crit questions???

J, you might ask yourself if you have done the homework to know if it is feasible to hang. If you have been on group rides with racers you should have some idea.
My experience was to have been fortunate enough to find a club/team that conducted racing clinics to learn the dos 'n donts and ride in race simulations. this will make you MUCH safer as well by becoming aware of what to expect and be comfortale in racing.
Prior to that I went commuting, on club rides, and centuries to get the base miles in.

My stab at defining the diff between the categories you mention, esp. in terms of safety/survivability:

5: A starting point for the unskilled, can be quite fast but shaky in terms of bike handling. You do get some savvy racers who stay on as 5's to be the big fish in the small pond, and also the new phenoms, these are the two types to expect near the front when it matters.

masters 35+: Expect this to be hard and fast, with a high skill level and little tolerance for cat 5 type lack of bike handling . This is where the old guys with serious skill, ability and even aspirations hang out. It can be faster than a cat 2 crit if the guys show up who don't know they are old.

Let us know if you want. Godd luck

jmax24 said:

I am thinking about racing in a crit next weekend(april 16) but i have a couple of questions.I am 35 and I have never raced.Should I enter the masters 35 plus or the mens 5?I know I might get killed but you got start somewhere, right?
Here is a link to the race site neabc.orgindex.htmlOpen ↗
Thanks,Jason

I have been on a number of club rides and I always finish in the top 2 or 3.I have put in the homework,training according to the cyclist bible.The cat5 that I will probally enter is 30 minutes,I did a triathlon 2 days ago and the ride portion was 15 miles and I did it in 39 minutes at an average speed of 21-22 mph avg hr of 133.I don't care to much if I get dropped I just want to race and I know I have to start somewhere.The only thing I am worried about is safety and not doing something stupid to mess up someones else ride.Any pointers will be greatly appreciated.Thanks,Jason

You inspire me, both by wanting to race and not to do something stupid. Just don't expect me to live up to both examples.
The top ten for safety inna crit.
1. be comfortable drafting so you can stay sheltered in the pack and not take on too much wind.
2. keep your front wheel out of harm's way, do not overlap much.
3. stay near the front 1/3 of the pack, less crash potential there.
4. learn to modulate your speed by making constant minute adjustment in pedal and braking pressure, this will keep you at the right distance to those in front.
5. as you draft, look around and through the riders ahead of you to be aware of what is up, do not zone out on the wheel.
6. keep the elbows and grip loose, if you are bumped you can soak it up.
7. if you contact the wheel of the rider in front of you with your front wheel you must steer into it, not away. upon releasing you may spring sideways but still stay up. this seems counterituitive but becomes reflex by nature wth experience.
8. the right of way is granted to those with their handlebars ahead of yours. when yours are ahead you get it.
9. hold your line in accordance to those in front, do not move to the side abrubtly.
10. if you are hit from behind just keep pedaling do not stop and you can withstand a good hit and still stay up.

good luck let us know howya do, it is an honor to offer this humble advice.

jmax24 said:

I have been on a number of club rides and I always finish in the top 2 or 3.I have put in the homework,training according to the cyclist bible.The cat5 that I will probally enter is 30 minutes,I did a triathlon 2 days ago and the ride portion was 15 miles and I did it in 39 minutes at an average speed of 21-22 mph avg hr of 133.I don't care to much if I get dropped I just want to race and I know I have to start somewhere.The only thing I am worried about is safety and not doing something stupid to mess up someones else ride.Any pointers will be greatly appreciated.Thanks,Jason

You might not have much of a choice on which field to join. Don't know where you are from but most of the races around here do not let cat 5's into the masters races, those are for cat 4 and up only, so you might be stuck with the 5's. It really isn't as bad as people make it out to be, i find that when they combine the 4's and 5's that's when it can get dicey because the 5's are doing all they can to hang with the 4's who are typically in better racing shape, and the bike handling skills suffer because you are working so hard just to hold the wheel. Just go out, give it a shot and relax. Have fun.

I reviewed the schedule and you may do BOTH races.

You wrote that you never raced---but nave you done lots of 'race simulations' or lots of group riding?

If not, you will be dropped by the 35+ field by being yo-yoed off the back---especially if there or lots of sharp corners.

