In two sentences, you highlighted what I was saying re: inexperienced riders. There is an almost Neanderthalic focus on MORE POWER. A lot of crashes happen because people have too much power and not enough experience handling the bike under that power. I never said power was not important. Right now, there are endless training programs out there to build power. Riders likely focus 80-90% of their work on building power and neglect any handling skills training. There are currently none/very limited opportunities to work on handling - this sport needs more instruction on handling. This isnāt taking away from the notion that power drives the bike, itās recognizing that youād better know how to handle that ā350wā around the last turn of a crit, or youāre taking out the entire pack.
As Korben has mentioned - the sport needs more clinics, sponsored by cycling organizations and groups. Platforms to build power will always be there.
Not to mention it was a pretty simplistic comparisonā¦.of course a rider with a 350w FTP is gonna beat someone getting off the couch.
There is a whole myriad of other options in between those twoā¦.and that is where things like race craft, tactics, and experience can allow a rider with a lower FTP to beat a rider with more power.
I donāt think power has much to do with any of this. Itās about riders who think they can squeeze between riders; dive the inside corner to make up a few spots (middle of race), move erratically to follow wheels (again needlessly-mid race), ride up the side of a line and try to butt in on someoneās wheel for no reason other than to save energyā¦and on and on.
Rahsaan Bahati post some great video from time to time highlighting some of the above. A trend now seems to be riders who feel they can just take any wheel they please, at any time, from anyone. While you can certainly try, back in the day at least, youād get taken out for riding like that.
Anyways, itās not the sport thatās dangerous. Itās peoples poor or uneducated decision making, lack of experience, and ego that create dicey situations. Throw in a sock prime or $100 to a bunch of retired, wealthy masters and mayhem ensues.
Iād just like to throw another aspect in for s**ts and giggles.
How many people who currently race, know their competition by name? Not what youāve seen on their STRAVA stats but, actually to go up to them in the carpark and shake their hand.
Most of the guys I raced against, I knew and I knew them well. This is both a good and bad thing. We couldnāt bluff each other. I knew who had an engine, a sprint or the ability to disappear for 45 minutes, only to suddenly reappear and destroy us all.
Above all of this, I actually respected my competition. I also knew them as family men, who had responsibilities and a job.
Yes, we raced hard and you earned your spot on the podium but there was no dive bombing on the final lap and laughing back in the carpark after the race was far more important than going for a gap which was never really open.
Maybe, just maybe, a little respect needs to be shown. Regardless of your Cat, take a look around and acknowledge each other. Keep it fast but respect what youāre all about to do.
I have a lot more experience in cross than critsā¦the entire front row of our cross series knows each other by name. Iām sure that would make a difference in respecting each others well being in a crit.
That saidā¦while steps could certainly be taken to improve things, I think the main issue is that there is just going to be a lack of understanding of what to do in crits, which will increase the risk of accidents. Everyone has to start somewhere, and you cant get the experience necessary to do things the right way if you dont jump in with no knowledge and start gaining experience.
I mean itās the biggest reason I largely steer clear of crits. Iām not willing to endanger myself (or others) for however long it takes to progress to some sort of competency.
In shortā¦I dont think itās a discipline designed for sane peopleā¦
I do find myself agreeing with large portions of your post. But I do think there is a degree of simplicity that can be applied and that simplicity is based on good old Common Sense.
If you lack experience, set realistic goals.
First race, get round. No one cares if you come last. They really donāt. Racers respect racers for turning up. Without each other, there are no races. Second race, hang with the pack/bunch. Third race, put your nose in the wind and feel the difference in power required. Fourth race, go with an attack. Any attack. Just get a feel for the workload. Fifth race, create a breakā¦ see what happens. Riding the break is great fun and it is generally a safer place to be.
By the end of your first season, youāll be a different rider, I promise you that.
If you roll up to your first Cat 4/5 with 350 watts in your pocket, youāre playing a different game, obviously. But take nothing for granted. You might not be the only watt bomb in the field and your cards will get stamped pretty quickly if you play your hand too often.
At the end of the day, crit racing is, in my humble opinion, the purest form of road bike racing. You have to be switched on from flag to flag and the better you get, the more technical it becomes. Think of it like chess, at 28MPH.
Oh totally agree. And thatās actually largely what I do in the 1 or 2 crits I sign up for a year. Just stay out of troubleā¦get a good workout in. I typically just put myself last wheel and follow the back of the group the whole race, sprint past as many as I can in the last straight, or take a flyer off the front and ride solo/small group.
Iām certainly not a 350watt ftp guyā¦but Iām strong enough I can move around where I want in a flat crit and race it how ai want.
This is were good local clubs come in and particularly local clubs that actively promote a local racing community and regular group rides. If the local racers are doing group rides there is inevitably going to be mentoring and learning going on (admittedly some may be shouted ;-). Any decent sized club will likely do at least some skills and parking lot bump drills now and then. And, if the local community has a high regular weekly group ride attendance, everyoneās pack skills will be better. And also significantly, a strong community means that at the local races, most of the racers are going to know each other, or at least have passing familiarity with many of their fellow racers That alone makes people act a little safer. No one wants to have to face the group after causing a crash.
Racing bikes is inherently risky. But it is more risky when āracersā have done all their training alone, or even not riding outdoors much let alone in fast aggressive groups AND they are anonymous to each other.
