First race next weekend. What should I expect?

[timeismonkey]

After injuring my knee last winter running is no longer my friend, so I picked up a bike at the beginning of the summer.

I mountain bike at school during the fall but have had no road experience until the last month and a half. My brother who runs but cross trains with biking convinced me to get the bike. We both decided to sign up for the cat 5 race at the tour of elk grove next saturday. We really don't know what to expect.

Any suggestions on what to expect/ Fred moves to avoid? I know it's only the cat 5 race and people probably couldn't care less but having some idea of what to expect would be nice.

Thanks

 

[David Suro]

Expect a lot of fun and excitement.

Beware, there are many Cat 5's who are much stronger than they are smart or experienced. Therefore, there are likely to be some silly crashes.

Stay near the front or sides of the pack. Don't let yourself get boxed in. Be aware of the roads and the corners and any possible hazards.

Have your brother positioned in a place where he can shout instructions to you. Listen to him.

Have fun and be safe.

 

[forty four]

it will be harder than any group ride or training ride be ready to suffer and do not give up others will be hurting to. do not let adrenaline get the best of you avoid working too much draft and be smart. also stay in the first 20 riders its safer and easier than being mid pack or on the back also safer crash wise and you can see breaks go.

 

[brianf7]

You can expect to get your **** kicked but have fun and watch them wheels in front stay out of trouble.

If you do get dropped dont worry try again next week.

 

[Hairy Wheels]

You should probably expect to enjoy it before you crash/get dropped/finish.

You should also expect to start more in the future. It's way more fun than running....and, in a different way, way harder.

 

[movingtarget]

You will learn how to ride in the bunch and riding close to other's wheels. The main thing is to be alert and don't waste too much energy riding at the front all of the time. You will also have lot's of old guys with expensive bikes giving advice. Some good and some worthless. Have fun.

 

[Marva32]

I've been a the Tour of Elk Grove for a number of years. There are plenty of long straights, but also be aware that cornering is key. There are a number of 90 degree turns and a 180 each lap. be aware of your surroundings at all times, and enjoy.

 

[timeismonkey]

Thanks for the advice so far. I feel like I'm in reasonable pretty good shape so hopefully I won't get blown out of the water, but I'm going in with reasonable expectations. Hopefully crashes will be avoided and fun will be had haha

 

[fatandfast]

Cat 5 racing is fast and erratic. People will not understand the ebb and flow of racing and each time a guy rolls 20 feet off the front everybody within eyesight will chase him so hard you will think millions of dollars are at stake. Cornering in the lower cats is the biggest difference and also the biggest problem. People squeeze the brakes often and hard often resulting in pile ups of different sizes. Do yourself a favor set some sub goals within the race. Ride wherever you want for the first half. The first 5 or 8 guys get to pick a line through the corner that will allow them to not have to jam on the pads and then have a backbreaking out of the saddle interval to regain speed. The race will 99.9% end in a really sketchy sprint. Cat 5 sprinting is really spooky. Do yourself a favor. Pick a spot that you know you can jump from. Click to 1 gear higher than you are racing in and get out of the saddle and bury yourself..a really hard 5 or 600 meter TT will give you just as good a chance as the curb to curb no bike handling bloodsport that you will witness. No matter what you will have a blast. Sign up for any and every time trial in your area. Master the TT and you will be a 3 by the end of the year. Being able to ride fast without anybody else provide motivation or a wind break is the key to bike racing. Do Superweek next year. This year it's from July 6-25th and has 6 IL stages as well as the beauty of WI. Without question the best 2 weeks of racing in the US.

 

[Notso Swift]

Every bit of advice above I agree with.
The biggest thing in low cats is that there are guys who should be higher grades, they will kick it. As long as you know that it is fine (BTW it could be you, I went to low for my first race back and had an easy second even after being boxed and the guy in front was 100mt clear before I got out)
The other big thing you will learn is what type of rider you are, chances are it is something different to what you are expecting
Sounds like it is a crit type not a road race so my advice is to:
Get there early, ride the course gently, then maybe once at speed... that could mean cranking it INTO the corners and rolling the straight
Don't warm up "too much," as in, make sure your muscles are loose, but save your energy for the race (Older you are the more warm up you need)

THe thing that will kill the most is the 180 mentioned, every time you come out of that you will be doing a full sprint, that is as tough as they get.

 

[TopCarbon]

you will be nervous.

Thats okay, it just means you are ready.

Stay as far forward as much as you can.

Don't let any gaps emerge in front of you. Its easier to draft than to brake and accelerate.

Enjoy it, there is only one first time.

 

[redtreviso]

After injuring my knee last winter running is no longer my friend, so I picked up a bike at the beginning of the summer.

I mountain bike at school during the fall but have had no road experience until the last month and a half. My brother who runs but cross trains with biking convinced me to get the bike. We both decided to sign up for the cat 5 race at the tour of elk grove next saturday. We really don't know what to expect.

