[Ziptie]

Sorry. I know this has probably been covered before, and that people always apologize for posting something that has been covered before, so I'm sorry for that too. But I is confused.

What is the major difference between Men's 4 and Men's 3/4? I get that 4 is strictly for beginners (me). But do I have to start there? How much harder is 3/4? And if I do start 4, when can I upgrade? Thanks for the help.

Sean

 

[pretender]

Start with the men's 4 race. Time your laps, and compare with the men's 3/4 field.

 

[atpjunkie]

run the 4's

your first impression will be
"Holy F this is hard and fast"
and 3/4s is much faster

 

[krisdrum]

your first impression will be
"Holy F this is hard and fast"
and 3/4s is much faster

Based on my experience last year as a 4 and watching the 3s and the guys I know who catted up to 3s. This is totally on point.

Think about it this way, fast 3s are on the verge of racing the Pro/1/2s

 

[rockdude]

Here in Colorado 4, are hard, really, really hard, puke on your handle bars hard..

And once you cat up with a few podiums in 4, you will be in the back of the 3's starting all over again.

No Cross race is ever ez, they are all hard but over time you get faster but it still hurts the same every race.

 

[Ziptie]

Thanks for the input. Sounds like 4's is the place for me. Just curious though, does anyone know why do they call it 3/4 instead of just 3? I think seeing that 4 in there is why I foolishly thought I could hang in that cat. Thanks again. See you out there.

 

[pretender]

Just curious though, does anyone know why do they call it 3/4 instead of just 3?

So 4s can race in it without having to upgrade.

 

[Ziptie]

That's what I figured. Cool. Thanks.

 

[atpjunkie]

faster 4's may want

the competition
also otherwise you get 2's sandbagging

my first year (and I was seriously trained and prepped) the system was lettered
A, B, C, D I raced C's (even though I was a novice) and though I typically finished between 6th and 15th I wish I'd done a season of D's. Would have been nice to win a race.

so start in the 4s, if you are on the podium your first handful of races then think about moving up. My guess is you'll find plenty of competition in the field.

and again, be ready, bring a trainer and get yourself up to a nice froth before the start. The first lap is hell, if you aren't properly warmed the second 2 laps are recovering from the shock of the first lap and the rest is just pain cave. If you warm up properly you skip the shock and settle right into the pain cave. Sounds wrong but it is so much better.

 

[quatre24]

This year will be my third year, so I race cat 3 due having two years experience already. I upgraded to cat 3 after doing most of a season in the cat 4s which what some promoters like people to do in their first year. Some people wait till after their first season to upgrade to cat 3. Last year was a dud for me, with getting over a fractured elbow from a summer crit wich totally messed up my summer training for CX. I went to CX racing way behind in fitness and skills. I raced but did not feel good till mid January when the season had one or two races left for the season.

Cat 4s are for beginners, while cat 3s are people with experience and may be some results that need to fine tune their problems areas. As a cat 3 I was able to jump into the pro/cat 1-3 race but I knew I was not at the top guys level but did it as an extra workout like the rest of the cat 3s and just let the Pro/cat 1-2 guys go by when they lapped me. It is the same as cat 4 doing the cat 3/4. I would suggest you focus on the cat 4s and do the cat 3/4s as a extra workout/training ride if you the time or energy on race day. It will help out in the long run. Do most the season as cat 4 unless, you get some really good results, to learn the skills and experience as many different courses possible. Most of all, have fun doing CX.

 

[Ziptie]

Thanks for all the great advice. 4s it clearly the place for me. I sometimes forget that I'm older and slower than I wish I was.

 

[allison]

Not sure if this link will work for everyone, but if you look up the Southern California Prestige Series you can go to their discussions to view:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138973026117244#!/topic.php?uid=62781225940&topic=14107

It's a note on the categories for this season.