State of the Sport: The Cat 4/5 Podium
This road season saw the introduction of a separate sponsored podium for category 4/5 racers entered in women’s open fields at Prospect Park and Floyd Bennet Field. The addition of the podium was well received by the racing community and marks a step forward in addressing some of the larger issues that face women’s racing in NYC.
In a perfect world, there would be enough demand from the racing community, support from race organizers / sponsors, and permit capacity, that would enable multiple women’s fields at all races in NYC.** However, since we are talking about NYC, we do have to acknowledge a few challenging realities.
High demand for public spaces in NYC limits the number of fields that can be held at races. Women’s racing often gets the short end of this stick where there is either: (i) a single open field or (ii) no separate field and women race along with the men.
The rationale goes along the lines of, ‘there are not enough racers to support multiple women’s fields and doing so would come at the cost of the organizer / jeopardize the ability of the organizer to hold the race, who will likely get more race registrations from another men’s field.’ And while I do think there is some truth in this, it doesn’t cover the full picture. Men have had more opportunities to race, and specifically race in categories that suit their skill level. It’s hard to ignore that opportunity begets opportunity.
Jumping into an open field can be challenging as a new racer. The pace and skill level are high; you are likely to get dropped; it’s hard to employ strategy when the focus is to hang on to the peloton week-in and week-out. For me, recognizing the small milestones of improvement are part of what makes hobbies fun. In open fields, that gets lost a bit as milestones may take longer to realize.
It’s possible to think that some of this contributes to churn in the sport and perpetuates the cycle of not having enough racers to support multiple women’s fields.
Enter the women’s Cat 4/5 podium.
While not a separate field, it does provide a bridge for some of what is missing in women’s open races while balancing the needs of race promoters. It enables Cat 4/5 racers to actively participate in races, create interesting strategies, and be recognized for their achievements by the community.
Before the first FBF, the highly coveted “hot salmon” jersey commanded a 100+ comment thread in our team chat (seriously, we were jazzed).
Something small like this goes an incredibly long way. I loved congratulating friends on their podium and seeing celebratory posts on Instagram and Strava. I’d like to think the registration numbers also proved out that including the Cat 4/5 podium increased participation.
I hope race sponsors continue to seek out these opportunities because the women’s peloton notices and cares about the brands and businesses that invest in them.
As a teammate put it, “supporting women includes celebrating women.” I’ve found that the Cat 4/5 podium does just this. Thank you to all the sponsors and teams that have come out this year and made the Cat 4/5 podium happen.
** It is important call out as part of this article that CRCA has been able to hold multiple women’s fields at their races in Central Park as well as their Open races held in the NYC area. That’s where I got my start and I’m thankful and lucky to have had the opportunity to do so.
Photos by Marco Quezada courtesy of FBF and Prospect Park race series
Road, MTB, Gravel, and Long Island Enthusiast.
