then this isn't for you

My worst crash came in my third crit race. Concussion + broken teeth. None of my crashes since was anything nearly as bad

Of course, most crit crashes don't result in anything comparable, but then again, it's not where i'd look if one would want to avoid brain injuries.

Wash outs in corners are probably the most prevalent forms of crashes in crits, and results of those are generally tame. The more unpredictable ones are the ones where someone goes down in the middle of the pack, and you are too far behind to notice it immediately, but still can't escape the carnage radiating outward from the initial crash. No telling how you'd fall in such a situation

I think the likelihood of additional concussions is high...

I entered my first crit in 2002. I was a novice bike rider but in excellent shape as a rower. By some miracle I made the late breakaway that stuck to the end. I was in a sprint with 5 guys to the line. Then I woke up on a gurney being loaded into an ambulance after being unconscious for 30 minutes. Had a serious concussion, no skin left on my face and a upper lip ripped completely in half.

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Ed O'Malley
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I have totalled 3 helmets in 10 years of bike racing. Thankfully no concussions or serious head injuries.
I can't say the same for my teammates. Many concussions, and one life altering brain injury.
Stay the fuck away from bike racing if you already have a history.

After being taken down by an inattentive asshole at the start of this year, I gave up road racing entirely and only do gravel events now.

FWIW, I found crits much safer than road races. Due to the speed and corners, people are forced to pay attention the whole time.

Got into Cyclocross for the same reasons you mentioned.

Debated Crit racing, also for same reasons. In talking to a few friends, I actually think the lower categories are the more dangerous, since it is all of the newbs. Less confidence and refined skills=higher chance for major crash. Unless you just solo away every race until you get pulled up. :)

It's probably not as dangerous as it's made out to be. 3 crashes in a p,1,2 race seems way out of the ordinary. If you race regularly though, you will go down at some point. I've been doing a weekly race for almost 20 years and I've crashed 3 times. One of those crashes involved being knocked out for a few minutes and a minor concussion.

It's great fun but the risks are real.

Crashing in crit racing is pretty much inevitable if you do enough of it. Most forms of group road racing to be honest, not just crits. It's not necessarily your handling skills that are the issue, it's everybody else in the race. You'll hear advice to stay near the front of the pack, but that's often easier said than done when everybody else is trying to do the same thing. Based on my experience I think concussions from those crashes are pretty rare - road rashes comes with the territory, broken arms and collarbones are fairly common, I've seen a few broken hips and cracked pelvises, some whiplash, but off the top of my head can't think of anybody who concussed themselves. Guess helmets are pretty good these days which helps. But you're certainly increasing your chances of it happening.

Totally empathise with trying a single sport focus. I enjoy triathlons but cycling was always my favourite and strongest leg, I'm currently focused on just cycling and honestly not sure if or when I'll do another triathlon. Certainly makes fitting in the training much easier and I'm getting better results. Have you thought about TTing? Not as much of an adrenaline rush but it's a good fit with your tri background, presumably you already have the bike and helmet, and at least in TTing you're in control of your own destiny and aren't going to get wiped out by another rider. Or road races tend to be a little calmer than crits, especially the longer ones with some hills to naturally spread the field out so people aren't trying to force a selection so much by hammering through corners.

I came from Tri from Crits. My $.02 - Expect to crash in a crit. It may never happen to you, but crashes in races were, in my experience, not at all uncommon. Usually they involved road rash and some broken bike parts, sometimes broken bones, and often they involved broken helmets. Crashes were more likely in the traditional Cat 3, 4 and 5 races than they were in masters races.

As for a potential head injury, I went back to racing after brain surgery (unrelated to bikes, hockey is dangerous). I stopped racing because, after taking about a year off because of travel obligations for work, when I toed the line again I realized I was no longer interested in 90 degree corners with my shoulder resting on the guy next to me, hoping that the crunching sound behind me wasn't going to take me out. I wasn't as keen as you are to have road rash and broken bones. I personally believe that the risk of head injury is non-trivial.

