deadprez012

First crit tonight on a mostly left-turning loop (between 1/3 mile & 1/2 mile). Didn't get dropped, and never even fell off the paceline, but when I bit on an early break, I got left after a 3/4 lap. Paceline was moving about 30kph at the time, the guy in the break probably did 40kph or so while I rolled with him, but I just couldn't stay on as he got faster.

So the line caught him about 15 minutes later, there were a few other small breaks and I rode with the line and we caught up again. At 5 laps to go, another guy broke and I rolled with him.

He started to wear, so I pulled a little, and we pulled well away from the line. I went a bit wide and slow into a horseshoe turn just before the sprint to the line on the 3rd to last lap, he got out of the saddle, I went with him, we launched at about 50kph as someone said later, and by the line I was just out of matches.

While I spun to resurrect the legs, I noticed one other guy had ridden our wheel; he blasted past me and rolled with the lead man to the finish. By the very end, I had enough to sprint in and take third.

So, other than losing it on the two breaks, I didn't have any issue keeping the pace, or even pushing it when we were near the catches. I never felt real exhaustion (anaerobic failure during the breaks is different) throughout the race, so my overall fitness seems prepared for this.

But on those two breaks, particularly the first one, even when the guy wasn't sprinting I could feel him leaving me.

Tips for improving? I come from long, steady cycling and have been in TT-style riding for a few months, so there could be lots to crit racing I could work on. All off season our club is riding crits like this weekly, so there's plenty of time to improve.

Focus on sprinting? General fitness? Tactics? And if tactics, what really deserves the most attention as a crit racer?

Racer Ex 

Writing clean and concise narratives that eschew the use of terms common to centuries and training rides.

After that I'd say you need to work on criss cross efforts so you don't keep getting shelled out of the breaks. That's a common problem for tri geeks.

deadprez012

By this you mean big variations in output/effort or do I misunderstand you?

And, for better race writing on the whole, what are these terms that don't belong?

Creakyknees

you live in Lubbock? find Tim Redus and ask him to coach you. Pay whatever he asks and do exactly what he tells you.

Yaniel

the group was going 18 mph and the break was going 24? was it windy?

echappist

well for starters, it's called the pack/peloton, not the line/paceline. When you are at the end of the peloton trying to hang on, it's called trying to make contact. Alternatively, to stay at the end of the pack is called tailgunning. While it's called the break, we normally use the word breakaway, broke away to describe the act to jumping away from the pack. Also, you live in America, why do you use kph?

As for crisscross efforts, i believe RX is referring to over/under intervals, during which you spend some time over your functional threshold and some under to simulate the attacking and lull that usually make up a crit.

Racer Ex 

Paceline. Line. Wear. Read some of the other race reports.

From what I could read it sounds like you're lacking in recovery once you've gone hard. If you've been doing steady state stuff this is very common. In PE (perceived exertion) terms you want to go really hard for 30-120 seconds, then back off to where you just start to feel like you're recovering. Once your breathing/heart rate is around where it would be if you were shooting for a hard hour repeat. Then repeat again. And again. If by the second or third one you're not cursing the cycling gods, you're going too easy.

I'd also be inclined to throw in some 3-5 minute death march intervals.

Hida Yanra

as an ex-tri-geek... +1
Note: My TT efforts suffered a bit as I spent most all my time on crit/RR intervals - but I got much much better at crits. This goal for this next year is to get decent at both.
OP: Sounds like you have decent legs - just got to sharpen the knives for a slightly different purpose.

deadprez012

That was really early, but yeah, we got some good wind in our faces for a good piece of the course until the sun went down. Once it did, my last glance at my comp had the pack at ~25mph (42 kph IIRC) before I stopped looking down.

@mcjimbo - my comp is set in kph because I measure my sprints in meters on the commute and the little distance function gives me tenths of km that way. Plus, most of my engineering education is metric so I practice converting that way as well.

Much appreciation for the training tips. Will begin work tomorrow morning!

Christian.

My experience is not extensive, but this is what I've learned. Doing well in crits is part of a game; it involves recognizing the crazy dudes (and chicks) that wanna break-away and try to hold off in the middle of a race (more power to them, but it usually does not work), recognizing your limits, and some luck is involved. The majority of the event is high-paced with a few sprints to keep in the lead pack. If you are generally fit and the bike is working well, then you should be able to keep up. Try not to take the lead for too long, I've seen that hurt most people...do your part to hold, control, or increase the pace but don't wear yourself out doing so. In our crits, the experienced guys let people wear themselves out because they know they can get them on the last lap(s)/finish sprint. The higher the pace, the more I need to hydrate when I can, usually every other lap or so depending on the duration of the race. Everyone will be different for fueling, hydration, and recovery.

I also have to take into account the people that I am riding with. We have some poachers (MTB team riders getting points for their shop) whom have legs as big as my waist, but it does no good for me to complain so I simply pay attention to them. I have a few team riders and friends that communicate well...we let each other know where and when the solo sprinters are coming from as the buzz by from behind. If it is someone we fear, we hunker down and try to catch them. If not, we let them go and they have always been pulled back (and usually passed) in by the last lap or three.

Ultimately, in order to place well, I've needed to be in the top 5-6 riders while taking the last few turns and I need to make sure I do so with having enough reserves to sprint well. From that point I've found that I don't have the legs to hold everyone off to the finish so I need to chase someone's tail until they blow up or until I feel I can stick my head out in the wind and push to the finish. From the last few turns to the finish is long enough that I have never seen someone make the last corner first and finish first. This is likely due to our local track designs, but that last straight has proven very difficult to hold the lead with a pack around you.

My advise would be to try to figure out the competition, reserve what you can for the final sprint, and pay close attention to what/who is around you as you start and finish the sprint. Tuck behind someone until you figure out where you can safely pull out and go as hard as you can, but don't get yourself to the point where you put your head down. I've seen this as the most significant wreck instigator, even after a finish. People push themselves to the point of sheer exhaustion and almost cannot function on a bike at 30+ MPH...riding close to them is not a good place to be.

I hope this helps, you placed well so I am sure a 1st place finish is not far off...just don't get fat over the winter. Too much of my competition almost works harder in the winter, so I have to do the same. Then we show up and the first races trying to be humble with our newly built ($) bikes that are sure to make us win, and it happens all over again. The ones that are most fit, trained well, ate well, recovered well, or get luckiest finish best.

deadprez012

Wrote up a post on the blog (see sig for link) with what I hope is a better race report.

Anyway, do crit tactics (other than cornering) apply to road races? Yes, I've read lots of things and I can't really sort them. I've never road raced, but now I've watched one and raced one crit and that I can at least wrap my head around, so would I be safe to play a similar game in the race this weekend?

It's pretty short (33 mi) so I'm not worried about surviving the thing, but I would like to do as well as my poor legs will take me.

Racer Ex 

You're in the 5's on Saturday? Much different tactics on that course than in the crit you did. It should be kill or be killed on the hills, but with the 5's it could turn into a field sprint. You're a steady state guy. Go hard over the hill with 10 miles to go and keep going.

MDcatV

duh, beat the two guys who finished in front of you!

nice job finishing 3rd in your first crit and good job being assertive throughout the race.