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bicycle racing - crits
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I'm thinking about trying out the "Tues. Night Crits" here in ABQ. Mostly because I hope it will get me on my bike more. How do crits work exactly? From what I can tell, they lump the womens in with the slower cat. of guys. I'm slow, so I guess I'll be lapped a bunch? Are there usually several women at these things, or might I be the only one out there (not a deal breaker, but I want to know before I show up)? Can I use my tri bike? (No velodrome, so no track bikes, right?) Any observations or suggestions about crits?
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Re: bicycle racing - crits [Meowelk] [ In reply to ]
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I would highly suggest doing a lot of riding with other first. And riding with a bunch of squirrely men with no experience? No thank you. We are lucky enough here to have a series of training crits and the mentors ride along with you. It's definitely different than riding your tri bike solo. Even different than most group rides.

In the real races, they can pull you if you get lapped. I'd suggest maybe going to watch one first. NO TRI BIKE. Regular bar and you ride in your drops the entire time (for safety). No seat bags or anything hanging off the bike. You'll likely need a USA Cycling license or a day-license.

I did a report after all of them. Here's the first one, then you can read the others if you want.

http://ironclm.typepad.com/...rr-early-bird-2.html

Is there a cycling team/club you can hook up with? That has been a super help.

Maybe Katy will chime in.
clm

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
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Re: bicycle racing - crits [Meowelk] [ In reply to ]
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My chime in is to get real comfy riding real close to others (as in you can ride with your hand on their shoulder and you are not extending your arm to do so). Make sure you can pick a good line and hold it. Make sure you can recognize someone who can't and react accordingly. I know its obvious, but try not to get dropped, it sucks riding alone. If the group breaks and you get dropped but there are riders behind you, you're better off sitting up and waiting for them then going it alone.

---------------------------------------
Awww, Katy's not all THAT evil. Only slightly evil. In a good way. - JasoninHalifax

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Re: bicycle racing - crits [ironclm] [ In reply to ]
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From the little one guy told me about these - I don't think there is a training group. Going to check 'em out once first may be best. I'm comfortable riding in packs when I know 90% of the riders... but riders I don't know may make me nervous. hadn't thought about that.

Thanks for pointing me to your blog - cool stuff!
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Re: bicycle racing - crits [Meowelk] [ In reply to ]
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>>I'm comfortable riding in packs when I know 90% of the riders... but riders I don't know may make me nervous. hadn't thought about that.<<

HA! Oh man, I hear you on that. And you'll get everything in a 5 race (especially the dudes). I suss out the sketchy riders in the first lap and stay far away!

clm

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
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Re: bicycle racing - crits [Meowelk] [ In reply to ]
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Meowelk-

Crits are great fun! Here are some of my random thoughts.

Crits are normally measured in laps or "time + x number of laps", say 30 min plus 3 laps. in my experience, there's normally a C (cat 4/5 men, 4 women), B (cat 3/4 men, 1-3 or 1-4 women) and A (Cat 1-3 men, 1-3 women) race. If you're new to racing, you are a cat 4, of course. If you are indeed new, I'd really recommend that you find a challenging group ride where you can get some experience riding shoulder-by-shoulder. Touching bar-to-bar or bar-to-hip with another rider isn't for everybody, and better learned in a non-racing environment. If you can have some good supervision or input during the race by an experienced racer, that's great, but sometimes it makes for a bit of overload.

The first thing I do at the starting line is looking for people who look somewhat experienced or 'safe' ... stereotype away at will. All brand new stuff? Bad. Well-worn gloves? good. Old team jersey? good. Etc. You'll figure it out soon. Follow that person, or better yet, watch them race at various parts of the course (or, watch the higher-cat races after yours ... especially how they corner).

The safest spots in a pack is generally to be in the front 5-7 or the last 5-7 riders. Decision making at the end of a race is not very good in a LOT of people - If I'm not in it to win it and/or if people are super sketchy, I normally slide into last place on the 2nd to last lap, and then *carefully* pull off, or finish on my own time. don't be a hero. 90% of the crashes I've seen happen on the last lap. I will say though that there's a lot of talk about crashes at cat 4/5 crits, and I don't really see that IF the course is safe (wide turns, smooth roads). Make sure you know where the potholes and manhole covers are on the course, and don't swerve hard to avoid them - either gently drift sideways, or go straight through if possible.

the 'lapped' question depends on the race, but most times, they let you stay in the race (if it's a training crit) but not sprint for primes or the finish.

I wouldn't use a tri bike for sure, although you can certainly set it up as a road bike... it's good to have a roadie anyhow. I've seen plenty of, say, P2Ks though. No aero bars, of course. Plug your barends, make sure no crap (pumps, bags, etc.) is hanging off your bike. If you're serious, I'd encourage you to join a team that has a strong women's department. Racing as a team is an exhilarating experience, if it's done well.

Sorry for the randomness, long day at work. Hope this helps! (also, lots about criteriums to be found by doing a forum search - i know i've posted about this before)

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!
Josef



In Reply To:
I'm thinking about trying out the "Tues. Night Crits" here in ABQ. Mostly because I hope it will get me on my bike more. How do crits work exactly? From what I can tell, they lump the womens in with the slower cat. of guys. I'm slow, so I guess I'll be lapped a bunch? Are there usually several women at these things, or might I be the only one out there (not a deal breaker, but I want to know before I show up)? Can I use my tri bike? (No velodrome, so no track bikes, right?) Any observations or suggestions about crits?


