EventServices

Um, that's not been my observation.
I see TT riders get wound pretty tight fidgeting with their equipment, warming up, getting focused, and generally fretting over every little detail. I've seen them snap at their friends who are trying to help them get ready. I've seen them obsess over every millimeter of their bike. I don't see them relaxing in the moments leading up to their start time. In fact, I see them go internal when they get out of bed on the day of the race. I refuse to travel with them.

Afterward, they're fine, but beforehand, not fine.

In constrast, the tone at the Pro-1-2 start line of Saturday's race in Grand Rapids was downright jovial. End of season, no stress, let's have fun, and race 'til our eyes bleed.

Two different sports that both use a bicycle.

Bullseye

Neat observations. I noticed the same thing about myself. I did both my first TT and first race [crit] this year. The TT was first; I was pretty stressed and nervous about it. I ended up doing very well.

For the crit[s], I was totally relaxed. Strangely relaxed, even, because my biggest fear was crashing, but I wasn't actively nervous about it. I did pretty well in these, too.

I enjoyed both, but you are right, they are vastly 'different sports' as you say.

-bullseye

patentcad

What I liked about the TT was that I didn't feel I was racing anybody but myself. Not for nothing, but most of the participants in a large TT aren't going to hit the podium or crack the top 10, so it is really more about 'how fast can I go on the course this year'. Then you can see how you stacked up to the other Cat 4's, 3's, 35 or 45+ vets, etc. You just put your head down and ride as hard as you can for as long as you can. You spend time training to see how aero and fast you can get with your technique, training, and gear. I'm enjoying that aspect of the whole TT thing. Really looking forward to Silvermine, the first time I'll be racing the TT bike I've been dialing in since July.

A TT is like my own private race. Love that.

Duke of Kent

You said the Giro, the Tour, or the Vuelta. None of those guys are trying to break the race open with a breakaway during a grand tour. They want to crush people on the last climb, or win the final sprint. That's all, nothing more.

This is your post that I responded to:


You started talking about one thing, then switch to another type or racing entirely. Of course they aren't going to take a pull in a grand tour. But in a one day Classic or similar race, you can bet your @ss they'd hit the front hard if they thought it would help them succeed. Which it often times does. Sometimes you need to do more than your fair share of the work to get away. Crazy, I know, but if you break legs and help people get away, they'll remember, and be more willing to work and help once the break is established.

And, in my experience a LOT of crits are won out of breaks.

Enthalpic

You mean you love it for the same reason people here rag on triathlons? You non-racing participant you.

urbanknight

That works in Cat 5 and some Cat 4 races, but seasoned racers know who's hiding in the draft and they know how to make them suffer when it counts. If you haven't experienced it yet, just wait. You will think all is going great when all the sudden you realize you aren't where you thought you were, then you're struggling, then you're staring at a bunch of lycra covered @$$es with the finish 300m ahead.

Duke of Kent

Edited and corrected.

@carlfreddy: Put on your man pants and go up the road. You just might enjoy yourself.

Bob Dopolina 

I've raced a ton of crits and love'm. That's the intensity that keeps me coming back for more.

Those guys sitting in (if we're talking about team tactics) are your sprinters. That's what they're supposed to do. If you're not a sprinter then sitting while the race stays together just means that you will be looking at a bunch of butts ride away from you in the last 100m.

If you're not a sprinter, or aren't working for one, you want to get yourself up the road. That's the only chance you stand. Doing that means you're going to have to do a little work. Someone else made a good point. You need to show that you are willing to work so that other will work with you. This is a tricky thing because you also need to work as little as possible. Finding that balance, along with the timing of those efforts, is what is called experience.

There are also times when you find yourself in a position to force a selection. If you can make that happen, recover and then benefit by the selection, that is another example of when it is good to work. Maybe that's how you shell the sprinters and then you can sit in until later when it's time to go.

There are a ton of scenarios when it is worth the effort to work. But, like I said, it comes down to that balance and timing.

carlfreddy

If it's a just a training race I like to move up and down in the pack (gotta work on your pack riding skillZ sometime, and the best way to move up is always inside the pack), otherwise I make it a point to never be further back than 15th wheel.

And just as a frame of reference, not a single break stuck over labor day weekend during the Pro/1/2 races of the Gateway Cup. No one was able to open up even a 30 second gap.

