# New Cat 5 racer training to sprint (How fast?)



## edesros168 (Jan 1, 2008)

hey all this season I am trying some cat 5 races. I have been working on sprinting intervasl and wonder ona flat stetch cruising along at 19-10 MPH like a peleton would be what speed can I expect to NEED to hit jumping up to a sprint. Right now I can go from 19-10 MPH to about 28 MPH tried it my first time last week. What kind of top speed will they be pushin in cat 5?


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## eip (Jul 21, 2004)

It all depends on the race, the composition of the peleton and time of the year. Last year was my first year in cat 5, and will be upgrading soon, and was very surprised by the speed and surges. Crits will start up very fast -- I've seen surges up to 30-32mph, but once settled down, I've seen pace as slow as 20-22mph. Having said that, no two races, even if they're the same race during different part of the racing calendar, will behave the same.


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

edesros168 said:


> hey all this season I am trying some cat 5 races. I have been working on sprinting intervasl and wonder ona flat stetch cruising along at 19-10 MPH like a peleton would be what speed can I expect to NEED to hit jumping up to a sprint. Right now I can go from 19-10 MPH to about 28 MPH tried it my first time last week. What kind of top speed will they be pushin in cat 5?



Your post is a little tough to decipher. The short answer about sprint speed is "faster than everyone else". There are a lot of dynamics about winning a sprint. If you are in a small group, expect the sprint speeds to be lower since their won't be as much windup. To win a sprint like that, you need power to make the jump and then endurance to hold it to the line. I won a race like that by sprinting at 28 mph. Everyone was tired, I just had a little more left in the tank. 

In large pack heading for the line, you want to be in the front dozen and time it out so you hit top speed at just the right time. I have been in pack sprints at 38-40 mph. More people usually mean higher speeds. 

Use your training group rides to work on your sprint. If your group doens't already do it, set "sprint points" on your loop. I always liked the "yellow sign sprint" rides. Intervals will help if you train on your own.


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## fleck (Mar 25, 2005)

forget the speedometer

focus on being well positioned.

Some crits you've got to sit 3-5th wheel out of a technical corner. Others the 'sprint' is won by a drag race from several riders from 300m out.

work on:
-your ability to keep moving forward in the peloton
-keeping sheltered and expending minimum energy.
-reading those around you. (you'll know when the move is about to happen)

on your hard training days do your intervals. 20 min, 5 min. 90s, 60s, 30s 15s
a good mix of anerobic intervals are the cards you'll play in the race. The skills above are what you need in order to be able to play those cards.

few things are worse then finishing a race and having a hand full of cards left to play :mad2:


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

In a CAT 5 race this season on several flat sections when people jumped the pace picked up to 35 mph on the flats chasing down somebody that went on a break.

Sprint finishes...depends on the finish. Headwind, uphill, downhill, narrow road, wide road, yellow line in effect, tailwind, big group, small group, etc...they all play a roll in how fast the finishing sprint is. It can range anywhere from 12-15 mph on a 10% grade finish to 40+ with a big group, tail wind and slight downhill.

It's so variable that you never know...a big factor is who else is in the race. Could be a bunch of climbers, a bunch of sprinters or a mix.


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## prs77 (Dec 13, 2004)

*Cat 5 Sprint*

I've only raced 5 times and I'm always shocked at the speeds for Cat 5 races. I did the Citizens category "Great Race" in Indiana last year, which was 28 miles. We came to the slight downhill finish with 5 riders remaining and I ended up getting 4th. My computer said the final sprint was 36 mph. The "entry level" race categories(Cat 5 or Citizens) are getting more and more competitive every year.


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## CleavesF (Dec 31, 2007)

Cat for the most part doesn't seem to correlate to ave. speed. As said, one race is never the same as another even if it's the same course with the same people one season before or later.

Conserve energy, leech leech and leech. 

Drop the hammer, and hammer hammer hammer. 

If you're out of gas, your hammer battery needs to grow. 

If you're not out of gas, you're not using your battery to the maximum. 

Balancing these, will render a place and potential victory.


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## The Flash (May 6, 2002)

Mid to high 30's/mph....spin like crazy and don't worry about the sprint. You have to get to the end with everyone else before that becomes important....


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## edesros168 (Jan 1, 2008)

wow mid to high 30 MPH range for cat 5?? I watch the pros on TV and they are barely doing that on the flats..


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## The Flash (May 6, 2002)

I meant in the sprints.....I've seen the pro's hold high 20's for quite some time. Heck, our local club ride can average mid 20's for a pretty good amount of time....