Josef
-------
blog
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Re: bicycle racing - crits [Meowelk] [ In reply to ]
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Hope nobody minds a bit of insight on crit racing crit from a long-time cat 2 (male) road racer...
  • Criteriums are either contested based on number of laps or a specified period of time over a known course that usually involves multiple turns requiring frequent jumps in tempo as a result of not only the frequent attacks, but also differences in the riders skill in negotiating turns at higher speeds.
  • Unlike road races and circuit races in which the race tempo tends to increase more gradually the first few minutes after the start, a criterium typically will go full tilt from the second the race starts. Although there will be the inevitable lull in tempo later on, due to the intensity at the start it is pretty crucial to be able to clip in and get going in a very short amount of time - i.e. if you need to look at your pedal as you clip in, you will be left behind and unless you can generate some serious wattage the first lap, you are going to find yourself at or off the back of the pack by the end of the first lap.
  • Cornering skills are paramount - finding the best line through the corner during pre-race practice laps allows you to dial in the corners and hopefully during the race you will flow through the corners with the least amount of deceleration/coasting - surges like this are what typically results in an accordian effect as racers enter and exiting corners.
  • If you are racing with the Category 4/5s or this is a B/C race, know to expect the unexpected - don't have a lapse in concentration as that is when the rider in front of you will overlap wheels and end up doing something way out of left field that can make you to wet your shorts (both men and women).
  • Along the same thought, don't overlap wheels entering a corner - if racers are doing the Nascar shuffle leading into a corner (ie trying to corner while riding 2-3-4 abreast instead of in line or ducks in a row) there is going to be trouble (aka crashes).
  • If you are not comfortable riding at LT HR or over LT Power for the duration of a 30-45-60 minute event, you may find that you get lapped and, depending on the course, officials may pull lapped riders to help assure the safety of those still in contention for the win.
  • Once you get accustomed to criteriums, even though they can be high-intensity/high-stress, they are also very addictive and typically a lot more convient on a racers schedule due to the short duration and the multi-tude of local weekday races available in many areas.


¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Re: bicycle racing - crits [Meowelk] [ In reply to ]
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you are not allowed to use a tri bike, so you'd either need to get a set of road bars for your frame, or borrow a frien's road bike. Its because tri bikes don't handle well enough to be safe in a large pack. Crits are great to help your cycling, and i would encourage you to find one (at least for your first one) where there will be a few women there. at my first one i was the only woman, came in last, and found that a bit frustrating. Since then, there have always been at least 2-3 other women, so even if you are lumped with the guys, it breaks into a men's pack and a women's pack. don't worry about being lapped, these races often spread out enough that no one will know if you're getting lapped or in the lead!

this season i am going to do some time trials, which i enjoy more and more closely translates into my cycling for tris. those are worth looking into as well. good luck!



"What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my ass for six hours a day. What are YOU on?" - Lance Armstrong
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Re: bicycle racing - crits [Meowelk] [ In reply to ]
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Hi Meowelk,
Lots of great info from other posters about trying out a local crit. I've been doing them for about 7 years, and I still often dread them. Most of the time, I end up having fun though. They are painful (above LT much of the race) and dangerous compared to the other bike racing options (TT's and road races). They also are the least useful type of training for a triathlete, and for the most part, we don't have much talent for them. Our best use in a crit is being a workhorse for another stronger sprinter. I suppose there are some triathletes that are great sprinters...but that's the exception and not the rule. I personally wouldn't want to race with a bunch of cat 5 men. They are notorious for crashes due to lack of rider experience combined with some guys with a lots of natural riding talent. Plus, if you do anything sketchy in the pack, you are going to get yelled at in a hurry. If you are wanting to ride stronger for tris, I would recommend doing TT's regularly (even if they are totally on your own...just make your own timed course and measure your progress week by week). Road races are also a blast and combine lots of LT work with great endurance and tempo work. If you decide to go for it with the crits, have fun and stay attentive.
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Re: bicycle racing - crits [Diana] [ In reply to ]
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Not just to Diana, but all who posted - Thanks for the resposes! I have a few months before these start up again, and I think I need to do some work on my handling skills, esp. cornering with my road bike.

http://trainingmo.blogspot.com
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Re: bicycle racing - crits [Meowelk] [ In reply to ]
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Others have gone over most of the key details. One thing that was not mentioned is that, it's not that the road race crowd are trying to be rude or anything, but it's pretty ruthless out there, you either keep up with the pack or you are gone(out) and your day is more or less done. That's road racing. Women's race fields tend to be way smaller then men's - this is both an advantage and a disadvantage. It's an advantage because there is less traffic and people to deal with. The race and the pack behaves more like in a small breakaway. The disadvantage is that there is less room to hide ie less draft available, so you need to make sure you can hang in there. In a bigger field, say 30 - 40+ it's easier to sit in at least for some of each lap or a few laps to take a bit of a break.


Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog
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