#11
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Rider gradings
On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 20:23:27 GMT, "Suzy Jackson"
wrote: "Andrew Lighten" wrote in message ... I've seen mention of people being "D grade", "C grade", etc. What kind of performance criteria are used to determine what grade someone is in, and how could I get a rough idea of what grade I might be in should I choose to join a club and start competing? It's all voodoo. If an unknown shows up to a club race, the handicapper looks them over, and assigns a grade. If you haven't raced before, you generally get put into D grade, which is the second lowest. E Grade is usually reserved for the really old guys. So then when you blow D grade apart on your first race, and finish 400m ahead of the pack, a bunch of people will complain that you're a burglar, and you'll get stuck into C grade next week. Some people get a bit of a reputation for sneaking around the different clubs trying to con the handicapper into putting them into a lower grade than they really should. If you're properly graded, and a regular, you'll find your performance will generally improve with time, so after a while you'll stop getting dropped, then you'll start to get involved in the sprint, and get noticed by the handicapper. If you're on the podium too many times in a row, they'll suggest that it would be good for you to race with the next grade. Of course if you show up to your first race with enormous bulging shaved thighs, and a well worn expensive bike, be prepared to race your first race with the C or even B graders. Regards, Suzy Hmm, I have always feared racing, since I only cycle occaisionally for fun. I guess if there are grades its a different matter though. |
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#12
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Rider gradings
Andrew...
I was close!!! :-) Give me six months, and I may be ready to join you ... although, given the last 4, you'd best make that 12 months!!! :-) "hippy" wrote in message ... "Andrew Lighten" wrote in message news:3f59f21a$0$95044$c30e37c6@lon- I've seen mention of people being "D grade", "C grade", etc. What kind of performance criteria are used to determine what grade someone is in, and how could I get a rough idea of what grade I might be in should I choose to join a club and start competing? If you've realistically not done any racing before, put yourself in the lowest grade. Even being super fit doesn't mean you will win, there's tactics and rules to be learnt. If you wax the field then, sure, put yourself up a grade. It's quite hard to tell and I had the same question when I started. I worked my way up in D grade and in one race lapped the field. Entered into C grade after that and got a place or two, then crashed and my next C grade race (with many more riders) I was left for dead - so, even getting the grade right doesn't mean you will be near the front, or even be able to hang on! It's nice to win, but it's better to fight for the win! hippy |
#13
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Rider gradings
Andrew...
I was close!!! :-) Give me six months, and I may be ready to join you ... although, given the last 4, you'd best make that 12 months!!! :-) "hippy" wrote in message ... "Andrew Lighten" wrote in message news:3f59f21a$0$95044$c30e37c6@lon- I've seen mention of people being "D grade", "C grade", etc. What kind of performance criteria are used to determine what grade someone is in, and how could I get a rough idea of what grade I might be in should I choose to join a club and start competing? If you've realistically not done any racing before, put yourself in the lowest grade. Even being super fit doesn't mean you will win, there's tactics and rules to be learnt. If you wax the field then, sure, put yourself up a grade. It's quite hard to tell and I had the same question when I started. I worked my way up in D grade and in one race lapped the field. Entered into C grade after that and got a place or two, then crashed and my next C grade race (with many more riders) I was left for dead - so, even getting the grade right doesn't mean you will be near the front, or even be able to hang on! It's nice to win, but it's better to fight for the win! hippy |
#14
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Rider gradings
"Suzy Jackson" wrote in
: snip So then when you blow D grade apart on your first race, and finish 400m ahead of the pack, a bunch of people will complain that you're a burglar, and you'll get stuck into C grade next week. Some people get a bit of a reputation for sneaking around the different clubs trying to con the handicapper into putting them into a lower grade than they really should. I will never understand the theory behind this ? As far as I am concerned, the guy coming _last_ in C grade is _better_ then the guy coming first in D Grade therefore you should be trying to progress THROUGH the grades as soon as you can. Maybe they should engrave the "trophy" that way ? "First in D Grade but not as good as the last guy in C Grade" -- Trevor S "Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth." -Albert Einstein |