If you do race, work on your bike handling, go to a few "on bike" racing clinics and try to get with a team which has some masters riders willing to show you the ropes. Learn how to absorb impact. Learn how to find the wind and hide from it. Don't worry about a breakaway in a Cat 5 race. Try to stay in the first 9 bikes at all times, and understand that the winner is usually the guy who has done the least for the longest.

If you decide Crits aren't for you, maybe try mtb x country, or cyclocross.

I would suggest a few road races and then if you like them try crits


The acceleration in crits can be amazingly fast

First timers often get dropped within the first couple of minutes and basically their race is over

Sounds like you're not unsure...and being unsure in a crit is not safe for you, or others if you have true "triathlon handling skills." Crit races are fun to watch, but cross races are fun to be in (hand-ups, getting dirty like a little kid, and other interactions with the crowd).

x2. I've had about the same experience. ~20 years and hundreds of starts from Cat 5 to P12. I went down twice in Cat 5, once breaking my steerer, but walking away from both. I crashed once in P12, sliding out in the rain, walked away. Never so much as a scratch on my helmet, no broken bones.

I will add that not crashing isn't just dumb luck (though luck certainly factors in). In a crit I spend nearly 100% of the time exactly where I want to be in the field (until crossing the finish line, when I'm usually not exactly where I want to be). I'm always riding behind guys I want to be around, and almost always in the top 15. I'm always aware of my escape routes if something happens in front of me. Crit racing involves making hundreds of little decisions every minute. If you're just going along for the ride mid-pack and not thinking about much, you're probably not minimizing your crash risk.

most road races aren't materially safer

dodgy descents, off camber turns, pinch points, etc. Those injuries really get gnarly. Crits may be fast, but it's never 40 mph fast until the really end; different story in road races

If you race crits, you will crash. Not every time. But the crashes will come. At best, you will just destroy bikes. (Don't race a bike you can't afford to replace. Crits are what cheap aluminum bikes are for.) At worst, you will have head injuries.

And while I won't name names . . . some crit race organizers -- even of major crits -- set up courses seemingly for the purpose of maximizing the possibility of carnage. Just as with NASCAR, a lot of crit fans just come to watch the crashes. Some race organizers keep safety in mind. Others seemingly cannot resist throwing in a high-speed, downhill, off-camber, sharper-than-90* turn. It's just what they do. Beware any crit that promotes a "dead man's curve" or similar.

I loved racing crits in college. I will never do them again because I'm not a reckless youth anymore.

Skills to master: people touching you and leaning into you as you ride. I had my handle bars actually get intertwined with another rider's handlebars. We simultaneously unhooked and pushed off each other and somehow didn't wreck.

You need to be comfortable on your bike, like your bike is part of you. That comes from hours and hours of riding every day.

Before the race and during, you need to be able to identify the other riders who will wreck you. Watch how people warm up. Watch where they direct their attention. You need to identify seasoned riders and learn from them and ride near them. Stay away from newbies like yourself.

Your power would likely make you a pretty strong crit racer once you get the tactics down. I went the opposite way, went from MTB/Crits to Tri.
If you are over 35 it is much safer. But stuff still happens. I would guess I have raced over 150 crits, from C5 to P12, and never had a major crash (other than a warm up lap where I went down at high speed) BUT I was a break away rider. I spent very little time in the pack. My role for our team was to just attack all the time. I would suggest you try the same. You won't win often, but you will animate the race, be less prone to crashes, and have a lot of fun. Once you get the basics, you can try to sit in a bit more, and go from there.
I would say if you are worried about head injuries field sprints are not for you. Field sprint crashes are just one of those "not if but when"

You mention having a decent ftp. While that is good overall it’s not something that will really help you win a race unless you break away from the beginning, and in car 5 races everyone chases the rabbit so it’s not happening.

