Training for criteriums?

[ryan16]

Hey everyone. Next season I will be really focusing on crits. and I want to dominate my cat 4-5 group. Starting January 1st I will focus on next season but the rest of this year I want to just ride and not lose my current fitness. My question is what should my training look like for next year, and what should I really really focus on to be really strong in crit racing? I will be doing a base of about 12 weeks should I really worry about long distance training? What are some key workouts that would make the biggest differences?

Thanks everyone for your help!

 

[AussieRob]

Get to the track.

A crit is really: ride fast corner, ride fast corner, ride fast corner ... sprint

If you want to kill them you need to be explosive out of the corners so you are right there for the sprint. The other skill you need in a crit is to be able to move up through the pack and to hold you position. All these skills are track skills.

btw most track clubs will let you borrow a track bike if you don't have one, give them a call and see what they say.

 

[palewin]

Hopefully the "real coaches" will chime in, but here are some thoughts from a "coachee" rather than a coach. (Quick background, my Masters racing schedule in NJ is probably 2/3rds crits, not by my choice, but that's what they run...) The difficulty is that while crits would appear to be an almost "unique" class of races, the overall conditioning requirements are the same as any form of road racing. You do need the long base miles to support the specialized training which comes closer to, and during, race season. You still need to maximize sustainable power, even though in the crit itself, you aren't "on power" too long before you set up for the next turn. (The max sustainable power works as the "reserve" you're using up with all the small accelerations. The more you have in the tank, the more you have left for the crucial last few laps.) So the key workouts look virtually the same, whether you're doing a 50-mile circuit race or a 1-hour crit. For sustainable power, something like the classic 2x20min LT intervals. For VO2max, something like 4x3min max-effort/high-cadence intervals (work/recovery 1:1). The most "crit-like" workout I know consists of sets of 4x30sec VO2 intervals - while the 30sec of work seems short, you don't get enough time in the 30sec recovery to really recover, so by the 4th work interval of the set you're (at least I'm) really gasping for air - that workout is closest to crit riding. (I've never done more than 2 sets in one workout). Of course (and I apologize for stating the obvious) the best crit training is to find an early-season mid-week crit training series, and ride those.

 

[frenchyge]

If you want to kill them you need to be explosive out of the corners so you are right there for the sprint. The other skill you need in a crit is to be able to move up through the pack and to hold you position. All these skills are track skills.

Personally, I had a lot more success hanging in this year's training crits by trying to be smooth through the corners rather than exploding out of them. I could slip up through the pack by spinning smoothly through the corners and sliding up into the gaps formed by the guys standing and grunting on the exit of the corners. I felt this was less taxing on my body in addition to being faster (ie, letting me move up through the pack).

Anyway, I agree that Levels 4 (LT), 5 (VO2) and 6 (Anaerobic Capacity) are your big friends for hanging in a crit. Of course, you'd better be able to sprint if you want to win it, so work on that too.

 

[martin_g]

Hopefully the "real coaches" will chime in, but here are some thoughts from a "coachee" rather than a coach. (Quick background, my Masters racing schedule in NJ is probably 2/3rds crits, not by my choice, but that's what they run...) The difficulty is that while crits would appear to be an almost "unique" class of races, the overall conditioning requirements are the same as any form of road racing. You do need the long base miles to support the specialized training which comes closer to, and during, race season. You still need to maximize sustainable power, even though in the crit itself, you aren't "on power" too long before you set up for the next turn. (The max sustainable power works as the "reserve" you're using up with all the small accelerations. The more you have in the tank, the more you have left for the crucial last few laps.) So the key workouts look virtually the same, whether you're doing a 50-mile circuit race or a 1-hour crit. For sustainable power, something like the classic 2x20min LT intervals. For VO2max, something like 4x3min max-effort/high-cadence intervals (work/recovery 1:1). The most "crit-like" workout I know consists of sets of 4x30sec VO2 intervals - while the 30sec of work seems short, you don't get enough time in the 30sec recovery to really recover, so by the 4th work interval of the set you're (at least I'm) really gasping for air - that workout is closest to crit riding. (I've never done more than 2 sets in one workout). Of course (and I apologize for stating the obvious) the best crit training is to find an early-season mid-week crit training series, and ride those.

This is great advice for crits although i'd still remember to do some good solid base training (at least a month of riding <80%HRMAX) before progressing to the specific training above.
You won't need to do the long miles associated with training for road racing though. Two hour rides will be enough.
Those 30sec intervals will really help you get out of the corners.
check out www.50topbikeracingtips.com
There's some good stuff on Crit riding in there

 

[ryan16]

Thanks everyone for your replys. I am going to put in the 12 weeks of a good solid long base and then I am going to build on that and put in lots of time doing intervals and sprints, and hopefully build quite a bit of power and I will be able to do really well and maybe even move up to cat 3 this year.

Thanks and happy training