Category Archives: weekends

As of May, D is officially back in the racing saddle, and I’m along for the ride. We’ve watched a lot of pro races together, listening to the sweet sounds of Phil Ligget & Paul Sherwen, and I’ve learned a lot about the sport. This world is almost nothing like the running races that consume my training-time, energy and dollar bills; when I start to explain what goes on to friends, I inevitably start to answer the same 100 questions that I’ve asked more than once.

So, without the real qualification or credibility to do so, I’m spreading the wealth.

Want to know what goes on during a Cycling Road Race?
Listen up!
And feel free to ask questions, too.

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Prior to this weekend, I had only seen a stage race via the screen, as the best of the best battle it out for a grueling three weeks in the country of France (aka Tour de France), Italy (Giro), California, etc. . The Tour of Washington County (ToWC) may not really compare, but I considered it a leap to even know what the words “stage race” mean, a bound to know what we were in for with a Road Race, Time Trial & Criterium.

In the interest of saving you from information overload on day one, we’re starting with the most basic stage – the Road Race.

This was the first stage in the ToWC, on Saturday afternoon:

Road Race:

      – May either consist of point-to-point, out-and-back, or more commonly, a long loop that the riders do repeatedly. This course was a hilly 7-mile loop.

- Has a designated “Feed Zone”: as riders zoom through this area way too quickly, people (ahem, spectators,parents, girlfriends, spouses and/or team members) hand them water and/or food.

- Team riders work for the leader; they ride hard to help him/her stay near the front and in the best position to sprint at the end (if applicable).

- Usually begins with a “neutral roll out”; the start may be anywhere from one to a few miles away from where they actually line up. For safety, they casually ride together to that marker, and then start the all-out riding.

-Riders are both preceded and followed by a Motor Cop and/or equipment car (see top-right photo above: this race was sponsored by SRAM, with a car full of bikes, wheels, and tools ready for any rider who has a “mechanical”, aka mishap). In the pros, each team has a car full of bikes ready for, and fit to, each rider who needs it in the event of a crash, flat, pot-hole chain-drop, etc.

- Starts and ends in stages, by the riders’ Category*.

It looks like this:

*One of the biggest differences between cycling & running is the Category license. In this level of racing, each rider has to apply for a license and it is required for registration.

Categories range from 1-5 – 1 being the fastest, pro/elite. Riders almost always begin as a “Cat 5”, and work their way up.

How?

Each race you win, or do well in, earns you points. Points accumulate, and you move up in the wheel-on-wheel world. Obviously with each upgrade comes more competition, more difficult standards and a new level of training.

Fun Fact: Mark Paul Gosselaar, aka Zack Morris, is a Cat 2! Dude is fast.

Because of this regulation, these races are much smaller than the ones us runners are used to. There are few hoops to jump through before you can register for them, ergo when you’re there, you only see those who ride often, train hard and come for competition, not {just} for fun.

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Still with me?

Who’s got a cyclist in the fam / house / friend-circle? Do you wear the helmet?

Next up: the Time Trial.