EPICBYTES

I am junior, i want to get into racing. I know i need get license first, but the problem there is no junior races, just cat 5 or 4 races... Can i compete?

mkadam68

Yes.

Everyone (well, males) starts off at Cat 5, juniors included. So as long as the race does not have any age restrictions (i.e.: Master's 35+ or 55+ or whatever) or gender restrictions, you're good to go. You just have to race your category and adhere to the Junior gear rollout limitation.

If you're planning on racing at least 6 times or more, it's worth it to get an annual license. Otherwise, pay the unlicensed rider fee (usually $10).

Sherblock

Not OP, but what is this?

adriano 

maximum allowed top gear for a junior.

dnuzzomueller

OP: while racing at Wells Ave last year (Local Bostonian, weekly sunday crit), I saw a kid probably no older then 15 racing, kid got dropped but he was in Cat 5 all the same, go for it.

Homebrew01

Something like 52 x 14 or 15 (depending on age) .... check the rules for the exact gear inches.

mkadam68

Before or after the race, juniors line up and walk their bikes backward in a straight line. The crank/pedals have to then rotate backward. The bike has to be in its biggest gear. They continue rolling out until the cranks have made one complete revolution. This rollout can't exceed 25 feet (I think that's the distance).

Juniors can take 3 different strategies to comply with the gear restriction:

• Get a smaller chainring to go with the rear cluster (I have no idea what the dimensions on this would be: a 46 or 48 maybe?) This may be the most expensive if you have to get a new crank with a smaller OBD.
• Get a larger smallest cassette to match the chainring teeth (My son rides a 14x25 cassette with a 52x39 crank. He clears rollout by like one inch or so.) I found mine online by searching Google Shopping for junior cassette.
• Use the rear derailleur limiting screws to "block out" those gears that would exceed rollout. (We used to do this when he first started racing as it was cheapest. Just need a screwdriver. This can't be done in national championship events.) Using this, you're limited to only blocking out 2 maybe 3 gears in back. So, depending on derailleur, if your cluster has an 11-tooth, you may not be able to block out the 11, 12, and 13 to get to the 52x14 combo I said above.

Please note, your tires can effect this rollout. A larger tire increases the rollout distance. So, while my son passes with a 700x23 tire, he might not with a 700x25 or 28. To get the shortest rollout, I have heard of Dad's having their sons sit on the bike during rollout to compress the tires. (Don't know if true--internet based rumor. )

topflightpro

OP, go to the racing thread and read the post about getting into racing. That will help you a lot.

Secondly, yes, juniors can race in the 5 field. In fact, there are two kids I've been racing against for several years now who are still several years from getting out high school. I don't even think the older one, who is now a Cat 3 on his way to Cat 2, can even drive yet.

Muffin Man

Why do they have that rule?

mkadam68

In the end, it is a good rule to have. As to why? this'll be speculation on my part:

• Bigger gears take some musculature to use & Juniors may not have that musculature (and we all know juniors do stupid things and wouldn't work well with the honor system: "I promise, I won't shift into my 53x11 for any sprints."
• If they do, it may be premature muscularity which, more importantly, hasn't allowed their tendons & ligaments to grow enough to support that musculature
• It also teaches them how to spin at a higher cadence. In racing, when everyone has the same gear, it comes down to who can spin fastest.

jsutkeepspining

Junior talking here. Yes you'll be fine in cat 5/4 races (honestly i like them more than junior races, junior races are boring!) Junior gears is mainly only for junior races, so dont stress out about getting your gears blocked out. I've never been rolledout after a senior race.

jsutkeepspining

Yeah that would not go over well with the usacycling officials. They would flip out over that!

qcpmsame 

Here is the USA Cycling website with racing information, rules and on-line application form:

https://www.usacycling.org/

You should check the LBS in your area for any clubs that have racing in their activities, they can help you with training, licensing requirements and race schedules. Good luck!

carpediemracing 

There were multiple Juniors in the Cat 5, Cat 4, Cat 3-4, and P123 races yesterday at Bethel.

Age is separate from Category. Everyone has both.

So you can be under 18 but that doesn't stop you from being, say, a male or female. Or a Cat 5 or 4 or 3 or whatever.

A 10 year old placed very highly in a cross race we promoted last year, in the 4s (he might have gotten 8th, I'm not sure). I think he even made a video of his season.

carpediemracing 

I should point out that when I started racing I was 15. Even though I trained with "Seniors" I only did Junior races. They are open category usually, so Junior Cat 1-2-3-4 (back then there was no Cat 5).

So one guy that used to race around here was George Hincapie. Another was Frank McCormack. Another Mark McCormack. These guys are really good racers. So the Junior (Cat 1-2-3-4) race was really a national level rider trying to get rid of 20 or 40 or 60 desperate racers trying to hang onto their wheels. The ones that could hang with them for a while were all Cat 1s and 2s, typically domestic pro type riders (Charlie Issendorf comes to mind).

I rarely, rarely, rarely finished a Junior race. I did that for 3 years, suffering like a dog at every race.