Being able to responds to watts above threshold is way more important. I went into several cat 5 & 4/5 races first getting into it last year with a 4.6 watt/kg threshold, and while I could stay with the pack I wasn’t a real factor in the race because of not having the above and way above threshold stuff. Something to be aware of.

Also if you’re worried about concussion and with your history I’d avoid it because why take the chance?

I got into triathlon the day after doing my first cycling stage race. On the road race stage, two guys sprinted for KOM points, crashed into each other and as we rode by, one of the riders was on the ground having a seizure. The following day in the crit I pretty much hung onto the back, then eventually fell back into a smaller group of 3~4 people.. which was actually great fun. Being in the large pack made me nervous. I will admit though that I don't do a lot of group riding, so I'm not totally comfortable with it.

The next day, I started looking into triathlon, as I figured any bike crashes would be basically my own fault. They still happen, but not as frequent. I watch about one crit a year, and it's like NASCAR.. just waiting for the big one to happen.

Triathlete since 1999 and this year decided to add road racing to the mix. I have ridden bikes my entire life and consider myself to have decent handling skills - but don't all. Racing Cat 5 definitely puts you in the mix with a wide range of skill/strength levels.
Crits are fun (and hard) but the course design/location can make a big difference in the result of a mid race incident, my N-1 examples:
Davy Crockett TT - the course was a simple rectangle with relatively benign corners, the race felt safe.
Bear Creek Crits - the course is in a park with gentle drop offs from the road so if you need to avoid the crash in front you can easily ride onto the grass and then continue (your race will be over but your upright)
Houston Grand Crit - course was basically a rectangle but had one 180 corner that was narrow. This year in the 4/5 races there were multiple crashes, some serious, some of these in the 180 corner but some on straightaways (one bad move and then the 15 riders behind all go down as well). I got taken out in a group crash, was able to restart, then in a second race had bike go down mid-corner right infront of me that I manged to avoid but lost the group.
Memorial Crits - relatively easy course but there is no run-off, you go off course you're going down hard.

Road Races - Cat 5 road races can be a cluster! These are not a safer option to crits - you can have a large group (75+) of riders that don't normally ride together who are suddenly squeezed together. I've never braked more often or harder and generally felt like the group was going to go down the whole time - I did not enjoy road racing.

TTs - ride hard.

So, as others have said, if you ride your bike you have a chance of being in a crash, if you race your bike you increase your chance of being in a crash. I thought I would enjoy road racing but that was not my idea of fun. The right crit can be a lot of fun.

This. While there are inherit risks in crit/bike racing (as in any sporting event that involves moving fast with others around you), it's not doom and gloom. I do agree that it's a bit more sketchy in 5/4 cats, but you can find yourself piled up in 3/2/1. FTP means nothing in these types of races. Well, ok...if you're the one dude that can ride off the front of a beginner cat and take it to the line, congrats. But that's not going to happen much. If anything, the beginner cats are too "eager" and feel like they can dump anyone and everything behind them. Let em go! and then reel them in after a nice comfortable effort with the rest of the group when they pop.

Alot of it depends on the crit too. If they have alot of time or prize bonuses, you can find some eagerness on the lap which, when combined w/ lack of vision or handing, can cause some tense moments. But it's crazy fun and a great way to supplement other endurance training.

I raced the Cat 5 at the littleton twilight last weekend for what its worth I decided to try crits this year from Tri the last 5 I have a similar FTP as you and thought it would make it pretty easy. However, the amount of tactics and strategy involved can quickly make your power not mean shit haha

I have all the same concerns as you with injury and its what stopped me from trying crits earlier. I have had some good fun doing the practice crits at CSP Wednesday nights, even though they have had some crashes as well. Honestly it just does not give me the same feeling as tri and i am still worried about crashing. The cost of gear and injury would really piss me off.

Also keep in mind that race last weekend is one of the bigger ones in Colorado so the Energy and crowds are much much different at that one then most other normal ones.