Any suggestions on what to expect/ Fred moves to avoid? I know it's only the cat 5 race and people probably couldn't care less but having some idea of what to expect would be nice.

Thanks

You'll crash and injure someone else because you don't know any better than to not develop some pack riding skills before you try to race..

 

[jayfro72]

Good advice from everyone. Like Notso Swift said, mentally prepare yourself for the sandbaggers. The first race I did, the first 2 guys beat almost thirty guys by nearly 20 minutes in a 40 mile race. The next day the same two guys lapped the field in the crit. I was young and for some reason I really let it get to me. That being said, have fun and do another race soon after. It'll be way easier.

 

[Boeing]

To avoid depression; Don't wear a heart rate monitor the first race.

 

[Boeing]

Great advice from all here. Great thread

Good luck

 

[TopCarbon]

what makes things a bit easier is to have a buddy in the same race, preferably a training buddy.

 

[durianrider]

I raced my first crit in shorts and t shirt back in 97. Im racing Cat 1 now and it hurts a lot less cos you know what to expect. That first crit I ever did in 97 was the hardest race Ive ever done. Thesedays, I know what to expect now, its a lot easier mentally. I had a break from racing due to an accident and started back this year in Cat 3 and the first race back was hard and then the next race I dropped em all in a 34km solo breakaway. It doesnt take much to get it back and move up to the next Cat.

Just go out there and smash yourself, have fun and learn from any mistakes. Make sure you carb up and stay hydrated after the race so you want to go back and do it again! Too many people forget recovery and wonder why they only ever raced one season and gave it in, or never even raced at all.

 

[Boeing]

Unfortunately you have to race a lot of crits here in socal to move up in rank and I hated it.

you will know soon enough how well your bike handling skills are in general. then you will discover how good your handling skills are when you are cooked or redlined

a lot of varied experience and desires lead to some nasty road rash and broken steerer tubes

there is a thread on MTBR called Tuck and Roll by some DH guys look it up. You should know how to tuck and roll...

 

[craig1985]

One other thing, what ever you do, DON'T overlap wheels.

 

[timeismonkey]

Every bit of advice above I agree with.
The biggest thing in low cats is that there are guys who should be higher grades, they will kick it. As long as you know that it is fine (BTW it could be you, I went to low for my first race back and had an easy second even after being boxed and the guy in front was 100mt clear before I got out)
The other big thing you will learn is what type of rider you are, chances are it is something different to what you are expecting
Sounds like it is a crit type not a road race so my advice is to:
Get there early, ride the course gently, then maybe once at speed... that could mean cranking it INTO the corners and rolling the straight
Don't warm up "too much," as in, make sure your muscles are loose, but save your energy for the race (Older you are the more warm up you need)

THe thing that will kill the most is the 180 mentioned, every time you come out of that you will be doing a full sprint, that is as tough as they get.

I'm really hopeing this type of race is what I'm suited to, I would much rather sprint and accelerate for 45 min than ride at a constant speed for hours. Maybe this just comes from being a 200/400/800m runner; but like you said I could be completely wrong.

All this talk of wrecking is a little uneasing but I figure a road wreck cant be worse than a mtb cross wreck or a downhill. I feel I have some pretty decent bike control but I don't want to take anybody out, that would suck.

But really, thanks for all the advice so far it's nice to have a bit of an idea what to expect.

 

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[timeismonkey]

Well I figured I would let you guys know how it went.

It was pretty fun and I avoided crashing. Approximately 2 min before the race began I was told I was not signed up for the heat i was lined up for. I proceeded to tell them that I registered over a month ago and there is no way that is right. Keep in mind I had my bib number on that had the correct category and heat number on it so it didn't really make sense. So 5 sec before the whistle is blown I have to ask if I'm still allowed to race and I get an " oh yeah your fine". It would have been nice to have been told that and not left there wondering what is happening.

Anyways, I'm at the back and go out pretty hard to catch my brother who's at the front which was a mistake. The last two laps were pretty painful. I caught him and we were on the tail end of the lead pack when 3 guys crash going into the 180 turn. I can't blame them too much as it poured earlier and the course was wet and there are bricks that were slippery right when you were under breaking. My rear wheel fish tailed a couple times. So we had to stop to avoid smashing them and lost the lead pack.

I don't think I would have stayed with the lead pack until the end anyways. It was a learning experience and I found some major holes in my training. I'll be out there again though.

 

[Steel4Ever]

...we were on the tail end of the lead pack when 3 guys crash going into the 180 turn.

180 deg. turn?!?!

Did ASO organize this crit?

Seriously? A 180? That's nuts. I've raced some screwball corner configs before but never a one-eighty. Surprised only 3 crashed.

+1 to you for staying upright and finishing!

 

[Michele]

Sounds good as first race!
Just remember that you need to do a couple of them for get the right rythm/speed.

 

[TopCarbon]

good job, hope you are hooked.