At 44 years old what category of race do I enter?
06-16-15, 10:06 PM
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At 44 years old what category of race do I enter?
This is a 30 minute criterium. Do I enter the Men Senior Cat 4/5 or the Men Master 40-49 Cat 4/5?
I am still new to this, so not sure what the difference between the Senior and the Master category is. By Master, I understand it as "lots of experience", is that accurate?
Thank you,
Juan
I am still new to this, so not sure what the difference between the Senior and the Master category is. By Master, I understand it as "lots of experience", is that accurate?
Thank you,
Juan
06-16-15, 10:13 PM
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Hi, only half jokingly, Masters means old. I would guess that old Cat 4/5 guys would be a little better from several perspectives (safety, speed, etc). Cat 4/5 means less experience regardless of age. It is possible for someone to have a lot of experience at any age and stay in Cat 4, but generally people end up in Cat 3 if they stay in the game long enough.
As a beginning 44 year-old racer, I suggest Masters 40-49 Cat 4/5. YMMV. Hope this helps.
As a beginning 44 year-old racer, I suggest Masters 40-49 Cat 4/5. YMMV. Hope this helps.
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06-17-15, 11:52 AM
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Just to directly answer the question, in this context "senior" just means "not junior", in other words anybody over 18. "Master" means "old", in this case 40-49 years old.
If you can only do one, the Masters race may be a better experience (no guarantees though). If you can do both, even better, the races are short.
06-17-15, 07:26 PM
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07-08-15, 09:18 PM
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Reporting back. The senior CAT 4/5 was hard, got dropped after 2 laps then pulled after the 3rd one.
On the Masters CAT 4/5 I did better. I finished my first crit! and even though i got 23rd place out of 26, I was the only CAT 5 rider. The course was nice, a 1.2 mile figure 8 course - Tacoma Twilight Criterium.
Thank you for all your tips and encouragement!
Juan
On the Masters CAT 4/5 I did better. I finished my first crit! and even though i got 23rd place out of 26, I was the only CAT 5 rider. The course was nice, a 1.2 mile figure 8 course - Tacoma Twilight Criterium.
Thank you for all your tips and encouragement!
Juan
09-24-15, 06:56 AM
#8
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Good job Juan! I remember back when I started racing, there was only Juniors and Senior categories. I was 16 and trained long and hard and waited too long to enter racing as a Junior. Ended up racing Collegiate and getting into USCF racing after that. I'm getting back into racing after 20-years off and thankfully, there's a Masters category now, so it won't be too embarassing. 
