"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Good primes / bad primes

I won a prime a couple weeks ago in a cat-4 state championship crit. I had no idea what I won until after the race. It ended up being a $10 gift cert. to a small antiques shop in the small town holding the race. Yay.

An early season crit gave out wheat grass pills to prime winners. Yay.

Not many great primes around here I guess.

What are some of the really bad, or really great primes you've won?

A huge German sausage (Alachua, FL crit). :D

in one of my races this season i won three primes: a $20 gift cert to a lbs, a big jar of cytomax (even gave me my choice of flavor) and a pair of smith glasses (with 3 sets of lenses and case worth $120) like the ones i already wear and that was worth more than first place which was $70, which i also won. i think i got my $20 worth for the entry fee

A case of pickle juice. I'm scared to actually try it.

primes are for the desperate or the very strong.

Flourescent green bottle cages + flourescent green saddle cover

50 individually packaged samples of Up Time (like a caffeine pill)

Used cycling jerseys

These were in junior class races, and I actually sat up to let someone else win the used jerseys.

I have actually seen crits where the prime was given to the last person across the line... and 2 or 3 people actually resorted to track stands to win them, throwing the race finish to the wind!

The best prime ever was the Potato Head prime for the Bandimere circuit race in Denver. Every category had a Mr. Potatohead Prime, every year, and people went after it harder than the win. You might come out of the Potatohead Prime with only 10 guys left in the pack, one of them smiling.

I saw Gerrit Glomsers mother being awarded a massive Wiesbauer sausage during the Tour of Austria.... sponsored by the sausage maker in question of course. THe guy who won the stage into Graz got given a bottle of the local Schilcher wine, which is very sharp indeed.
I've never won anything though. Collegiate only give out points, and I was off the back of my only USCF crit within a few laps!

Bag of rice, fresh from the fields.

Bag of rice, fresh from the fields.

At least it wasn't a fresh bucket of natto. :puke:

I took a couple of primes at a race last year and walked away with 8 boxs of powerbars, a bunch of cereal bars and like 8 things of gatorade mix, that wasnt too bad. Took a beer prime earlier in the year and also got some cheap tires.

If your not feeling too strong you can always take a prime and show yourself at the front of the race, even if you dont win, you were seen at or off the front.

I usually only sprint or attack for cash primes. The largest I have won was a $200 prime. I have seen much larger, the largest being the $5000 gamblers prime at the criterium at Interbike. Botto makes a good point, you usually have to have very good legs to get the good ones. I watched Bahati beat another guy for a pair of Oakleys at a race. On the backside the guy asked why Bahati would sprint for glasses. His answer cracked me up "Ebay baby".

Good:
Cat2/3 race. Won $50, $25 and a pair of decent Serfas sunglasses out of a break this year. Took third in the last prime, and it was only for the winner. Normally they give the primes to the field, but the organizers decided to give the break a chance.

Came in 7th when the dude in front of me inexplicably stopped pedalling 200m from the line and opened up a gap, which I was only able to close part of before the line. Made $125 and some shades for the day, minus $25 for entry.

Bad:
Cat3 race. As I've told in another thread a while back, some schmucks gave out urban camo bar tape. I intentionally sat up before the line to get passed as to avoid being the recipient of this dubious honor.


Cool:
Race organizers passing a 5 gallon bucket around. Not my race, but the winner of the prime walked away with a fist full of money, (like $63) and a variety of PBR, Old Style, Milwaukee's Best, etc. I think there might have been a Snickers, and half a pack of gum.

A huge German sausage (Alachua, FL crit). :D

Ooh, The Larsens' and their January training crit premes. I've won beer many times at their crits. Plus chocolate and chips.

Good: Large cup of lemonade after an hour long crit when it was 98* outside

The Pepsi-Lowenbrau classic was an ominium in Wisconsin many years ago. They had many primes for a case of Lowenbrau. I was an intermediate (14-15yr old) so our primes were cases of Pepsi. I also remember races in Oshkosh, WI (probably in the P-L classic or Superweek) with primes for a pair of overalls.

