Broctoon

This was last week, at the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah.

All athletes at these games are at least 50 years old, so it's like a bunch of masters-only events. But they break it down into age classes at five year intervals and skill/experience divisions 1-4. Division 1 is guys who have held a USAC Cat 1 or 2. Division 4 is beginners who have never raced before. 2 and 3 are somewhere in between these extremes. I registered in Division 3, age 50-54.

The crit was super fun and not as wild as I anticipated. It was a pretty easy course in the sense that it had wide lanes, only three turns (all right-hand and pretty large radius), and about .8 miles per lap, on completely flat terrain.

They ran about eight races throughout the day to accommodate men and women of all ages and divisions without getting a really big crowd in any race. Mine only had 10 guys.

Here's how my behavior lined up with advice I've read--mostly in this forum--for one's first race:

"Do whatever you can to stay with the lead pack. Whatever happens, don't drop back, or you'll never catch up." We all stayed in a pretty tight group right from the start, myself included. This did not prove too difficult, as the other guys were all Division 3 and 50-64 years old. I watched the Division 1 guys later in the day, and I wouldn't have been able to hang with them for more than two laps.

"Don't bother trying to contend for a prime; your priority should be staying near the front and saving something for the final sprint." This sounds fine when you read it and think about it prior to the race, but I couldn't help myself! They called a prime on the second lap. This early in the race I was of course warmed up but not yet getting exhausted. I found myself near the front and thought I'd go for it. As we rounded the last corner, I could tell there was one other guy who planned to contend; I could see him moving into position. I didn't want to attack too early, so I decided to watch him and respond accordingly. About 200 yards from the finish line, he started to sprint really hard--he didn't even ramp up to it. I poured on everything I had and was able to stay almost next to him, but could not pull ahead. He was just too fast for me no matter how hard I drove. I crossed the line a fraction of a second behind him. They called another prime on about lap 4 or 5, and this time I held back.

​​​​​"​​Stay near the front, but not out front." Following the sprint for a prime, everyone regrouped and settled into a good pace. I found myself in the lead and decided to go with it. I felt like I wasn't working too hard, so I stayed there for a couple laps. Eventually, I decided I'd better save some energy by drafting, so I determined to make someone else take over. I figured if I gradually eased my pace, somebody would pass, and then I could latch on behind him. This worked, but not until about 1.5 to 2 laps remaining. As soon as a couple guys took over (not really a breakaway, just pulling into the front), the whole group stepped it up a bit. I managed to stay with them, somewhere in the middle of the pack. There was a pretty fast sprint at the end, but not as aggressive as the primes. I managed to hold my position in the group as we crossed the line, which turned out to be about 5th or 6th place overall. I was only three seconds behind the winner, and eight of the ten riders (including me) finished within a two second window of each other.

The race only lasted eight laps, about six miles. We finished it in 17:25, give or take a few seconds, for an average speed around 23 MPH. If I'd known it would be this mild, I wouldn't have gotten nervous in the days leading up to it. Everything I read and watched led me to believe crits are inherently very fast and intense, but that wasn't really the case with this old guys' event. It still challenged me, taught me a lot, and was a great time.

I got to ride with most of these guys again in a road race the next day, and I made a few new friends. I hope to go back next year, and if I do I'll probably enter in Division 2.

TMonk

Great report Broctoon! Road racing should be fun and positive, and it sounds like it was in your case. Hopefully there are more events in your community that you can race! Make sure to report back, and let us know if you have any more questions. Sounds like you have the ability level for Division 2, at the very least.

Hermes

Congrats on the racing success.

himespau 

Congrats on giving it a go. Sounds like perfect conditions for a first race.

procrit

Be careful, racing can become addicting! I say you should try the same category a few more times and try to win it before you move up! Use the lower level to work on racing tactics and figure out what works to your advantage based on your own strengths and weaknesses. Practicing those skills in a lower level where you can have a legit shot at fighting for the win is very valuable. The next category will have a lot more racers with good tactics and better legs, and you're at a disadvantage if you don't have them either. If you make the wrong move and find yourself just hanging on for dear life after, you only got to make one move and you'll learn very little. The lower category may let you try a bunch of different things, move around the pack, create your own breaks, figure out sprint timing, read peoples fatigue levels, etc.

Just my own 2c here. Good luck!

himespau 

Good point, if you're just struggling to not get spat out the back, you likely don't have the energy to make moves and see what works and doesn't.

Broctoon

That's good advice. I'll take the coming months to consider my options for Division II vs. Division III entry next year. Haven't really decided yet, but you make a compelling argument.

Eric F 

Glad you had fun your first time out, and learned a few things. That said, 17 minutes seems like a ridiculously short time to race.

Broctoon

Indeed! By the end I felt like I was just getting into my flow.

The road race the next day was 29 miles, or about 5x the distance. I finished it in 1:31, for an average speed just a little slower than the crit’s… and it was hilly.