whitemax

I just love it when a hot shot shows up thinking he'll blow the race apart cause he thinks he's pretty good and that all Cat 5s must be average at best. Pretty humbling thing when he has his behind handed to him.

Beau210

Don't know my first one is Sunday so I guess I'll have to see and post again then lol

zigmeister

Is this a historical story of what happened to you?

hammy56

take this over to the 33. They'll love it.

seypat

Dagger to the heart!


Man's ability for trash talking and pointing out/praising his own competitive abilities never ceases to amaze me.

unterhausen

it's pretty common to get dropped on your first race, no matter how fit. The riding is just different.

I don't think I made it to the first corner in the pack in my first race

whitemax

I was one of the average riders, knew it and had reasonable expectations.

whitemax

^, so no dagger.

wkg

i won my first cat 6 race

caloso

Kinda.

My first race ever was in the B field of at 35+ 4/5 race. I finished 8th but was the first Cat 5 over the line so the official results put a (1) next to my name. Oddly enough, I didn't even know this until a few seasons later when I happened to be looking at all my race results. So, technically yes, but practically no. It just doesn't feel like a win unless you get to throw your hands up in the air and step to the top of the podium.

TMonk

I didn't do one cat5 race.
I got my 10-race cat4 upgrade all from collegiate races.

I rolled in with the pack during my first road race. It was the WCCC Stanford road race - I think Panoche valley road, but I don't recall exactly.

datlas 

I win all my cat 6 races.

Except when it's a recovery ride.

rkwaki

Homebrew01

We didn't have cat 5 back in them days. I missed all the fun.

jwible

I won mine. But I was a junior and there were only two of us.

arok 

I got smoked at the fremont earlybirds.

dropped on lap 3, reentered and dropped twice more. I exploded due to the yo-yo effect and me not being able to power out of the corners.

totally different style of riding than I'm used to.

Triguy

I have a friend who is a very good triathlete and time trialist(53min 40k tt) who won his first cat 4/5 crit. Pretty hilarious, not only first timer but also a triathlete. Haha.

abstractform20

i was drafted out of high school, so i never had to.

rpeterson

Nope, the Cat1 mentor person told me to stay with the pack as long as I could and if I was still there at the halfway point to solo off the front as long as I could. Made it halfway, then went hard and nearly lapped the field before completely blowing up and losing all the time. Finished at the front of the pack right behind the sprinters.

pecos

Didn't win and was not a categorized race, but one open to all, where I beat a couple of Cat 2's and 3's. Got second, pipped at the finish line by a guy who later told me he had raced semi-pro.

Did achieve max heart rate though.

But I've seen young ones, usually runners or track/field athletes come in on their first race and rip the field apart. And yes, win too.

mechBgon

In my first Cat5 race, I did most of the work in a 2-man break with a teammate on a road course with rollers and some wind. He couldn't keep it up and we were still about 10km out from the finish, with the pack begining to catch up. Rather than take them on solo, I opted for us to sit up, recover, and get ready for Plan B (leadout + sprint), but my guy was cooked. So I ended up basically hauling the pack to the finish line and sprinting for 3rd, and if I'd realized the Finish line was just two 8-inch-tall cones, I might've jumped early enough for 1st. Pro tip: know what the finish line looks like

10 races later I was the Masters C state road-racing champion, which is probably a sign you're supposed to upgrade to Cat4

LowCel 

Why yes, yes I did.

I did win my first cat 5 race, the following day I came in second in my second cat 5 race. I ended up getting an early cat up after 6 or 7 races and being on the podium in all but one. The one I didn't podium I dnf'd because we came across a crash from the women's race and my friend was laying their unconcious in a puddle of blood. I went with her to the hospital and the plastic surgeon. That is my only road dnf and I think I made the correct call.

rkwaki

Where in TN? Only a couple of true semi pro's in the State

Munk69

I crashed out of my first race. Final 500 meters when they opened the whole road and a couple guys in front of me tried for the same spot on the road... I was toward the rear of the main pack and felt like I was going to do well in the sprint.. While the crash was not my fault, the fact that I gave up so many spots in turns thinking I would get them back later was defintely a learning experience. The crash itself was pretty gnarly although I felt I got off lucky with no major injuries.. I went into a ditch and over the bars, landing on my back.. Interesting thing was that when I went to put the bike on my car, I found that I had ripped half my speedplay cleat off my shoe.. The other half was still on my pedal

carpediemracing 

I made it to the second corner in my first race, probably because I was 4th through the first corner. They shelled me within 50-100 meters of that second turn. Cat 4s back in the day. 1983 Andy Raymond Firecracker Crit, July 4th, in Middletown CT.