Hows a crit work?

[tri4fun]

Greetings,
Looking online there are a ton of criteriums here in Socal weekly. I've looked at the USCF rule book and it is a bit vague on the criterium desc. Could some one please give me a description of a typical race, how it works before I get myself into something?
Thanks

 

[TrekDedicated]

I'd like to quote Samuel Jackson from Jurassic Park, "Hold onto your butts"

Very fast. High intensity. If you aren't already, start doing some high intensity rides for the duration around the race's length. It will help get your body used to the conditions.

Your first race is always a 'killing'. I got killed in mine, but you quickly get better.

Good luck!

 

[cheetah8799]

Here's a quick description.

The course will be a closed loop, usually city streets or something similar with tight corners. A hard course may have many corners and a big hill. Races are usually a set time, not laps. The officials figure the average lap time and then based on that they know how many laps to go. If you get lapped by the leaders, then you are usually pulled from the race by the official.

The hardest part for a new racer is to stay in the pack around the corners and on hills. It will surge very quickly, and you have to be good at quick sprints to keep up if you are near the back. Also riding in the group is scary around all the corners and such.

Watch out for any dust/dirt on the corners, any water is also bad news. If it's a sketchy course, try to stay on inside of the corners since outside is bad because inside guys may fall and take you down too.


Personally I'm a pretty new racer, only done a few crits, always been lapped at some point. Maybe a more experienced racer can fill in any gaps in my description.

Greetings,
Looking online there are a ton of criteriums here in Socal weekly. I've looked at the USCF rule book and it is a bit vague on the criterium desc. Could some one please give me a description of a typical race, how it works before I get myself into something?
Thanks

 

[tri4fun]

So the winner is basically the rider with the most laps ridden in the alotted time? There is no sprint finish or set lap # ?

Thanks

 

[frenchyge]

So the winner is basically the rider with the most laps ridden in the alotted time? There is no sprint finish or set lap # ?

Races are typically X minutes + Y laps in length (example 30 min + 3 laps -- after 30 minutes expire, the next time the leader crosses the line will start the first of the 3 laps until the finish). They'll pull you out if you get lapped, so everyone pretty much stays on the same lap. Typically there's a pack sprint at the end, but occasionally a break away will survive to take the win.

Most metro areas have 'training crits' where the local racers gather to practice during the week. That's a good place to get your feet wet if there's one in your area. Experience and technique play a big part in how you finish, so don't get discouraged by your first couple tries.

 

[DannoXYZ]

"So the winner is basically the rider with the most laps ridden in the alotted time? There is no sprint finish or set lap # ?"

There's a lot of physics involved in racing, and a pack will ALWAYS ride faster than any individual. Beginning 4/5 races will usually average 24-27mph with intermittent sprints up to 40-42mph. The cat-3 races typically have the highest average speed of 28-31mph with sprints up to 42-44mph. The 1-2-Pro races are longer with more team and strategy involved, so they typically have slower average speeds in the 27-31mph range, BUT, there's a tonne more sprints all the time and they can get up to 43-46mph on the flats.

There are intermediate sprints for prizes & points call primes (French, pronounced as "PREEM"). These can be $100 gift-certificates, sunglasses, jerseys, etc. up to $10,000 cash primes in the 1-2-pro races. There are various strategies involved in winning a prime, or taking advantage of them to get off the front.

So you'll find that the very first basic strategy one picks up is how to draft and hide in the pack. First goal is to simply stay with the pack and not get dropped and finish a race. Next comes actually competing for some of the prime sprints. But be careful because you may work a little too hard winning that sprint only to get dropped by the pack and not even finish the race. So you might want to hide in the pack the entire time and contest just the finishing sprint.

That's what I find so fun about crits, it all comes down to strategies for the sprints. The distance and laps are just filler material between the sprints. There's an unlimited number of strategies for winning the sprints, depending upon the course, your personal strengths, the teammates you have availble and what the other players in the race are. Simple strategy is keeping an eye on the top 10 finishers of each prime and tracking them. Then manuveur around the pack to be near these guys, then when they take off for sprint, you just draft off them and nip them at the line. Some of these guys are like football linebackers though and they can get up to 42-43mph all by themselves on the straights. It's hard to accelerate from 43 to 44mph next to them once you pull out in open air. So one strategy to beating strong sprinters is to take off yourself 1-km from the finish and if you can get 30-50m ahead, you might be able to hold them off til the finish. This is not likely though, so you'd need teammates, 2 at least. One guy to lead you out at about 1-km out and one guy to coast around the last couple of corners to slow the pack down just slightly.

 

[robkit]

technique is very important, as is nerve. i've only done a few crits but there are guys who can somehow stay in the bunch when i'm getting dropped, but who i can beat easily in a time trial. ie i'm stronger, but they have the knack.

the dynamics of a bunch are such that the guys in he middle of the bunch, in draft, will be maintaining their positions - you wont be able to move up here, yet it will be very easy to lose one of these places. the outer sides of the bunch are where you can move up, although that will be in the wind. in a nut shell - if you cant maintain position in the draft of the middle, you will be forever in the wind as you try to recover places. and sooner or later that will kill you.

my experiene is that you can lose 3-4 places just by takining a corner a little oo slow, and perhaps 2 by not sprinting hard enough out of it. unless you have the strength to make up those places in the wind, then lets do the math - in a field of 60 you can be off the back in 10 corners, and thats starting at the front. thats what makes crits hard - you could face those 10 corners in 2 laps, whereas in a road race it might take 10 miles.

the best way to train for crits, aside from "HARD" is to find a shortish loop and sprint out of all the corners, this will be the most demanding thing in the race, guaranteed. you cant train for the "nerve" aspect, getting accustomed to the pace is just takes a few races experience.

one thing i would say though - the adrenalin, the buzz, and the experience is for me unbeatable. the most exhilerating thing i've ever done, super addictive.

 

[CycleSteve]

I've only done a few crits myself (I'm 50+). Citizen crits are riskier because people aren't as experienced - make sure you're in the 1st or 2nd row at the starting line so you can be near the front of the pack at the gun, at least for the first couple of turns. Corners - I've found that I need to keep my head up in the turns and not stare at the bike in front of me or beside me, but focus on the overall flow of the bikes. That way I've found that I naturally steer with the pack and can anticipate things better.

 

[chrispopovic]

This is my first year racing but every crit I've done so far has been a set amount of laps. Courses are usually one mile in length and range from 20-25 laps. Some others are 3 miles or so and you do 6 or 7 laps in Cat 4/5, 8 or 9 in Cat 3 and higher for the 1/2/3s. Turns are a ***** as even many experienced road riders (especially bigger guys) just can't get through the turns without slowing down significantly.

Pick your lines, stay to the front and for God's sake get out of the way if you can't get through the corners clean. And BE PREDICTABLE!!! Any hesitation or sudden movements will cause an immediate domino effect.

Be prepared. Fast road riders with no sprint or no interval training will get dropped. But as the other posters mentioned, you'll be surprised how quickly your endurance will increase.