Tour of Walla Walla - Stage Race

[SheFly]

Does your club offer a racing skills clinic? Are there any in your area (maybe another club)? this is something that our club offers that is great for new racers. Teaches everyone basic skills like pacelining, as well as incidental contact, what happens when you touch wheels, etc..

Don't be put off by my comments, or Eden's. We have been racing for a couple of seasons, so have some bike handling skills, and know the intricacies of racing. Like Eden's area, if I upgrade I am also forced to race with the pros...

That said, there is no way to tell how you will do besides jumping into a race. Most people will be pretty helpful, and will give you pointers. If someone yells at you, it's more because they want you to be aware of what you are doing - learn from those instances.

Do you have a friend or teammate who has raced? Finding a mentor can also help a lot, even if you don't race in the same categories. And Mimosa is right - the club rides definitely help to get you comfortable in a pack.

Good luck!

SheFly

[Eden]

Look on your local calendar and see if you can find anything that is labled a training race or that might have a class before hand or mentors that ride along. We have both around here. Tuesdays there is a circuit race series that has beginner and cat 4 categories for women and has ride along mentorship. Thursdays there is a crit series that has a beginner/cat 5 field (unfortunately no separate womens field, but women and juniors get half off the entry fee...) that has a class before the race that is free with your entry.
She Fly is totally right there really is no way to tell if you are ready than to jump in and try it since there is no experience quite like the pack, but I would strongly encourage basic group riding skills to any one first. At very least you should know how to safely draft and paceline and you should know how to corner safely. You should be comfortable riding in your drops, epsecially through corners and down hills. Don't get discouraged or insulted if someone says something to you. It can be tense and since no one wants to fall they can get vocal. Just try to listen objectively - you may be doing something without realizing it.

[AZSpinner]

I enjoyed reading about your stage race. Congrats on the top 10 finish! As a rookie racer, I appeciated the tips you gave Li10up. I'm looking forward to hearing about your next race!