Member contacts: Martin Harney and Stu Alderson
There are many mass-start events on roads and circuits in the UK and in all cases the first rider over the finish line wins. The majority of adult racing takes place on public roads but there are also some circuit events which are either on closed roads or on specially constructed circuits. If you are thinking of trying road racing, there are a couple of important things to remember:
- Don't enter a road race until you very feel comfortable riding in a group and have some chaingang experience.
- Make sure your bike is in good working order.
To succeed in road racing you need stamina, fitness and good tactics. The club rides and chain gangs will help you get used to riding in a bunch and improve your fitness but it is through practice and experience that you learn to be a good road racer. Team tactics also come into play so if you enter races with other members of the club they will be able to give you advice and also give you people to work with.
Classification
Road Racing is categorised into different classifications open to riders of differing age/ability categories. Many races carry ranking points which you will need if you want to move up to the next category. For BC races everyone starts as 4th cat rider and you will need to gain at least 10 points by finishing high up the rankings in races to move up a category. Once you have moved up to 3rd cat you can never go back to being a 4th cat but for all other classifications you will be reclassified each season.
Full details of BC classification and points can be found here: http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/roa/road_guide_home.asp
Events
Check our events list to see what events other members of the club are racing in. For full listings visit the relevant organisations websites...
CDNW
A well organised series of BC events with motorbike marshalls
http://www.cdnw.org/road_race_league/road_race_league.htm
TLI
Generally steadier than the BC races and usually run in 2 groups, under 50s and over 50s. Well organised and friendly
http://www.theleagueinternational.com/northwestmainland.htm
LVRC
As per the TLI but for Veterans (over 40)
http://www.lvrc.org/
What to Expect
Here is some advice from one of our members Nick Warrington who competed in his first road races last year...
- Make sure your bike is well serviced. If you do have any mechanical problems they are far worse (and potentially a lot more disastrous) in a large bunch than when you're out on a training ride. For example I had a stiff link in my chain 3 laps into a race at Darley Moor last year, meant the chain kept skipping on the sprockets when I got up out of the saddle, made accelerating out of corners to keep up with the bunch nigh on impossible.
- Get to the race HQ in enough time to sign on and warm up etc. If you are an "entry on the line" you will need to get there even earlier to make sure you get on the start sheet
- Make sure you have all the kit you need, including warm dry kit for when you've finished and your race licence
- Take some loose change, if its a club organised event there may well be tea/sandwiches/cake laid on afterwards, asking for change from a £20 note doesn't go down too well.
- It's useful to have a few spare safety pins for your race numbers in case you find there's some missing when you go to pin them on
- Preferably recce the course before you ride it so you know what's coming, particularly any tighter corners, loose gravel, poor road surface, so you know where to (try to) position yourself.
- Make sure you have warmed up before the start, there is always the chance (very likely on the shorter closed circuit races) that they will go off fast
- If you are not the quickest climber and there is are hills in the circuit I suggest being towards the front 1/3 of the bunch when you hit the climb, that way if you fall back you stand a chance of still being in the bunch at the top of the climb rather than out the back of it
- You need to be confident to ride closely in a bunch. When you are in the bunch you are trying to ride as efficiently as possible so you need to stay close to the wheel in front of you, if a gap opens up in front of you try to close it if you can. The exception to this may be when you hit a climb, try and make sure you have a bit of room to manoeuvre around any slower climbers who are falling back through the bunch (see tip above!)
- From personal experience to date the advice to stay in the front third of the bunch is the best advice to follow. It reduces the chances of being involved in crashes (as 2/3 of the field are behind you) and you will not work as hard coming out of corners near the front as those who have been strung out in a line at the back (think of the bunch as a spring which stretches out around corners and then compresses again, the compression comes from the back, not the front) - anyone who has been at the back of the chain gang when the front accelerates out of a corner will get the idea...
- Remember a lot of other riders will also want to be in the front third of the bunch. So don't panic if you find yourself further back, try and keep your pace steady and move up when you have opportunity rather than working too hard just to move up a few places. Your position will change as the race progresses, it is important to stay alert of your position in the bunch as its easy to drift backwards without really noticing - looking over your shoulder and finding you're at the back may cause you to panic!
- If you have a mechanical and need to pull over, raise your arm and move out of the bunch, telling people you are moving out.
- If you are near the front at the finish, you will in all likelihood end up in the midst of the sprint, this is the most dangerous time, people taking all sorts of lines, weaving all over the road etc. if you don't want to contest the sprint, best to allow yourself to slip back down the bunch a bit during the last lap.
- Don't be too disappointed if you don't stay with the bunch in your first races. Of my 4 races to date I've finished in the bunch twice, DNF'd once and rolled over the line a lap behind the bunch on another. Its a hard pace and there's lot to take in and think about, just try and learn what's going on.