Beginner Racer

Yes, you will start as a cat 5. I don't think that TTs count towards an upgrade, only mass start events. But you need something like 10 mass start events (crits and road races) to qualify for the cat 5 to cat4 upgrade, so it just depends on how much you race. Should be one season or less. However, to upgrade from cat4 for cat3 you need real results, not just finishes.. . But why are you already worrying about an upgrade? Just race, and see how it goes and see if you like it. Upgrading is pretty natural, meaning that you will know when you are ready for an upgrade.

How long it takes can vary a lot from rider to rider. I know some people who almost won every race leading up to their Cat 4 upgrade, while some people did very poorly and took more than a year to go up. I think I had a pretty average trajectory - I got dropped like my first 10 races or so but then I started doing better after I took a couple months off. My last two races went very well but I'll probably do my 19th and 20th race as a Cat 5 next season before I move up.

Unless you're like Evie Stevens, you've got a long, long way to go. Even people who make it from Cat 5 to Cat 3 in a single season end up struggling once it gets competitive, so just take your time. Don't worry about moving up fast. Stick to a training schedule and work hard and consistently, and you'll get better.

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Originally Posted by genedan [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

How long it takes can vary a lot from rider to rider. I know some people who almost won every race leading up to their Cat 4 upgrade, while some people did very poorly and took more than a year to go up. I think I had a pretty average trajectory - I got dropped like my first 10 races or so but then I started doing better after I took a couple months off. My last two races went very well but I'll probably do my 19th and 20th race as a Cat 5 next season before I move up.

Unless you're like Evie Stevens, you've got a long, long way to go. Even people who make it from Cat 5 to Cat 3 in a single season end up struggling once it gets competitive, so just take your time. Don't worry about moving up fast. Stick to a training schedule and work hard and consistently, and you'll get better.

But I don't think an upgrade from cat 5 requires results, it just requires finishes, so even if you get dropped in all your cat 5 races, as long as you did enough of them, you will still qualify for an upgrade to cat4. . .That being said, I still think it is better to get some good results in a given category before applying for an upgrade . . .

Yeah I probably should have elaborated on that. The reason why I didn't move up after my tenth race was precisely because I wanted to do better. If you find yourself getting dropped in the 30mi cat 5 races you will for sure get dropped in the cat 4 races which are faster and up to twice as long. I'm still not sure if I should go up but in the last race we probably caught 10 or so cat 4 racers who started 15 minutes ahead of us, so maybe it's an indication to move up, or not. I'm able to finish well now but I still can't do a turn at the front without feeling like I've wasted precious energy but then again I feel guilty for not doing so. Then again if they can't drop me they shouldn't complain about me being lazy, right?

Hey CalicoCat if you consistently finish in the top 3 in the cat 5 road races but still get consistently dropped in the cat 5 crits should you move up or stay?

Anyway I think it would be good to set some goals for yourself so you've got somewhere to aim. For instance if you're already in good shape and just decided to start racing getting top 5s or a wins and then moving up as soon as you get your 10th race wouldn't be a bad goal for yourself. If you're very new maybe getting in 25 races and finishing in the top 10 consistently by the end of the season would be reasonable.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by genedan [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Hey CalicoCat if you consistently finish in the top 3 in the cat 5 road races but still get consistently dropped in the cat 5 crits should you move up or stay?

I'd say upgrade, you have experience now, and know where your strengths/weaknesses are. The cat 4 crits will only be a little harder than the cat5 crits. But the most important question to ask yourself is what do you think is going wrong when you get shelled in crits? Is it the accelerations that are getting you? Do you corner well, or do you scrub too much speed? Answer that question and then work on that weakness.

Thanks for a the responses. I totally forgot about the competition aspect or the category's. The higher you go up the smaller the field but the more competitive. I have yet to do any real racing. but I'm young 17 and am ridding with racers on shop rides and holding my own in sprints. By moving up I was thinking of setting a goal IE cat 4 in a year or so.. But for know id be nice to finish top 10 in a race in cat 5!!!

Hey that's good! A lot of us wish we started when we were your age. Since you're still young you might have to use something called "Junior Gearing." I found some information on USAC about it but it might be old and you should ask what your local rules are:

http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=2706

There is this kid named Lawson Craddock (Trek-Livestrong) who races the elite races in Texas and he was still able to beat the pros using junior gearing! So don't worry too much about this restriction. You can ask a mechanic to lock out the top few gears

You will probably be one of the younger riders in a cat 5 race but you will probably meet a handful of kids your age so it'll be a great opportunity to make some friends. You can also still do the junior races to race against people your age. Age shouldn't really be a factor though, especially in a cat 5 race. You'll find people from 14 to 70 years old!