A bit of clarity please...

Denny69

Hey guys....I'm pretty new to road cycling (been riding on road since Oct '07) and I've recently started watching competitive cycling on TV including the worlds at Manchester. I've got the gist of most of the races and their names but one race has always left me scratching my head as to what exactly it is.....

So what is a criterium race? What is it's purpose?

Cheers

calvjones

Generic name given to a lap-based race, usually fast & flat & in town. AKA Kermesses in Belgium where they are part of town fetes. August crits on the continent are used to 'show off' big Tour names, with large fees and predictable winners part of the mix.

John Stevenson

As for purpose, it's like any other road race except that it's easier to hold because you only have to control or close a few streets.

That also makes it a lot more spectator-friendly. Instead of the riders passing once on their way between two distant towns, you get to see the whole race.

Denny69

Ahh right...I thought, because of the name "Criterium" that they were some sort of qualifying event for a bigger event ie World champs or a one day classic. Cheers guys.

SteveR_100Milers

If you're of an older generation, you might recall the Kellogs City Cenre races of the early 90's (and of course the Raleigh banana team - I always wanted one of those bikes when steel was the only choice for frame material)

Bronzie

Ok you clever lot, so why "Criterium du Dauphine Libere"? Doesn't conform to my normal understanding of a "crit"?

The definition I found doesn't help:
Etymology: French critérium competition, literally, criterion, from Late Latin criterium, from Greek kritērion
Date: 1970
: a bicycle race of a specified number of laps on a closed course over public roads closed to normal traffic

redddraggon

Bronzie wrote:

Ok you clever lot, so why "Criterium du Dauphine Libere"? Doesn't conform to my normal understanding of a "crit"?

The definition I found doesn't help:
Etymology: French critérium competition, literally, criterion, from Late Latin criterium, from Greek kritērion
Date: 1970
: a bicycle race of a specified number of laps on a closed course over public roads closed to normal traffic

And there's the Criterium international aswell.

calvjones

redddraggon wrote:

Bronzie wrote:

Ok you clever lot, so why "Criterium du Dauphine Libere"? Doesn't conform to my normal understanding of a "crit"?

The definition I found doesn't help:
Etymology: French critérium competition, literally, criterion, from Late Latin criterium, from Greek kritērion
Date: 1970
: a bicycle race of a specified number of laps on a closed course over public roads closed to normal traffic

And there's the Criterium international aswell.

I think you'll find many races have split from the accepted UCI definition and are stubbornly adhering to the FFC alternative which reads:

"a cycle race... ANY cycle race... where a French rider has a better than 10% chance of victory"

drenkrom

In older French, "Critérium" was often used as meaning "voyage around". So any parcours that formed something resembling a loop could be called critérium. That must be where those races got their names, though they seldom form a loop these days. Nowadays, critérium means the same thing in French as in English, a fast, tight, twitchy race on a small circuit.

Anyways, the French just say "le Dauphiné".

Mystique

Well I've learned something new today - Thanks all. While we're feeling educational what the heck's a "Victor Ludorum" event??

Graham.

Bronzie

Oooooh - that's an easy one
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Ludorum

(The organiser of the Highclere is gentry don't you know :P )

Mystique

Hmmm...I know what it means, but I'm unclear in what way it's different to a race - is it the same only posher?

Bronzie

Yes - were they serving smoked salmon and watercress sandwiches with Bucks Fizz at the feed stops like they did when I last rode it in 2006?

PS Whatever you do,don't call it a race! :shock: