Crits, and CORNERING
 

Im going to start racing in some weekly crits in my area. I hear crits are alot different than normal road races.

I know the pack of riders in a crit is usually alot tighter than other races, and im just asking for tips and advice.

Ive been riding with a local club doing b+/a rides for a long time now, but we never practice being ina TIGHT group, its always just a paceline or double paceline.

Anyone have any tips for riding in a tight pack? I imagine it is a bit hectic at first, always thinking your going to get too close and lock bikes up, the only part I especially worry about is hitting turns at 25-30mph with a tight pack. Ive been told to just stay right on the wheel of the person in front of me through the turns.

Any other tips?

I also know there are some tips and tricks on fast cornering, I can hit turns at like, 23-25mph, but I want to just know more about the techniques for faster cornering.

thank you!
-nick

If you are racing in beginner crits, you will not be riding throught tight corners at 25mph, unless you are in the first 5 places.

You are correct in worrying about the corners, but not for the reason you think it will be.

You will be going 25mph plus on the straights, and then some A-hole will put the brakes on for the first corner, slowing everyone down behind him to about 17mph, then its a 30mph sprint to catch back on again. Repeat for the rest of the race pretty much.

No one wants to go more than 3 wide through the corners, but they all want to ride 8 wide down the straights, it just doesnt work.

Just follow the wheel in front of you, and try not to swerve off of the arc you are turning along.

I'm pretty new to crits and pretty much suck at them compared to RR's and TT's. However, I've been making small improvements in ability to do them by riding a bit smarter each time. In fact, I just did a crit this morning and felt noticeably better than in the other two I did earlier this year. Here's what I did different this time:

(1) I did a very thorough warm up.
20' easy
10' tempo
3' rest
5' LT
5' easy
2' Vo2/AC zone
5'easy
30" fast spinning effort
5' easy

got to the line right after this.

(2) I don't have a very good sprint so I rode this crit differently. In the other two, I sprint my a$$ off out of every corner. This killed me and I would feel like crap after maybe 5', 10' tops then I was done. This time the more thorough warmup helped me feel better about trying to stay towards the front, but not at the front. However, there were still a lot of decelerations going into the corners. Instead off braking and then accelerating every time, I tried not to touch the brakes, but let a small gap open up to the rider in front of me. Then instead of having to brake and accelerate, I'd already be moving at a decent clip and could gradually increase my speed instead of having to do it hard every time.

This helped me last longer today and feel better.


Crits are as addictive as crack, but they are a whole different ball game.

Stay near the front, but not on it- you'll get a lot less of the slinky action if you're in the first 15 or so riders. It can get all goofy near the back, especially with inexperienced riders, and really takes it out of your legs accelerating back up after every corner. And what snicklefritz said (both things) are good suggestions-- you don't want to spend energy mashing out of every corner.

I'm a lazy-ass trackie so I used to stay in a small gear and spin a little extra coming out of corners. Now I'm just too lazy to bother with crits, and stick to the track for racing, which is more addictive than crack. It distills away all the bits of the race where not much is happening and packs everyone into a smaller space with no shifters or brakes.

+1. Try to be as smooth as possible. Resist the temptation to jam on the brakes. If you need to slow down, do it before the corner, not in it. Do not overlap wheels. And keep your upperbody loose, elbows flexed so you can deal with the inevitable bumping.

Also don't lock your eyes on the wheel you're following; keep it in your vision, but also look up the road so you can see what's developing ahead.

Watch videos of Paolo Savoldelli, he is the fastest cornerer I've ever seen.

I saw Steve Tillford at the Snake Alley Criterium last weekend. Every time he came into a corner on the descents, I thought he was going to eat it. I have never seen a person whip a bike over that hard and not go down. Absolutely amazing.

Well, Tilford comes from a mountain biking background, so his bike handling skills are excellent.

Hmm, maybe that's food for thought. We should all hop on our mountain bikes and start cornering on the trails...then on the road, it'll be a piece of cake.

Lean your body instead of the bike so you won't hit the pedals on the ground. Aside from that, follow the wheel in front of you like you said. You will feel cramped by the tight spaces, but you can't freak out or YOU will be the cause of a crash. Once you get comfortable with the traffic, glance down through a corner and muse at the fact that you're directly over the wheels of the guy next to you. But don't muse for more than .1 seconds! lol

As others have said, don't overlap wheels and dont use your brakes.

Like merlin said, you should be looking at what is happening up front, but at the same time being aware of the wheel in front of you. This is one of the most important skills of bike racing,and it takes time.

I call it the zen of bike racing, being able to "look nowhere, but see everything". The only way you are going to be competitive is if you get your head out of the wheel in front of you and see what the pack is doing ahead. If the front of the pack is slowing down, then you know to start looking for a hole to move up into before the guy ahead of you has even slowed down. If the front is picking up, you are ready to go hard before the guy ahead of you has sped up.

Looking ahead is even more important and more difficult in corners. Look into the corner early, don't be fixated on the bike in front of you and turn when he starts to turn. Don't react to his turn, turn where you have decided to turn. By looking into the corner early, you will see the line of riders that is turning in front of you and be able to blend in smoothly with the flow of the turn.

Now some mechanics. When you turn, you do so by countersteering. If you want to turn left, you turn the bars to the right until the bike leans over to the left to the degree that you want it to. Countersteering is razor precise and very fast. If you don't consciously countersteer, this is the first thing that you have to work at, you will never be able to turn fast without it.