USAC does have limits for field sizes by category. They are pretty high and I donāt think Iāve ever seen a local race that hit the limit but they do apply for national level events.
Crit racing doesnāt have to be dangerous and I think some of that perception is based on the fact that crashes always make the highlight reel. But people do get hurt and it is a real bummer sometimes.
In the novice/4 races, crashes are usually due to inexperience or mixed experience/skill levels. In the 1/2, they are usually from taking risks to be where you need to be and the cat3 is sort of a mix of both. One fundamental issue is that bike racing rewards taking risks right up until the point that it doesnāt work out. Even at the wold class level, penalties for unsafe riding are usually called on the outcome not the action. DQing someone after a crash is almost completely meaningless at the amateur level but if riders knew theyād get relegated for dive bombing the inside or whatever, there would be less incentive to do it and hope it works out.
I liked the old cat5 system of having your first 10 races where the only meaningful result was to finish. I get that it wasnāt popular with everyone and they are trying to make a niche sport more accessible but doing early races with the right mindset can be valuable experience. Weeknight race series are excellent and clinics are good but my experience there is you usually reach the new races who are going to be careful anyway.
Crits are slightly dumb. Why arenāt there more time trials? Merckx style ones so everyone can do it. Uphill TTās. Ways to race without a near certainty of crashing??
I agree. Iām obviously biased, but I think cyclocross should be the only amateur racing discipline. Unless you live near mountainsā¦then itās MTB.
In all seriousness, in a sport that requires participation to stay relevantā¦breaking things up into 50 different disciplines is silly.
While I have been fortunate enough not be in a race crash yet I have only been in one race where there wasnāt a crash behind or in front of me. I decided not to race last weekend or this weekend because I have a trip planned next weekend that itās just not worth the risk. I am seriously considering moving away from crit racing all together because while it is fun, itās not fun enough for the hospital bills and time spent recovering from a serious injury. I would be interested in Mercx style TTās, some more casual events, and have considered maybe shifting towards Triathlons because I do like competing and pushing myself but Iām finding less enjoyment in every race where I see a bunch of people go down. I think skills are relevant but no matter how skilled everyone is if you send 50+ people around any course at 25-30 mph on asphalt while wearing virtually no protection things are going to happen. Thereās of course overlapping wheels and bumping that you can hope to remove but Iāve seen plenty of crashes from mechanicals, loose bottles, and miscommunication that will never be completely avoided.
I never raced road (beyond tris for a couple years) but dipping my toes in XC this year has been an eye opener.
Thereās a wide schism between roadies who dust off their mtb to race XC a couple times a year and mountain bikers who train XC. Iāve been in the mtb world for 4 years now and this is my first year racing, I have the skills and now Iām bringing the fitness with it. It gets dangerous when the guys who donāt have the skills to ride these courses get into technical sections.
Find me a sport where there is almost zero risk. There is almost always the chance of injury if you (A) not paying attention or (B) in the wrong place at the wrong time. Bike racing is calculated risk and you can have a positive impact on that calculation.
The more you fixate on the loose bottles, road surface or whatever else has wormed its way into your head, the bigger the problem becomes.
As Amber (a far, far more experienced racer), said on numerous occasions, you canāt learn if youāre on your physical or mental limit. If youāre entering a race and your brain is already buzzing from fear of āwhat ifā¦ā youāre going to have a horrible experience.
Iām not saying that the unexpected doesnāt happen in races, it does. But more often than not, it doesnāt. When it does, itās often a lose of concentration or just good old bad luck.
Honestly, turning up with a smile on your face is half the battle. If youāre chill, I bet you the guy or girl getting warmed up in the carpark will see your smile and a smile is infectious.
Laugh all you want but I swear itās true. Nerves are good, they prove it means something but there comes a point when you have to swallow, grin and get it done.
My best advice is learn to race the front of the race. The secret to riding a large crit is to surf the top 20 of the race. If you are 40th or 50th back, it can take a monumental effort to get back to the front of the race at the end.
I started racing in the same era. Cat 5 was introduced when I was racing. 1994 or so?
I raced in Nor Cal and cat 4 was really hard at the time. Crits were routinely 80 riders. I did hundreds of crits and only crashed once. A miracle maybe?
I think the big difference was that USA Cycling (UCSF back then) was club based. You couldnāt be a club unless you put on a race. Clubs provided the training rides and the mentorship. There was so much racing back then that I could race 2-4x per week if I wanted to. Mid-week training crits, weekend races, etc.
I think the club requirement was dropped and IMO, USA Cycling has really dropped the ball and let road cycling fall off a cliff over the years.
Sounds about rightā¦canāt remember the exact year, though.
Not quite right, IIRCā¦you couldnāt have sponsors on your kit unless you put on a race, but you could have a club and wear a plain kit with just the club name.
USCF also required the club name be on the jersey twice, I thinkā¦front and rear, maybe?
Yes, the front is way safer. Itās an art to ride the front and never take a pull or catch some wind. Occasionally you need to though to maintain position.
Are you being serious? What is the last wheel strategy?
Oh yea Iām completely serious haha! I just go to the back right at the gun and stay there.
Of courseā¦the goal for me isnt to win, but get a workout in and not crash.
also part of the reason for this is Iām not entirely comfortable cornering on asphalt. Iām fine on grassā¦itās even a strength Iād say. I definitely have some nerves involved with leaning the bike over on asphalt, so I like a lot of space around me. Working on that a bit this year though.