The course was 1.1 miles and basically a rectangle. There were two 180degree turns. The first was a classic hairpin (very tight!) followed by an uphill “S” turn. Then a fairly steep downhill into two 90 degree turns, you basically took it as a hairpin. There was a 500m uphill from the last turn to the finish. I was racing in the 35 and older Cat-5. It was a strong field, and very little stupid bike handling… A couple of long cracks in the center of the road on the straightaways made positioning tough…I managed to stay in the field for the entire race but was on the back of it on the finish.
Not sure if it was just perception, but the older cat-5 field seamed a little tighter. I am usually thinking that I want to move up to the 4’s asap, but this was an enjoyable field…
Two back to back crits with long courses and hills is showing some weaknesses in my conditioning! I am for sure stronger on classic flat four corner half mile crits! Maybe that comes from all the time I spend on the track.
no reason why this would be more of an issue on the road than on the track.
You have 5 only masters? Are there 4 only masters too? Down here masters get screwed with everyone being together most of the time but 5/4 masters races usually see a much higher level of competency that open 5/4 races.
[quote=“dutret”]
You have 5 only masters? Are there 4 only masters too? Down here masters get screwed with everyone being together most of the time but 5/4 masters races usually see a much higher level of competency that open 5/4 races.[/quote]
Not usually. This race, “San Pedro Grand Prix” happened to have a 34 and under cat-5, and a 35 and over cat-5.
I don’t think sharp turns should be too much of a problem. Perhaps a better rule would be to only allow bikes with track geometry and 165mm cranks. Or better yet, Only allow clipless pedals. Or to add a challenge, one should learn how to skid through the sharpest of turns.
And I agree that the solid drivetrain wouldn’t be any more dangerous.
I would say this is the main problem. I had pedal strike on one of the turns on sunday on a road bike with 172.5 cranks and I had the ability to not pedal until I was almost entirely through the turn, and I still hit.
Don’t forget that the most common way to strike a pedal on the track is to go through a corner on steep banked track at too low of a speed. When you go to slow you are upright and you strike your right hand pedal. Pedal strike on the left side pedal does not occur, not just because the bottom bracket is high or because the cranks are short (7mm) but because the banking puts the surface you would strike further from the left pedal.
Average speed in a cat-5 crit is 23-26 mph and it doesn’t slow much in the turns. the only way to hold a steady line through a turn like that is to lean into it and drop your knee. this would be quite advanced riding on a fixed gear…
Imagine that corner fixed, with 50+ other guys all going around it together, some of them bumping you, or riding sketchy in front of you, and all of them thinking they have a shot at winning!
If you go off the back and then catch the pack, your total race energy output is so much higher than it would of been had you not gone OTB! Its always easier to just stay inside no matter what!
Cornering drills are key!
Show up to the line sweating! A solid 30 minutes or more on rollers with a couple of Jump/interval sections, then ride easy till right up till you go to the line!
Here’s a question for youz with crit experience. Everytime I saw someone jump out in front (sometimes way up front) for a lap, two or even 5 they end up coming around at the very back of the pack very soon. Why would they leave the pack just to get eaten up by it after just a couple laps? Doesn’t seem like good strategy to me.
yeah, but i bet for the storyland crit, being in the pack was more of a matter of having people in yr sights, not getting much draft behind them. too thin and slow-then-fast-then-slow-for-turns, based on the video. which, by the way, i simply cannot stop watching…
I went into my first crits thinking that I would be smart, suck wheel, work on positioning, and set my self up for the inevitable sprint at the end. But the reality is that if you are a racer you go out there and you fucking race! Not everybody can suck wheel the whole race. There has to be someone at the front. There has to be people that drive the pace. otherwise everyone could just circle around at a comfortable pace and just sprint the last 200m.
Sometimes you sneak past the pack without much effort, maybe they decelerate while you are on the outside. If you are the kind of person who wants to race, you will probably take your shot no matter how futile. If you get off the front you only have to work as hard as the front guy on the peloton to hold your lead. Get off with another guy and you can split that load.
I wont get to carried away with this, but for me, it is not really about winning or even placing well in these races. Sometimes I am racing with friends and I am trying to help them, sometimes it is just fun to attack! this shit is supposed to be fun! Go out and tear it up! I just love being in it and competing!
On my race on Saturday, the one with the killer hill, I suddenly was in position to cruz past the field. I took my shot! It felt fucking great out there, then I got sucked up and spit OTB fast and hard! Still a great day at the races in my book!
There is a 1/8 mile (approximate) wide strait that runs the length of the park just outside in the parking lot. The first couple of laps it was nice to be tucked in behind every one. It was about 32 degrees F. with a gusty head wind.
Once you make the turn back into the park it’s tight narrow and twisty and drafting is not much of a factor.
Looks like the dates are set but the registration page is not up yet.
I went into my first crits thinking that I would be smart, suck wheel, work on positioning, and set my self up for the inevitable sprint at the end. But the reality is that if you are a racer you go out there and you fucking race! Not everybody can suck wheel the whole race. There has to be someone at the front. There has to be people that drive the pace. otherwise everyone could just circle around at a comfortable pace and just sprint the last 200m.
Sometimes you sneak past the pack without much effort, maybe they decelerate while you are on the outside. If you are the kind of person who wants to race, you will probably take your shot no matter how futile. If you get off the front you only have to work as hard as the front guy on the peloton to hold your lead. Get off with another guy and you can split that load.
I wont get to carried away with this, but for me, it is not really about winning or even placing well in these races. Sometimes I am racing with friends and I am trying to help them, sometimes it is just fun to attack! this shit is supposed to be fun! Go out and tear it up! I just love being in it and competing!
On my race on Saturday, the one with the killer hill, I suddenly was in position to cruz past the field. I took my shot! It felt fucking great out there, then I got sucked up and spit OTB fast and hard! Still a great day at the races in my book![/quote]
Ok, I understand racing to win. It seemed obvious to me though at 5 minutes in nobody was going to win that way, and mostly it was guys who didn’t have a team doing it (or not in the same kit at least). So why?
a lot of the time the pace will feel slow when you are sitting in and you tend to naturally start moving up. sometimes people who have no business on the front end up there… maybe they tried to move up and couldn’t figure out how to get back in the pack so they move out into the wind and bury themselves, digging such a deep hole in the process that they get spit OTB shortly after being collected by the group. also, if you don’t feel you have the legs to contest the race on any given raceday, it can be alot of fun to just attack your nuts off til you pop. there’s some innuendo for you, perverts.
