I encourage you to go read all of my posts in this thread. I’ve given you nothing but constructive feedback
I happen to agree with you about some of the problems with sanctioned road races, but you are being deliberately obtuse and ignoring the countless helpful replies to this thread and only focusing on the negative ones - so there’s no real point in weighing in on the state of road racing when you won’t look at the problems on your end seriously and are only interested in pointing out other problems that you cannot control
This comment may be yet another example of your lack of understanding how bike racing works.
In the upper categories (4/5), teams and team tactics rarely come into play (they still do in the 4’s). It is largely an individual race combined with individual tactics and fitness/skill.
In the lower categories (P/1/2/3), there are still a small percentage of riders who are most likely to win a certain race but would not be able to do so without full support from their team.
Don’t try offshore sailboat racing! No one is going to care if you get seasick and puke on yourself or you’ve been cold, wet and miserable for the past 12 straight hours and now you have to do your part, again, in the 5th sail change of the night because another squall has hit.
Some folks live for that, but its not for everybody.
I bet if you do more, and used what you learned in the first one, your perspective might change.
I think the biggest issues is the expectations vs reality…
Since you have done tris and running races, your expectation were of similar experience, when the reality is than cycling is a VERY different type of sports that from what you described is not as welcoming as running for example.
I know there is cycling in tris, but when it comes to racing, pure cycling is hard…
I have 0 interest in doing a crit… well, I do a bit, but nah… looks dangerous!
@Alen I get that I am highly unlikely to change anyone’s mind about anything via the internet but here I am posting again because I really like racing my bike and I want you/everyone else to get the same kind of enjoyment out of it.
I don’t hear anyone saying “we don’t want your ilk around here!” so much as I hear people saying something along the lines of don’t ask the entire sport to change in order cater to your needs or don’t race the cat3/4 as your first race. You had a bad race experience and are finding fault with the other racers, the race organizer, USAC, and the sport in general. I don’t disagree that there is an important conversation to be had about making cycling a bigger tent and bringing new people into the sport but it really sounds a lot like sour grapes the way you are talking about it here.
Road racing is weird sport and a lot of people don’t really get it until they do it. A 40 minute office park crit doesn’t sound that hard to someone who has never done one and first races are eye opening for most of us. Team tactic and bunch dynamics make road racing racing different than other race disciplines, even within cycling, and success in other disciplines or race formats isn’t a reliable predictor of performance. I think you chose a first race that put you in a sink or swim position and ended up drawing the sink card. Would it have been better if there was a sag vehicle to pull your race number and give you a lift off the course?
These races are typically sanctioned by USAC but hosted by individual promotors. Some are more friendly to beginners and choosing a circuit race or crit makes it a lot easier to get home if you get dropped. A lot of the officials at crit races do their very best to avoid having to pull dropped riders in the novice field and give everyone a chance to finish their race. More informal practice crits often invite novice racers to jump back in the bunch if they get dropped and finish the race with the pack if they are able. Sometimes USAC certified coaches will ride with the novice field and provide encouragement and a helping hand to the new folks. Figuring out which race is which is tough if you aren’t connected to a club or the local cycling community, maybe regional race associations can help fill this gap by providing resources for prospective racers.
Some promotors do a great job of building up a party atmosphere or recruiting a taco truck and a bunch of people with cowbells to the finish line, others are a lot more bare bones and are really races hosted by racers because they want to race more than anything else. If you have some good ideas how to do it better and pull in people with similar interests, maybe connect with some local folks and throw the race you would like to attend?
The fundamental difference between the events being described and road racing is the mass participation group behind the racers.
I bet if you started with the equivalent group at the marathon as the 3/4 at this race you might find you get dropped immediately too. The difference is that you can then fold into the main group and do your own thing. The long bike races are the same thing you’re after. Go hard at the start with the people who are “racing” but then when you get dropped there’ll still be 950 people rolling around the course behind you (or slowly passed) which will feel much more warm and fuzzy.
I’ve done run races - loved them.
