tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487839454772702798.post393876184008964061..comments2023-05-18T05:52:34.464-07:00Comments on the new timer: Two Sides.brendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01126856549205259617noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487839454772702798.post-87303448813271589792012-02-06T14:34:55.183-08:002012-02-06T14:34:55.183-08:00To give another perspective - I used to be an elit...To give another perspective - I used to be an elite rider, several national & international representations until I hit about 26. <br /><br />Then other 'life' issues took over & I was unable to do the specific training required to be competitive at that level & therefore left racing as going out the rear every other week in Cat 1/A-Grade was no fun when you knew you were better. <br /><br />When I hit 30, I decided to start racing M1 purely because I knew that 200k's a week would be enough to race in that cat.<br /><br />AFAICT, Masters racing is fantastic for a group of late 20 yo's & up to be able to race & enjoy cycling without getting smashed week in & week out by the young up & comers. It's great for the bike business & it is great for attendance at the weekly events. More is (in this case) better.<br /><br />The number of Masters guys slugging it out at Dunc Grey on the track is impressive & the option is always there to ride the elite grates if your training & form allows.<br /><br />For me, the masters class was entry back into racing without the need for significant training, but once form hit he right spot, I progressed back to A-grade, elite, state & national competition - something which would not have happened if this class was not available.Litespeednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487839454772702798.post-29985957891357179712012-02-06T01:26:39.821-08:002012-02-06T01:26:39.821-08:00As someone who raced on the weekend in my first ev...As someone who raced on the weekend in my first ever Masters event (and about the only one who didn't pick up a medal of some description in one event or other) I guess I should chime in. I'm not a Llama, I'm not a Kos, I'm no Neil Robinson (as displayed when he flayed me in our sprint heat - yes, I'm the pirate!) I'm not 'elite', whatever my licence says, and without looking it up I've no idea what the NRS even is (though I can take a guess.)<br /><br />My take on this is that much of the concern about Masters racing expressed in the original post and comments seems to come down to the issue of state (national, world?) championships. I don't think anyone much cares if there's a crit series for Masters somewhere and a few old blokes (in so far as any athlete over 30 must be old, or so TV tells me) have fun and boast about it in the pub afterwards.<br /><br />The most pertinent point really is about participation, and when people are getting medals for showing up (and managing not to fall off their bike) then it's certainly a bit farcical. But you know, I don't know that many of those medallists will be bragging about it too much - pretty much everyone on the weekend was there for the racing, not for the medals per se.<br /><br />But issues of participation aren't limited to Masters events. How many people (of any age) raced the Vic metro track titles last year? How many medals were given out to people for showing up? But it goes deeper - how many racers, male, female, elite, masters, are winning state championships against Perko or Anna Meares? Or, you know, whoever the elite track enduros are? How do you really judge who is worthy? The TT can have a bar set - a gold should ride this time, silver this time, etc. but they don't matter so much because you're not riding against someone else, directly. Sprints you're racing whoever's there on the day!<br /><br />To focus on sprinting for a second, we don't have much. The main racing for the year is the Summer Sprint Series put on by Blackburn (next round this Sunday, 3pm!) for match sprinting - otherwise, it's dribs and drabs here and there, the odd 'sprint' night which might feature a keirin. And the SSS features almost exclusively Masters-level racers and U17s; graded purely by F200 times, not gender or age, with fields of around 30 sprinters baying for blood.<br /><br />And I'm glad it's graded. Because just as I can't beat someone my age who's been training and riding all his life, I can't beat 16 year-olds who've been training the same amount of time as I have. But I can be graded appropriately and have a challenging race. And that's the key, I think. Hardly anyone's going to rock up to a state champs (whether they're elite, Masters or Junior) if it's not going to be a challenge, unless (like for a kilo) it's one of very few opportunities to actually race 'properly'. They'd just race Nationals. And so on. State Masters on the track is challenging for me - that's why I came 4th out of 4. And that's why I'll race them again next year - and if I get good enough, I'll race the elite titles, too.<br /><br />Junior, elite, masters - it's all just another form of grading and, like most grading, it works best if people do it honestly. And if you do, and they give you a medal for it - you don't have to care. You just have to care enough to be out there, and be honest about who you're racing against.Publius Nasohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02939856747622738012noreply@blogger.com