[NCNCA] How to kill junior racing in the USA

[Casey Kerrigan]

On Jan 10, 2007, at 12:03 PM, Shawn Mehaffey wrote:

> I remember my first road race many years ago, which was a Sr. 4/5  
> event on flat terrain.  We started out into a head wind and I was  
> fine.  We turned a corner and then had a tail wind, and within two  
> minutes someone put the hammer down.  Despite being in decent shape  
> I couldn't keep up and was finally spit out the back.  I wound up  
> doing the rest of the race with a few stragglers.  My biggest gear  
> at the time was a 53x13, which equals 112.36 gear inches.  The  
> following year I put a cog set on the back that included a 12 tooth  
> ring, increasing my gear inches to 121.72.  This is the gearing I  
> think most Cat 4 & 5 racers use.  I didn't get shelled on down-wind  
> attacks and did better in sprints after that.
>
> A 52x14 equals 102.36 gear inches, which is significantly less than  
> the taller gears most adult riders use.  Slight downhills,  
> tailwinds or just sustained attacks could result in most juniors  
> being shelled.  Yes, our top level juniors could probably keep up  
> if they go at their max, but what about the vast majority of  
> juniors that are like most of us - intermediate level athletes?   
> Being non-competitive in the sprints and getting dropped in  
> situations mentioned above could result in most of them getting out  
> of the sport.  Hell, we lose enough of them to girls and cars.   
> =)   Is it worth sacrificing the future of our sport just so a few  
> top-level juniors are forced to learn how to spin?
>
> I understand the value of spinning - heck my normal cadence is 90  
> RPM.  I can see restricting juniors aged 15 and younger from using  
> bigger gears, maybe even 16 year-olds.  But at 17 and 18 years of  
> age I think they should be allowed something bigger than a 52x14 or  
> have no restrictions at all in elite races.
>

Fortunately most of the situations described above where a junior  
might get spun out and dropped happen in road races. Most of our road  
races tend to also have junior fields. If a junior feels he/she will  
be at to much of a disadvantage due to the restricted gears then they  
could opt to ride in the junior race where everyone will have the  
same gear restriction.  Who knows we might see a continued resurgence  
in junior field sizes as some riders may choose to do the junior race  
instead of an elite race.

Casey