OK, I have done a lot of triathlons and I know how to do those and have no problem packing my race bucket but this week I’m going to do my first road race ever and i don’t know what to do there, also i think that i’m going to be doing a crit in the next weeks as well so you could proally explain that to me as well. what do the different groups mean and how do i know which one that i qualify for? do you warm up for bike racing like you would a road race? what do you bring with you? and are there any special rules that i should know about?
i can’t answer your question too well, but here is what i learned at my first ever race, which happened yesterday.
rule #1: show up early. i had barely enough time to register, had trouble finding an open bathroom, had zero time to fill up my water bottle, and didn’t warm up at all - except the sprint from the bathroom to the starting line. ouch.
rule #2: get off the line fast. there was a crash at the first corner … and as other slowtwitchers warned me, it spread to the outside and backwards in the pack. so be up front and inside.
rule #3: know how to corner. i cornered terribly into a hill, and the pack dropped me like a bad habit.
rule #4: you’re a triathlete. time trial. this rule only applies if you ignore rule #3 and have no way of getting back to the pack.
rule #5: have fun. otherwise, it’ll be a long and painful experience. i have a poster in my room, with a picture of a runner wearing race #s, lying on the ground with a smile on his face. it says “it’s a good thing this is your free time, because they couldn’t pay you to do this”. think about it.
I don’t mean to pick on you but what is it about bike racing that people think they can just jump into it without any background whatsoever. I can’t imagine someone posting to a tennis group “I’ve been hitting a ball against the wall by myself for a while and I think I’m pretty good at it so I entered a tournament. I don’t know the rules of tennis or how to keep score. Could someone explain it to me and give me some idea of what to expect?” To me the biggest difference is that in tennis you’re protected from your opponent by a net. In bike racing, someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing can easily injure others.
here are some tips to help you out. the group will have a flow to it, left to right, up on on side back in the middle or the other. pay attention and go with not against the flow. there are lots of little hard accelerations. it’s better to sprint for 5-7 secs to stay with the group then try to TT back to them, it probably won’t happen. stay behind the front row, might as well let them break the wind for you. if you aren’t comfy cornering I’d go to a parking lot and practice several times before doing the crit. Don’t overlap wheels and don’t keep hitting the brakes to avoid the wheel in front of you. just ease pressure off the pedals. think and look in front of you. hope it helps.
You draft, plain and simple. You hide and save your energy and try to stay in the “field” by drafting. If it’s to slow for you, you attack and try to get away. That’s really the deal about racing. It will usually start fast, ease for a while and then get fast. Crits are hard start to finish. No special rules, just take off the aero bars. Compared to Tri, it’s a lactic acid bath because someone else usually sets the pace and it changes all the time–no time for tempo/own pace riding, unless you are the strong one and get to dictate. Ride straight and be predictable.
This kind of attitude was exactly what I felt before my first road race - and it made me realize how much more positive/supportive/open is the TRI-crowd/world. It almost made me leave and not enter that race!
I still did the race, at the back of the peloton, and was a great experience.
I strongly recomend to any triathlete doing at least one road race!
Riding in a pack is different, expect movement sideways/back&forth, be ready to brake or accelerate (especially on the climbs) when they try to reel away, be ready to see/get pushing in the curves (when the peloton thins inward) and don’t be afraid of manouvering off the road (and back) in order to avoid crashes.
Warm up 15-20 minutes, and start at the back of the peloton - then place & hang-on wherever you feel more confident. Try to talk to the competitors, find somebody friendly who you could team/work with (drafting taking turns) and enjoy it!
Whatever you do, don’t be a twitchy rider. The scariest things new racers do is ride erratically. Try to be as smooth as possible and only use brakes if absolutely necessary. Controlling your speed while riding relaxed in a tight pack is a learned skill but absolutely necessary to save energy and avoid being a menace.
It is now that I think of all the posts by triathletes who insist there is no reason to participate in group rides with bike clubs. Racing is definitely a type of riding that requires the knowledge and skills of group/pack riding. If you are not comfortable riding in a tight paceline, you have no business endangering the other riders in the race, besides endangering yourself.