If this happens, ride until you are pulled---then get ready for the Cat 5 race.

That race will be less strung out, slower---and afford an easier draft to sit in. Other than the cross wheel and sketchy move trouble, you will hang in longer.

Do both, the more the better.

Get to a track ASAP for free coaching on a fixed gear bike. You'll be glad you did. You can rent a bike for $4 a day at many tracks. Bring your pedals.

jmax24 said:

I am thinking about racing in a crit next weekend(april 16) but i have a couple of questions.I am 35 and I have never raced.Should I enter the masters 35 plus or the mens 5?I know I might get killed but you got start somewhere, right?
Here is a link to the race site neabc.orgindex.htmlOpen ↗
Thanks,Jason

Thanks so much for all of the advice.I haven't been riding that long but one of the biggest reasons I love it is because I have met so many nice and supportive people.
I am going to race the cat-5 race and I may be living in a fantasy world but I think I can be competitive.Most of all I just want to race for the fun and experience.
Again, thank-you all so much for the advice as I have alot to learn.
Jason

j, if you do get dropped as flyer suggests, call back up here and you'll get all the scoop on remedial crit specific training. i would be glad to offer at least a top ten list, for what it is worth...
let us know the outcome.

jmax24 said:

Thanks so much for all of the advice.I haven't been riding that long but one of the biggest reasons I love it is because I have met so many nice and supportive people.
I am going to race the cat-5 race and I may be living in a fantasy world but I think I can be competitive.Most of all I just want to race for the fun and experience.
Again, thank-you all so much for the advice as I have alot to learn.
Jason

Well I raced---Big news flash..I got dropped.I decided before the race to hang back a little and do more learning than racing.The lap was 6/10th of a mile with a slight climb.I stayed with the 2nd pack and got lapped after about 15 minutes.According to my compu I averaged 25mph in what little time I was out there.It was a very good experience though and a great way to let me know I need to train harder.Any crit training tips will be appreciated.Thanks for the advice and support.Jason

congratulations on your first crit. dont worry about being dropped, youll be able to hang on longer next time.

[quote="jmax24"]Well I raced---Big news flash..I got dropped.I decided before the race to hang back a little and do more learning than racing.The lap was 6/10th of a mile with a slight climb.


That's a very short loop! With sharp corners, the yo-yoing would be maximized. No surprise there.

Now hurry up and get to a banked velodrome and develop the required skills for mass start racing.

Training harder won't help you very much. Skills and drills will.

At the track the skills and specific training are integrated in various drills. This cannot be duplicated on the road---alone or with traffic.

Also, because the velodrome is safe (devoid of auto traffic) you may do 100% maximum efforts with full concentration.

On the road, one is always in peril of a car pulling out just as you pin it.

You will see monster gains in skills with only a few track sessions. You will also lose bad habits racing on a fixed gear bike.

Good luck.

15 minutes of a crit, ahh yes, the shock to the system from the whistle to the first turn. sometimes the first few laps are frenzied, don't worry it will calm down. unless there is a prime every lap. when it calms down, that is when to really worry. we were rolling along at 20 something and i remarked to my team mate how luxurious it was and his reply was, "this means it is going to be really hard later".

you missed the last five laps, this will be a revelation as it comes down to this final effort, inevitably this is when the deciding dynamics are played out.

top 5 tactics for hangin' at first:
1. be comfortable drafting inna pack. yes, this is again number 1.

2. learn to wheelsuck. once you are in the sweet draft you must soft pedal and modulate your pedal pressure to conserve every scap of recovery you can.

3.into the turns, do not brake any more than absolutely needed, stay low on the drops and be aero while others are sitting up, and do not be worried about passing as you go in. all these will keep your speed up to minimize the need for sprinting out of the turn just to hang on.

4.pick a good wheel. look for a tall guy who does not vary his speed much.

5.stay the heck away from the front. once you are in the top 5 or so you may get a taste of pulling, and this will wear you down.

I was told by my first coach racing bikes differs from centuries or tris or solo rides. it is not the object to just ride for the sake of completion. the first goal is to hang, to not getting dropped.
second, to ride from mid pack to top ten. here you can become aquainted with the pack dynamics of racing.
third, to ride top ten to top five, here you can see what the ones who will place are doing and when.

top 5 for crit specific training:
1.ride in group race training rides so you can become comfortable drafting in a pack.