Some race in Southern Taiwan: Bars of soap (actually worked out OK).

Tour of Okinawa KOM (amateur): A pinapple (once we found a big 'ol knife, that worked out OK, too).

Best Primes: All currency (in the collective noun, sense).

Worst Primes: Any coupon that insists that I go somewhere I'd probably never go and then have to spend money to get my d**m prime!

Whats a prime? A sub-category in criterium races? A bit like white jersey, polka-dot jersey ect?

A "premium," which is a prize for winning a given mid-race lap in a crit, signaled by a bell

Ahh I see. Thank you.

$3 per prime at the training crits during the summer, the last race was $6.

I forgot to add: Bad or good (depending on how you look at it) was the Dash for Cash Criterium, when they had a cash prime every lap (or was it every other lap?). Good if you're a strong and fast rider, but terrible if you didn't feel like spending Sunday repeating Tuesday's interval workout.

I forgot to add: Bad or good (depending on how you look at it) was the Dash for Cash Criterium, when they had a cash prime every lap (or was it every other lap?). Good if you're a strong and fast rider, but terrible if you didn't feel like spending Sunday repeating Tuesday's interval workout.

CBR still does a Dash 4 Cash race in SoCal. The original was good because they had the $20 a lap plus $400 or $500 at the end. Now it is strictly $20 a lap. It's still a cool format if you're feeling good.

Prizes and primes that I have won...

-Pair of cycling socks
-$10 Canadian (twice)
-$20 gift certificate to a Canadian bike shop (race was in Canada, but after they closed) so I would have to pay to cross the border both ways, so I would have to find something less then $12 to actually make it worth it. But some guy offered me $20 cash for it. I took it.
-4 pack of Energy drinks.
-A Gary Fisher Team MTB hat for a 4th place finish in a crit
-An XL T-shirt (a few times) Thanks for a flag.

I forgot to add: Bad or good (depending on how you look at it) was the Dash for Cash Criterium, when they had a cash prime every lap (or was it every other lap?). Good if you're a strong and fast rider, but terrible if you didn't feel like spending Sunday repeating Tuesday's interval workout.

That would be one FAST crit.

Bech's Mustard
At a race in Elk Rapids, MI where they make the stuff.

It sounds bad, but it was actually pretty good stuff.

I won a prime a couple weeks ago in a cat-4 state championship crit. I had no idea what I won until after the race. It ended up being a $10 gift cert. to a small antiques shop in the small town holding the race. Yay.

An early season crit gave out wheat grass pills to prime winners. Yay.

Not many great primes around here I guess.

What are some of the really bad, or really great primes you've won?

Gift horses. STFU

Bell helmet. Sold it on the spot for gas money to get home.

That would be one FAST crit.

Come do the Tour of Elk Grove (IL). It's the week before USPRO, and NRC now, so all the big teams come. It's also the richest race in America, to my knowledge.

They changed the format up a bit this (Pro only), but last year, when it was Pro/1, they had a prime every other lap or so, including the first and second laps. Also had quarter, mid and second to last lap primes. The lowest one I heard was $100, and there were many between $200-500, several at $1000, and at least one $5000 prime.

Cat3 this year was 20min + 1lap, for $5000, Cat1/2 (no pros allowed) was 60k for $17,500.


http://tourofelkgrove.com/cm/PDFs/Prize%20listing.pdf

First race of the year I won a prime (no idea what at the time) and quickly followed after another rider attacked the peloton after the lap. He and I stayed away and had a 45 second gap when we got to 5 laps to go (no more free laps at this point). With three to go I noticed my rear end get a little loose as we climbed the only hill on the course, looked down, and realized I had flatted. I watched with disgust as my breakaway companion rode away to take the solo victory. After the race he found me and thanked me for pushing him during our break and encouraging him to continue. He then told me he planned on letting me take the victory when we got to the finish. I thought . . . "LET ME WIN?" I dragged his ass around for 3/4 of each lap, only needing him for a quick recovery periodically. I graciously told him thanks and told him he rode a great race. I have no idea what caused the flat though, and just chalked it up to bad luck. When all was done I went to pick up my prime prize and found that I had won a new pair of Schwalbe tires. They were blue. The funny thing is when I looked at the tag on them it boldly stated "PUNCTURE RESISTANT". Nice, I thought, I could have used these in the freaking race! :)

Cat3 this year was 20min + 1lap, for $5000

...were there any survivors?

