I'm going to go try a criterium today... - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

RC Vikings · 07-26-2008, 07:29 PM

http://www.idahocycling.com/events/A...t_flyer_08.pdf

In all my years of riding I've never raced in a crit before. The style plays into my strengths but I hope I don't kill myself.

bluegoose · 07-26-2008, 08:15 PM

When my brother was finishing school in Poky, he did a weekly (I think) race series. IIRC it went for a couple of months and included a pretty active community of regular riders.

Have fun and don't hurt yourself. At least not your typing fingers so we can get a race report.

MikeWaters · 07-26-2008, 08:17 PM

Good luck. Hold your line in the turns, and hope no one takes you out.

bluegoose · 07-26-2008, 08:43 PM

Keep your elbows out and don't be afraid to use them.

creekster · 07-27-2008, 04:19 AM

RC I look forward to the report. Hope it went well.

RC Vikings · 07-27-2008, 06:51 AM

Race report. Someone should have warned me that 35+ meant cat 1 & 2's that were a little older. We get to the starting line after a short warm up and I recognize a couple of guys from Boise from when I first started riding. These two guys were the best two in Idaho at the time and both of them looked like that hadn't slowed down at all. Only about fifteen guys and all but three of them were in team jerseys, me, some guy with thighs the size of redwoods and a slightly heavy guy.

We take off and it is freakin fast. By the time we hit the second corner we are in the high twenty's and my HR is already in the 170's. We go along for about five minutes with me doing everything I can just to hold on. My heart is screaming, my throat is already dry and I know I can't continue on for five more minutes let alone the 35 more that the race was going to last. I had to back off and ride alone for awhile.

I'm by myself for the next 15 minutes and the main group laps me once. I'm still trying to hit 23 to 24 on the flats and carry about 20 through the corners but I was fried from those first five minutes. Finally I hooked up the the slightly overweight guy and we traded off for about the ten minutes. After the race I thanked him for the help and he said he was from Draper and had done about 50 crits this year. I felt better about sharing the load with him after hearing that.

The two of us finally hooked on with three other guys for the last ten minutes. Out of all the guys that finished I believe I finished dead last. It was an experience but I learned that doing 50 to a 100 mile rides at around 20 mph does not prepare you for a crit.

Later that evening about ten of the guys in our group raced in the cat 1/2 race.

I'm still just a fat old guy trying to keep it upright.

MikeWaters · 07-27-2008, 02:51 PM

well, when you start it is better to start at the bottom rung. with the Cat 5s, but they are also the most dangerous.

the way I understand it, the hardest part about a critt, and what you have to train for is the accelerations.

So you have to train with intervals. Do seven minute intervals going all-out. Then ride tempo back to the starting point and do 2 more repetitions of that.

If you incorporate this into your workout a couple times a week, you will find that your ability to stay with a group increases dramatically.

07-26-2008, 07:29 PM	#1
RC Vikings Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Rexburg, Idaho Posts: 2,236	I'm going to go try a criterium today... http://www.idahocycling.com/events/A...t_flyer_08.pdf In all my years of riding I've never raced in a crit before. The style plays into my strengths but I hope I don't kill myself. __________________ "I always rode to my limit. If I won by three minutes, that's because I couldn't make four." Eddy Merckx

07-27-2008, 04:19 AM	#5
creekster Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: the far corner of my mind Posts: 8,711	RC I look forward to the report. Hope it went well. __________________ Sorry for th e tpyos.

07-27-2008, 06:51 AM	#6
RC Vikings Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Rexburg, Idaho Posts: 2,236	Race report. Someone should have warned me that 35+ meant cat 1 & 2's that were a little older. We get to the starting line after a short warm up and I recognize a couple of guys from Boise from when I first started riding. These two guys were the best two in Idaho at the time and both of them looked like that hadn't slowed down at all. Only about fifteen guys and all but three of them were in team jerseys, me, some guy with thighs the size of redwoods and a slightly heavy guy. We take off and it is freakin fast. By the time we hit the second corner we are in the high twenty's and my HR is already in the 170's. We go along for about five minutes with me doing everything I can just to hold on. My heart is screaming, my throat is already dry and I know I can't continue on for five more minutes let alone the 35 more that the race was going to last. I had to back off and ride alone for awhile. I'm by myself for the next 15 minutes and the main group laps me once. I'm still trying to hit 23 to 24 on the flats and carry about 20 through the corners but I was fried from those first five minutes. Finally I hooked up the the slightly overweight guy and we traded off for about the ten minutes. After the race I thanked him for the help and he said he was from Draper and had done about 50 crits this year. I felt better about sharing the load with him after hearing that. The two of us finally hooked on with three other guys for the last ten minutes. Out of all the guys that finished I believe I finished dead last. It was an experience but I learned that doing 50 to a 100 mile rides at around 20 mph does not prepare you for a crit. Later that evening about ten of the guys in our group raced in the cat 1/2 race. I'm still just a fat old guy trying to keep it upright. __________________ "I always rode to my limit. If I won by three minutes, that's because I couldn't make four." Eddy Merckx

07-26-2008, 08:15 PM	#2
bluegoose Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,919	When my brother was finishing school in Poky, he did a weekly (I think) race series. IIRC it went for a couple of months and included a pretty active community of regular riders. Have fun and don't hurt yourself. At least not your typing fingers so we can get a race report.

07-26-2008, 08:17 PM	#3
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	Good luck. Hold your line in the turns, and hope no one takes you out.

07-26-2008, 08:43 PM	#4
bluegoose Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,919	Keep your elbows out and don't be afraid to use them.

07-27-2008, 02:51 PM	#7
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	well, when you start it is better to start at the bottom rung. with the Cat 5s, but they are also the most dangerous. the way I understand it, the hardest part about a critt, and what you have to train for is the accelerations. So you have to train with intervals. Do seven minute intervals going all-out. Then ride tempo back to the starting point and do 2 more repetitions of that. If you incorporate this into your workout a couple times a week, you will find that your ability to stay with a group increases dramatically.