#15
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Rider gradings
"Suzy Jackson" wrote in
: snip So then when you blow D grade apart on your first race, and finish 400m ahead of the pack, a bunch of people will complain that you're a burglar, and you'll get stuck into C grade next week. Some people get a bit of a reputation for sneaking around the different clubs trying to con the handicapper into putting them into a lower grade than they really should. I will never understand the theory behind this ? As far as I am concerned, the guy coming _last_ in C grade is _better_ then the guy coming first in D Grade therefore you should be trying to progress THROUGH the grades as soon as you can. Maybe they should engrave the "trophy" that way ? "First in D Grade but not as good as the last guy in C Grade" -- Trevor S "Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth." -Albert Einstein |
#16
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Rider gradings
"Trevor S" wrote in message
... Some people get a bit of a reputation for sneaking around the different clubs trying to con the handicapper into putting them into a lower grade than they really should. I will never understand the theory behind this ? As far as I am concerned, the guy coming _last_ in C grade is _better_ then the guy coming first in D Grade therefore you should be trying to progress THROUGH the grades as soon as you can. There's usually money involved. I got $10 for finishing 2nd in my D grade race on the weekend. Also, only the first three ever get a mention in the results. Everyone else might as well not exist. Having said that though, if it's not hard work, then it's not particularly enjoyable and you're not extending yourself. I have the most fun when I know I'm within striking distance of a placing, when I know that if I'm having a good day, and if I ride the race using my brains rather than my legs, and if I just get a little lucky at the end, that I'll get a place. Last weekend was particularly sweet. One of my team mates went up the road with a kilometre to go, and I reckoned that was the winning move, so I sat up and didn't chase him, but instead sat on the wheels of those who did. As it happened we passed him with 100m to go, and I'd been sitting in for the start of the sprint, so went hard at (almost) the right time. The first four placegetters were all within about 2 metres of each other. I went up to C grade a couple of months ago voluntarily, as I figured the extra speed would do me some good, but after a few weeks of going off the back half way through the race I dropped back to D grade, as it's not fun to get your arse whipped every week. However it looks like my stint in C grade has been good for me, as now I've got a placing in D grade. With luck (and a hell of a lot of training) I hope that I'll get a bunch more placings, and will then go to C grade happily, knowing that I've got a good chance of hanging on for most of the race. Regards, Suzy |
#17
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Rider gradings
"Trevor S" wrote in message
... Some people get a bit of a reputation for sneaking around the different clubs trying to con the handicapper into putting them into a lower grade than they really should. I will never understand the theory behind this ? As far as I am concerned, the guy coming _last_ in C grade is _better_ then the guy coming first in D Grade therefore you should be trying to progress THROUGH the grades as soon as you can. There's usually money involved. I got $10 for finishing 2nd in my D grade race on the weekend. Also, only the first three ever get a mention in the results. Everyone else might as well not exist. Having said that though, if it's not hard work, then it's not particularly enjoyable and you're not extending yourself. I have the most fun when I know I'm within striking distance of a placing, when I know that if I'm having a good day, and if I ride the race using my brains rather than my legs, and if I just get a little lucky at the end, that I'll get a place. Last weekend was particularly sweet. One of my team mates went up the road with a kilometre to go, and I reckoned that was the winning move, so I sat up and didn't chase him, but instead sat on the wheels of those who did. As it happened we passed him with 100m to go, and I'd been sitting in for the start of the sprint, so went hard at (almost) the right time. The first four placegetters were all within about 2 metres of each other. I went up to C grade a couple of months ago voluntarily, as I figured the extra speed would do me some good, but after a few weeks of going off the back half way through the race I dropped back to D grade, as it's not fun to get your arse whipped every week. However it looks like my stint in C grade has been good for me, as now I've got a placing in D grade. With luck (and a hell of a lot of training) I hope that I'll get a bunch more placings, and will then go to C grade happily, knowing that I've got a good chance of hanging on for most of the race. Regards, Suzy |
#18
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Rider gradings
How long are the races typically?
