Signed up for my first crit - race strategy? (RESULTS ARE AT POST #57)

Race like you do, but be safe. There are too many variables. Plenty of people start racing after getting a fix with Zwift and some of those people might be strong. If your local scene is anything like mine, you might have people who have raced CX for a long time and now want to level up quickly on the road. Everyone has to start at cat 5, even seasoned racers from other disciplines.

I think it’s fine to go into your first crit wanting to win but it probably will all turn out very differently than you think. In any case you’ll be a smarter rider after and that’s what it’s all about.

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Yep

I’d read what @Mike_Edmunds says. That’s way more inline with crit racing. Going into my first reason season of racing I was told I’d blow through the fields based on my ftp. Well it’s not about threshold, it’s about how hard can you go way above threshold, recover, and then go again.

Final crit of the season I decided that I was going to “unleash hell” during a 45 min crit. After about 20 min I got on the front and drilled corners, made the turn then started going again. Averaged 365 for about 20+ min. I got the group down to about five people then a dude cut me off on a turn, almost crashed me and I finished 5th. Oh well :man_shrugging:t2:

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What is a good TR workout to test this kind of fitness? Lion Rock?

It would be cool to get some suggestions. I’ll be in the middle of general build, and while I wouldn’t want to do any workouts from the Criterium specialty plan (this is a “c” race, after all) but I do Lion Rock in my plan a bit. I also do Junction

In, general, I work a lot on the Vo2 end of the spectrum, so I feel like I’m kind of training this. Maybe?

Start with something like Spanish Needle. Uncomfortable, repeatable 140% efforts… 99 of them I think!

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Lion Rock is slightly different. That workout assumes you are in an ideal world where you have plenty left in the tank to make a race winning move. First thing’s first, make sure you get to the point where you potentially can make a race winning move.

just for fun I went back and looked at the one crit I did last year, the first lap I did 290w (105%) over 6mins. I took a bad corner in the 2nd lap and lost contact with the main group and the rest the race was pulling different people along off the back. Now that would be a subthreshold effort and hopefully I’ve got more power to mask my deficiencies lol

But I think my point here is, cat 5’s are an eager bunch, especially in a first race, so I think things are going to go nuts for awhile. I imagine things settled down for the lead group but the first lap was definitely a spirited effort!

Also don’t think that because it’s a bunch of cat 5s people haven’t been training all winter. You’re not the exception of hard training throughout the winter. Another mistake I made too thinking the 5s would just be rolling off the couch and I’d have easy wins.

I realize bike racing is nothing like 5ks or things like that where people are happy to finish. The people who sign up for these races are there because they’ve trained and want to race (at least at the pointy end)

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That’s actually a really good point.

By the way – this whole thread is a monument to the insidious type of insanity that creeps into your head when you have a rest day scheduled on a Sunday.

After watching Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne this morning, I’ve been doing nothing other than looking at crit videos on YouTube, watching power spikes out of corners, faffing around this forum, and picturing myself posting up as I cross the finish line with my wife and daughter cheering for me :metal:

Rest days suck. They make me nuts.

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I hear that. Off days are for overthinking stuff, past present and future!

Here is a video of the 4/5 race from last year if anyone is interested (with power/speed metrics, etc.)

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Don’t overthink it Batwood14. You’ll probably not have more than a glancing look at your power all race. In a crit race, you just react. A PM is useful in the post race analysis but you’ll probably have little to no control over what you need to churn out on the day. Remember that the people who do well in crits are generally the people who have economised their effort.

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On rest days, admire the courage and effort put in by Bob Jungels today at K-B-K. Dont worry about putting your hands up in front of the family. On race day - with the gods smiling down on you - if you try harder than everyone else it may happen. But you can still dream of that day, the desire will keep you going.

@batwood it’s hard to contemplate a full race strategy before the gun AND actually execute it during the race, as many people here have pointed out.

A few things you can definitely do, though!

1.) Start at the front. In an early (in the racing season) cat 4/5 crit there will be a number of tail gunner riders without enough fitness to follow the first or second acceleration. Even though you’re fit if you get caught behind such a group you can get dropped. Also, early season cat 4/5 crits can get crash crazy. Crashes happen in the middle of the pack usually. So be in the front half of the pack.

2.) Go out right now and session that right hand turn and hairpin (if you haven’t already). Session it in two ways…you’re preferred/fastest way…and then every other way so you can do it when you get caught off your line.

Those are things you can definitely do.

Wait until the end of lap three, pin it down that NW to SE stretch, be first through that right hander, take your line through the hairpin…and take a look around to see what’s happening. Then have fun and do what comes natural. As long as the rubber stays down who cares what happens. It’s your first race.

It’s gonna be great.

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This is awesome, man. Thanks!! Great tips :boom:

Everyone starts as a Cat5. There could be 10 other guys just like you with those numbers or better. However, as man of the others have pointed out, crit racing is different. The strongest rider rarely wins. Crit racing requires its own special set of skills. I think @Mike_Edmunds advice above sums it up nicely.

You have to be in it to win it! While you def need to stay near the front of the race, the 180 makes it even more important to do so. Why?

  1. Safety. Perfect spot for a crash.
  2. Save energy. Getting into and out of the 180 is much easier at the front. The further back you are, the more you will slow down going into the turn and the harder you will have to accelerate out.

As for solo flyer or sprint, I almost always waited for the sprint. Get thru the 180 in the front 5riders. Get up to speed. Expect a surge.Look for the suicide 600m sprint guy. Trust your instincts!

You definitely have a shot. Keep the rubber side down and give it hell!

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Priorities in a Cat 5 crit:
#1. Don’t crash or cause a crash
#2. Finish
#3. Have fun

Everything is whipped cream on top of the brownie. Good luck and if you feel good, give it a go off the front.

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I already know this is going to be my weakness. I don’t know how to spot the 600m guy. I won’t know. And with it being my first race…I might be that guy :wink:

This is my fear of leaving it to the sprint if I’m still at the pointy end of things – I may just panic and push the button.

Haha… it’s going to be fun! I think I’m going to do a couple of these things this year. I’ve been doing road and gravel races for 3-4 years, and have steadily gotten better. But the one thing TR has really given me is the confidence to know I have the fitness and power to hang. Now I’ll just have to put the rest of it together.

It sure would be nice to cross a line first just once :slight_smile:

Thanks, man!

Doesn’t FTP go out the window in crits?