Sizzle82

Denver University city park Crit- Cat 4-70+ field
First Cat 4 race and first race of the season. Lined up in front hung on for six laps. Just coudnt get the legs going when the pace picked up. Out the back and pulled after 6 laps. Super discouraging as I have always done well. Now I am questioning whether I should have upgraded.

mattm

The answer is almost always "yes" as to whether or not you should upgrade.

Don't take one result as a sign you should have stayed a 5. Just keep trying!

canuckbelle

...and you would have been a 4 eventually anyway. Keep at it!

Sizzle82

Thanks I appreciate it. Im usually in the front of the field, and that's not bragging since our fields are usually pretty small, but to get blown out the back is disheartening since I feel like I have been training harder and a stronger I have been. Guess maybe it was just a bad day.

happybday29475

First, forget about your cat 5 self-ranking. Cat 5's are all over the map in terms of fitness/skill. I hope you learned a bunch while you were there, but it's not a particularly useful place to rate yourself against others.

Next: So you got blown out of your first race in your new cat? Big whoop, that's happened to many people here. One of the distinctive features of this sport is that ass-whippings are handed out very liberally...most everybody has gotten multiple whippings. One of the distinctive features of the athletes that stay in this sport is they don't let whippings dim their confidence that they will get better...

Third: It is likely that your race fitness is still improving. You're a new racer, after all. (And, crits require more "top-end" than some other types of racing; have you been training that?)

Fourth: It is even more likely that your race skills have even more room for improvement than your fitness. Or: you got blown out not because you weren't fit, but because you're a relative beginner to racing. There is no doubt that you've got much to learn; enjoy the journey! And, there is a boatload of experience around these parts.

carpediemracing 

If you're usually at the front it might indicate you're not comfortable drafting or sitting in a larger field. If this is the case you should work on this because even a very strong rider can't do well if they don't know how to ride well in a pack. If you saw any wind prior to getting shelled you probably saw too much wind.

You can look for pictures of you racing. Are you within 2-3 feet of a racer fore/aft? Within 1-3 feet left/right? Or is it more like 8-10 feet? This is a good way of getting a no-BS assessment of how close you are to others in a race.

Also do you know how to read wind? In other words do you know if you should be slightly left or slightly right of the rider in front of you?

On the other hand if you were glued to wheels the entire race etc etc and then got shelled then I don't know what to say. That's more like what happens to me when I'm in over my head.

hack

Heck of a roll (not my vid):

PepeM

Any tips on this? I often try but I can't never figure out the wind direction with any degree of certainty.

Ygduf

heck of a roll, but @aaronmcd has to watch his front wheel better

canuckbelle

That mustache at 3:33...not very aero

mattm

It will be easier when you're not in the wind. You can hear it too.

If you can't tel the wind direction when riding, then it might not be a huge issue (in terms of wind from the side - staying behind someone/in the draft is different).

spdntrxi

he's had plenty of practice I guess...

globecanvas

That's pretty much it. If you can't tell which side the wind is coming from using visual cues (leaves, flags, branches etc) then just try sheltering on both sides or and see which one feels quieter and easier.

PepeM

I mean when drafting. I try to move a bit to one side, a bit to the other. Usually can't tell which one is best.

That's what I try to do.

Maybe I just need to pay more attention. For now I usually just do whatever the person in front of me is doing.

aaronmcd

In cat 4 the person in front of you may be just as likely doing the wrong thing. I've even done 2/3 races where it takes guys half the race to figure out the wind.

I look it up before the race. Check when I get there how it feels. Feel for the wind as I preride the course (if I get the chance). And every straightaway I plot how to be downwind through the following corner. If I'm caught on the wrong side, squeeze in and slow down, likely as not someone tries to pass upwind of me. If not, I just keep it slow til the next turn. Get a good spot on the sheltered side and it's a "breeze" to follow a surge, maybe even counter if I'm feeling crazy.

If you try moving upfield on each side, one side should be significantly easier if there's a 5+mph crosswind.

Anticipate the surge when you turn into a tailwind. Glue yourself to a wheel turning into a headwind.

aaronmcd

Dude. I guess the instincts worked cuz I somehow didn't end up in that pile! Also seeing that gap it's a wonder I even got close to catching back on. Looks like they were taking it relatively easy until the sprint.

