On Criterium Racing
by Chris Oishi
Hello, all. Chris here, your in-house know-it-all loudmouth with more of his unsolicited opinions and advice on cycling. There are plenty of people with more cycling experience than I, but here are some kernels of wisdom I have picked up over time that are somewhat helpful to me. A lot of this information is applicable for road races, too. I encourage people to revise or refute the following.
If you've ever raced a criterium, you'll notice two things.
Thing Number One: The pace is FAST. You need to be ready from the gun to ride all out. If you own a stationary trainer, be sure to bring it to crits to warm up. It will pay off. Try and show up at the starting line already sweating and prepared to sprint for the first turn. Riders typically set a very fast pace at the start, trying to quickly drop people and thin out the field. Whatever you do, do not get dropped. Your body will be shouting at you to slow down, but your brain must convince it to hang in there, because...
...Thing Number Two: the pace WILL slow down. Despite the fact that the first five or ten minutes may feel harder and more painful than anything you've experienced on a bicycle before (except for the time you tried to jump your bmx bike and your feet slipped off the pedals and you landed directly on your crotch on a hard plastic seat), the race will eventually settle down into a reasonable tempo. It may actually be somewhat sluggish for a while. However, if you've been dropped from the main pack, you may never see it again until it laps you. You are essentially out of contention and will need to work hard for the rest of the race, probably all by yourself. If you've stuck with the pack, you can use the huge advantage of drafting to cycle much more efficiently than you could on your own. The key to the slow section is to try and recover, because there will be a new urge of fastness coming up soon. Drink some water. Keep an eye out for that sketchy kid from wherever who looks like he's going to crash. And get a good position near the front so you can respond when people start upping the tempo. However, avoid spending too much time at the very front of the pack. You will be working harder than everyone else and will tire yourself out.
So, to reiterate, convince yourself to do whatever it takes to not get dropped from the pack. If, however, you have been dropped from the main pack, don't panic. Push yourself to ride at a hard, steady pace. Imagine you're doing an individual time trial. You will start to gain contact with other riders who have been dropped and may be able to work together to pull yourselves back to the pack once it does slow down. If all goes well, you will eventually regain contact with the pack with enough energy to place well. If not, well, don't get discouraged. Chalk it up to a learning experience and a solid training ride.
Food: eat a little something prior to the race, but not too much--you'll want to hurl before too long. Gels work well. Pack a small bottle of water or energy drink. One bottle is plenty for most criteriums.
Start line: Stay loose. Try and get a good position near the front. Stay away from anyone wearing a CamelBak. (Don't get me wrong, CamelBaks are useful. However, in a criterium, a CamelBak is just dead weight and not a very effective way to drink. Anyone who is wearing one is probably a novice and may be a very sketchy rider.) Make sure you are in a nice, medium gearing.
The Start: Keep your head up while you clip in. People who look down tend to swerve and are likely to cause crashes. Some riders will have monumentally difficult times clipping in. Don't get caught waiting behind them. Get around these people as quickly as possible and GO GO GO.
The Finish: Take a cool down ride to allow your muscles to work out some of the lactic acid. Drink some water or a recovery drink and start eating some food. This is also a good time to say a nice word to other riders you've been riding with. Be a good sport and a good ambassador for Duke. Remember, you will be racing against these people again, and it always helps to have some friendly faces in the peleton, rather than scores of people who have extra incentive to beat you because they think you're a jerk.
Road bicycle racing is a very different endurance sport than, say, running. In cycling, you are not going for a consistent, sustained level of effort the entire time. You are yo-yoing back and forth between anaerobic (fast) and aerobic (slow) tempos. They can be very uneven and most of the time, you may feel like you're either going slower than you want to go or faster than you want to go. It's important to remember, riding a personal best time or fast average speed is largely irrelevant in criteriums. The fastest or strongest rider quite often does not win the race. In fact, the person who does the most work setting the pace at the front of the pack has usually spent too much energy during the race and finishes poorly. Criteriums are physically and tactically very challenging races and it may take some time for you to discover strategies that work best for your strengths. But start off with a positive mental attitude and you should have lots of fun. No. Seriously, this is a lot of fun.