In a road race or a criterium, expect to be brushing up against and be brushed against by the other riders as you race. Good bike handling skills are a must for safety in such tight quarters. Brushing wheels and not having this cause a crash is commonplace. For the inexperienced racers, this is what frequently causes crashes. This is as a result of bike handling skill far more than merely by accident.
If you have not ridden in pacelines before, I would suggest you delay the start of your racing until you aquire and improve your bike handling skills and until you are very comfortable/experienced riding in groups. Join a bicycle club and do regular group rides.
Then, go for it! The experience you gain from racing will definitely improve your overall cycling enjoyment.
You ride in a paceline until there are about 10 miles to go. Make a break and ride hard by yourself. Keep looking back from time to time to see the pack getting farther behind, for a while. Then watch as the pack gets closer and closer until you are left in the dust the last mile. Afterward you can hear people talk about the gutsy (stupid) break-away by the “triathlete.” That’s the way I’ve done it.
I did my 1st bike race this weekend. The bikers in Cat 5 were much worse bike handlers than me. Also when should 1st timers start they have to start somewhere. Hell this isn’t rocket science. Everything just makes sence. Hold your line Duh .
I know you didn’t want to sound like a jerk but you did. This racing stuff is not that hard. You road race like you drive a car.
From denewone, " I did my 1st bike race this weekend. The bikers in Cat 5 were much worse bike handlers than me. Also when should 1st timers start they have to start somewhere. Hell this isn’t rocket science. Everything just makes sence. Hold your line Duh .
I know you didn’t want to sound like a jerk but you did. This racing stuff is not that hard. You road race like you drive a car. "
Yes everyone has to start somewhere, and I support new people in racing. What I’m saying is that there are prerequisites both in terms of skills and knowledge one should have before entering a race. A rudimentary knowledge of the rule book would be one and some basic racing skills would be another. No, it isn’t rocket science, but you should know the appropriate length of pulls for conditions in a break or chase, how to pull through without slowing or surging, how to corner, and how to work an echelon in a cross wind, among others. I’ve spent hours on training rides explaining skills and techniques to new riders. I believe that is the correct place to pick these things up, not in a race. As to the comment about road racing being like driving a car, could you explain this, I can’t think of anything the two have in common.
The CAT 1 riders don’t go by any set of rules on how long to pull , when to pull it’s part of the game . How do you ride in a cross wind ? Like you drive hold a line no sudden moves it’s not hard for anyone with just a little smarts. Hell you have to start in cat 5 .
I think roadies often try to mystify everybody else by talking about all of the special skills needed for road racing, all the strategy involved, etc. The fact is, many of these guys (yes, they’re almost always men) are just trying to feel special. I’ve noticed that a lot of Cat 4/5 racers are just plain fat, and wouldn’t have a prayer in a triathlon where they can’t rely on anybody else pulling them around until they get 200m from the finish line. I participated in my fourth road race ever this weekend, a stage race, and managed 6th in the general classification in spite of my supposed lack of bike skills as a triathlete. Your first race might feel a little weird, but after you get a few under your belt you get the hang of it, and all of these special mystical powers that roadies have turn out to be basic common sense.
The bottom line: Road racing is fun. It’s a little different than triathlon, but don’t let the self-aggrandizing talk of macho Euro-snobs on Colnagos keep you from signing up and enjoying it.
well- my friend- who i’ve asked all of this to as well- that i’m doing it with who knows my abilities well and has raced for years said that this race would proally be a good fit for me as a first race, ie a small field and i shouldn’t be able to cause any damage- i’ve been doing group rides this spring and have become comfortable with that as well. do you have to remove tribars for crits? the last question i have for you guys is where should i line up- in tris for the swim i’ve always been in the front row- but i’m not sure that’s the best idea but the middle sounds a little sketchy to me- should i be worried?
Where to line up? That is a really tricky question and really depends on your strategy for race day. If you are planning on trying to split the field by the first corner, then line up in front. If not, and its a small field, line up in the middle or back and work your way up the field.
For any mass-start cycling race (road race or crit) you must have drop handlebars, and no tri-bars. Bar ends must be plugged, etc. Don’t worry too much about where you line up, your position will change constantly during the race. What matters is staying in contention and then being in the right spot with 5 laps to go.