The second thing is to put all your weight on your outside foot. Push down on the outside foot until you feel all the pressure off your butt. This keeps your center of gravity as low as possible which gives you the most stability in case you slip, and makes your bike the most maneuverable in case you have to make a drastic line change.

This is the drill that I go through for a fast corner.

1. As I appraoch, I downshift if necessary.
2. Then, as I turn my head to look into the corner, I stop pedaling and get all my weight on the outside foot.
3. Still looking into the corner, I initiate the countersteer and I'm in.

Going fast around corners is THE reason I love to race.

Just because someone has a mountain biking background does not mean they're good bike handlers, i.e. Cadel Evans.

Riding pacelines properly in training will give you most of the skills required to fit in with the pack in a crit race. Keep it smooth, follow predictable and safe lines, don't use you brakes, and don't look behind you in a pack situation (it's not necessary and can cause a mishap).

When you start out in crits make sure you stay relaxed. Because of the close nature of crit racing it's easy to get too anxious or jumpy, but it doesn't need to be like that. You'll be pretty hyped up with adrenalin but you can still keep a level head and shoulders and arms relaxed.

If you are on the inside line going into a corner make sure you have enough racing room, even if that means calling for it. If you're on the outside line make sure you give anyone underneath you enough room to take the corner comfortably, and don't go in so hot that you'll never make it out of the corner!

To make life easy on yourself select the gear that you want to be in when you accelerate out of the corner before you arrive into the corner. And make sure you look through the corner to find the best exit line.

If everyone in the pack behaves sensibly then it should all flow along nicely. Occaissionally you might get bumped or squeezed: don't panic. Accept the bump without getting knocked off line (or off the bike!!) then forget about it and get on with racing.

Have fun, and give 'em hell. :)

simple,

hold your line, it's best to stay predictable, and take it on the inside and go inside out (if possible) and acellerate out of the corner. Dont get up and hammer but speed up your cadence. When you acellerate out of the corner it eleminates the need to for you to have to sprint 4 times a lap.

+1. How about Michael Rasmussen! Remember last year's TDF time trial? Dude crashed 3 times! LOL.

Bob

For clarification: Tilford was a road racer LONG before mountain bikes came along.

One not yet mentioned: turn once. Don't divide the corner into several small turns. Learn to pick your line and stick to it. That will keep your speed up.

Also remember that centrifugal force will take crashes outward. Try to take the corner on the inside.

And throughout the race: always use the ol' SIPDE process:
Scan the scene
Identify the problems
Predict what will happen
Decide what to do to avoid it
Execute.

If you call for it, you can fully expect the door to be slammed. The rider in front of you has NO obligation to leave room for you to pass on the inside.

True. A rider in front is not responsible for what happens to the guys behind in a race situation (except in the case of deliberate or excessive braking that causes a crash).

Sorry I wasn't clear enuf: when your are racing side by side through a corner the inside rider must be given racing room, and can call for racing room if they are being placed in danger by a squeeze.

In Oz we like to go to work on Monday, so safe riding is expected especially in the lower grades. Dunno how it works in other parts of the world.

I got an email from USCF not too long ago telling riders in no uncertian terms to quit diving for the inside line of a corner and yelling "inside" expecting to be given room. Officals have been seeing more of it as of late - and many associated crashes.

I think too many people confuse racing and recreational riding in this respect. If you want a spot, expect to take it - not to have it given to you - in fact, as Event Services said, expect to have the other racers squash your request should you voice it before you execute your move.

What Smoothie said and...

Keep your head up and your eyes up the field. If you fixate on the wheel in front of you you'll miss things up ahead that could save you from crashing or get you chucked of the back.

And don't be afraid to go up front and take some wind from time to time. You won't die, honest. If you're leading you control the pace and there's zero nobility in wheelsucking in an entry level event. Heck, attack a few times and see if folks come with you in a break. It's the best way to learn how to race and it's fun.

Pet peeve of mine. Its simple, if you're inside me entering the corner I'll give you the inside at the apex, if you're not I won't. If you are stuck in a situation where you are overlapping me to the inside then a little shout or a touch on the hip would likely be met with some courtesy. But dont use that situation to your advantage or next time you are hooked.

+1.

That's how I handle things. Sometimes the group is going through a turn 3 across and a little "reminder" from someone on the inside can prevent needless grief/injury. No point in risking a crash to hold your spot on the 10th corner of a 160-turn crit.

On the other hand, on the final turn before the sprint finish, don't try calling "inside". You better get there first. Position is nine-tenths of the law.

Bob

I definitely here "inside" yelled A LOT in the races I do. I'm one of them, but I only say it if I am next to someone going into a corner. They may not see me so I casually say (not shout) "I'm inside you *team name*" Usually they say "gotcha" or "ok". Note that I don't expect them to move over, but I'm just making sure that they are going to hold their line and not do something stupid. IN that position they will go down as easily as me if they cut in, because I'm right next to them...

On the other hand, I've been in races where people would yell INSIDE as they are trying to squeeze by. Screw that. If I here it and you aren't next to me, expect me to slowly and smoothly move over so there is no way in hell you will get by me. Note that I'm not swerving into the gutter and taking out a wheel if they are over lapped, but an inch at a time I'll make it clear that they aren't getting past me.

Feel free to Yell at them.

Careful.

Countersteer? Wouldn't the bike flip over to the right? If you are leaning to the left but turn your wheel to the right wouldn't you just flip over in a fast corner?

I've heard and read this a bunch of times, but am still not buying the science behind this.
Anyone have step by step breakdown with some physics behind it?

Thanks