From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

User avatar
ColinOldnCranky
Posts: 6734
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 4:58 pm

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:10 pm

JV911 wrote:
foo on patrol wrote:^^ Why not? ^^ :?
if you've ever been on a bunch ride/race with a trathlete in the mix you'll know why...
For a start, wouldn't a triathlete have different bars? Flat bars?
Unchain yourself-Ride a unicycle

User avatar
toolonglegs
Posts: 15463
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:49 pm
Location: Somewhere with padded walls and really big hills!

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby toolonglegs » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:16 pm

ColinOldnCranky wrote:
JV911 wrote:
foo on patrol wrote:^^ Why not? ^^ :?
if you've ever been on a bunch ride/race with a trathlete in the mix you'll know why...
For a start, wouldn't a triathlete have different bars? Flat bars?
No,they would be able to start with tri bars.

User avatar
drubie
Posts: 4714
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2008 11:12 am
Location: New England
Contact:

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby drubie » Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:12 pm

ireland57 wrote:
jchamp51 wrote:As someone back to cycling after 40yrs off and only started to keep fit, I am getting more and more interested.
can someone give me an understanding of what times a D verses a A grader consistanly has to acheive.
What grade would a 57yr beginer be in.
John
+ 1.
I'd like to do some crits and road races this year (53yo).

Would anyone here know what pace a D grade crit (I live in Nth Qld) might average and also a road race like the Tour de Tablelands?
It isn't so much about "pace" or times, it's whether you can hang onto a bunch in that grade or not so you can feature in the finish. Ride with that group on their training rides first and they'll soon sort you out into a grade.
So we get the leaders we deserve and we elect, we get the companies and the products that we ask for, right? And we have to ask for different things. – Paul Gilding
but really, that's rubbish. We get none of it because the choices are illusory.

ireland57
Posts: 283
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 9:54 pm

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby ireland57 » Mon Jan 10, 2011 7:44 pm

I know I can't stay with the A graders when they sprint. :lol:

User avatar
toolonglegs
Posts: 15463
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:49 pm
Location: Somewhere with padded walls and really big hills!

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby toolonglegs » Mon Jan 10, 2011 7:59 pm

ireland57 wrote:I know I can't stay with the A graders when they sprint. :lol:
Plenty of C graders probably put out more wattage in a sprint than many A graders...the trick is making it too the sprint...and even if you do have some left in the tank :P .

brendancg
Posts: 524
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 3:35 pm
Location: Penrith Australia

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby brendancg » Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:59 pm

As someone back to cycling after 40yrs off and only started to keep fit, I am getting more and more interested.
can someone give me an understanding of what times a D verses a A grader consistanly has to acheive.
At Penrith the average speed for a 1hr Crit in C grade is just below 40kph, B grade about 41 - 42kph and A grade about 45kph.
Yesterday was an easy day.

User avatar
JV911
Posts: 5458
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2008 1:22 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby JV911 » Tue Jan 11, 2011 8:40 am

toolonglegs wrote: Plenty of C graders probably put out more wattage in a sprint than many A graders...the trick is making it too the sprint...and even if you do have some left in the tank :P .
spot on :lol:

tactics play a big part

and it's just not about fitness either...fitness doesnt always translate to race fitness esp in crits with all the surging and break-aways that go on.
<---LACC--->
<---BMC SLR01--->


User avatar
/\ |_ |
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 8:49 pm

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby /\ |_ | » Tue Jan 11, 2011 10:05 am

[/quote]At Penrith the average speed for a 1hr Crit in C grade is just below 40kph, B grade about 41 - 42kph and A grade about 45kph.[/quote]

Speed is never a good indicator of diffrence between groups. A rider who leading his group for most of the race might be putting out as much power as a rider in the grade above who is riding in the middle of the pack.

When i was riding down at homebush in the group training rides, I found the diffrence between the groups to be approx 10% (power) over a 40min period. That 10% diffrence is made up in the last 10 - 15 mins of the ride. When I moved up a group I was dropped a few times but once i got my fitness up I was able to keep up. But i was never going to get that level fitness hanging around in the group below.
Image

toppity
Posts: 998
Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2010 10:08 am
Location: West Gippsland, Victoria

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby toppity » Tue Jan 11, 2011 10:20 am

Well, as of next week, I will have made the transition from D to A in about 3 months. HOWEVER, this is a totally misleading thing to actually say due to where I started and where I'm going to be racing "A" grade. I started "D" grade at Southern Vets at the beginning of their 2010/2011 Crit' Season. As it was my first race for 20 years they asked if I wanted to start in "E" or "D". I took the "D" option. There were about 30 riders that day (all SVCC grades "D" and above have 30 plus riders in them at Sandown). I won that race and a few more in "D", a couple in "C", and will be racing "B" grade. I've also started racing Warragul's Crit' series. There are fewer riders there, perhaps 10-15 per grade max'. After winning there a few times I'm now up to "A" grade. Although a few of the riders there are exceptional, I still wouldn't consider myself anywhere near a true "A" grader. But at least I can say I've done it. :wink:
I ride several bicycles, but not at once.

User avatar
scotto
Posts: 2380
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2009 9:38 am
Location: Baulkham Hills
Contact:

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby scotto » Tue Jan 11, 2011 10:44 am

made the transition from e to d last night. 5 laps in a 2-3 man breakaway with extra long sprint to the finish. average speed went from 33 to 37km/h. into a headwind we had to call out passing to A grade to get out of our way - then they started riding seriously and went blurry as they passed us...i thought to myself " that'll never happen" theres not enough hours in the day for me to train that much..

User avatar
brentono
Posts: 3698
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:33 pm
Location: Perth DubyaEh.

