I’m planning on doing my first Crit, so I’m guessing that CAT5 should be where I should start. The registration site on active.com allows choices of 1-3 below for my event choice. Sr. Men CAT 5 or Masters 30+ CAT1-4 or Junior Men CAT1-5
Having never done a crit, and being a male 36 yrs old, which is the correct choice? There is no contact for the race director…grrr. Thanks!
You want Cat 5
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You are eligible for the Cat 5 race only out of those choices.
Good luck, it can be painful. 
Cat 5 is probably the best choice - although probably the most dangerous. The masters group will probably be smokin…older faster guys who still need the taste of victory.
As cslone said, you have no choice: you can only race as a Cat. 5.
Do the CAT 5 (you can’t race Junior, that’s for kids); typically they will combine CAT 4/5 into a single race. Sometimes you’ll have a choice between CAT 5 and Masters 35+ or something like that. I guarantee you the Masters race will be faster and harder. Many of those Masters racers are former CAT 1-3s and many of them haven’t slowed down much.
You have to do 10 races as a Cat 5 before you can upgrade to a Cat 4. Usually there is a local site listing all the races and race flyers, etc. In Norcal there is a training series for beginners in January/February and maybe they have something like that in your region for next year.
(you can’t race Junior, that’s for kids); …
but that might be the only way I can win!!! Thanks for the guidance.
Thanks. Switching gears so to speak in race preparation mode, if I am planning to peak for this race and my current TSB is -34 and only a positive TSB is in sight ten days out, I’m not really supposed to stay off the bike for that period of time am I? It’s more about not pushing the threashold during the interim in order to recover??? Thanks again.
I know you directed this last question at Dr. C, who will likely give a much better answer than I will, but perhaps I can offer some perspective. I’ll note that I’m a couple years older than you (38) and although I’ve done the occasional bike race over the years this is the first year I’m racing consistently (doing a crit every week or two).
When talking about peaking and recovering I really wouldn’t worry about it too much at this point, especially since we’re looking at your first Crit which I’m guessing is probably only 30-45 minutes long (much of which you should be sucking wheel anyway). Sure the races are hard but they are short and assuming you stay upright, don’t take too much of a toll on you. At this stage in the game I’d worry less about peaking for one event and look at it like an intense training session where you can gain some experience. If you’re a reasonably fit cyclist, you can pretty easily do a CAT 4/5 crit (or even two) every week. I think you’ll find that after a bunch of events you’ll be much more comfortable with the act of racing in a goup and can think more about prioritizing events, trying to peak,etc.
Best of luck.
Peaking for a crit? You’re kidding, right?
yeah, crits are easy.
Peaking for a crit? You’re kidding, right?
Yes I’m kidding about peaking for a crit, but the question was more about peaking at a time rather than for that race. I’m doing a lot of prep for centuries (3) yet this fall with a lot of miles and while planning to do well in them, wanted to throw that crit in there too. My TSB being quite negative now and not positive for some time, I was curious if it would be advisable to lay off a while and take it easy to recover. That positive recovery happens to align with the crit…and thus the question.
Why not if it’s a priority race for him?
I peaked this year for a mini stage race: crit/TT on Sunday, rr/tt on Monday and carried it through for about another week on a crit that I wanted to do well at.
DOing well in a crit (or even most road races) isn’t so much about recovery and being well-rested, as your ability to change speeds on the road quickly, and recover from THAT on the road, and also knowing WHERE to be in the pack. That’s the part that kills TTer’s and triathletes when they jump into bike racing. It took me some 3 years to get that developed, and after that point, yes (to answer another poster here), the crits were easy.
Thanks, I wasn’t aware that periodization didn’t apply to shorter duration events!
Yup, as the others have mentioned, Cat V.
Here are a few golden rules of criteriums:
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Defend your position at the front. If more than 9 riders get in front of you, you are no longer a racer, you are a future victim. It will take more energy to defend your position at the front but it is energy well spent.
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The race is the corners. Be certain you are well positioned for the corners. Try to avoid allowing anyone the opportunity to corner inside you. That is almost always disaster.
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The race is frequently won in the last corner.
I’ll bite 
Of course, your ability to change speeds and recover from short hard efforts has much to do with how well rested you are.
As far as crits feeling consistently easy, an upgrade normally takes quick care of that … I’d say ‘unless you’re racing age groups’, but those are generally significantly harder than the Cat 3 races around here.
DOing well in a crit (or even most road races) isn’t so much about recovery and being well-rested, as your ability to change speeds on the road quickly, and recover from THAT on the road, and also knowing WHERE to be in the pack. That’s the part that kills TTer’s and triathletes when they jump into bike racing. It took me some 3 years to get that developed, and after that point, yes (to answer another poster here), the crits were easy.
I found that my warm-up had more to do with how well I did than how much or little “rest” I got before an event.
I raced Cat 3, Open 1-3, and Masters Open events. The overall speed of the masters events was normally a little higher, but the racing was smoother. Cat 1-3 events was all about positioning in the pack.
I’m sure doing the crit will be just fine. I started three years ago and am now racing mostly 35+123s and a couple P12 races in Norcal. Here’s some tidbits of info:
If you are new to crits & road racing then your main concern should be to stay upright on the bike and finish. Generally, staying in the front third of the pack is safest and will get a smoother line through the corners. Stay out of the wind and don’t waste energy moving up on the unprotected side as it will sap you for later in the race.
Breaks are sometimes successful in 5s, but that’s usually rare because teams are not organized and people attack at the wrong times and often solo, which is typically a waste. BE PATIENT If you are going to attack, then pick a time when the field is tired and unsuspecting - not fresh.
When I don’t have team mates and are racing solo, then I usually divide the race in two parts. First half just hang out conserve energy, but watch for dangerous moves. That’s easier to figure out when you race with the same guys all the time and know who’s who. Second half you get more aggressive and follow some attacks to stay positioned and figure out how to stay up front and where the winning move might come from. The last few laps is where things usually get dicey and you need to stay focused and near the front as guys are tired and taking risks to get/stay positioned. It becomes infinitely harder to move up in the last two laps of a race. That said, don’t be afraid to attack at say 800 meters and go early depending on the other riders, course layout and what type of rider you are. If you are not a sprinter then it may be your only chance. I’ve won two races that way and been caught out missing the move(s). Last week at district champs, my team mate and I got 2nd and 3rd position into a tight chicane before a 250m finishing sprint. We figured all the top guys had about the same speed in the sprint and position would win the race - we took 1st & 2nd.
If it comes down to a field sprint and you are not in the top 5 or 10 with a chance of winning then sit up and get out of the way and let some other moron go for 27th place!!! I’ve seen so many crashes and mishaps with guys sprinting for 20th place and that’s the best piece of advice I’ve ever received from more experienced guys.