Riding Unattached at 1st Crit

[AnythingButKestrel]

I've been invited to go ride our local (US) sandlot criterium, and I think I might go do it for giggles. I'm not interested in joining a team and I most certainly am not sponsored. I don't have any "team" kit to speak of, however...

I guess there's some UCI rule where you can't have sponsor logos if you're not on a team and certainly not if you're not sponsored. How does that apply to someone with just plain, vanilla gear, but has manufacturers logos visible? Do I have to tape them over or remove them? Or will nobody care?

What about my bike/helmet/etc?

Any other advice for not looking like a total squid on the first time out? I don't expect to be competitive, but it would be nice to do something different and find some new folks to go chase and learn from.

Thx in advance...

 

[Marva32]

Manufacturer logos do not count. As for advice, just keep the rubber side down.

 

[TopCarbon]

no matter what, you will look like a squid.

but have fun and don't crash. Road rash on a squid could be uncomfortable.

 

[bridgeman]

Yeah, and the finish line is a lot farther away than it looks!

 

[AnythingButKestrel]

Thanks!

Hypothetical question: assuming that I'm actually able to *choose* where I ride in the scrum/pack/whatchamacallit, where should I try to position myself to stay out of trouble?

Any other crash avoidance tips?

 

[TopCarbon]

usually when someone gets tired they drift to the back, don't be there.

Dont overlap wheels.

Don't go after every person who tries to break away.

try to break away if you feel good.

Look for hairy legs and avoid.

Watch the cadence of those around you and stay clear of some one with too high or low of a cadence. The guy with too high does not know what they are doing, and the low cadence guy will block you in because his leg turnover will slow you down if there is a sprint.

 

[TopCarbon]

when you are going through the curve, the outside pedal is in the down position and the inside pedal is in the up position. You will clip a pedal if you do it any other way.

 

[CentralCaliBike]

usually when someone gets tired they drift to the back, don't be there.

Dont overlap wheels.

Don't go after every person who tries to break away.

try to break away if you feel good.

Look for hairy legs and avoid.

Watch the cadence of those around you and stay clear of some one with too high or low of a cadence. The guy with too high does not know what they are doing, and the low cadence guy will block you in because his leg turnover will slow you down if there is a sprint.

So, if I want to get into racing and want some room, don't shave?

 

[TopCarbon]

So, if I want to get into racing and want some room, don't shave?

give the guy some room with hairy legs please

 

[luckyboy]

Read this whole thread with a puzzled face until I realised it didn't say '1st cat 1 crit'

 

[TopCarbon]

Read this whole thread with a puzzled face until I realised it didn't say '1st cat 1 crit'

some cat 1s could use some advice

 

[Race Radio]

You are stronger then those guys, attack from the gun and try to lap the field

 

[Anonymous]

You are stronger then those guys, attack from the gun and try to lap the field

Freaking HILARIOUS!!...except that I did that my very first race...lasted 5 laps.

 

[bridgeman]

Off the front, and out the back! I can still remember this tendency!

 

[Steel4Ever]

I guess there's some UCI rule where you can't have sponsor logos if you're not on a team and certainly not if you're not sponsored. How does that apply to someone with just plain, vanilla gear, but has manufacturers logos visible? Do I have to tape them over or remove them? Or will nobody care?

Get yerself a really good quality gray t-shirt.
Do NOT tuck it in, baggy is better.

As always, don't chase the break-away boneheads -- they never last.

A little story: I was riding a state champ crit but was also suffering a nasty summer cold and two effed-up wrists from a recent crash (EVERY bump was pain). I was juiced full of Tylenol products and my head was a mess. So I decided to simply focus on the wheel ahead of me -- just stick with him and you'll be ok! Well, coming around the last corner toward the finish line, I realized that I was DEAD LAST! I was glued to the wheel of the (second) slowest rider and didn't even realize it! Awesome! I sprinted out of that last corner with crazy adrenaline and ended up getting third. Oh the "If only..." of it all!

So...PAY ATTENTION out there!!!