I've been crit racing a few years when younger.
And track racing a few years recently.

Looking at the "dangerous" side : you will crash, and it is dangerous, and even more if your handling skills are below average (like a typical triathlete).

I quit mass start bike racing for this reason, concentrating on TT and Tri (no draft). When I want to do a mass start, I do a half marathon or a trail race.

We went to the one Sunday, too—the Bannock Street crit. We watched the women's 4s and the mens masters 1-2-3 (i think). It was definitely way lower energy, but the men were definitely still gutting it out.

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

It's cliche only because it's true: It's not a question of if, but when. And how severe.

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Amateur recreational hobbyist cyclist
https://www.strava.com/athletes/337152
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It's not if you don't mind being toothless and scabby.

If you have to ask, racing crits isn't for you. The recommendation for cyclocross instead was an excellent one.

/\ /\ This is real. You can avoid a lot of trouble by being in the right place ALL THE TIME (you get better at it). You have to actively avoid sketchy riders and always know your next move. You can eliminate much of the trouble in the lower cats by being up near the front (I always liked to sit about 8 or 9) but you need to be aware that the group can envelop you at times if the guys at the front slow (like approaching the 180 degree turn at the CCNS Kremis), so you always need to be on your guard. You are constantly moving around relative to other riders. You are always asking yourself, "where is the wind," "am I working too much," "who is next to me right now," "what it he going to do," "what am I going to do," "if he does x, what will I do," "where is the wind..."

Honestly, it's a ton of fun... maybe I'll go back...

If you want to get a lesson in how to race crits watch this guy's videos and read his blog http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.com/...au_=iVVH5PLqZnjWV4vF and read up on the posts here https://www.bikeforums.net/33-road-bike-racing/.

Speaking as a medic, you only get one brain. You want to play with your grand kids or you want them wiping your drool? Don't push your luck.

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Be Uncommon

And you can do all of the above and still be taken out by some stupid chick who gets bumped, freaks out, and then loses her wheel and takes out your front wheel in the blink of an eye at 25+ mph. Then you end up spending the entire day and half the night at Stanford urgent care and miss the Super Bowl and a work trip and later knee surgery and then eventually, a knee replacement. Helmet was toast but at least the bike was fine.

OPer - with your history of concussion - JUST SAY NO. The suggestion for cyclocross is a good one.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

No doubt.

High FTP is fine, but doesn't mean anything in a crit. You can sit at 5w/kg on the front and give the rest of the group a free ride and get dumped during the last 2 laps when it gets more tactical and not a ftp test.

Dangerous? Could be, a bunch of newbs on a confined road having to turn with others turning around them- it happens.

More strategy than anything the higher up you get. Of course-the course profile makes a difference as well. Perhaps the most important is having teammates.

Maybe I was just lucky but I raced a lot for a number of years and never had a bad crash. I don't think I ever loss any skin. My "crashes" were basically coming to a stop and falling over onto a pile of bodies and bikes.

I had been doing fondo road races and a lot of group riding for ten years without as much as a scratch - then crashed twice within twelve months.

First time during a fondo at ~20 mph and second time at a crit race at +30 mph. Neither instance was my own fault and I would even say that I was perfectly placed at the crit from a safety point of view when two other guys messed up.

Didn’t concuss at either crash but banged my head pretty hard and ended up at the ER with fractures both times.

I would not be scared to continue but have agreed to stay off group rides/races for safety reasons out of respect for my wife (who is a doctor and maybe has a more realistic appreciation of the risks) and kids. Next time I will maybe not be as “lucky” as I have been.

However, if I had a concussion background, I would never have considered crit racing in the first place. The risk/reward ratio is simply not worth it. And even if you don’t get a concussion at every crash, you are likely to bang your head in the ground when you go down. Which you will do at some point.

Also never been hit by a car, and I can only recall ever having one crash (with no consequence) on a group ride. Never crashed on my own. I like to think I'm doing something right, but probably just lucky.