Tri’s - loved them
Spartan races and mud runs - loved them
Tennis tournaments - loved them
But a bike race - didn’t love it
You wonder why you didn’t love it when you completely cocked it up the first time you tried it. You yourself stated you started at the back, took a wrong turn, didn’t hydrate properly, and didn’t check your equipment properly beforehand. No shit you had a bad time.
I think it was just harder than you expected. No shame in that, sounds like you do well in Tri and understandably thought success would transfer across but the dynamics and skills are v different…EVERYONE who races (ok 99.9%) is very fit.
Just take it as a learning experience, lots of people said you need to learn the ropes but with experience it will come…just need to decide whether you want to gain the experience.
Alen, I think you’re the man and I really appreciate your comments, insight, and honesty. I think there’s a lot of truth in what you’re saying about road racing and the differences between it and other forms of competitive events.
I see the same distinction in rock/ice/alpine climbing. A lot of folks want to climb the West Buttress Denali, the biggest mountain in North America. It’s a big accomplishment…a bucket list thing. And the truth is that most anyone with mediocre fitness, some good equipment, a guide, and a weather window can summit Denali. Then the climber gets to go home and feel awesome about themselves because they climbed Denali. It’s bad ass!
But technical rock climbing is different. It may take years to develop the skills to climb a multi-pitch 5.11 trad route that has route finding challenges and a few runout sections. And many very fit, dedicated climbers will never boulder V7. The barrier to climbing 5.11 trad and bouldering V7 isn’t based around elitism per say, it’s that it demands a commitment to training and skill acquisition that most people don’t have time for. The learning curve is not very steep.
The distinction is that one type of climbing (e.g. Denali) is non-technical and other forms of climbing are technical. Road racing is technical–it requires different techniques and the timely application of them. Cornering, pack-riding, adjusting to surges, being able to draft effectively, descending, etc. Those skills take time to develop. Triathlon has technical components to it, but executing the triathlon on race day with the goal of completing is not that technical (maybe nutrition is the most technical thing?).
Alen, I’m super impressed with your gung-ho attitude and how you’re reflecting on your experience. I hope you choose whatever style of exercise and event is most gratifying to you, and if that’s not road racing then that’s great.
I appreciate your help and everyone else who has been able to help me. I have taken them to heart. The post race stuff is just about my impressions of bike racing, a completely different subject at this point.
I definitely won’t since I get seasick easily. But between TR and Zwift, there are about 500k subscribers and prob 2-3x more who cycle seriously and millions (billions?) more with bikes. The fact that only 500 show up to a race is just sad.
I do understand the other guys and relate to them. I am not tone deaf. I just think that there is a world where both can coexist on a road race. P1/2 can start 10 min before 3/4 who can start a 10 min before 4/5 who can start 10 min before masters who also can start a few min before juniors, and then everyone else. Everyone has their own race without any interference and if you fall back it’s not lonely as hell and it would be more fun with less trepidation from people wanting to join. I doubt there is a chance of any breakaways bridging to the group in front and nobody cares if you fall to the group behind.
Sorry but if you fall back 10mins into the group that went after you you shouldnt of been in that first group to begin with…how is this thread still going.
I bet the leader of the race that went after you would. I wouldn’t like some billy big bollox who thinks they could ride in a race faster than me. To then get dropped by 10mins to join the front of my race. no Sir.
Just suck it and race in Cat 4 (and expect to get dropped) like everyone else who ever started racing.
There are races that have different fields on the course at the same time with gaps between them. If a field or breakaway closes the gap, the race officials need to neutralize one of the fields so they other can safely pass. It can work well, depending on the course and race format but it would be pretty disruptive to have a racer drop back from one field to another. Not really fair to have a cat4 racer start 10 minutes up the road with the 3/4 field and then drop back to the 4/5 group when they decide it is too spicy. That racer will have done a fundamentally different effort than the rest of the 4/5 bunch and had ~10 minutes to sit up and recover before catching into the bunch and contesting the finish.
Australian Handicap is a race format where all races compete on the same course over the same distance but have staggered start times bases on ranking or ability. The lower categories start first and then higher category racers must close the gap before contesting the finish. I’ve never raced this format but it seems popular with the people who do it and looks like a good time.
