Heath Sherratt is a husband of ten years, father of two dudes, semi-Pro racer for the BearNaked/Cannondale Team, owner of The Hub Bike Shop in Roseville, Calif, 2006 DH National Champion for the expert 30-35 class, and was risen from the dead after a horrific crash in Mammoth, Calif in 2005 (on that stupid step down on the 4X course) that left him in traction with C1, C2 dislocated and T6,7 and 8 crushed. He's an inch shorter now!
For questions or comments regarding this editorial article, contact Heath at norcalhub@yahoo.com.
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Semi-Pro
What is the dirtiest word in all of racing? Hmmmm..... could it be cheater? Maybe. How about, doper? That's a good one. But what about the word..."Sandbagger"? Have you ever heard that one? I have, and I'll tell you there have been times when I have used it to describe others and there have been times when I have heard it used to describe me and let me tell you something else, I don't like it. It makes me feel dirty... and scummy... and... um, unethical. That word got to me so bad that I have spent hours and hours agonizing over the fact that some one else thinks I'm a sandbagger. I'm not that good...am I? I have had some good races but I feel like I should be racing right where I am.
So that got me to thinkin'. What class should I be racing in? According to whom do I adhere my basis for classification? I didn't know and when I started asking around I heard so many different answers I figured there must be a better way to determine the truth. So I started pondering the names of our current categories and I have spent some real effort in trying to understand what it is that makes up each category by name and where it is that I fit in to all of this.
You see right now I am a semi-pro gravity racer for the Bearnaked/Cannondale squad and I am learning more and more everyday what that means. When I first started racing mountain bikes I never thought I would get out of the sport class and as it turns out, after four years of racing, I have never spent even a single day in that class. Boy did I have it all wrong. I needed answers. My journey to enlightenment goes a little something like this.
I started out racing Beginner for the obvious reason (I was a beginner) and I won four of my first six races(much to my surprise.) I had heard the term sandbagger and didn't ever want to fall into that category so I started asking around to get a better feel of what I should be doing. I never felt like I wanted to make a career out of racing bikes so my pursuit was strictly one of fun and progression, plus I was 27 when I started riding bikes so even if I wanted to go pro (who wouldn't?) the chances were slim and none. I figured I could do well because of my natural athleticism but I had a new baby boy and another on the way, How much time would I have to train? How realistic was it for me to even pursue racing at all? I started out by asking my friends who were all into racing at the time hoping they had a better handle on this than I did. Michael Haderer aka Mikey the mad haderer, who loves to talk about all things bikes was more than willing to share his two cents with me. He explained that beginner was for beginners (duh), sport was for those who ride a lot and are a little better than beginners but are just getting into racing, expert was for those who were pretty good but had not spent much time training and Pro was god like status. Ok, now I had a basic idea. I was a beginner but good enough to race expert by those standards but I didn't really think I should be racing expert after only racing eight times and not having ridden for all that long I doubted seriously I should be racing that class. But, Mikey and the boys were racing Jr.Ex and I could keep up with them so...expert class it would be.
I decided to start racing at least the local races and over the next year or so my opinions changed quite a bit. After having spent more time racing and seeing how things really broke down I felt that this was the general understanding held by most racers that had been around long enough, Beginner is for people who want to podium... and beginners. Sport is for people who want to podium, but are more superior than the lowly beginners and Expert is for those who want to be called expert and the working class racer (mostly bike shop employees). Semi-Pro is for those who are pretty fast but don't quite have the complete package together and Pro is for those who want to tell people they are pro and those who have truly achieved the level of excellence required to be faster than everybody else (and because they are faster than everybody else.)
Now that I have been racing for four years I have seen that these first opinions may have been a little immature...funny and somewhat true, but immature and a bit jaded. I feel now that I have had enough experience with racers of all levels to say that I think that in reality and in the truest sense, the categories should be defined as such.
1.Beginner class-Someone who is just getting into racing. You may have ridden for years but racing is a different animal and anyone who races will tell you, things get funny in the gate. Your body starts doing things you can't control, and for some of us it starts the day before the race. I believe everyone should start out as a beginner, even if it's just for that first race, if you have never raced before, race beginner.
2.Sport class-People who love to ride but race once or twice a year and aren't the guys or gals leading the pack in a ride. Those of us who are still finding their skills and working out their abilities and schedules.
3.Expert class- Those of us who have had a good level of success in racing and are competent in their abilities but do not have the commitment in time and training or experience it would take to race professionally.
4.Semi-Pro Class- These are the people that have taken a committed look at what it takes to race at a high level of competence and have achieved in their racing a decent amount of good results but lack one or more of the attributes of a professional racer.
5.Pro Class- These are the people that represent the finest attributes of athleticism, discipline, skill, training, dedication, work ethic and ambassadorship.
Now, I know there are a few pros out there that don't exemplify all of these attributes, but I think if you look at the guys who are at the top of their game and have been there for a while they all have these things in common. Semi pros have some, if not most of these qualities. Experts have one or two. Sports want to be good so they have tried a little harder and beginners are just that...beginning. A true pro, even the slowest one, is light years faster than the average joe racer. You will see glimpses of brilliance and ability in experts, jr ex'rs, and semi's but only glimpses of weakness in pros. Their level is exponentially higher because of the competitiveness of their class and their dedication to their craft. Brilliance and excellence become essential to keeping their job so work ethic and consistency become the bar.
With all that being said, I may be a semi-pro for a little while, but as soon as my age allows it, I'll be back in the expert class duking it out with all the same guys and maybe a few new ones, waiting at the turn of every year to see who the new young bucks will be to enter into the class and raise the bar again for us old farts. In a way I feel that the beginner, expert and pro classes are the truest of the classes because they capture the essence of what racers are trying to achieve.
Racing will always keep me young and as long as the classes are competitive and I'm able, I'll be on the mountain, between the tape, pretending I'm fast, making motorcycle noises.
See you out there!
Heath Sherratt
