Question for those that have done a cycling race (crit)....

I did a few citizen crits in Albuquerque and had a blast.  The lowest was Cat 4 for the men and the women had all of us in one pack since there were not enough to break out in the Catagories.  My husband did the Cat 4 races (25min +3 laps) and I did the women's/kids races (20min +3 laps) and jumped into a few of the Cat 4 races just to get high speed training for a few laps then dropped out.  The Ave speed for the Cat 4 was around 18 -20 mph for the majority and then it sped up from there.  Usually for ediquatte purposes if you get lapped or the pack is comming up on you because you were dropped you stay way out of the way and for the last lap or two you just drop out.  There were a ton with kits on too but there were still a few of us non-sporsored, non-team participants.  He might even get more help without a kit on since the others will know he doesn't have a team to help him out.

Since you have watched a few you can see how things work but you will never really know until you get in there and do it.  He will want to start at the back of the pack for the first race and see how things go, learn how to keep his line in the turns, work on bike handling skills, drafting in a pack.  As he builds up after a few races he will able to mix it up with the best of them.  He will definitely be OK for the Cat 5 and may even be more Cat 4 (but I'd start Cat 5 for the first one or two jsut in case.  They might let him jump in for a few laps in the Cat 4 just to see how things go if he is front of the pack Cat 5. 

It's been a while since I've been a bike racer but I think Cat 5 are people who haven't done 15 starts and/or haven't placed high enough in some number of races to move up. It's where most everybody starts and your husband would be fine. He'll find out real fast how he stacks up against the other riders.

Check out these results and see how many people are racing "CIT" which means they do not hold a bike racing license at all. Then look at the categories and see how many are riders are "unattached" which means they have no sponsors nor race for a team or club.
http://www.bicyclerace.com/results/2009_Final_Results.pdf

What is a hubby?

Ok, in all seriousness... If I were him I would first enter a road race before attempting a criterium.  Criteriums can be very dangerous to someone who is new to racing.  I had a friend who has attempted a crit and ended up taking down 6 other cyclists and ruining 1 of their race seasons (broken collarbone).

I have scoured the internet looking for local road races, but I cannot find any. All the amateur races in this area are crits. The road races I have come across are for pro-level only. I'm sure my husband would stay towards the back, and out of the way of the more experienced racers. His main hangup right now, is that he feels he's just not fast enough (riding @ 23-24mph) to compete against these other guys. I try and tell him that he'll never know unless he tries. Heck, I'm certainly not fast enough to be competitive in triathlons, yet I do them anyway.

I think he is fast enough for sure but it is his handling skills that might get him in trouble.  Why doesn't he try to do some group rides at a local shop and if that shop has a team it might be a great way to start getting in to racing.

Tell him to not worry about the kit and sponsors.  Have him put a white t-shirt on with "CUTTERS" in black block letters across the chest and he'll be good.

Crits are just as much about pack riding and cornering skills as they are about speed.

Oh, and no tri bikes.

John

I would strongly suggest he do some training races or clinics before racing in crits. They are dangerous and you need to have good riding skills. Add in he'll be in the cat 5s with all the other newbies who have a lot of poor bike skills. It is not just his skills you need to worry about even if is fantastic rider but others who might not be as skilled.

You might ask a bike shop that is full of racers for websites for race listing, or contact local bike race teams to learn more. My bike race team, has a bike race clinic that is 2 evening sessions to discuss and learn, and then 4 3 hour Saturdays working on handling skills.

I did the clinic the year after I did my first crit and crashed badly and had 10K of medical bills, hurt my shoulder, got a bad concussion.

My husband does not want me to race crits ever again. Cyclocross he is fine with.

Speed is hard to gauge as drafting uses less than 30% effort. Crit I did we averaged 21-23 mph, and I don't ride that fast.

He'll be fine. If he can ride 23-24 mph for 20+ minutes, he should be able to hang reasonably well with Cat5s, as long as he doesn't go crazy with trying to mix it up in the pack. I bet he'd do pretty well, actually.

