Should I Try to Cat up Next Season? Want opinion of experienced riders!!!!?

Question

I am 19 and going to be 20 next racing season. I got into racing this past year. I am cat 5 right now and have a few races under my belt and (not to be cocky) but im kicking ***. My team wants me to race really aggressively the rest of this season and cat up as soon as possible so i can race all next season with our team's best cat 4 rider.

I kinda like staying in cat 5 and gaining experience of races and learning more tactics and everything that comes with racing cat 5. Plus i like winning!!! who doesn't?

So i want some advice like what you would do or what you which you would have done? If you don't mind i would like to know how long you have been racing and what cat you are.

Thanks and hope you guys can help so i can have some advice from some experienced riders rather than just my team and the "coach". (He's some young guy who really wants to win) i think he used to be a football coach and only has like 2 years of cycling knowledge.

O yeah, i have been riding for 4 years

Answer 1

There isn't much difference between 5 and 4 in most areas, so I'd say go for it if you feel comfortable.  At those levels, you don't always have much opportunity to learn tactics anyway because so many of the "newer" racers in the lower cats are cocky and aggressive, usually less team-oriented than more seasoned or dedicated racers.  

There's nothing wrong with staying in 5 for a couple years either...and yeah, winning makes you feel good!   Just don't become a sandbagger.  When you eventually cat up to 3, you'll probably have some tough lessons and races no matter how good you are by then.   Your call....and your team's, perhaps.  Sometimes having another racer in a category can benefit the team.  If they can use you there and you're ready for it, then why not?

Answer 2

First let me preface this by saying that when I started racing many years ago, there was no such thing as Cat 5. Cat 4 was as low as you could go. Plus my time as a Cat 4 lasted less than one season, and my time in Cat 3 was only a month or two. But, I would have to agree with your coach, the best time to upgrade is at the end of the season. By then the strong Cat 4 riders will have upgraded to Cat 3, making the transition easier. Especially if you have teammates in Cat 4 that you can train and race with. If you upgrade to Cat 4 before the end of the season you will have a good idea of what you are in for, and what you may need to work on during the off season. Generally speaking I doubt that there is much difference in skill level between Cat 5 & 4. If you're kicking a** in Cat 5, you should have no problems in Cat 4. When I upgraded from Cat 4 to 3 I finished 3rd in my first race, and never finished worse than 8th, before I upgraded to Cat 2. The upgrade from 3 to 2 was much tougher.

Don't be intimidated by Cat 4 riders. Trust me, they're not that good. Have confidence in your abilities. If you lose, train harder. At some point you have to suck it up, and make the move. Either you're good enough, or your not, but for gosh sakes make them beat your a**. If they do beat your a**, then vow that it won't happen again next season. Either way it should motivate you to train harder this next winter. You can choose to stay in Cat 5 and win, but there is one thing that I have noticed about almost all great athletes, as much as they like winning, they absolutely HATE losing. Nothing motivates them more than losing.

Of course I don't know what your goals are, for some people cycling is a great recreational sport. They don't intend to be the next Lance Armstrong. They're happy just being able to race, and be competitive. And there's nothing wrong with that. If that's the case, then it couldn't hurt to spend another season in Cat 5. There are a lot of good teams out there that would be happy to have you as a member. In the end it's up to you. But if you're as good as you say you are, prove it.

I don't mean to give you a hard time, but I have always been competitive by nature. I've seen so many racers who thought that they were pretty good, if you are, then you have to do one thing. You have to prove it. Some of the racers that I have the greatest respect for were never really all that good, but they fought like he**. And that says more about their character than any yellow jersey.

Okay, so much for my motivational speech. Probably a little over the top for a Cat 5 racer, sorry. I'm still pretty darn passionate about racing.

          

  ************

Former:

Cat 4

Cat 3

Cat 2

Cat 1

Pro

Now old and slow, but I still think I can beat your a**.