sampson
05-03-02, 10:04 AM
i am very new to racing- i am involved in my first crit this weekend and have no idea what i am getting into. any suggestions or advice from anyone out there. it would be greatly appreciated. thank you.
Road Cycling - new to racing
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nathank
05-03-02, 10:35 AM
since i have no idea how experience/inexperienced you are, it's hard to give good tips...
the best would be to find someone to help you out - to try and ride with and do what he does, but if you don't already know someone it can often be tough for newbies in the road crowd...
make sure you know the basic stuff like riding safely in a paceline, keeping a line in a corner, and working with different groups passing or bridging a gap or being passed... it's very likely people will yell all kinds of stuff at you, but unfortunately about half of it will be worthless junk b/c you're an unknown in HIS way but not doing anything wrong... try and learn but don't get intimidated...
be particularly careful at the end during the sprint - riders will be flying in ever direction trying to get position and draft and then pass at the right time... just stick a wheel and do what he does unless you're sprinting to win -- if you as a newbie cut a regular off in the sprint you'll get an earful for it!
obviously, stay in the group and let someone else do the work (or if you're weaker, just try and stay with the group) -- drafting is your best friend - then leanr to read the pack and learn when to break and when to just 'sit in'
riding solo w/ a team in crits is pretty tough ---- i've done it for training when i was in a new city but it's hard to win b/c no one wants to work with you and others will block you - i did a break once with 2 guys and with 2 laps to go had a 1/2 lap lead and the 2 guys refused to help pull and just sat on my wheel and hit the brakes when i slowed or moved to the side so i tried unsuccessfully to pull 2 laps by myself, was caught with 1/2 lap to go and was dead for the sprint and finished like 20th or so!
good luck! and enjoy!
the best would be to find someone to help you out - to try and ride with and do what he does, but if you don't already know someone it can often be tough for newbies in the road crowd...
make sure you know the basic stuff like riding safely in a paceline, keeping a line in a corner, and working with different groups passing or bridging a gap or being passed... it's very likely people will yell all kinds of stuff at you, but unfortunately about half of it will be worthless junk b/c you're an unknown in HIS way but not doing anything wrong... try and learn but don't get intimidated...
be particularly careful at the end during the sprint - riders will be flying in ever direction trying to get position and draft and then pass at the right time... just stick a wheel and do what he does unless you're sprinting to win -- if you as a newbie cut a regular off in the sprint you'll get an earful for it!
obviously, stay in the group and let someone else do the work (or if you're weaker, just try and stay with the group) -- drafting is your best friend - then leanr to read the pack and learn when to break and when to just 'sit in'
riding solo w/ a team in crits is pretty tough ---- i've done it for training when i was in a new city but it's hard to win b/c no one wants to work with you and others will block you - i did a break once with 2 guys and with 2 laps to go had a 1/2 lap lead and the 2 guys refused to help pull and just sat on my wheel and hit the brakes when i slowed or moved to the side so i tried unsuccessfully to pull 2 laps by myself, was caught with 1/2 lap to go and was dead for the sprint and finished like 20th or so!
good luck! and enjoy!
sampson
05-03-02, 11:57 AM
excellent info- just what i was looking for. thank you.