Grade Selection

Self Grading of Groups

The tour will start with organised groups in their grades.
When you register you will indicate which group you will ride in

A, B, C, D 

Grade Description

A Grade
Experienced rider, comfortable riding in a bunch. Capable of riding 35- 40km per hour for 2 hrs in training and good hill climber. Equal to a Good B - B+ grade club rider.

B Grade
Good rider, again comfortable with bunch riding. Capable of riding 35km per hour for 2 hrs in training and good on the Hills. In 2007 the front of B grade was very strong with riders who would have managed riding in the A grade.

C Grade
Good rider. Capable of riding 30plus km per hr for 2 hrs in training.

D Grade
Good rider. Capable of riding 30plus km per hr for 2 hrs in training.

Changing Grades
We would like everyone to ride in the grades they have selected for the tour. If you find you need to change groups in keeping with the friendly not to serious tour philosophy that will be allowed but you may not be eligible for any grade competition prizes by changing.

Along with the traditional awards for the best male and female riders we will recognise the winners of each grade in the various competitions.

Additional information on grade selection

To help with this selection we have put together tables comparing times from a couple of major events to the appropriate grade. The Lake Taupo cycle challenge, Le Race and also our own grading ride times as follows

The Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge
A Grade - Sub 4hrs 15min
B grade - 4hrs 15 - 4hrs 30min
C grade - 4hrs 30hrs - 4hrs 50min
D grade - 4hrs 50min plus

Le Race times from 2006
A Grade - sub 3hrs 20min
B Grade - 3hrs 15min - 3hrs 30mins
C Grade - 3hrs 30min - 4hrs
D Grade - 4hrs plus

Christchurch Grading ride
A Grade - sub 1hr 10mins
B Grade - 1hr 10mins - 1hr 20mins
C Grade - 1hr 20mins - 1hr 30mins
D Grade - 1hr 30mins plus

Remember these are as a guide only and you need to take into account your riding experience, level of fitness and what you want to achieve from this years tour.

Team members can be from different grades. All grades will have their separate competition for yellow, KOM and sprint. All grades will have the competition jerseys.

We hope this helps you in your choice. The Five Passes is about having fun while riding. So work out what grade suits you, if you find yourself in the wrong group on tour we will shift you to the correct one to ensure you have the best experience possible.

Teams

Teams will be made up of 4 people. The team competition is based on the combined times of the best 3 members and is the total accumulative team time for the tour.

The four team members can be from any grade.

If you enter as an individual only and do not have a team you will be put into a team. The reason for this is we have a two team time trail stages in the tour.