no trouble keeping up with a 26mph avg speed in a crit. If you can do 22mph on your own, then your basic fitness will be good enough to hang... but you will also need to practice intervals, ie repeated hard efforts with some time in between to recover.

If you have to accelerate to 30+mph coming out of corners, then you are clearly in the wrong position. The guys near the front ride at a steady speed unless they are attacking... of course everybody wants to be near the front but not quite at the front. It will take practice and apptitude to learn how to get and hold a good position in the field... but until then repeated 30+mph surges will be a fact of life. Really good interval training...

bassplayinbiker

"Whats it take to race in Cat 5 ?"

Balls. It takes balls to ride with those guys, they will slam on their brakes because of a flat tire and take out half of the field. Or they will cut their apex in a corner and take out the 3 people around them. I gotta tell ya, you dont realize how squirly those guys are until you cat up to a 2 or a 3 and race with some guys who kinda know what they're doing.


my two cents