Which class?

[saxman]

I'm considering entering a race or two this summer. I've never raced before. Should I enter as a beginner, or should I enter in my age class (I'm 37)?

As a rider, I seem to have good legs and lungs (although I am still getting myself back into shape at this point), however, my technical skills are probably only average (but I'm working on them, too).

Racing is something I always wanted to try. My gut is to go ahead and race in class, and see what happens. Any thoughts?

[RetroG]

I'm considering entering a race or two this summer. I've never raced before. Should I enter as a beginner, or should I enter in my age class (I'm 37)?

As a rider, I seem to have good legs and lungs (although I am still getting myself back into shape at this point), however, my technical skills are probably only average (but I'm working on them, too).

Racing is something I always wanted to try. My gut is to go ahead and race in class, and see what happens. Any thoughts?

Trust your gut, race and see how you do and make the adjustment up or down in class. 37 is probably Veteran Class. Within Vet there may be beginner, sport and expert. Or, just one vet class. Don't be fooled, the veteran lable is just that, experienced at riding fast!!

[jfoley]

i'd start with beginner for the first race and see where you are, since the beginner distance will probably be a bit shorter. you can always check lap times against the other classes to see how you compare...

I'm considering entering a race or two this summer. I've never raced before. Should I enter as a beginner, or should I enter in my age class (I'm 37)?

As a rider, I seem to have good legs and lungs (although I am still getting myself back into shape at this point), however, my technical skills are probably only average (but I'm working on them, too).

Racing is something I always wanted to try. My gut is to go ahead and race in class, and see what happens. Any thoughts?

[dominicosavio]

i'd start with beginner for the first race and see where you are
and beware of sandbaggers

[themonkeyman]

I'd go beginner. If you have lap times that are comparable to sport or veteran, then jusmp to a different class for the second race.

Good luck--Graham

[MyOtherBrotherL]

In an engineering environment you take what you think should be the expected result and compare it to available data. With your question, common wisdom dictates that beginner class would be the easier of the two classes. However, if you look at the results from two of the DC area races we see that the opposite applies.

In Cranky Monkey Number 1 (Wakefield): The Masters Open had a total of 17 male riders. Beginner Male had 54 riders.

http://www.ex2adventures.com/tcm/results/2004/6-21-04_830-points.html

In the W@W Number 1: There were 11 35+ riders and 23 Beginners.

http://www.potomacvelo.com/2004waw1-6pm.htm

And as much as I hate to agree with DOM, sandbaggers are also a problem. I have had Expert class riders enter my beginner races with excuses like they had the flu and needed a light race to get back into form. ((We suffer the same problem in SPORT). Look at the times of the first 3 or so places. They don't fit the rest of the class.

If MATH is your friend, then the decision on which class you should race will be easy. As was said earlier, let you gut decide, but your over 35, you earned a place in that class.

L

[Viss1]

FWIW I did most of the WAW's and the Wakefield Cranky Monkeys last summer - those were my first races. From my observations, racers in the Veteran class ran the gamut from very fast to beginner. Racers in the Beginner class ran the gamut from very fast to moderately fast, with a few actual beginners thrown in :D .

[drevil]

And as much as I hate to agree with DOM, sandbaggers are also a problem. I have had Expert class riders enter my beginner races with excuses like they had the flu and needed a light race to get back into form. ((We suffer the same problem in SPORT). Look at the times of the first 3 or so places. They don't fit the rest of the class.


Larry,

Is there anything you can do about that? For example, if someone has raced beginner two years in a row, force them to bump up to sport? If they don't want to, then they will be forced to carry a 10 lb sandbag on their back for the entirety of the race?