[NCNCA] How to kill junior racing in the USA
jason.k at comcast.net
jason.k at comcast.net
Wed Jan 10 14:05:44 PST 2007
Personally I love hearing cat 3/4/5 guys complain about only having a 53x12 on their bike that day for the sprint, and how they would have won if they had put their 11 on.... not realizing that they might go faster if they stayed in their 13 or 14.....
While I really don't like the new rule much based on principle....
I totally agree that Junior gears are fine to run in Elite races 99.9% of the time..... I can think of very few races where there would be a serious disadvantage (for those that can spin at least decently)... Off the top of my head there are only two that I can think of....
- Patterson Pass RR 1/2, 3s, 4s .. probably wont be fun...
- Coyote Creek, depending on the wind... 1/2s and 3s maybe not fun... 4s and 5s shouldn't be a problem...
USAC certainly wants the juniors to learn to spin faster, when they hit nationals, start travelling to UCI races (Europe, Canada..etc)... they have to be able to hang at a local 1/2 pace in jr. gears... I totally understand that....
Personally I think there are a lot of kids out there that just want to have fun, it's a great hobby, keeps them healthy, and out of trouble... and some would certainly do better in Elite races with a 52 or 53x12 ... and maybe make it more fun for them....keeping them in the sport....
How do you spin better ? Force yourself to.... That's easy... but, to make rules forcing ALL kids to do that, I think isn't the best idea.... Especially for NEWER riders....
All of our juniors are told to put junior gears on their bike the day they join our club, and most would ride them in all races (junior and elite).. and do just fine, some have gone to Nationals and done great, some have gone on to be offered space on the U23 National team after leaving us, some have gone with a USAC team to L'abitibi in Canada and done well.
They didn't need rules telling them to learn to spin... the riders that were interested in pursuing those paths listened to us as their coaches and learned to spin well because they were told they should....
The flipside were some coming to us at 17/18 with little or no fitness, wanting to get into the sport... as a Junior Development Team, with a mission of supporting Juniors at all levels, we would work with them, but the 17/18 races are not a good place for them to start (as most 17/18s are cat 3s and there have been at least a couple cat 2s in there as well for at least the last 3 years)..... and the Junior Gear rule in Elite races makes it more difficult for them to jump into Elite races too (equipment requirements and cost, as well as added difficulty in the race, as new riders will not get any recovery when trying to spin at 100 rpm in the 'easy' sections)....
I'm not too worried about the top level juniors racing even p/1/2 races in junior gears... but I am worried about those coming into the sport at 17/18 without a lot of fitness... they don't really having a good 'home' in terms of races, and the rule makes it more difficult for them to have an enjoyable beginning to the sport on the racing side.
So..
- Hurting Junior racing, not too likely IMHO...
- I see it possibly hurting growth in the U23 area as we might start discouraging riders coming it at 17/18.....
- Do I think we need the rule - NO (pain for officials, and not required to force the kids that already have the attitude and desire needed to do well, as they will find good coaches that will teach them what is needed, regardless of rules.)
Jason Kent
USAC Level II Coach
Director Sportif
Tieni Duro Junior Cycling Development
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Nick Hanni <nickhanni at yahoo.com>
> Regardless of age or category, if you are in a situation where you get dropped
> and then no longer want to race because of this. In my opinion your "off the
> back" mentality. Getting dropped and fighting back is an important facet of bike
> racing along with other numerous "mental" aspects that you either have or can
> train to some extent.
>
> It's fight or flight at it's best. I came into bike racing at a very late age
> (34) but grew up involved in other sports. In high school as a freshman, I tried
> out for the Football team. In the first couple of practice's I got heckled by
> the defensive line coach to no end about my "stance" on the line. He rode me,
> yes my feeling were hurt, I thought I was going to be great! I had no idea what
> I was doing. I listened to advise and worked on it. in 3-4 weeks I was starting
> defensive end, and had a great season. (our team was all city)
>
> My very first race a few years ago was the Giro di SF I got shelled out the
> back in 4 laps and got pulled out (rightfully so), with friends and my Dad
> watching. I felt like shit. Did I sulk off with my tail between my legs? NO...
> I sacked up and vowed to come back to the event next year and do better. I was
> inspired, not dejected. In my own view, if you can't handle getting dropped (it
> happens) you are in the wrong competitive sport.
>
> Nick Hanni
>
> Shawn Mehaffey <spmehaffey at yahoo.com> 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.
>
> Shawn M.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Scott Patton
> To: Tony Catudal
> Cc: Shawn Mehaffey ; ncnca at ncnca.org; ncva at googlegroups.com
> Sent: Tuesday, January 9, 2007 7:36:31 AM
> Subject: NCVA Re: [NCNCA] How to kill junior racing in the USA
>
>
> I have a hard time believing that this will "kill" or even damage junior racing.
> I personally believe that if many of these juniors spent more time learning to
> pedal, they would ultimately become better cyclists.
>
> I started racing in about 1978... back in the day, we had gear restrictions, we
> all had funky chainrings, different cassettes, etc... but we got by.
>
> In ... I think it was about 2001, I had the opportunity to line up with a bunch
> of super fast masters here in Colorado. We took off for a 10 mile event on the
> track. I was shelled early, riding my 92.8" gear. (I could have been in any gear
> in the world and I wouldn't have been able to do 10 miles in 19:10. The pace was
> brutal. The conditions were good... With about 250 meters to go.. a rider
> unleashed a furious sprint, did the last 200 meters in 10.9 something... and
> won. Here's the catch, he was riding an 84' gear.
>
> That rider happened to win my first bike race in 1978... we are now both 38. His
> ability (and mine) to spin fast has helped us in numerous occassions, him more
> than me, I am sure! As Larry Nolan pointed out, a 100" gear is not small. It may
> take you our of an NRC sprint, but if you sit down and learn to pedal, it will
> likely help your cycling career and help prevent knee injuries.
>
> The single best way to make a bicycle go faster? Pedal faster!
>
> -jsp
>
>
>
> > --- Shawn Mehaffey wrote:
> >
> >> How do you kill junior racing in this country,
> >> especially juniors in their mid-to-late teens that
> >> begin to race against adults? ANSWER: Severely
> >> handicap them so they cannot compete against riders
> >> 19 years and older in the same elite category race.
> >> After a year of being blown out the back of the pack
> >> once the pace picks up almost all juniors will
> >> consider quiting the sport.
> >>
> >> Read on and find out how USAC has once again made a
> >> bad decision:
> >>
> >> ***
> >>
> >> Direct URL:
> >>
> > http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=2706
> >>
>
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