LOL

Just ask Fudgy, he's keeping track.
Seriously though, the gymnastics background helps, apparently.

mattm

Yes when drafting, that's what I meant too.

Besides doing it by feel, for something like a 4-corner crit, think of it like this: (assuming clockwise)

If the start/finish is a tailwind, between corners 1 & 2 will be a crosswind from the right. The backstretch, between corners 2 & 3, will be a headwind. Between corners 3 & 4 will be a crosswind from the left. That's not a formula to memorize per se, but something to think about when you get to the course. Stand near the finish line and figure out where the wind is coming from.

For a winding rr course or something, you just have to do it by feel - or by looking for visual clues like globe said.

And if the wind is coming from the right, you want to be a bit to the left of the rider in front of you (sheltered).

The "Racing Tactics" book by Prehn has diagrams for this stuff, see page 92 for instance: https://www.amazon.com/Racing-Tactics.../dp/1931382301

(you can peek inside the book on Amzon's site)

PepeM

Really good advice regarding studying the course, thanks. Might have to give that book a look, seems interesting.

carpediemracing 

Actually I do, with 100% accuracy where the wind is coming from at that moment, relative to you, your speed, etc, in other words what you need to find optimal shelter.

2013 Clinic Week 3*|*Bethel Spring Series

"To figure out wind direction:

- Put your head up a bit. It helps if you’re on the tops, but you can do this from any bar position.
- Feel the wind hitting your head.
- Turn your head side to side.
- When it feels like the wind is blowing into one ear, that’s where you want to put a sheltering rider.
When I explained it to some hot blooded Juniors, I told them that the wind in their ear will feel like someone blowing softly in their ear. They could always remember how to figure out wind direction after that!
- You may find that the wind is coming almost from the side. Other times it’ll be head on. Shelter appropriately. Even a slight angle makes a huge difference. If the wind is coming from your 1 o’clock (i.e. just to the right of forward), you’ll be 100% exposed if you’re sitting to the right of the rider in front of you. But if you move left just a couple feet, you’ll be sitting just to the left of the rider in front. Now you should be 100% sheltered and saving maybe 100-150 watts of effort.
- As a relative thing, for many years I couldn’t finish a race effectively if I saw more than about 2-3-4 minutes of wind in an hour crit, minus the last lap or two. In some races I’d set a goal of seeing only 60 seconds of wind or less. Proper drafting allowed me to do this."

That page is one of a series of pages. Under the gun I basically made a list of what I'd want to cover when teaching a new racer about racing. That became the basis of the clinics taught at my races.

Also you can look at my blog, sprinterdellacasa. It is a bit stagnant right now but in the past I tried to brain dump stuff.

PepeM

I think I tried that ear thing before (probably read it here.) Will give it another try this weekend during my group rides. That clinic looks great, wish I could join something like that.

globecanvas

Branchbrook 45+, 8th of ~70. Needed just a little more fitness at the finish. 3rd was in reach with a little more kick but gsteinb and the winner were a couple bike lengths ahead.

Grant's Tomb 40+ was a blast. Fantastic course and strung out from the whistle. Burned 20% more watts than Branchbrook. Well positioned 4th wheel at the last turn but misplayed the wind out of the turn and just died on the outside. If the race had a little less pace, or if I'd done the race before, I would have been able to plan the finish better, but there wasn't enough oxygen for both legs and brain. Looking forward to doing this race again.

Ygduf

I just did a 56mi/6k climbing race with 20 guys that included 5 masters national champions. I got like 10th, was dangling on the final selection when a dude's wheel came out and he took a header. I stopped to check on him in a moment of weakness.

only 8 minutes of z7 above 555w and 22 minutes between 445 and 555. these 5 kgs are really hurting my feelings.

aaronmcd

E3 crit in the rain. 4th/13

One guy got away solo and we couldn't get a chase group formed. Halfway through the last lap as everyone is soft pedalling and waiting, I came up from the back and attacked 20 seconds before a very sharp left-right. Hoped for a moments hesitation from the pack but didn't get it. My surprise jump let me hold on for 3rd of the field. 1 upgrade point.

caloso

Nice job, Aaron. That move caught everyone off guard.

hack

that crit looked miserable ... our Jr teammate won, but that move was not the plan at all. lucky it worked.