Now mountain biking is another story.

This is my experience as well. A lot of crashes, mostly around corners, most don't result in head injury, but the risk is always there.

And personally, I think the idea of fixed gear crits are quite reckless (poor braking, higher chance of pedal strike, the list goes on...). Most definitely stay away from those if you are concerned of crashing. It's said that fixed gear crits eliminate equipment as a factor, I believe fixed gear crits are designed to create carnage (which is why they are so popular). Otherwise, single speed bikes would achieve the same goal of eliminating gear as a variance while maintaining a reasonable level of safety.

Thanks to all the insight and replies!

I linked my gf to the thread. Her response? NO CRITS FOR YOU. Obviously, somewhat joking, but having already woken up on a stretcher, I don't want to have a higher than needed risk of it happening again. I'm 29 right now, but spent a lot of money on my education and to fry the brain box at this point would, at the least, be a hard financial pill to swallow.

BUT, I'm going to go to some cross races and see if it's something I could get involved with. Plus, TTs would be fun. I just have to find some end of the year ones.

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

i'm 52 now. raced through most of my late teens through mid-20s. haven't raced since but continued to ride. never had any accidents nearly as nasty as those that i had racing crits. which, i never crashed in a crit, came darn close, but always crashed on training rides. why back then we had a loop we trained on that was an up and coming industrial/business park. beautiful roads, nice sweeping turns, no traffic. the roads had been poured but the market tanked so no buildings were built for years. we'd train twice a week so i spent a lot of time in the crit realm even though they were training rides and not a true, sanctioned race.

crits are fun as shit. you are jacked on adrenaline the whole time, as long as youre in the front or middle of the pack. but consequences can be high.

in your situation, stay away. not worth it. learn to fly aerobatics in a high performance plane, i.e. pitts, eagle, edge, you'll get the same rush and it's safer.

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we're doomed

You're going to crash in cross too. They'll be less gory, but remember that the issue with concussion isn't actually impact, but forces acting upon your brain as it floats calmly in its little brain bath. If you haven't yet, you might want to talk to a Neuro who specializes in concussion and CTE and get some baseline assessments done. Now, having said that, I probably should too given my history, but ....

Good luck and enjoy!

The Littleton crit is probably the most crash prone on the Colorado calendar. Being of very average skill it's one I avoid. I went down and watched the cat 3 crit and there far more crashes than one might expect.

You should try the Wednesday night training crits at CSP. They're a blast. Tuesday Night thunder at Pearl Izumi is getting popular - with a couple of tricky corners. There's a Tuesday and Thursday group who do Meridian, but I haven't done it personally.

With your power you should have no problem staying near the front and out of trouble. Well worth the extra effort. Things can get sketchy on the last lap so decide whether it's worth going for the sprint or attacking with half a lap to go.

Almost every crash at cat 4/5 level is due to inexperience. Half are due to overlapping wheels and most of the rest due to overreacting when riders make contact. At cat 3 level more crashes are due to over- aggression or over-optimism, with a bit of lack of concentration thrown in. But I'm starting to see crashes in the masters 3s now that one only saw in the 4s a few years ago.

Open masters races are smoother and a blast to ride, unfortunately Colorado is blessed with former Olympians and pros and the races are ridiculously fast at times.

I would recommend running wider tires. Roads are not maintained well and 28mm tires can make all the difference. Bannock st has a lot of problems with ruts and bumps on what should be otherwise a very safe and enjoyable course.

Any spirited weekend group rides you would suggest?

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

It really depends from race to race, region to region. Some races are just too technical for the average rider, and some regions don't have a big community, so you get a lot of racers blindly signing up.

Although I've never went down, I've had a few close calls, including being hit in the face with a wheel after a guy went down. For me the two big things are to watch out for sketchy riders, and always try to have an out. I hate riding in the middle, on the inside and out you can react faster (which saved me more than once) but when you're in the middle and something happens you're at the mercy of the riders around you.

