After you have successfully completed a few Friday nights and maybe even ventured over the water to Heffron Park, your next step in the world of bike racing are the ‘Open Events’

Background boring bit....
Licence
If you have a look at your licence (you have got one haven’t you ?) you will see that you are a member of the UCI and ACF.

The UCI (International Cycle Union) is the world governing body for all aspects of cycling competition. The ACF or ‘Cycling Australia’ is the Australian National body for cycle racing and delegates competition to each State Federation (except in the case of Mountain Bikes and BMX etc).

Your licence entitles you to enter any cycling event in any of the states, if you want to race internationally then you must upgrade to an International Licence with compulsory insurance

Grades
In Australia riders are graded in ability from D-A with A grade being the top grade riders (in other countries they use categories 1-6) , when you are new to racing then you will normally start in a lower grade as not only fitness, but skills and tactics also are requisite which only come through racing and the higher the grade the higher the speed. When you have accumulated some wins or you have shown the ability to ride in a higher grade you can get the club handicapper to nominate that you be promoted if not already carried out by the federation. When you enter an open the federation will grade you accordingly if you do not agree see the club handicapper who can try and negotiate with the federation !

 
Preparing for your first Open.

Types of Opens

Criteriums
Road Races
Tours
Time Trials
MTB
Track

 

Criteriums are normally held over a short course (400m to 4km in length) and can be flat or hilly. Distances range from 20 minutes for the lower grades to 2 hours for the top grade. These races are normally flat out from the start in order that the non sprinters try and weed out the sprinters (or at least get them to do some work so that their sprint power is diminished). Some of the circuits are quite technical e.g (lots of corners, off camber , rough as guts) so you will require not only good bunch handling skills but also good bike handling skills.

Tactics The sprinters are hoping to ‘sit-in’ and wait for the finish so if you are not a sprinter then it’s time to go on the offensive, if your not considered a risk or the bunch doesn’t want to chase then your in with a chance of win! If you possess a killer sprint then make sure your teammates work to bring back any escapees and give you a good lead out.

Open criteriums are on every weekend but being an Open event the standard of riding in each grade is always higher so be prepared to drop down a grade compared to what you normally race. You can check your grade on the Road section of CNSW website and if you disagree let the club captain know and he will update the CNSW handicapper .

Road Races
Courses be can be held on a circuit, out and back or point to point with the distance from 50 to 250km. First rider over the line wins!
Open Races such as the National or State championships are open to all grades, everyone starts together and the first one over the line wins obviously if you are starting out then these races are not for you.
Tactics: Having a load of teammates push you to the finish helps otherwise get training !
Find out who are the contenders and watch them, if an early break goes are they strong enough to stay away, could you bridge across, is their enough firepower in the bunch and are they willing to chase. If you try and go with every move will you have enough left in the tank when the attacks go ? A number of possibilities arise in every race, thats the great part of cycling (except when that bloke sat on you for the last 100km and then rolls you on the line!)
Open Graded Races
Entrants compete in their set grade against each other, although sometimes women or Junior U/19 may get started with the lower grades. If you get at least two wins you move up to the next grade. If you have one of you legs removed then you may be demoted (rare)start.
Tactics: As in the Open races however the depth of ability will be less so knowing the riders is important (will they work, can they sprint, does he have a good looking sister) 
Open Handicap events try to even out the chances of winning by breaking up the entrants into small groups of similar ability. The slower riders are given a head start (by starting a certain time in front of the Scratch group) and the last group to set off containing best riders set off in pursuit. The “Scratch” group have an added bonus of normally the “Fastest Time” prize (if they all work well together)
Tactics: This is when you need everyone to roll through and do a turn, if you are going through too hard or too soft you will just annoy people, provide encouragement to riders to ensure that they roll the correct way, use the road to the full extent (only to centreline of course)  and make sure you look after #1 (regularly eat and drink it’s easy to forget when swapping off) . If you have been handicapped correctly and your bunch is humming along do you want to wait for a sprint ? No, then keep an eye on other non sprinters or riders that seem to be pulling strong turns as they will begin to turn the screws or begin turning them by applying a bit of tempo on a small climb and see who is willing to work and who you want to shell. If you are hurting (most likely scenario!) then hang on as long as possible because when the scratch group come through you will have to try and be near the front to be able to jump on. A person who is a “FOX” normally wins these events by performing abysmally for most of the year making sure the Handicapper knows they go like a mule with three legs and then goes out and does secret night time train of 2000km per week for 8 weeks before the event and smokes everyone !

Tours
Tours (as in the Tour de France) are won on the overall least time to complete all the events of a multistage race. You may not be the strongest on every stage but if you are consistent then this style of race may be for you. Special Jerseys for King of the Mountain and Sprint Jersey may also be awarded. Although NSW does not run any tours (the nearest is the Canberra Tour) there are some good events run around the other states that are all good fun and a great way to see the different parts of Australia.
 

Time Trials
The Individual TT is just you against the clock ! Sick of those sprinters sitting on and then going past with 200m to go after you have towed them around all race ?
Distances can be between 3km for a prologue up to 40km for the state or national championships.  Riders are set off individually at @1 minute intervals with the ‘seeded’ riders normally setting off last. No drafting is allowed, fastest over the distance wins courses can be of any type so surely there is a course for you ?
The Teams Time Trial is normally a 4 person event where you can draft off the other team members in order to recover before you take another pull at the front. The time is taken on the 3 rd member over the line. This is a State Championship event over @80km for the elite and considerably less for Masters and Ladies.  Ideally teams need to be comprised of riders of similar ability in order to work well together however at some point you will feel strong and other times as weak as a baby ! So mental toughness is also important (especially when they keep bombing through)

Let me at it ....

In May the Ken Dinnerville Handicap @90km is held at Dapto and although the course is a bit bumpy has crosswinds and a small climb, it does a number of laps of the same circuit so you can get familiar with the route and if you get dropped it’s not far back to the finish. You will be swapping off from the gun so if you are a sprinter and just want to sit on make sure you have some good ear plugs! We will be running a training ride over the course a few weeks before the evnt thanks to Illawarra CC
Practice: Swapping off, bunny hops, Echelon, attack on the climb 

Rosemount Estate - Musswellbrook Graded Scratch (60km to 100km depending on Grade)
Race around the quiet vineyards on quiet not too hilly roads, the 3km flat road to the finish suits the sprinters though. Hosted by the Rosemount Estate and with prizes of Vino on offer this is a nice relaxed race.
Practice Sitting in the car for 5 hours,
Best Hotel to stay at is ... you tell me

Something for the weekend.....
Coonabarabran to Gunnedah (Handicap) @100km
Hilly and hard but dont worry if you get dropped early save it for tomorrow
Gunnedah to Tamworth (Graded Scratch) @110km
Flattish fast course with a slight downhill sprint finish make sure you are near the front when they turn left and then the racing starts

These races appealed to me but as the great Greek philosopher (G Poulos) said “it’s whatever sails your boat”

If you would like to add more details or maybe write up your favourite race then please send to me

to be continued....