Which race is better?

the reason you find it harder to place in slow races is cause everyone in the race still has enough to compete for the sprint, in faster more aggressive race, the people who dont have the fitness will not be able to constest the sprint cause in the last 3 laps of the race when the pace really picks up, they will be desperatly trying to hang on to the back .. faster more aggressive racing is much more fun, usually cause there are better riders there who are fitter and have more of an idea about tactics and the race is more flowing and generally has a faster average time ..

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Nicko71
This crit thing is really fascinating,

On days when the field is weaker I find it much harder to place well, on days when it is stronger I am always near the front!!

This tells me a few things - let me know if I'm right.

I am doing well.

A slow field is less aggressive therefore more able to bring about the unpredictability of a mass sprint finish by easily covering small breakaway attempts!!

Solo attacks even in a slow race are not winning moves.

A fast race is much more fun than a slow one.

Lazy or unfit/undertrained people can survive and do well in crits depending on how many of their unfit/undertrained mates are there to carry them along.

Which do you prefer, a race where your legs are mince meat by the end, or one where you roll around having a chat then go ballistic on the last 2oom?

When I use to race, my legs were always like noodles at the finish. Heck even had heatstroke once. If the pace was slow, it only lasted briefly. I would jump and force the issue. The weaker riders did not deserve to be with us at the end. There were a handful of us who were watched every race. Did this work? Well, I never won, but had many top 5's. Also I know my weakness, sprinting......

Memph

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Nicko71
This crit thing is really fascinating,

I love crits too

Quoted post said:

On days when the field is weaker I find it much harder to place well, on days when it is stronger I am always near the front!!

The fastest finishers are not dropped; these bunch sprinters will always win if you let them get to the end.

Quoted post said:

I am doing well.

Doing well = placing well, so yes and no.

Quoted post said:

Solo attacks even in a slow race are not winning moves.

It varies. Eyeballs out with 1k to go can win a slow race if you can get a gap; they all watch one another

Quoted post said:

A fast race is much more fun than a slow one.

Yes! But only if you're in the fighting, not just hanging on.

Quoted post said:

... unfit/undertrained people can ... do well in crits

If you let a fat, lazy, undertrained sprinter to within 200m of the finish, he will kick your [censored]. Quite right too. You've got to drop the [censored].

Quoted post said:

Which do you prefer, a race where your legs are mince meat by the end, or one where you roll around having a chat then go ballistic on the last 2oom?

There are 2 answers to this, depending on whether you are a sprinter or not. I, blast it, am not. Unless the race is for training, in which case fastest is best. If it's too slow, attack. Go until you blow - the best training of all.

All I know is that I have never been in a criterium where I have been able to have a chat!

Interestingly enough I have seen enough crits to know that its kind of like poker, you have a few that try to bluff that they can't make it kill you at the end.

The other thing in crits you can have your spouse or girlfriend or boyfriend watch, in the RRs they see you in the begining or at the end if the race isn't looped.

Make the race hard! Break their lags. Dictate the pace. There was a runner back in the 70's that did this..his name was Prefontaine. Be aggressive...especially if you are strong or if you are not a sprinter.