IMO, the biggest issue with crits in the lower categories (and bike racing in general) is speed. When things get laughably slow people bunch and wheels get crossed. When its faster there are more washouts, which isn't all that preventable but that speed also sorts out the field in a safer manner.

those could actually be worse than crits

people of all abilities in terms of handling and physiology mixed in together, with no rule (and sometimes no regard for rules of the road). recipe for disaster

I agree on the above.

When I hear there's a triathlete in the crit field, I stay as far away from him as possible ^_^ ...

Louis :-)

either that or jump on his wheel when he attacks. willing worker and perhaps someone with a subpar sprint

then again, I always joked that I had the physiology of a triathlete but was afflicted with inclination toward bike racing. Couldn't sprint out of a bag if my life depended on it... TT efforts were always more of my forté

well that's exactly what cat5 and cat4 crits can be composed of...

With your FTP and size just do some flat bike TT's.

Crits are a waste of time for someone who has had that many concussions.

Or just do running races...or just do swimming races.

I raced crits and road 30ish years ago. Crashed twice. At 136 lbs at the time, there were very few road races in the part of Canada where I lived that were favourable (in other words no races with 20-50 min climbs), and crits are just a stupid format for someone with my size given that its all about placement and you never have a hope of generating enough top line power for 10 seconds to be a factor in those race. At least timed races, like running, swim, tris, bike TT's you can compete against your own times..

Best of luck.

Dev

With a history of concussions and a real concern about getting another one. . . it's unfortunately a discipline you should likely avoid. You can hit the deck many times without getting one, but it only takes one nasty crash. Someone suggested you see a concussion specialist first if you really want to give it a go and that's probably some really good advice. Others have said cyclocross could be a good alternative, and while I think that's a fair assessment compared to crit racing, you can't entirely mitigate the risk. 95% of crashes are slow and relatively harmless, but I've had some hard falls and had my bell rung a couple times.

I made a transition back in 2013 to road/crit and now race cat 1 crit's. I have had one serious concussion and a lot of hard crashes. Lately the crashing is bad enough it is giving me second thoughts about how responsible this "hobby" is given i have a family and kids. CX/Gravel i have way fewer issues but in the last two years, it might just be perception, but a lot of really bad crashes at some of the big races have made me reconsider.

Some of the smaller races tend to be more predictable and if you stay in the front you are fine. The big crit's like twilight, tulsa tough, etc are total clusters and it is simply a matter of when not if you crash.

Yeah i wouldn't bother. I wouldn't call it dangerous, but there's a reasonable chance of you taking a stack. I mean you can hang back and avoid the drama if you want, might be you're not as competitive, but at least you race?

I've only done a few and only found it got fruity the last 800m of the last lap.

 
yeah i question the idea that gravel is safer. anecdotally, in the gravel races i've done, i've seen some incredibly dangerous behaviour and some bad crashes. and it stands to reason, non-closed courses, unknown surfaces, and high speeds.

cross, otoh, does seem safer, though i've banged myself up pretty bad, i never worried about serious injury.

If you want all the fun of crit racing with significantly less severe crash risk, cyclocross. Started last year, so much fun, tons of technical skills to be learned, and much softer landing surfaces for crashing, and crashes at lower speed :)

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Yeah forgot about that, if you’re not in a position to sprint for something that matters, just sit up. That will probably lower your risk a good bit.

Fun is subjective but for me there is no way CX is as much fun as a crit. A crit is tactical and fast with tight shoulder to shoulder corners. CX is more timed suffering.

It's the tight shoulder to shoulder corners that often crash dudes (and dudettes) out.

To the OP - CX falls are typically low speed, and very often onto soft ground - washing out on off-camber grass and/or mud is probably the most common way to eat it, and they're not even all that common.

Just don't be like Joey, and you'll be fine.

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float , hammer , and jog