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

edesros168 said:


> wow mid to high 30 MPH range for cat 5?? I watch the pros on TV and they are barely doing that on the flats..


Actually.....The pro's with leadouts on flat sprint finishes are hitting speeds closer to 50mph than 40 mph.

Also, remember that in the Time Trials...though wearing aerodynamic gear and bikes *"average"* low to mid 30mph range for over an hour  

A 37-39 mph sprint over the final 200 meters of a cat 5 race on a flat finish isn't really that fast in the grand scheme of things. 

As "The Flash" mentioned...As in his group rides...our team group rides also hold 26-29 mph for several miles when we bump up the pace in a rotating paceline. Even at lower levels of racing the speeds are pretty high.

In one of my recent races on a very rolling course (almost no flat sections so you were either climbing or decending...and lots of 100-350 foot climbs) we averaged 22.5 mph for the full 31.5 mile CAT 5 race with a mid to upper 30 mph sprint at the finish. The CAT 4's averaged 22.9 mph with one extra 10ish mile lap and the CAT 3's were in the same range.


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## 53T (Jul 20, 2002)

*Bs*



Wookiebiker said:


> Actually.....The pro's with leadouts on flat sprint finishes are hitting speeds closer to 50mph than 40 mph.


I do not think so. Mortals sprint at 37mph on the flats. 45 would take 80% more power. If the mortal has 1100W in the sprint, the pro needs 2000W. All else equal.

These numbers are just too high. Save the argumant about leadouts, I've heard it all before.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

53T said:


> I do not think so. Mortals sprint at 37mph on the flats. 45 would take 80% more power. If the mortal has 1100W in the sprint, the pro needs 2000W. All else equal.
> 
> These numbers are just too high. Save the argumant about leadouts, I've heard it all before.


Call it what ever you want....and whatever makes you feel better about yourself  

The simple fact is the Pro's generally are hitting mid 40's (i.e. 44, 45, 46 mph) on flat group sprint finishes....Belive it or not. And yes...some of those little guys are likely generating close to 1800-2000 watts of power. I remember somewhere reading one of the sprinters producing 2000+ watts of power at max....so it can be done.

Also, give a slight tail wind and those speed numbers go up.

As I said...what ever makes you feel better :thumbsup:


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

53T said:


> I do not think so. Mortals sprint at 37mph on the flats. 45 would take 80% more power. If the mortal has 1100W in the sprint, the pro needs 2000W. All else equal.
> 
> These numbers are just too high. Save the argumant about leadouts, I've heard it all before.


no, wookie is right.... McEwan's sprint is around 70+kph... thats around 45mph....

37mph is way too slow for a pro. hell i sprint that. yes, pros are much, much better than that.. as in freaky good. 

Go ride w/ a few, i spose u would call cat 2 or cat 1 racers, see how badly they drop you.. even if you are 'decent' @ cat 3/4.... guys on the pro circuit as easily as good again.


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## The Flash (May 6, 2002)

53T said:


> I do not think so. Mortals sprint at 37mph on the flats. 45 would take 80% more power. If the mortal has 1100W in the sprint, the pro needs 2000W. All else equal.
> 
> These numbers are just too high. Save the argumant about leadouts, I've heard it all before.



You're kidding, right? I know at least 15 people locally who can all break 40mph, myself included. Probably need to turn on Versus tomorrow and watch the end of the race....


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

yea, not to mention they are pulling their top speeds at the end of a gruelling race !


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## bsaunder (Oct 27, 2004)

Its really not about holding a certain speed - its about staying sheltered, gaining position, and jumping at the right time. When you jump, you need to really jump so you don't pull the person behind you and have them beat you. 

In a race I did several times last year the end was on a ~1-2% decline with a ~3/4 mile straight shot at the finish. The pack was generally traveling at 36+ and you had to be able to sprint to the low 40's, at least, if you wanted a hope of winning. However, there was always someone that thought they could take it from far out and did not have a good jump - so I sat 2 or 3 behind them and used them as a nice lead out until we hit the point that I knew I could go 100% the entire distance, then pop out and go for it. All the guys I was with could easily hit 45mph in a short burst, so it was really a game of positioning and timing - if you jumped too slow they would be on your wheel and the extra pedal strokes out of the wind was all they needed to jump around you. There was more than once that I cadenced out (for me) in my 53x11 - my highest sustainable cadence was 120rpm (keep in mind, this was on a decline). This season I'm working on being able to sustain a higher cadence while keeping my jump. Two other races I did ended on an uphill and the sprint speeds were more in the 18-22mph range.


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