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Road
Road racing is a
team sport that involves strategy, endurance, and technical
skills. A typical road race may range in distance from 20 miles-
for beginners- to over 60- for experienced riders. Road races
take place in the Spring Semester at various colleges in the
Midwest. The Purdue Cycling Club takes in members from all
skills levels and helps them develop into the best rider
possible. You don't need any prior experience to ride with us-
just a helmet, a bike, and a will for fun!
If you
would like to race with us in the 2010 season, please come out
to one of our meetings or e-mail our Road Vice President,
Joey Iuliano (jiuliano(at)purdue.edu). Our e-mail list is also a great tool for
riding information.
Local
Loops
Classes
Men's A/Women's A-
It doesn't get any harder than
this in collegiate road cycling. Serious, grueling, and sharp
skills describe this category. Most races range from 50-70
miles. Make you're training and have a few seasons of racing
experience under your belt before entering this category.
(50-70 miles/ comparable to a USCF Pro/1/2/3 field)
Men's B-
A step up from the C's, B's is a
pretty good challenge for a lot of cyclists. This is a fairly
competitive and most riders have a decent amount of riding
experience. This is a good category if training time is limited.
Races range from 40-50 miles. (Comparable to USCF Cat. 3/4)
Women's B-
This is the beginning category for
women riders. It has a wide variety of skills with some riders
who have never raced and those who have raced a few times
before. It is a very fun, yet competitive, category. Races are
generally 20-30 miles in length.
Men's C-
This a good category that is fun
and competitive. The riders in this field have a wide variety of
skills ranging from a few races to several as it has riders who
just moved from D's or are waiting to move up to B's. Races
range from 20-30 miles. (Comparable to USCF Cat. 4/5).
Men's D-
This division is designed for
cyclists who have some riding experience but have never raced.
Most riders start off here and move up to C's after they are
successful. Races are generally less than 20 miles. (Comparable
to USCF Cat. 5).
Men's and
Women Intro-
This new category is designed for riders who have either never
ridden before or have not ridden a bike in a long time and need
some time to get back into it. Coaches from other schools riding
with this category and introduce the riders to basic pack skills
and race tactics. Races are the same distance as the D category.
Types
of Races
The two most dominate forms
of road racing are Criteriums and Road Races. A road race is a
long race over a course that is longer than 4 miles with open
roads. Racers complete a set number of laps on the course to
meet the distance of the race. A criterium (or "crit") is a
short, generally less than a mile, course that is completely
closed to traffic. Racers compete on the course for a set time
or rarely a set number of laps. The other types of events are
the Individual Time Trial and Team Time Trial- it is you (or a
team for 3-4) versus the clock over a set distance: fastest time
wins.
Chris Uberti took the win at the Purdue Road Race in 2009
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