Criterium Skills

Abernathy

I'm thinking I suck at Crit racing. I have the fitness and bike handling skills, but I'll be damned if I really know what the hell I am doing.

I have raced about a dozen Crits, and at least my strategy(s) now entails more than "air goes in, air goes out", but there's a heap more going on and I want in!

I consistently run around the top 5 places and I like doing my share of the work up front, but when it comes to the crunch I ... well, I dunno... I guess I suck.
Occasionally there are skills courses available where I live, my shift work deems that I work when they are on, So...

I would appreciate some advice on Crit racing, such as position in the bunch, covering (or not covering) attacks/breaks, and stuff I don't know the name of

BikingBrian

This has been discussed before, if you do a search, you should be able to find threads with lots of advice. For the moment, though, here are some basic things you might want to keep in mind:

* stay near the front to conserve energy/avoid the accordion effect on corners

* know your rivals: who has the ability/is likely to try to escape from the bunch? who are the best sprinters?

* as far as responding to attacks: are you on a team? if it's a solo move (and especially if you are not on a team)....let someone else chase it down. why waste your own energy, especially if the rider is likely to be brought back by the pack

* although you might feel you did more "honest" work by taking turns at the front - maybe you work too much? if that is the case, you might be leaving yourself with not enough juice in the tank for the finish

anyway, just a few things to start with....

Abernathy

Choss...

Will do a search.
And thanks for the tips.