Bob Dopolina 

So, if a sprinter shows up (and you're not one yourself) you might just as well go home then 'cause everyone knows a break never sticks. Heck, why even show up at all 'cause there's always at least one or two sprinters' teams at every race. Well, if you're not going to show up why bother training. If you're not going to train might as well sell the bikes and develop an interest in something that has a guaranteed outcome, like WWF or American Idol.

I've seen and been in lots of breaks that stick. It's about getting the right combination of guys up the road at the right time and not having a sprinters' team that is overly dominant.

Snap

Say it ain't so!!

I don't sprint too well, never won a big bunch sprint. If the race is coming down to one of these, I'm screwed. I figure that I can try to make something happen and get off the front or just ride around and hope for the best. If I blow up and finish in the pack or off the back, it's all the same as a sprint finish to me. The second option isn't racing, it's a group ride that just cost $30.

NomadVW 

I've not raced many crits, I personally like the longer circuits. I will pull through to the front and push the pace up to see how the other folks are feeling and if I'm able to stretch the break out a little bit @/above threshold or at whatever tempo I think I can go away near the end, not long and not a true attack. There are plenty of reasons to take the front.

Anyway, I had nothing better to do at work than post a response to this thread.

patentcad

Triathlons or triathletes are just fine with Pcad. But they do scare me a bit on Sunday rides when they ride like this:

Snap

I did a tri relay with my daughter and a friend of mine. It was an absolute blast. Totally different than a bike race. Anouncer kept on about how this wasn't about beating the guy next to you, but about Personal Best. Then they had food. Lots of familys hanging around. A lot more women that at a bike race. All ages of people. But, at the end of the day, if I line up and somebody yells GO! I want to win, not do better than last year. Some people were obviously there to win, but most were participating.

Even if they are scary on group rides.

patentcad

Yep. The tri-vibe RULES.

KendallF

That's it dude. I'm bringing out the tri bike the next time I see you and I'm gonna wobble into your wheel.

patentcad

Pcad is not scary on a TT bike. But then I am not a bike handling ******. I'm actually starting to feel like quite the TT Ninja. A slow TT Ninja to be sure, but a TT Ninja nonetheless.



I will have to drag the Slice out on the Tour de Phred over the winter.

DrWJODonnell

Pcad, try not to pass me too quickly at Silvermine.

To address the OP? I think MOST people tend to be a bit nervous at staart lines in either case. With a TT you are not often in front of, or behind friends, so you are not likely to be having the "deep" conversations with anyone. However, at almost all TTs I have been at, the people in front or behind know me and will start up a conversation and I will do the same if I know someone. TTs seem VERY relaxed during the warm up process, but that is usually because I am warming up with teammates.

Crits are also not tending to display prima donna elitism either. Again, usually am around the start with teammates and friends so talking is easy, but I tend to clown around and try some banter with the official to lighten the mood up because everyone is there to have fun. I have only come across a few "snobs" and for some reason they were in the lower cats, not the upper.

San Rensho 

No, its called a cat 5 race, where everyone just sits up waiting for someone to go off the front.

patentcad

But you claimed to have not taken drugs since childhood. The delusional statement above belies that statement.

waterrockets 

I had a lot of fun when I "stopped" racing, and two years later did a Cat 5 race for fun on a one-day. Everybody was going so slow, so I went to the front and tried to get everyone to go even slower. We had to be doing like 10mph. Every time someone tried to pass (not really attacking), I'd half-wheel them back down to a crawl. I have no idea what was going on in everyone's head, but this went on for like 2 minutes. Funniest thing.

Then, when the pace did get back up close to 20, I faded into the pack. Then I started attacking with feigned efforts, and everyone responded like there was a bomb behind us. After about 5 of those, half the pack had died off the back. Really silly that day.

UT_Dude

I'm gonna have to do that some day.

mollusk

That is just cruel. Funny as hell, but cruel.

waterrockets 

Yeah, it's funny how different the response is in different fields. 5s freak out and chase you. Cat 3s probably have the pace too high to even mess with it without full commitment. M35+ will just let you go without any response at all, knowing that they're going to either absorb you into the real break or run you over later.

Bob Dopolina 

Yarrr! That's some funny stuff.

We have some feisty noobs with something to prove around here that I sometimes mess with if they get out of hand during our training rides. Your experience sounds like even more fun. I bet there are still guys wondering what the heck was going on!