Mixed results with Crit racing

It's usually harder at the back in a crit, especially when people are afraid to let gaps ebb and flow a bit. Yo-yo'ing is more pronounced in the lower cats. You end up braking harder going into the corner, and sprinting harder to stay on coming out of it.

I've found that packs usually tend to move up on the outside, and back on the inside. I like to give myself an "out" most of the time -- some place to escape when the cr@p happens (some one goes down). That's usually on the outside, which coincidentally usually means I'm moving up.

It's rare that team tactics will do much in a cat 4 race, let alone a cat 5. Put your time in, work with your team. Roles will shake out. I rarely got good results myself in crits -- I needed to be in solo breaks or breaks of 3 or less to get top 3. Many times a break will get swallowed in the last lap. That's okay -- one of the biggest compliments I got from the owner of the bike shop that was our team sponsor was a crit where I was in a 2-up break for most of the race. The pack caught us in the last lap, and we finished mid-pack. As I came around after the cool-down, the sponsor was standing there -- "Great race Dave!" (I didn't even think he knew who I was.) "Um, Stan, I finished in the pack." "Sure, but you were out front for 3/4 of the race, and my shop was mentioned on every lap." Yup, sponsors think a little differently than racers, and sometimes "winning" for the team doesn't include the podium.

Watch how the pack is taking the corners. See where the openings are happening. Be patient, but commit fully when the time is right.

I helped a team mate take a district championship by knowing what the pack was going to do in the final "corner". It was a long sweeper to the right (and on every lap previously there was a sharp left coming out of that, but the finish went straight), and every time the pack would hug over to the right side of the road, leaving the left lane open. I used that sweeper to go from the back all the way to the front several times during the race, just to test it out.

I was playing around in the back for a while, knowing I'm not a great sprinter. My team mate, who IS a great sprinter came up beside me and was worried that we only had 2 laps to go, and we were at the back. "Be patient," I told him.

One to go, and he was getting nervous. "I've got to get up there!" he said.

"Just wait, and tag on my wheel," I replied.

Going up the last incline, a left hander, we're pinned to the left.

"Dave, we're not going to make it!"

"Just hold on, Brian, it'll work."

Like clockwork, into the right sweeper, the pack bunched up on the right hand side. I took off up the left side for the lead out with Brian on my wheel.

I passed the front of the pack at full speed, 50m to go, drifting right, with Brian right behind me. I heard him pop one more gear, and I swept left to give him the clear lane. He took the win uncontested, and I got swallowed by the pack, like a good lead-out man should.

The icing on that was his family was there to see his win.

Good times. Thanks for the opportunity to reminisce.

Hope that helps a little.

Don't know if you are already in one, but find a join a good riding group if you don't have one already.

I just started group riding this summer and did one crit so no grand experience here. But there are some guys that I ride with that are very knowledgeable and are good racers. I learn something new from them every time I ride with them.

Even just group riding was enough for me to know that in the crit I raced I did not want to be anywhere near the back. The yo-yo can sap a lot of energy, I'd rather be 2-3 guys off the front, or even take a pull or two on the front than be in the back constantly braking and sprinting.