That would be one FAST crit.
Absolutely! I think the MINIMUM speed in that crit was the AVERAGE in most other crits I had been in. Just as they started to wind down at turn 1 after the prime, they would take off into turn 2 back to a leadout pace.

Oh yeah, and any prime that I didn't realize I even won is a good prime.

Hmmm, I haven't had any really bad ones because I usually don't go for things that I won't have any use for. For example, I didn't accelerate when they announced a gift certificate to a picture framing shop, but I got both cash primes and either second or third in the same race, so I made out pretty well there.

Lots of things like bottle cages, lube, chain cleaning kits (by the way, does anyone need any of those things? :)). A fair bit of cash. Boxes of Powerbars, Gu, Gatorade powder, stuff like that.

Gift horses. STFU

Bell helmet. Sold it on the spot for gas money to get home.

.WTF?

primes are for the desperate or the very strong.



This explains why I've won way more primes than races.

Best: Beer

Worst: Purple marbled bar tape.

When I was a 4, I knew that I could attack for the 1st 56 minutes of any 60 minute crit, and if unsuccessful, still mix it up in a field sprint. So, I would often attack at the beginning or mid or hill or tight corner of a prime lap to get a gap, solo for the prime, and if gone, great, if not, so what. Got lots of bike shop gift certificates, chammois buttr, nutrition products, but also ended up with a bunch of goofy socks.

I was in a race this year where there was a prime for an easton ascent II wheelset. I tried my early attack for it, but no dice that time. Socks - the field lets you go; beer, wheelset, or cash - no way.

I was at a crit in Long Beach and feeling rather great. This one promoter has the habit of still "ringing out" primes within the last five laps. I needed to pay more attention but when I'm in the last five laps and I hear the bell, that means last lap to me. So.....I heard the bell and take off and I'm pulling away, my fist win a sure thing. I shoot across the line and throw my hands up only to be told over the PA to keep pedaling. Come to find out that was the second to last lap I had just won, I was too fried to even hold onto the back of the pack.

What did I win??? A pair of chocolate chip cookies from a local bakery.

I ate them and enjoyed every bite telling people I really wanted the cookies. Of course I wanted to kill the promoter and stick my head in a hole for being so stupid.

My garden had overloaded me with veggies so I donated two bags them to our local crit series. I was amazed that people actually battled it out for them :) In our series I've seen beer, cash, and sunglasses given as primes.

This explains why I've won way more primes than races.

Best: Beer

Worst: Purple marbled bar tape.

i used to rock the purple marbled tape (in 1993 ;)).

I was at a crit in Long Beach and feeling rather great. This one promoter has the habit of still "ringing out" primes within the last five laps. I needed to pay more attention but when I'm in the last five laps and I hear the bell, that means last lap to me. So.....I heard the bell and take off and I'm pulling away, my fist win a sure thing. I shoot across the line and throw my hands up only to be told over the PA to keep pedaling. Come to find out that was the second to last lap I had just won, I was too fried to even hold onto the back of the pack.

What did I win??? A pair of chocolate chip cookies from a local bakery.

I ate them and enjoyed every bite telling people I really wanted the cookies. Of course I wanted to kill the promoter and stick my head in a hole for being so stupid.
Was this part of the Long Beach series in the mid 90's? If so, I remember that and recall you giving the announcer a look when he said to keep pedalling. It was clear to everyone except him that you had given it your all because you thought it was the end.