On Sun, 07 Sep 2003 12:20:00 GMT, "Suzy Jackson" wrote: "Trevor S" wrote in message ... Some people get a bit of a reputation for sneaking around the different clubs trying to con the handicapper into putting them into a lower grade than they really should. I will never understand the theory behind this ? As far as I am concerned, the guy coming _last_ in C grade is _better_ then the guy coming first in D Grade therefore you should be trying to progress THROUGH the grades as soon as you can. There's usually money involved. I got $10 for finishing 2nd in my D grade race on the weekend. Also, only the first three ever get a mention in the results. Everyone else might as well not exist. Having said that though, if it's not hard work, then it's not particularly enjoyable and you're not extending yourself. I have the most fun when I know I'm within striking distance of a placing, when I know that if I'm having a good day, and if I ride the race using my brains rather than my legs, and if I just get a little lucky at the end, that I'll get a place. Last weekend was particularly sweet. One of my team mates went up the road with a kilometre to go, and I reckoned that was the winning move, so I sat up and didn't chase him, but instead sat on the wheels of those who did. As it happened we passed him with 100m to go, and I'd been sitting in for the start of the sprint, so went hard at (almost) the right time. The first four placegetters were all within about 2 metres of each other. I went up to C grade a couple of months ago voluntarily, as I figured the extra speed would do me some good, but after a few weeks of going off the back half way through the race I dropped back to D grade, as it's not fun to get your arse whipped every week. However it looks like my stint in C grade has been good for me, as now I've got a placing in D grade. With luck (and a hell of a lot of training) I hope that I'll get a bunch more placings, and will then go to C grade happily, knowing that I've got a good chance of hanging on for most of the race. Regards, Suzy |
#19
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Rider gradings
How long are the races typically?
On Sun, 07 Sep 2003 12:20:00 GMT, "Suzy Jackson" wrote: "Trevor S" wrote in message ... Some people get a bit of a reputation for sneaking around the different clubs trying to con the handicapper into putting them into a lower grade than they really should. I will never understand the theory behind this ? As far as I am concerned, the guy coming _last_ in C grade is _better_ then the guy coming first in D Grade therefore you should be trying to progress THROUGH the grades as soon as you can. There's usually money involved. I got $10 for finishing 2nd in my D grade race on the weekend. Also, only the first three ever get a mention in the results. Everyone else might as well not exist. Having said that though, if it's not hard work, then it's not particularly enjoyable and you're not extending yourself. I have the most fun when I know I'm within striking distance of a placing, when I know that if I'm having a good day, and if I ride the race using my brains rather than my legs, and if I just get a little lucky at the end, that I'll get a place. Last weekend was particularly sweet. One of my team mates went up the road with a kilometre to go, and I reckoned that was the winning move, so I sat up and didn't chase him, but instead sat on the wheels of those who did. As it happened we passed him with 100m to go, and I'd been sitting in for the start of the sprint, so went hard at (almost) the right time. The first four placegetters were all within about 2 metres of each other. I went up to C grade a couple of months ago voluntarily, as I figured the extra speed would do me some good, but after a few weeks of going off the back half way through the race I dropped back to D grade, as it's not fun to get your arse whipped every week. However it looks like my stint in C grade has been good for me, as now I've got a placing in D grade. With luck (and a hell of a lot of training) I hope that I'll get a bunch more placings, and will then go to C grade happily, knowing that I've got a good chance of hanging on for most of the race. Regards, Suzy |
#20
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Rider gradings
"Trevor S" wrote in message
... I will never understand the theory behind this ? As far as I am concerned, the guy coming _last_ in C grade is _better_ then the guy coming first in D Grade therefore you should be trying to progress THROUGH the grades as soon as you can. Tell that to the guy that came last in C grade. Look at the face of the person that came first in D grade and that should explain why some people want to stay in lower grades. Moving up should be a goal but it can't be nice getting whipped week in week out. As for moving through grades as fast as possible - I don't think that it's such a good idea. I learn something every time I go out and I'm still racing D after a brief stint in C grade and lots of time not racing. There's lots to be learnt racing - speeding through grades might mean you've got fitness but you'll get to a point where it doesn't help because you need more than fitness to win. If you don't know how to hold a wheel, etc. when you get to the higher grades you wont get far. Also, it's better to make mistakes in the lower grades, I think, rather than in the grades where people are taking it quite a bit more seriously. hippy |
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