@Phil - But what would be the point?  "Cat 5 group ride"?

I was just thinking the other day that a skills course would be a good thing. Take a test to get your license as opposed to just getting dumped in the tank. It's a shame to hear about that guy... although I think his case was equipment failure, right? I heard his front wheel fell apart, but I didn't hear if it was from wheels touching or what.

It'll be a way for beginners to get some pack riding skills. I think for the most part, and this is where skills training should come in, the new racers don't have a chance to learn riding closely in a group. If they were a member of a club like Kissena, sure they can take advantage of speaking to and riding with well seasoned people, but the majority are just guys riding off the street into their first race.

Yup. I did my first race a week or two after slapping together a road bike. Looking back on it, that's pretty terrifying for everyone involved.

It truly sucks about that dude in the coma, but we have no idea what factors contributed to the severity of his injuries. Cycling is intrinsically unsafe no matter how skilled you are. Bethel is a large team, similar to Kissena. The chances are quite high he'd been out on group rides with them.

I would also like to thank all of Kissena's mentors and experienced members who help train our riders to be as skilled and knowledgeable as possible. 

Jeffrey White said:

It truly sucks about that dude in the coma, but we have no idea what factors contributed to the severity of his injuries. Cycling is intrinsically unsafe no matter how skilled you are. Bethel is a large team, similar to Kissena. The chances are quite high he'd been out on group rides with them.

Yep, but wouldn't a mentored and educated and skilled beginner's group be theoretically safer?  Granted, all it takes is one idiot or bad move to wipe out half the field in any category race...

Agreed @davidY, so maybe there should be a mandatory skills training session along with 10 cat 5 races? In any case, yeah cycling is a dangerous sport in general, whether you're a beginner or a Pro.

Phillip Maronilla said:

Agreed @davidY, so maybe there should be a mandatory skills training session along with 10 cat 5 races? In any case, yeah cycling is a dangerous sport in general, whether you're a beginner or a Pro.

That's a bigger USAC issue because even if every club made it a requirement anyone can still get a one day license.

I wonder if anyone is keeping a log of accidents in bike racing, locally or nationally.  It would be interesting to see the stats and breakdowns of the riders, courses, lap/time in a race (e.g. intermediate sprints, field sprint), etc.