 

[Martin318is]

Unless the pace is absolutely flat out, the bunch will be... well... bunched which means that even at very high speed there will still be at least one line through the corner.

Generally its better to be the guy on the inside in these cases provided you can still create a nice flow through the corner and not lose too much momentum.

The problem with taking the outside line is that when the idiot on the inside takes that one extra pedal stroke (or even more likely starts trying to sprint out of the corner too soon) they will then slide on their side straight across the field to the outside. If you are out there then you will go straight over the falls when you hit them. NB: although it CAN happen, its a bit of a miracle event if someone from the outside crashes and slides towards the inside of the corner....

Another good idea is to attack BEFORE the corner. Jump off the front about 150m from the corner as hard as you can, take a suicidal pace through the corner (NO pedalling this time) and then attack flat out as you exit. You will have created a gap going in and you will dump about half the field in the straight afterwards because you will be in full sprinting attack when they are still braking going INTO the corner...

 

[Race Radio]

Freaking HILARIOUS!!...except that I did that my very first race...lasted 5 laps.

It has been done.....but not by me. It actually can be a good move if you are a super strong ride and it is a 5's only field. I have seen a few Pro Tri geeks do it.

I remember a few years back I got a call from a buddy who was at a race. He said "You are not going to believe this but ********* (Not going to name names but an old friend, former Pro, who had not raced for at least 10 years) is racing the 5's and is trying to lap the field!!!!

I laughed my a$$ off and sent him an nice e-mail to congratulate him on his efforts. Of course I copied all of our old friends on it as well so they could share in his glory.

 

[tortoisedr]

Look for hairy legs and avoid.

I won my state championship, Killington KOM (3rd GC), a few crits, and a few road races with (very) hairy legs! Everybody must have been staying away!

Now I'm old, fat, and still hairy...

 

[tortoisedr]

Go have fun!

Ride smart, don't chase every break, stay near the front but out of the wind, recognize and avoid squids, be prepared to suffer, and have fun! Don't be the guy who thinks he will win the 2011 TDF if only he wins this crit. Be the guy who sits in, finds a smooth strong wheel to follow, and takes the opportunity to attack if it happens (and graciously accept it if it doesn't). Ride for your strengths, accept your weaknesses, and have fun. Did I mention have fun?

Best of luck!

 

[Steel4Ever]

Tip #43: pay attention to WIND DIRECTION!

Example: my team was doing a crit (basic square config w/ a few squiggly corners - fun!) that had a howling/brick wall wind down the finish line straight away (which meant wicked fassst tail wind on the opp. side). So me and my team-mate decided we would attack throughout the whole race -- but ONLY on the tailwind side. We made everyone chase us all race long. We timed it so we would get "caught" right before the turn into the wind. The chasers would catch us and go right through the corner with us neatly tucked in behind. Then once around the corner one of us would attack again. We had the tailwind advantage, the chasers were already tired from plowing through the wall of wind. In the end, my team-mate won, don't remember how I placed -- but our strategy worked perfect.

Summary: there may be lots of guys stronger than you, but not necessarily smarter than you. You only need to try to win, not try to prove how mAcho you are!

 

[Martin318is]

Thats an awesome point that I should have mentioned!

Another example of wind effects is if you are in an industrial park style setting rather than built up city. Crosswinds. Excluding actual corners, if you are doing a block crit there will be roughly 4 wind directions (variances can be caused by swirl effects so its not always obviously 4).

Think about where you want to be in the next straight before you enter the corner. position yourself on the opposite side of where the wind is going to be before you get there and if you are canny about it you can do the whole race without riding into the wind whilst at the same time looking like you were near the front all day. Perfect example above - go to the front on the downwind leg!

In the side winds, get onto the opposite side of the bunch, ride to the corner approach and then reposition for the next straight.

The variance on this advice is the last few laps. Particularly in the last few corners, track position is much more important than wind direction (exception is the finish straight). Dont give up ground to avoid the wind in the last few corners, instead use it to gain positions.