If a cat 3 bike racer is regularly getting top 6 in most every race he enters, but he has never won a Cat 3 bike race, should he:
A) Continue indefinitely as a Cat 3 until he wins a bike race.
B) Upgrade.
C) Other. Please specify.
Patience grasshopper.
From second hand experience you should wait and try to win a few.
The ability gap between 3 & 4 doesn’t seem to apprach the gap between 2 & 3. Also keep in mind that if you upgrade, most of your racing will be with cat 1’s 2’s and pros, not just with other 2’s.
That is a hard question. Going from cat 3 to cat 2 seems like a big jump. Around the local races here most of the races have the cat 3 and 2s combined, so 3/2s are racing together. Another guy I know is a fast cat 2 and wins every race without breaking a sweat and will not move up to cat 1. Moving to cat 1 for him would put him out of a lot of races and prize money.
So going back to your question, I guess it depends. Staying at cat 3, seems like you still have some opportunity to grow and improve since you have not won any races. I don’t think anyone would look at you as a sandbagger by staying in cat 3. So I guess I would stay in cat 3 till I maybe win a race or two.
Out of curiosity, where are you located? If there were more Cat 2-only or Cat 2/3 races in my area, this would be an easy decision. There are about 3 per year within driving distance of Iowa, which isn’t many.
The gap between Cat 2s and 3s probably isn’t much bigger than the gap between 3s and 4s. I actually did pretty well in the only Cat 2/3 race I did this year. But you point out the crux of my dilemma . . . the Cat 1s and Pros.
a.) lift weights.
b.) do sprint specific intervals.
c.) get on the velodrome.
if you can’t win at the three level, there’s pretty much no chance in hell you’ll win at the two level. win some races, even if you feel like you’re sadbagging a little. it will feel good and you’ll probably learn something.
Is this you or did you lose points to someone who has not upgraded but can?
In Northern Cal (not sure about other regions) it takes 25 points to go from 3-2 in any 12 month period. Points are 7-5-4-3-2-1 for the respective placings. If he gets the 25 with some good top 3 placings he should upgrade IMO. If they are all 6th then maybe not. They watch it pretty closely in Norcal and will mandatorily upgrade you with 60 points (why 60 I don’t know). 4 to 3 the mandatory upgrade is 30.
This is me. I don’t like to complain about sandbaggers. No one is complaining about me, and I don’t think it is coming anytime soon.
If you follow the USCF guidelines, I have 18 points this season. There aren’t many chances to score points around here because of the 50 rider minimum. I have 4x3rds, 4x4ths, and 3x6ths in decent races this year. I actually have one win in a ten person race and a 2nd in a five person race - I don’t count those. Other than that, zero firsts, seconds, or fifths.
All my teammates want me to upgrade. They are mostly Cat 2s. I’m not any slower than they are. I’ve won 5x more money racing my bike this year than most of them have. They are mostly above average for Cat 2s . . . it is just hard to beat Pros and Cat 1s to win money (or races).
Depends on your style. Are you getting your points in easy crits or hard road races? Do you like longer or shorter races. If you like long hard road races, then upgrading might be good because of the extra miles and difficulty.
I guess that would be a tough call. If you get completely shelled in the 1/2s you could always downgrade back to a 3. Those are good results, but the 1/2s are a whole different ball game. One could look at the challenge vs. the money. ~$100-$200 in prize money is not really a great reason to stay in a lower category. I could say the same thing about staying as a 4, but I want the 3. Wouldn’t racing with your team would be more fun - I have had zero team mates able to do anything in the 4s, but there are some strong 3’s so I’d like to get in there with em.
Depends.
Using Joe Friel? If not…that’s the problem.
If so…nothing wrong with Cat 3. Many times they will catch 1/2 around here!
Hey all, thanks for the replies.
I am a jack of all trades, master of none. I can sprint with the sprinters but there is always at least one or two pure speedsters that get me. Best races for me are technical crits, preferably a hill added in there somewhere. Anything that is selective is good in Cat 3, although I doubt selective races will be best for me in P/1/2 . . . at least not the first year or so.
I feel like a pud going to races with my teammates. But then again, the money difference is not nothing. I could see myself making $0 in P/1/2 and paying higher entry fees. I’ve won > $1300 this year in Cat 3. When my summer internship is over, I won’t have a job, so it is at least a consideration.
1300! no wonder it’s hard to win a race there, if those are your earnings and you are taking top fives, a bunch of the guys winning are staying in the 3’s for a reason.
i won five crits, took second in three others when I was a three, took home $150! my net after entry fees and gas was like -100. won quite a few races on the 'drome as a three, didn’t win a dime.
with the manditory upgrade rules after 60 points, you’re better off waiting until you then. some of the other guys that have been winning will probably forced to upgrade as well so you’ll be the top racer after a while.
every now and then i race in a field that does not have pros, and am just happy to finish in the lead group. i wouldn’t have it any other way - but I have a steady income.
I recounted . . . $1075. So not $1300, but races have been positive equity for me the last few months.
c.)
Come to Northern California after your summer internship is over and see how you fare in the largest pool of USCF bike bums in the country. There’s only one or two courses suited for pure billy goats, plenty of flat crits, and plenty of technical crits, lots and lots of rolling hills road races. And if you are feeling adventurous, ride in the P123 fields available at some road races and crits so you can get a feel for how you would fare if you upgraded.