The first Senior (i.e. regular Cat whatever race) I entered was a Cat 4 race. I won every one of the 5 or so primes and the race. I got 5th later that day in the Junior race (Frank McCormack won, I think his brother Mark got second). They went on to win everything in the Cat 3 race (they were Cat 3s officially). Later that year he monitored the front of the biggest Cat 1-2 race around, about 40 miles of chasing everything, setting up his Senior teammate for the win. Earlier that day he did the Junior race, lapped us, and averaged some insane speed (all the kids were saying he did 30 mph solo, but that was a stretch, even for a 10 mile race).

The next Senior race I did was a Cat 3-4 race, held in a points format. I won all but the mid-race sprint (there were four I won, I got second or third in the mid-race sprint), and won the race.

Juniors are an excellent but very, very tough arena for racing.

Most Juniors would be better off racing their category, but racing Juniors will probably be the last time you'll regularly race against Cat 1s, 2s, and future pros. If you aren't one of the dominant Juniors you'll be a 3 or 4 pretty quickly (they upgraded me to Cat 3 after one race) and you'll think it's pretty cushy.

If you're a strong Junior then you're looking at being a strong Cat 2 or Cat 1. If you're a dominant Junior, you're looking at being a Frank McCormack or a George Hincapie. Seriously.

Homebrew01

Just because you got away with it, does not mean others will at other races.
Yesterday at Bethel, the officials clearly said the junior rollout would be held immedialtey after the race.

carpediemracing 

They definitely do it at Bethel, and in Connecticut in general. There's also a rule that if you start riding your bike without your helmet on, you're suspended until you pay a $20 fine (to the official). In NY I've never, ever seen that rule enforced, and it's actually a point of contention with the federation (because it voids the insurance policy, and the whole rule started because two Masters riders in two separate races in NJ died while warming up or something). In Connecticut and in New England overall they are very strict about the helmet rule.

I had a teammate once that went to roll out with the then correct gear limit, 53x15. The officials had mistakenly marked off a longer distance and he rolled out a few feet short of the tape. He started experimenting with gears from (Senior) teammates, as did a bunch of other Juniors. They all passed the "rollout" which was a 53x12 or some insane gear like that.

I stayed with the 53x15 because, frankly, that's the thing to do.

After the race the top 15-20 guys didn't show up for rollout. Word got out that one guy failed when the officials used the right distance (there were a bunch of tape marks for the different rollouts, and the officials made two sets of them for some reason, so there were three marks here and three marks there. They were using the furthest of the other side, not the closest.

No one got placed because they didn't have places beyond the top 15 or 20 or so. My teammate was initially placed 7th but disappeared when word started spreading about the failed rollout. I probably got about 30th, one of the very few times I finished that race as a Junior, but it was, officially, a non-result.

Frank McCormack won that race and passed the correct rollout.

merlinextraligh

They enforce Junior roll out in the Senior races here in Florida.

Cleave

Hello EPICBYTES, since I just finished being the promoter of record for a race (the first time being the promoter in a number of years), here's what I can tell you. Yes, you can compete in Cat 5 if you are just starting out. As you move up in category you can compete in those races too. Junior Men were 1st and 3rd in our Cat 4 race. A Cat 2 Junior Woman raced with the Cat 1/2/3 Men.

We had a total of 6 Juniors (4 men and 2 women) racing in a mixed Junior race. The older Junior Woman beat 1 of the Junior Men pretty consistently in the omnium.

Regarding this comment:

Our officials, who also officiate the local road races and criteriums, rolled out ALL Junior competitors, regardless of which race in which they were competing. It probably depends on whether or not the officials know if a Junior is competing in a Mens race.

As carpediemracing noted, expect to get dropped in your first few races. If you don't get dropped that's great. If you do, don't give up. Also, try to find a local club that either has a Junior program or at least has some other Junior racers. Good luck and have fun.

jsutkeepspining

to all the comments about the rollout. sorry if im leading him astray, i just wanted to give him my experiences.

EPICBYTES

Sounds Awesome, now i just need to find races.
Im curious, what's the average (MPH) of CAT 5 races?

Bianchigirll 

Wells Ave? I haven't heard that name in years.

jsutkeepspining

it doesnt matter. the first thing you'll realize about racing is that speeds are constant. I've been in races that averaged 26+ mph and felt easy aand i've been in races that average 23 and are the hardest thing i've ever done. the hard part about racing is the surges from 20 mph to 30+ mph, not the constant high speed (thats where you recover by sitting in a little).

EPICBYTES

Right now, I average around 18mph at very hilly route. Is that sufficient for me joining CAT 5 races?

Bianchigirll 

Sometimes faster than the CAT 2s. The Cat4s passed, well tried to pass, the CAT2 one night in Wompatuck St park and it got a bit ugly until the Official started screaming at them to let us pass.

Look at your LBs for info and try here https://www.usacycling.org/ I doubt Tom Vinson is the Rep up there anymore