Criterium Skills

Since 2001, over 90,000 cyclist's have joined Cycling Forums to discuss topics from general cycling to equipment, training, racing and travel or vacation destinations (especially in europe during the tour de france). We also feature an great deals in our online store, 100's of articles, classifieds and product reviews.

I'm thinking I suck at Crit racing. I have the fitness and bike handling skills, but I'll be damned if I really know what the hell I am doing.

I have raced about a dozen Crits, and at least my strategy(s) now entails more than "air goes in, air goes out", but there's a heap more going on and I want in!

I consistently run around the top 5 places and I like doing my share of the work up front, but when it comes to the crunch I ... well, I dunno... I guess I suck.
Occasionally there are skills courses available where I live, my shift work deems that I work when they are on, So...

I would appreciate some advice on Crit racing, such as position in the bunch, covering (or not covering) attacks/breaks, and stuff I don't know the name of
:o

This has been discussed before, if you do a search, you should be able to find threads with lots of advice. For the moment, though, here are some basic things you might want to keep in mind:

* stay near the front to conserve energy/avoid the accordion effect on corners

* know your rivals: who has the ability/is likely to try to escape from the bunch? who are the best sprinters?

* as far as responding to attacks: are you on a team? if it's a solo move (and especially if you are not on a team)....let someone else chase it down. why waste your own energy, especially if the rider is likely to be brought back by the pack

* although you might feel you did more "honest" work by taking turns at the front - maybe you work too much? if that is the case, you might be leaving yourself with not enough juice in the tank for the finish

anyway, just a few things to start with....

Choss...

Will do a search.
And thanks for the tips.

http://www.amazon.com/Racing-Tactics-Cyclists-Thomas-Prehn/dp/1931382301

This is probably the best book on tactics i have read. This will give you alot of info on different types of racing and there is a whole section on Crit racing. But READ THE WHOLE BOOK or you might miss vital info and help on different situations.