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I did some local mountain bike racing last year and took 2nd in my age group overall (sport). I only did 3 out of the 7 races and had the following results:
2nd (out of 2)
2nd (out of 8)
4th (out of 5)
Will I be a sandbagger if I don't move up to expert? I don't think I'm ready to double my race miles, but at the same time I don't want to be hated among fellow racers for not upgrading! What do you think?
With fields of that size I would not worry about being accused of sandbagging unless you start winning all of the races. I think that the mt bike folks are pretty relaxed too - they won't boot you up until you are ready.
That's what I kind of figured. Thanks!
We have a local series here that is NORBA sanctioned. We have to follow the NORBA rules as far as moving up. I am not sure if these rules apply to the series that you are participating in. It may be worth checking in to for future reference. In your case, even if the races are sanctioned you would not be forced to move up because the classes are so small.
That being said,if I were a fellow racer, I would not consider you a sandbagger if you did not move up becuase you did not do the entire series, and because you sound like a relatively new racer.
I am not sure where you are located, but make no mistake, the girls that race around here are very competitive, and take the sandbagging issue VERY seriously.
Sounds like you are having fun and kicking butt! CARRY ON!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with the others. If you had won all three races you did, then you should move up. I don't think that you need to worry about being labelled a sandbagger.
And take it from someone who DID upgrade to Expert last year - it is HARD. The extra mileage and bike time was a big shock to my system. I went from winning Sport races by 3-5 minutes to being 14 minutes behind the Expert leaders... OUCH! I call it my season of upgrading to mediocrity :D.
Most importantly, have fun. You will know when you are ready to upgrade and if you race in anywhere near as competitive fields as I do, if you don't, others will let you know that you should.
Good luck!
SheFly
Naw, I wouldn't call you a sand bagger. I think you have awesome results but I would grant you a full season in sport with a possible move up after a full year. My old boyfriend was a mad sand bagger in sport and it drove me nuts. Do a full season in sport and get your "legs" together.
I know it's not cycling but my older brother was one rocking motocross racer. He was damn good and won a lot of races really fast. He had to class up and started getting his butt whooped and it sucked all the fun out of it for him. I think he got a bit lucky in his races. Not discounting your skill or his.
In horse shows you leave a novice class after 3 first place ribbons in it. Just because you're doing good in sport doesn't mean you need to leave it. Leave it when the challenge is gone or the rules say you must.
Wish I could have even hung in sport. I never learned to run my own race. I'd lead the beginner/sport class for 5-8 miles and then blow up because I went to hard so good for you for learning to ride your races right. Use next season to hone that skill and ramp up your mileage.
Based on those results, I wouldn't call you a sandbagger if you didn't upgrade, but here's my take:
Is your goal to race expert in the future? If so, why not just go ahead & upgrade? Sure, you'll feel like dieing a little bit every time you race & you may finish DFL, but if you want to be at that level, then what better time to start than now?
I do plan to upgrade at some point in my life! I've been racing in sport on and off since 1998! Last year was my first real season in 10 years (I had a 5-year hiatus in between). I'm training for longer distances this year so if I move up late in the season it won't be a shock to my system. I don't think the MTB scene is that competitive here, not like it is for cyclocross.