I still would have gone for the cookies with my all, though, because I wouldn't have had a prayer in the sprint.


i used to rock the purple marbled tape (in 1993 ;)).
I did too! Worse yet, the bike didn't really have any purple on it save for the accessories my father had added (bar tape, seat bag, and bottle cages), which made me wonder why I was still rockin' the purple.

Was this part of the Long Beach series in the mid 90's? If so, I remember that and recall you giving the announcer a look when he said to keep pedalling. It was clear to everyone except him that you had given it your all because you thought it was the end.

I still would have gone for the cookies with my all, though, because I wouldn't have had a prayer in the sprint.


I did too! Worse yet, the bike didn't really have any purple on it save for the accessories my father had added (bar tape, seat bag, and bottle cages), which made me wonder why I was still rockin' the purple.

our bikes were red, but our shirts were purple.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/botto/tape.jpg

A 2 kg box of solid quince jam (for the guy that won, not me).

our bikes were red, but our shirts were purple.

Better than Gold Coast Velo. When they had the official meeting to decide the new colors, all the males skipped the meeting to go on a training ride. They ended up with solid pink jerseys with black trim and pink side panels on their shorts. They were lucky that Once was a recent memory then.

And my purple turned out lucky since the team I ended up joining was flourescent orange with purple and flourescent yellow trim. I gott bug my parents for the pictures so I can scan them and prove that I was once a skinny twig of an athlete.

Better than Gold Coast Velo. When they had the official meeting to decide the new colors, all the males skipped the meeting to go on a training ride. They ended up with solid pink jerseys with black trim and pink side panels on their shorts. They were lucky that Once was a recent memory then.

And my purple turned out lucky since the team I ended up joining was flourescent orange with purple and flourescent yellow trim. I gott bug my parents for the pictures so I can scan them and prove that I was once a skinny twig of an athlete.

Warner Velo?

Warner Velo?
DING DING DING! We have a winner!

I loved that jersey, as you could easily spot your teammate in a pack of 50 riders from 300m away. Unfortunately, the team later changed to "bullet silver" (gray) with purple and mustard yellow, and we blended into the pack like we weren't even there.

Urbanknight, what years did you race juniors?

I forgot to add: Bad or good (depending on how you look at it) was the Dash for Cash Criterium, when they had a cash prime every lap (or was it every other lap?). Good if you're a strong and fast rider, but terrible if you didn't feel like spending Sunday repeating Tuesday's interval workout.

yes it was a quick crit LoL - with .5 a lap to going into turn 3 i had my front tire swept by a rider that made an erratic move and went keeeersplat! Lots of RR on elbows and knees but that was nothing compared to the snapped collarbone I recieved :(

Ill be skipping that race next season :p

In my Teams (FFBC) race because of the broken collarbone I had to spectate but did offer up 100.00 in prime money for my sons b-day. The prime was split into two and made my boy smile when the announcer screamed out happy birthday Pascal and then we got to watch the 4's sprint for the 50.00 primes.

best-specialized saddle worth more than my 3rd place in the entire stage race
worst- a 6pack of expired gu.

I was at a crit in Long Beach and feeling rather great. This one promoter has the habit of still "ringing out" primes within the last five laps. I needed to pay more attention but when I'm in the last five laps and I hear the bell, that means last lap to me. So.....I heard the bell and take off and I'm pulling away, my fist win a sure thing. I shoot across the line and throw my hands up only to be told over the PA to keep pedaling. Come to find out that was the second to last lap I had just won, I was too fried to even hold onto the back of the pack.

When I took up racing again a few years ago I didn't realize the role of the bell had changed a bit. When I heard the bell it meant prime..so my dumb ass sprinted next time around and won, a little easier than most primes, but still tough enough..went to collect at the end of the race, found out all that bell ringing was just happy sounds. The good organizer pushed a bottle of Hammer Gel on me, everybody laughed, good times.

FWIW I love these off season threads:)

I am always amazed at what a chase for just about any type of prime. We have
regular "hamburger primes" at our weekly training race. It is a real gas to see these guys
chase it down for a burger.