One of the most fun ones I ever did was 40 laps around a high school track. I accelerated away from the field with 2 laps to go when I heard the guy behind me start sucking air…GO!
Congrats on surviving your first crit! It was good to meet and race against you (and coast behind your big ass draft). You have a very respectable sprint despite probably never training it. I set a new 10second/30second power record with that last finish. :oD
What is your previous cycling experience before this? Just Tri’s or road rally, etc…? Did you do any Crit training? I’m asking because I just do triathlons but am interested in doing a Crit this coming spring. Is there anything you would do to better prepare yourself for a crit race?
previous experience is just TTs and triathlons, though I do a group ride here in austin that is pretty much the same thing as a Cat 1/2 crit. Some days it is more like a Cat2/3 crit and I hang on if I’m feeling good =)
I would just say practice taking turns really fast, without changing your line, and without putting the inside foot down and crashing yourself.
practice group rides with people who can ride close to each other. IF not for me crazy group ride experience that would have been scary for me.
and don’t think you can just TT away from everyone, even in cat 5. I had dreams of that but halfway in when I planned to do that it was just clear there was no way.
What is your previous cycling experience before this? Just Tri’s or road rally, etc…? Did you do any Crit training? I’m asking because I just do triathlons but am interested in doing a Crit this coming spring. Is there anything you would do to better prepare yourself for a crit race?
Me and Pantelones were both in the Cat5 race which started with the Cat4/3 women and juniors.
I didn’t wreck anybody!
I won the cat5 prime ahead of Pantelones
On the final lap Pantelones edged me out by a nose for the epic cat 5 heroic sprint win!
The lone junior dude destroyed us both though. great shame.
My wife won wimmens Cat4 despite pulling at the front for the whole 2nd to last lap. I had to yell at her to stop!
Interesting stuff, was very easy until that last lap then it hurt real bad.
I race a lot, but never heard of a crit that only lasted 30 min. That is short. How many laps? How long was the lap? Was it a USCF event?
Congratulation on entering the world of cycling. It’s a blast and I’m glad to hear you didn’t crash anyone and glad to hear you did as well as you did. Keep it up.
I found Cat 5 was a weird mix. From rank newbies with varying levels of fitness to ‘career 5’s’ with big beer bellies, and of course the occasional superhuman 15 year old.
Once you get those 10 starts and get to 4 it’s a bit less diverse. And harder. But even more fun.
I used to be a UVa Policeman on the bike patrol. UVA Cycling Team allowed me to race when they were “at home” in the C (?) category. The only stipulation was I couldn’t contest the sprint at the finish or cross the line first. All the college team guys knew this and would allow me to race off the front and no one would follow : ( It was a bummer with zero help. So I did a few laps off the front and then fell back into the pack to finish. I was the only guy not in “team gear”. Navy did give me a cycling jersey for fun at one of the races. It was always a great time.
What category do you race? I’ve never seen a cat 5 crit go more than 40 minutes; most often they’re in 30-35 minute range. I’d estimate (where I am in the country) you are racing cat 3 before you see a 60 min crit.