Good luck.
If you've ever raced a criterium, you'll notice two things.
Thing Number One: The pace is FAST. You need to be ready from the gun to ride all out. If you own a stationary trainer, be sure to bring it to crits to warm up. It will pay off. Try and show up at the starting line already sweating and prepared to sprint for the first turn. Riders typically set a very fast pace at the start, trying to quickly drop people and thin out the field. Whatever you do, do not get dropped. Your body will be shouting at you to slow down, but your brain must convince it to hang in there, because...
...Thing Number Two: the pace WILL slow down. Despite the fact that the first five or ten minutes may feel harder and more painful than anything you've experienced on a bicycle before (except for the time you tried to jump your bmx bike and your feet slipped off the pedals and you landed directly on your crotch on a hard plastic seat), the race will eventually settle down into a reasonable tempo. It may actually be somewhat sluggish for a while. However, if you've been dropped from the main pack, you may never see it again until it laps you. You are essentially out of contention and will need to work hard for the rest of the race, probably all by yourself. If you've stuck with the pack, you can use the huge advantage of drafting to cycle much more efficiently than you could on your own. The key to the slow section is to try and recover, because there will be a new urge of fastness coming up soon. Drink some water. Keep an eye out for that sketchy kid from wherever who looks like he's going to crash. And get a good position near the front so you can respond when people start upping the tempo. However, avoid spending too much time at the very front of the pack. You will be working harder than everyone else and will tire yourself out.
So, to reiterate, convince yourself to do whatever it takes to not get dropped from the pack. If, however, you have been dropped from the main pack, don't panic. Push yourself to ride at a hard, steady pace. Imagine you're doing an individual time trial. You will start to gain contact with other riders who have been dropped and may be able to work together to pull yourselves back to the pack once it does slow down. If all goes well, you will eventually regain contact with the pack with enough energy to place well. If not, well, don't get discouraged. Chalk it up to a learning experience and a solid training ride.
A couple of other things:
Food: eat a little something prior to the race, but not too much--you'll want to hurl before too long. Gels work well. Pack a small bottle of water or energy drink. One bottle is plenty for most criteriums.
Start line: Stay loose. Try and get a good position near the front. Stay away from anyone wearing a CamelBak. (Don't get me wrong, CamelBaks are useful. However, in a criterium, a CamelBak is just dead weight and not a very effective way to drink. Anyone who is wearing one is probably a novice and may be a very sketchy rider.) Make sure you are in a nice, medium gearing.
The Start: Keep your head up while you clip in. People who look down tend to swerve and are likely to cause crashes. Some riders will have monumentally difficult times clipping in. Don't get caught waiting behind them. Get around these people as quickly as possible and GO GO GO.
The Finish: Take a cool down ride to allow your muscles to work out some of the lactic acid. Drink some water or a recovery drink and start eating some food. This is also a good time to say a nice word to other riders you've been riding with. Be a good sport and a good ambassador for Duke. Remember, you will be racing against these people again, and it always helps to have some friendly faces in the peleton, rather than scores of people who have extra incentive to beat you because they think you're a jerk.
Road bicycle racing is a very different endurance sport than, say, running. In cycling, you are not going for a consistent, sustained level of effort the entire time. You are yo-yoing back and forth between anaerobic (fast) and aerobic (slow) tempos. They can be very uneven and most of the time, you may feel like you're either going slower than you want to go or faster than you want to go. It's important to remember, riding a personal best time or fast average speed is largely irrelevant in criteriums. The fastest or strongest rider quite often does not win the race. In fact, the person who does the most work setting the pace at the front of the pack has usually spent too much energy during the race and finishes poorly. Criteriums are physically and tactically very challenging races and it may take some time for you to discover strategies that work best for your strengths. But start off with a positive mental attitude and you should have lots of fun. No. Seriously, this is a lot of fun.
Good luck.