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby brentono » Tue Jan 11, 2011 4:21 pm

I jumped 5th grade, saved a year. :D
Lone Rider- I rode on the long, dark road... before I danced under the lights.

brendancg
Posts: 524
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 3:35 pm
Location: Penrith Australia

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby brendancg » Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:50 pm

Speed is never a good indicator of difference between groups. A rider who leading his group for most of the race might be putting out as much power as a rider in the grade above who is riding in the middle of the pack.
Now I appreciate your response but most of us are not fortunate to own a power meter and must use the tools we have available. Most of us will own a computer which will indicate speed and time. My response was to the question further up that was asked regarding the times for differences within grades. Now a 1hr crit will have the same time but the difference which we will all have access to is average speed.

Now if you consider that a rider is going to maintain about 70% of the effort of the front rider whilst wheel sucking, then for 'A' grade at a 45kph average they are going to have to be comfortable maintaining about 31.5kph on their own. I acknowledge that bike handling skills, tactics, anaerobic ability and power will come into play but basically think my above answer will give the questioner an indication. It is what I considered when I started racing.
Yesterday was an easy day.

User avatar
toolonglegs
Posts: 15463
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:49 pm
Location: Somewhere with padded walls and really big hills!

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby toolonglegs » Tue Jan 11, 2011 6:14 pm

If you can go out and hold 30-32kmph on flatish ground for half an hour then you will be able to find a grade suitable to slot into very easily...probably around C-D grade.

ireland57
Posts: 283
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 9:54 pm

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby ireland57 » Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:42 pm

That answers mine for the moment Thankyou.

D grade would suit me but I don't want to turn up and get dropped at the first acceleration. :oops: :cry:

That would mean training even harder/more/whatever. :shock:

User avatar
stinhambo
Posts: 486
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2011 9:40 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Cairns, QLD

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby stinhambo » Wed Jan 12, 2011 12:18 am

ireland57 wrote:Would anyone here know what pace a D grade crit (I live in Nth Qld) might average and also a road race like the Tour de Tablelands?
Where abouts in Nth Qld are you based?
Image

ireland57
Posts: 283
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 9:54 pm

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby ireland57 » Wed Jan 12, 2011 10:26 am

stinhambo wrote:
ireland57 wrote:Would anyone here know what pace a D grade crit (I live in Nth Qld) might average and also a road race like the Tour de Tablelands?
Where abouts in Nth Qld are you based?
Townsville.

User avatar
stinhambo
Posts: 486
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2011 9:40 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Cairns, QLD

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby stinhambo » Wed Jan 12, 2011 10:31 am

ireland57 wrote:
stinhambo wrote:
ireland57 wrote:Would anyone here know what pace a D grade crit (I live in Nth Qld) might average and also a road race like the Tour de Tablelands?
Where abouts in Nth Qld are you based?
Townsville.
I'm in Cairns. How many calls have you received from people asking how you are coping with the floods?
Image

ireland57
Posts: 283
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 9:54 pm

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby ireland57 » Wed Jan 12, 2011 1:17 pm

Haha. No calls thank goodness. First time though.

User avatar
mikesbytes
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 22143
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:42 pm
Location: Tempe, Sydney
Contact:

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby mikesbytes » Wed Jan 12, 2011 1:34 pm

D grades generally don't have too many accelerations but being dropped is all part of learning to race
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

ireland57
Posts: 283
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 9:54 pm

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby ireland57 » Wed Jan 12, 2011 9:16 pm

mikesbytes wrote:D grades generally don't have too many accelerations but being dropped is all part of learning to race
Getting dropped is ok. I'm actually quite good at it. :oops: :cry: 8) :lol:

But I don't want to start my first race polishing the technique on the first hard bit.

User avatar
Redbull
Posts: 1946
Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2007 7:19 pm
Location: Coogee WA

From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby Redbull » Wed Jan 12, 2011 11:41 pm

Funny thing is B grade can often be slower than the lower grades until they pull their finger out and get serious.
The trouble with jogging is that the ice falls out of your glass

User avatar
stinhambo
Posts: 486
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2011 9:40 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Cairns, QLD

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby stinhambo » Wed Jan 12, 2011 11:45 pm

Newbie question here but is there a resource on how much and what kind of training these riders do? I'm curious about types of road racing after watching SBS at the weekend!
Image

User avatar
jacks1071
Posts: 3068
Joined: Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:47 pm
Location: Mackay, QLD
Contact:

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby jacks1071 » Wed Feb 02, 2011 6:10 pm

ireland57 wrote:
jchamp51 wrote:As someone back to cycling after 40yrs off and only started to keep fit, I am getting more and more interested.
can someone give me an understanding of what times a D verses a A grader consistanly has to acheive.
What grade would a 57yr beginer be in.
John
+ 1.
I'd like to do some crits and road races this year (53yo).

Would anyone here know what pace a D grade crit (I live in Nth Qld) might average and also a road race like the Tour de Tablelands?
There is pleanty of riders older than yourself racing D Grade at Tablelands - do the training and you'll be right, its a fantastic event.
Our Website is: http://www.kotavelo.com.au" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Find us on Facebook by searching for "Kotavelo"

Myddraal
Posts: 282
Joined: Thu Jul 08, 2010 2:13 pm

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby Myddraal » Wed Feb 02, 2011 6:35 pm

Having no cycling race experience at all, I'd say D to A in a year could be done. But it would require some serious training, and a good coach. You'd have no time for anything else.

Grant. W
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 1:09 pm
Location: Woodbine, NSW

Re: From D grade to A Grade in 1 year?

Postby Grant. W » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:41 pm

stinhambo wrote:Newbie question here but is there a resource on how much and what kind of training these riders do? I'm curious about types of road racing after watching SBS at the weekend!
Bit off the topic Stin,
Good luck tonight mate, hope you are all safe up there.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users