# Difference between Cat 5 and Cat 4



## Akez (Aug 13, 2011)

Just got my upgrade. Is there a huge difference in speed/fitness of riders? What other differences?


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## Sonomasnap (Feb 10, 2010)

Been addressed many times but here you go.

1. Longer races.
2. Usually larger fields.
3. Faster.
4. Depends but usually less crashing.
5. Final Cat for 80% of racers. (You actually have to get results within a specific time range to Cat up.
6. No pro kits.
7. More attacks.


That's a start.


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## The_Squire (Aug 10, 2011)

Clearly, Cat 5 riders are complete n00bs, beneath contempt and are to be shunned at all opportunity or at least treated with derision and scorn.

Cat 4 riders are your peers, so you can grudgingly acknowledge them as rivals as you work to prove you're better than they are.

Cat 3 and above, it goes without saying, are to be revered as the semi-mythical beings they still appear to be. You quietly, desperately aspire to their status some day but fear you may never obtain that rare circle. You are not yet worthy of speaking to one.

Actually, I've got nothing useful to say. Just working on my post total. Sorry.


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## seppo17 (Dec 7, 2008)

It depends a lot on your area. But with that said.

The avg speed will likely be a tad higher. The racing and tactics mostly the same. Mainly now the riders you drop early and midway through the race because of the pace are nolonger there.

And obviously the races are longer.


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## dcl10 (Jul 2, 2010)

I thought it was the easiest cat. Three races and I got an upgrade. I watched a 4/5 race a few weeks ago over in Ohio, about half the field got dropped and we were all saying what a bad idea it was to mix them, but to my surprise 7 of the top 10 were 5's. A lot of the 5's got dropped but some of those 5's could, and eventually will run with the higher cats, whereas most of your 4's aren't going anywhere soon.


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## Akez (Aug 13, 2011)

dcl10 said:


> I thought it was the easiest cat. Three races and I got an upgrade. I watched a 4/5 race a few weeks ago over in Ohio, about half the field got dropped and we were all saying what a bad idea it was to mix them, but to my surprise 7 of the top 10 were 5's. A lot of the 5's got dropped but some of those 5's could, and eventually will run with the higher cats, whereas most of your 4's aren't going anywhere soon.


Well I'll be all set with results because I race with cat 3s and 2s all the time.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

What I've seen is this:

CAT 5 - There are five to ten really fast guys and the rest are pack fodder
CAT 4 - There are fifteen to twenty fast guys and the rest are pack fodder
CAT 3 - There are twenty five to thirty fast guys and the rest are pack fodder
CAT 1/2 - They are all fast

The pace usually picks up from category to category, but not always. The speed difference is fairly minimal from the 5's to the 4's for the duration of a race...the biggest difference is the attacks get a lot harder the higher up the category you go, as do the climbs.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

There are more crashes in cat5.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

Akez said:


> Well I'll be all set with results because I race with cat 3s and 2s all the time.


Anyone can move up to cat 4. Just race 10 times. 

After that, as you move up the tactics change. You're not longer racing against guys who don't know what they are doing and have never won a race. You're not going to catch them sleeping. It gets more difficult to win; you'll be racing against guys who can win races.


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## EDUC8-or (Jan 2, 2009)

Around here the fields are bigger and I've seen more crashes in the 4's. I raced Cat 5 35+ and it seemed like lots of the guys were people that had been riding for a while and wanted to give racing a shot. There were wrecks but it seemed like there were more in the 34 and under races.

The pace is about the same, maybe a bit faster. There are definitely more attacks but everyone chases like the dickens and it seems like there aren't too many tactics outside of sit in for the bunch sprint. I didn't race as much this year as I would have liked, but will hopefully be able to race more next year to cat up to a 3 and then do masters races.


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## waldo425 (Sep 22, 2008)

The_Squire said:


> Clearly, Cat 5 riders are complete n00bs, beneath contempt and are to be shunned at all opportunity or at least treated with derision and scorn.
> 
> Cat 4 riders are your peers, so you can grudgingly acknowledge them as rivals as you work to prove you're better than they are.
> 
> ...


I'm Cat 2 ---- sup?


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## ghost6 (Sep 4, 2009)

Wookiebiker said:


> What I've seen is this:
> 
> CAT 5 - There are five to ten really fast guys and the rest are pack fodder
> CAT 4 - There are fifteen to twenty fast guys and the rest are pack fodder
> ...



Best description.


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## bmxhacksaw (Mar 26, 2008)

I just upgraded from 5 to 4. I actually finally got a win a couple of week ago which happened to be my tenth race as a 5. We don't have a lot of racing around here unless I want to drive 3-4 hours to get to a race so it took me two years to get ten races in. The only reason I upgrades was so I could say I was a Cat 4. With the lack of racing around here and being 50 years old and about 20 pounds overweight I can't imagine I would ever get enough points to upgrade to 3 but that's fine by me.


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## The_Squire (Aug 10, 2011)

waldo425 said:


> I'm Cat 2 ---- sup?


[looks around]Uhm... I think he's talking to you.[/looks around]

Does Trek make good bikes?


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Local Hero said:


> There are more crashes in cat5.


Not where I'm from. They call it Crash 4 for a reason. 

Another difference is that there are often a few guys who are on the fast track to upgrading and will shell out anyone that can't hang. 

There are some sandbaggers and some cat 4-evers, too.


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## Rugergundog (Apr 2, 2011)

CAT4 you can win money, CAT5 little medals and prizes. I want the $$$$$$$$$$!!!!


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Rugergundog said:


> CAT4 you can win money, CAT5 little medals and prizes. I want the $$$$$$$$$$!!!!


Don't quit your day job. It's usually more like half of a $ and the sandbaggers or guys who will be in Cat 2 at the end of the season will snatch up the top 3 _most_ of the time.


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## Rugergundog (Apr 2, 2011)

Oh yea i know its not a lot....but cover race fees most times.

Many of my team members are CAT4 and they place top 3 quite often.


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## Bianchi67 (Oct 16, 2005)

Rugergundog said:


> Oh yea i know its not a lot....but cover race fees most times.
> 
> Many of my team members are CAT4 and they place top 3 quite often.


Doesn't take too many top 3s to earn an automatic upgrade to CAT3. 30 points I think so maybe 5-6 top 3s.


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## jmitro (Jun 29, 2011)

Entering my first cat5 crit this weekend. It says $1100 in prize money for cat4/5. Is this pretty common to have prize money for amateur bike racing? Would it draw a really competitive group?


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