Joined a team to get some early year races to I don’t go into complete withdrawal. I will be a cat 5 racer (beginner). That is about all I know. The courses appear short, as long as I hang in the group with my aggressive riding skills, I can use my super sprinting ability to pull the breakaway and win.
But that is about all I know, and I’m probably full of shit and don’t know it.
crit racing is fun, you have to be a lot more mentally alert for it than road racing. lots going on at all times. as long as you can handle constant surging in pace and corner pretty well you will be fine. pick out and mark the sketchy riders early since you are in CAT5. maybe get some of the other stronger riders organized to drop the sketchy ones.
Get to know your competition and learn which wheel to follow (and avoid!). This will come with experience. Learn to suffer, those surges of pace can feel like they last an eternity. And as mentioned above, have fun!
What does pull the breakaway mean and how does sprinting accomplish it?
Be sure you have health insurance and a bike you wouldn’t mind destroying.
Joined a team to get some early year races to I don’t go into complete withdrawal. I will be a cat 5 racer (beginner). That is about all I know. The courses appear short, as long as I hang in the group with my aggressive riding skills, I can use my super sprinting ability to pull the breakaway and win.
But that is about all I know, and I’m probably full of shit and don’t know it.
Don’t sit at the front but the front is the best place to sit because you get to pick the line. The front is always the safest place.
Don’t sit at the back. Corner, sprint, repeat.
I personally always turned them into TT’s, get off the front & hang on for dear life. My best strategies as a Cat 3 with no teamates was to attack over & over & over again, over 10-15 minutes until there are just 2-3 guys left…you obviously have to be fit to do that. I got good at this because I spent a lot of years surviving hanging onto the back.
I’ve road with a lot of guys on the team I ride with. They practice the surges and yes, they can be a suffer fest, especially when you still have 30 miles to go on the ride. Good tips. I’ll start picking their brains. The big local criteriums actually are the home race of the team.
I don’t know, did you not see the last sentence. Maybe I’m full of shit and don’t know it. I know nothing of bike strategy, just from watching it on TV and road riding. I figured you hang in with the crowd and go aggressive in the last few miles. Being a bigger guy with a power lifting background, I have always been able to do very fast sprints for up to a minute with as much as a 5 - 7 mph gain. I figured if I hung in with the crowd I could jump up in the last mile. But I know nothing about this, just using my experience from riding with roadies.
It is possible, just depends how talented you are and how talented the local crowd is at your local cat 5 races.
Most people, this won’t work, people will just ride your wheel and then 20 people will pass you in the last 50 meters.
But if the dynamics are right, and you attack hard, get a gap, and the field looks at each other for a moment before chasing, it can work.
Remember there are 50 to 100 other assholes with the same plan you have. Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face =)
I had a plan a bunch of times, worked about 3 out of 200 tries. If your 1 minute power is your best weapon, your plan, which is what some would call a “flyer” is a reasonable one.
I figured if I hung in with the crowd I could jump up in the last mile. But I know nothing about this, just using my experience from riding with roadies.
Cat 5 races aren’t too bad. A lot of starters just won’t have the fitness to hang on, so if you start at 75, you’ll probably be half that by the finish (that was my experience, ymmv).
Be ready to go 110% at the gun. After a few laps it will probably ease up.
If you plan to sprint for the win, do as little work as possible. Hide near the front. this will be easier if the pace is fast (harder for people to swarm up the sides).
If you want to get in a break, try to find people you know are strong to go with you. When you jump, do it right after another attack is pulled in (riders on the front are tired) or when you can slingshot past if the pace eases. Hit it HARD, like end of a race sprint hard. All weak attacks do is raise the pace as everyone can hang on in a draft to string out and catch you. A lot of people bridging = the pack gets pulled up to you.
all drops all the time. no exceptions. One exception - you’re breaking away and like to do the faux aerobars or arms parallel to ground while on the hoods.
Sprint with your head up.
at the back = surges and slowing, accordion style (be ready to slow down after a surge sprint out of a corner…it’s just how it works sometimes). the front is less susceptible to this.
remember, nothing ever goes to plan in cat 5, so just roll with it. learn your strengths and weaknesses through racing. remember that there are no points in a cat 5 race for upgrades (and no prizes) so if it seems too sketchy, be safe.
Just remember, your attitude at the start should be:
And the start will be like this:
And keep in mind that during the last three laps:
(all gifs stolen from What Bike Racers Should Call Me Tumblr)
Joined a team to get some early year races to I don’t go into complete withdrawal. I will be a cat 5 racer (beginner). That is about all I know. The courses appear short, as long as I hang in the group with my aggressive riding skills, I can use my super sprinting ability to pull the breakaway and win.
But that is about all I know, and I’m probably full of shit and don’t know it.
If you hang out at the back, you will get dropped in the surges in/out of the corners. Lots of short interval work will help prep you for this.
If you are the only one taking a certain line, either you’re precocious or there is a reason nobody else is there.
The front is the safest, but everyone will just sit in and suck your wheel. Nobody gives a shit about sharing the work.
Cat 5 is about staying upright and learning to ride while leaning on and being leaned on by other people.
Get your 10 races in and move to Cat 4. They aren’t appreciably better, but you will avoid the weekend experiment riders. You can usually get multiple races in a single day.
Take advantage of any preride time to take a look at the course and note any potential dangers/sharp corners.
If you overhear a cat 3 or better say the course looks “interesting”, be prepared for carnage.
If you can’t afford to replace it, don’t ride it in a crit.
John
I’m riding a caad 10 with 105 components and stock wheels. I also have some spare wheels and tires.
If you are talking about the Avondale Crits, watch out after the second turn - there often seem to be crashes after that turn.
Have you been doing some of local group rides?
I’m riding a caad 10 with 105 components and stock wheels. I also have some spare wheels and tires.
give me your MMP chart for the last 6 months, your mass, and I will give you a tacticool plan.
Yes, Avondale. I’ve been riding with Tribe Scottsdale, One and Tri Scottsdale. One and Tri Scottsdale are of course geared towards triathlon, Tribe is a lot of cyclist and Carlos O’Brien/Tribe Elite racing members.
I’m riding a caad 10 with 105 components and stock wheels. I also have some spare wheels and tires.
give me your MMP chart for the last 6 months, your mass, and I will give you a tacticool plan.
What the heck is an MMP chart?
I’m 210, pretty lean former power lifter & boxer. Can’t seem to shed the last of my fast twitch muscles.
http://pvcycling.wordpress.com/category/racing/
Enjoy and learn
.
give me your peak 5 second, 1 minute, 5 minute, average power over the last year
and your peak ~45 to 60 minute normalized power
.
I’ve never done Tribe or One rides, but the Tri Scottsdale Tuesday and Thursday rides are solid efforts. You should definitely check out some of the spirited roadie rides, like Bicycle Ranch, BOS, West Valley, etc.
My roadie doesn’t have a power meter, does that matter?
My roadie doesn’t have a power meter, does that matter?
yes, because now we won’t have any good short term power numbers. You can never win!
sorry