In training, I outride a lot of Cat5s and even a few Cat4s here in Socal where the competition is pretty stiff, and those kind of paces would be comparable to mine.

Nobody cares what you wear, as well. Even though there are tons of kits, you'll get max respect if you burn the field, even in a cotton t-shirt. 

Hey thanks everyone, for all the great feedback! I know he really wants to give this a try, so I'm going to encourage him to check out some group rides so that he can get a feel for pack riding and hone his bike-handling skills. Normally, when he rides...it's either alone or with me. When he's alone, he goes his own pace...but when he rides with me, he goes MY pace...which is obviously much slower because I cannot hang at his pace. Personally, I would rather see him try an individual time-trial type of event first. I think that would be a great way for him to "get his feet wet". There is a charity time-trial open to anyone, coming up this Friday evening...and I told him that that would be the perfect "first" event for him to try...but I think he wants more time to prepare.

TTs are the bomb!

I'd encourage him to do that...safe, and him against the clock. I bet doing that he'd meet others that might point him in the right direction.

I asked about bike racing for 2-3 years and was always given a blow off answer by bike shops. It wasn't until I met this man at a bike shop who has 9 or 11 kids, and all the boys race. He pointed me in the direction of my bike race team that has a special effort to help new racers and has a women's race team of over 100 members. It was the information I needed to help me learn and get started. Lots of small teams only recruit "good" folks and if you walk in and ask about it and don't fit what they think they blow you off. This local shop has a women's group not sure if it was a team or not. A women at the Y suggested I join. I visited the shop and they owner discourged me and blew me off. Another tri friend I know went there and he tried to get her to join the group. Funny thing is I ride about 5 mph faster than she does, but she looks more like a racer than I. I see that bike shop owner at cross races and always say hi...he judged me wrongly..I'll never do business at his shop..to bad as I spend a lot on my bikes.

He'll never really know until he tries.

However, I strongly agree with the recommendations to get out and do some fast group training rides first.  Get comfortable in tight packs, cornering at speed, learn to paceline, etc

As far as speeds, it really depends on the course, wind, terrain, competitiveness of the field.. etc.  However, if he averages 23-24 on training rides, then his sustained speed is not going to be what holds him back in a typical cat5 field. Average speed in the mid twenties would be typical in a 4/5 criterium where I am, but average speed is rarely the problem for most people in a criterium. Rather, it's the intense surges that get people dropped.

I disagree with the recommendation to hang on the back.  The back of the pack is the hardest place to be in a criterium.  It's also among the least safe.  Each turn creates a bottle neck, since there is really only once best line through each turn.  Thus, except for the few in the very front, the pack bunches up and slows as it approaches corners, so the guys in the back end up having to sprint out of every corner just to stay with the group.  Also, in the back, you are more likely to be caught up in an accident for a variety of reasons. 

Get the handling, cornering, and pack experience in training rides -- then go to the first race prepared to get right up there and race!



Edited by dredwards 2009-07-28 10:29 PM

X2

Particularly about the dangers and difficulty of the back of the pack.  I would say try to stay in the first 25%,  less surging and safer place to be.

I agree with the other comments also, that it would be best to start off with a TT or two, and some road races to get started and then try a crit with more pack experience.

On the other hand, I always think it is good to just jump right in!!

Michael

I ride in C grade by myself.

It's fun and really cool to see how you stack up against other pure cyclists.

Tell him not to worry, just sign up and have fun. This is exacly why Cat5 races do exist, everyone needs to start somewhere.

Also, be prepaired to suffer... but that is part of the fun. And don't worry if he's dropped already on the first few laps, as a matter of fact, pretty much expect it... after a few races, you start to understand where to sit in the pack and when to ride hard and when not to, it gets easier after a while. But, still lots and lots of fun!

This user's post has been ignored.