2.introduce intensities of a gradualy higher level. examples: ride to 27-30 and hold it. this is often enough to hang.
do sprints, all three components, initial acceleration jump, top speed and duration.
intervals, high efforts with recovery in between.
develop legspeed by spinning till you bounce in the saddle and try to smooth that out.
these are all thing you will encounter in racing and you will not get them by cruising.

3.practice pedaling hard when cornering. also cornering pedaling while standing. get to know at what angle of lean will your pedals scrape and how to approach this angle smoothly.

4.your hard days are now pretty hard so your easy days need to be really easy. this is not lack of dedication to speed, it is for active recovery.

5.limit your low cadence high gear cruising, this can be just practicing going slow without the benefits you need. if you feel slow like this do not overtrain, but be honest and lightly spin for recovery. this gets you ready for the next increase.

I am no expert but have ridden in lotsa crits, including pro/1/2,
and masters 1/2/3 then i uhh, got married. weak excuse, huh?
started as a 4 because there was no 5 when I started.
still ride, race occasionally and maintain some crit specificity that vexes those i ride around with.

jmax24 said:

Well I raced---Big news flash..I got dropped.I decided before the race to hang back a little and do more learning than racing.The lap was 6/10th of a mile with a slight climb.I stayed with the 2nd pack and got lapped after about 15 minutes.According to my compu I averaged 25mph in what little time I was out there.It was a very good experience though and a great way to let me know I need to train harder.Any crit training tips will be appreciated.Thanks for the advice and support.Jason

I just raced my first crit yesterday evening (Cat 4/5 age 33). The course was a flat and windy 1.75 mile loop with sweeping non-technical corners for an hour. I was very happy with my first performance. I was able to hang with the pack for the entire hour. I actually led a lap or so, just in time to be worked over for the prime. I met both my goals, which were to not get dropped and not injure myself or my bike. I learned a lot from this first race, hopefully I'll get back out there next Tuesday and race a little smarter and learn some more. The whole experience was very fun, the 4/5 field was approx 60 riders, we did 24 miles at an average of 24 mph. What an adrenaline rush to ride these speeds elbow to elbow. Anyone out there questioning if there ready or not, I suggest you just give it a try. I wish I hadn't waited a few years to finally this a try🙂

Congratulations!It sounds like you did great.Do you have weekly crits in your area?I wish we did here.Keep up the good work.Jason

jmax24 said:

Congratulations!It sounds like you did great.Do you have weekly crits in your area?I wish we did here.Keep up the good work.Jason

Thanks... We have Tuesday night crits in Long Beach (Southern Calif). They run from March-Sept. If my wife doesn't throw too big of a fit, I am planning on going regularly. Keep up the good work yourself also🙂

OCRoadie said:

I just raced my first crit yesterday evening (Cat 4/5 age 33). The course was a flat and windy 1.75 mile loop with sweeping non-technical corners for an hour. I was very happy with my first performance. I was able to hang with the pack for the entire hour. I actually led a lap or so, just in time to be worked over for the prime. I met both my goals, which were to not get dropped and not injure myself or my bike. I learned a lot from this first race, hopefully I'll get back out there next Tuesday and race a little smarter and learn some more. The whole experience was very fun, the 4/5 field was approx 60 riders, we did 24 miles at an average of 24 mph. What an adrenaline rush to ride these speeds elbow to elbow. Anyone out there questioning if there ready or not, I suggest you just give it a try. I wish I hadn't waited a few years to finally this a try🙂

Yeah, I totally agree, I just did my first crit this past sunday and it was a great experience. It was much easier than I expected especially after looking around at the starting line and seeing all these guys with huge legs and totally pro bikes. It was 35+ 4/5 and I finished 20th out of 75, which I was quite happy with considering I was expecting to be shelled off the back gasping for air. The best thing is to finally get something out of the way that I was so scared of.

CONGRATULATIONS!It sounds like you did really well.I'm looking foward to my next one in Atlanta, unfortunately its a 1k loop too.