About Upgrading for CX

“I meant to ask you about this Tuesday, were you happy with your decision to upgrade? Will you be racing Bs from now on?

Especially in light of your recent Cat 1 upgrade on the mtb.”

 

Short version: Yes, 100% happy. It’s where I belong

Long version:
The reason I stayed in the C’s was because I felt like I could compete at the front of the race. I also knew it was my last chance to do so. Kind of like a going away party. I wanted to see if I could actually win one of those races. I now realize I can’t. I’m either not fast enough and/or lady luck is not on my side. 16 C races is enough. 10 was enough.

Eric O and a lot of other people mentioned upgrading sooner to me, and I kind of regret I didn’t do it sooner. Sure I had a great time. Met a lot of cool people. The B category is where many of us really do belong.

:Insert Eric’s graph about the front of the C race in the B race here:

After enough C races under your belt and racing at the front of the class, it becomes a little out of hand. Who am I really beating? I for one don’t really train or do anything really structured, but lining up against people that are just grabbing beers and rolling around the course for fun don’t make me feel so good about myself when I count them as 1 of the people I beat. The C race is suppose to be the Cat 3 of cyclocross; but it really isn’t due to people like me racing in it. It’s probably turning off people to the sport.

I could have kept racing the C’s with the rest of the people who do. I never really got called out or was expected to move up to the B’s by anyone except my homies. I didn’t have the points or the results to garnish that attention. I’m not any better than then top 25 finishers in the C’s (see latest finishes in C races)

The thing I loved about the upgrade was how fast the field got its act together. Since you did Bubble, when we got off the pavement to the uphill grass section, we were all single file. There was no sketchy wheel. You had a sense of trust of the people around you. You almost knew that no one was going to send you into the tape.

You could also claim all the other generic reasons on why the B race is better; Longer race, faster field, etc. IIRC The C race at Bubble was 27 minutes. I think it would be hard for anyone to win a C race now. As I type this I feel like this is all just generic reasons, I’ll try and stop that.

My 18th place finish had me out racing for 51 minutes. I was also surprised on the speed of the field. I figured I would get blown out of the water, but I wasn’t. It’s like I was accepted into the community. Sure, the front of the race is on another level, as they are ready for the A race, but the rest of the people are just like me, and specifically you; the rest of the front of the C race. They just stepped up to the plate and took their beatings. They are also on a faster track to get faster by racing faster people.

I witnessed this in moving up to Cat 1 for mountain biking.

I technically was allowed/suppose to upgrade to Cat 1, so I did. I realized it was a long time before I could ever find the front of a race again. I was, and am still okay with that. I took my beatings like a man in the Open fields.

I realized that if I stayed racing Cat 2, it would give me a false sense of awesomeness and a false sense of suckiness to the people who just upgraded to Cat 2. The people at the top of all of the classes need to move up so the rest of the people racing can grow.

I don’t want to judge myself on a “fair” playing field. I want to judge myself against the toughest people, within reason. I’m not signing up for a pro race. I’m sure I could have raced Cat 2 19-29 and it would have been fun. For me, trying to chase guys like Paul, Dillon, Adam, Andrew, Dan, it’s insane. I have a lot of respect for those guys that race in my class in the H2H race and they kind of push you to ride faster. Seeing how far behind them I am makes me have a goal. Chasing people in the Open DH events; Same thing. I placed 45th of 66th at SSaP. That sounds like shit, but I couldn’t have been happier with that result.

After ever race last year, I left with a “Hey, what about the guys in the Cat 1 SS class? Could I have beaten them?” Those questions started coming up in the C races too. I didn’t realize how many people I see on a regular basis that race in the B’s. Some people I actually compete with at Ottos (Big Sean) and people that have completely annihilated me in mountain bike races (See all the names I listed above) don’t race in the C’s. It felt wrong.

It was fun racing 125 people and being 10th in the C’s. I enjoyed the mayhem of the starts and the craziness of being 10th-15th row in a field of 30 rows. Passing 50 people in 100 yards at Charm City was awesome.

I also don’t really have a short term goal in my cycling stuff. My long term goal is to be someone like Mitch and just rip on the bike. I want to get better overall. Patting myself on the back in a class I don’t really belong in just doesn’t do it for me. I outgrew my goals in Cat 2, and now in the C race. It’s like a false sense of victory. Note, My mindset may not be the greatest for everyone. I also don’t want to put people down that race in the C race or the Cat 2 race. This is just my mindset. It works for me, but it works for me at the ripe age of 26. Maybe I’m still being a punk ass kid. I think that is why upgrading and racing in the big boy B’s excites me. Let’s be honest, we all belong in that class. I hope that one day I could be at the front of the B race and dreaming of moving up into the A’s.

Wow, I didn’t think I wrote that much. I also hope I didn’t create a shitstorm.

Eric Oishi:

And my explanation of the chart I sent to a few folks back in August:

Cat 4/C is weird because it’s a catch basin for all new racers which includes superfast MTB or Roadies and total noobs to bike racing with no fitness. Huge range in abilities. You always have a few outliers on the fast end who start racing cross and win a few races then cat up to B’s and possibly win there too. Winning any race, even in the 4’s is really hard and requires a little good luck.

If you are top 10-15 in C’s then you will do better than fine in B’s–probably mid-pack or better. If you don’t want to upgrade because you want to stand on a podium or win a series that’s understandable. I’ve been guilty of that. But It’s my opinion that you’ll get better faster racing B’s. The quality of racing is better and you’ll be pushed harder and you’ll probably do better than you think you will.

 

Agreed, pointy end is fun. I also agree that this is for fun. I enjoyed the pointy end for a long time now with CX. I’m a big believer/pusher in the term “Fun” and my cycling. I could be the president. I don’t want it to become a job or dread having to do something I enjoy. I’m sure this hurts me sometimes, as I should push myself more and ride more if I want to improve, but I’m on a slow track to get better. I’m cool with it.

I also became a firm believer that you can only do so much to prepare yourself for upgrading. In the end, you can do all the miles and all the work to think you are prepared, but you just need to do it. It will still hurt just as bad.

Don’t get it twisted, the B race was not “fun”, and neither was any of the mountain bike races I did this year. I was in pain. You can say I wasn’t prepared or I wasn’t good enough, either or. The B race was challenging and on a field I think I should be judged on. That alone made it fun. My legs/body/brain didn’t find it fun I feel that getting shelled now will only make me better in the future. For me, avoiding the faster race is only delaying the inevitable. I didn’t want to be a C or race Cat 2 for another year, so why wait any longer? Get it in while you can!

I was extremely caught off guard by how fast the Cat 1 races were. I always rode at a certain pace through technical stuff, leaned so far, or only turned so fast. I could ride my mountain bike for 25 miles, but at 11MPH, at Fair Hill it’s a completely different ballgame. I couldn’t BELIEVE how fast some of these people were riding stuff. I only got better at trying to push the envelope, 150% more than I thought I was suppose to. I felt the Mooch Madness race it all clicked for me, pace wise.

CX example:
Here is me chasing the Boss boys at Whirlybird in the C’s, look at my facial expression:
Hmmm, I wonder what we will be getting at Friendly’s after this, I really like burgers but maybe I will get a chicken sandwich instead

B race the last Sunday

Wishing I was on a beach catching rays. This is stupid.

I hope you get to experience the SuperCross race this year. I think it will be eye opening to you in terms of what you expected. You will do better than you think and you will surprise yourself.