Anyone fancy knocking up some Team STW/TR jerseys?!
Sadly, you’re not allowed (boo!)
If you race for a club you have to wear their kit, if you’re independent you have to wear as plain a kit as possible.
I started racing 4th cat crits earlier in the year, but progressed pretty quickly and ended up racing against some of the top domestic pros. I absolutely love it and have found it really addictive.
As long as you’re moderately fit you’ll be able to hang in the pack, but although it’s fun zipping along with a fast-moving pack, the real entertainment comes when you can start mixing it up; whether that be launching attacks or sprinting for the win.
So, the more you put in over the winter, the more you’ll get out.
If you’ve never done any group riding, try and do that first, but some places (eg, Cyclopark) run race training sessions which give a good introduction. However, generally the best way to train for racing is racing itself. If you cock up, your peers will soon let you know (in the politest possible terms!), so it can be a pretty steep learning curve.
As for number of races, everything really ramps up through Spring in to Summer. Round London, there are a couple of series that run mid-week and there’s often the possibility of racing both Saturday and Sunday. Not much happens during the Winter due to the likelihood of poor conditions and the fact that BC only rank crits as a maximum of band 5 between November and end-February, so even winning an elite race only gains you 10 points (once you turn roadie, everything becomes about collecting points)