First criterium today...

jame58rown

It was f***ing hard

It was my first ever race, apparently it wasn't a very good race to baptise myself on lol.

I was off the back almost immediately with another guy, we didn't work together because he was so much faster than me on the flats, however, I always passed him on the hill towards the end of the circuit, then he would catch me again on the flats (repeat for an hour :P ) My calves cramped halfway round as well...the pain!

About 4 dropped out, so I'm proud I got round at least :')

Despite all this, I'm determined to get training and can't wait for another event XD

some pics (:

I'm the one in the white (Looking like a young boy who shouldn't be there (not far from the truth) )



And a hug from my lil sis afterwards...awww :')



I was so f***ed at this point :P hehe

CakeLovinBeast

Well done for giving it a go!

What would you do differently for next time then??

jame58rown

CakeLovinBeast wrote:

Well done for giving it a go!

What would you do differently for next time then??

Probably enter a more begginer friendly race! Someone told me that any race I did after this would seem easy, I hope so :P... also an event with more hills, I'm decent on the hills and get caught on the flat (:

solosuperia

I remember the first race of the season is always hard, so first race ever double hard.
I reckon however hard you train you cannot replicate racing conditions and speeds.

IMHO criteriums are always killers with a corner coming up just as you settled down from digging in out of the last one......Hope that makes sense, well I know what I mean!

Give it another couple of races and you will be flying and concentrating on tactics rather than holding on.

amaferanga

Most people think they're good at hills until they have to race up them

jame58rown

amaferanga wrote:

Most people think they're good at hills until they have to race up them

I raced up this hill and passed people...but yeah, in a hilly race I guess I probably won't be very good :P

greeny12

Good work for getting out there and racing. No hiding place in a crit, is there?

Wish I'd been bitten by the cycle racing bug at your age, instead of concentrating on getting fat through beer and curries...

mediamazter

Well done for having a go.. I did the Same a few months back First Race entered a Crit... Cat 3/4 Was Damn Hard.. LoL.. Held on to the back for 3 laps but that was it got dropped lol.. Got lapped but still beat 8 home so was chuffed.... Even for all the pain it was a great buzz.. Loved it...

B

oldwelshman

I saw you I wasin the masters race.
This circuit is a good one, but you do need to be quite experienced as it is very technical.
I noticed many inexperienced riders in your race the 3/4 riding alone for almost an hour I saw you and the other guy swapping places lol and a few others, some several bike lengths apart. It would have been far better for them to have sat up and waited for each other and worked in groups. Even for you two, you could have eased on the small hill instead of passing and you could have paced him up, then he could do the same on the flat, this way you share load.
The other thing to do is whn about to get lapped, take a breather and try to jump on the back of the bunches for as long as you can There were two main groups in your race and a vouple of small ones so could have done some nice interval training and get used to the speed.
Give it a year or two and you will be strong enough to hang in

ghrgilada

As others have said, well done for having a go.

I'm the guy in white, blue and yellow just behind you. It went off like a rocket and was tough just hanging on. I did this last year which was my second street race. I've done 4 of the 5 crits at Pembrey this year and along with yesterday I recon I'm still learning!!

Not sure what you mean by not friendly? Good bit of nervs around before the race, you get a better buzz and response by chatting after. If you mean on the course by working together, in my opinion that doesn't work so well on a street circuit like Cardigan with the tight coners and hill.

I too find it hard to mimic races like this when training. I just throw myself in the deep end and keep entering the different types of events and hope to learn from the experiences. In my very first road race I got blown off the back and pulled up within 6 miles. It made me very determined to train harder and return to at least finish in the pack.

Don't know where you're from but I recommend doing the Pembrey Crit Series next season and some of the shorter road races, either handicaped or stay within your catagory.

You have age on your side so plenty of time to get it right. Speak to a coach.

Train hard but train right!!!

hammerite

As the others have said, well done to jame58rown for giving it a go. Hope you carry on racing.

Interesting what ghrgilada says about mimicking races like this in training. I've been fine on flowing courses, but struggle on tight twisty circuits. I'd like to say that I could be working harder to be stronger and fitter, but it's more basic than that. I struggle with my line, speed into the turn and positioning, I lose so much ground - I think mainly down to confidence. What's the best way of training to perfect my line/speed on twisty circuits? Especially given that it's hard to replicate race conditions/courses?

Tom Butcher

Those are by no means my strong suits either but I think you are right a lot of it is confidence - also in some areas chaingangs do loops of industrial estates etc - that mirrors crit racing a lot better than normal road type training rides and I imagine would be ideal for learning to take the right line and hold a wheel through corners. Of course if there are no such rides in your area that's not a lot of help !

sub55

well done jame58rown you had a go
Iwas there saw you going round and round, must say you looked fairly comfortable.
Which would imply that you were`nt trying hard enough. I spent all day on the start /finish line, trying to keep tabs on lapped riders and grabbing numbers in the final sprint.

oldwelshman wrote:

I saw you I wasin the masters race.
This circuit is a good one, but you do need to be quite experienced as it is very technical.
I noticed many inexperienced riders in your race the 3/4 riding alone for almost an hour I saw you and the other guy swapping places lol and a few others, some several bike lengths apart. It would have been far better for them to have sat up and waited for each other and worked in groups. Even for you two, you could have eased on the small hill instead of passing and you could have paced him up, then he could do the same on the flat, this way you share load.
The other thing to do is whn about to get lapped, take a breather and try to jump on the back of the bunches for as long as you can There were two main groups in your race and a vouple of small ones so could have done some nice interval training and get used to the speed.
Give it a year or two and you will be strong enough to hang in

Though as a rider, i would agree if your going to get lapped , sit up have a breather then jump on the back as they come by, as a judge / commissionaires assisstant , its a complete nightmare and should`nt be done. In the final event of the evening we had 9 riders in the lead and a further large group of 8 or so. They all came together with 2 laps to go , the 8 then thought it would be a good idea to mix it up in the sprint. You have no idea the aggro this caused . not moaning , but bloody hell .

ghrgilada

I think you're right hammerite, it's confidence especially turning in to the corners and trying not to loose too much speed. That's why I think Pembrey has helped me, you race with loads of different abilities during the series and can watch and learn. It is a long flat circuit but with two tight turns where you get to practice the sprints and hanging on! If you get dropped then you can jump on the back when they come through next lap.

What has also helped me is identifying riders I can keep up with and I follow their lines in and out of the corners.

I agree with Tom Butcher that riding with others helps with the correct lines too. If you're in a Club then why not organise some specific training rides, having others to race against is the closest you'll get to the real thing.

hairyleg

Hi,
Well done, crits are very hard you must be doing about 75/100 miles aweek just to be in the mix, looking at the top pic you need to be no more than a wheel away from the bike in front,its all about holding that wheel for as long as you can.It takes time good look.

Don't forget to warm up so your ready to go from the gun.

hammerite

Thanks all. I am in a club, but there aren't many of us that race, so a session around an industrial estate might not appeal to many. Although more are getting into racing, might be something to consider ahead of next years race season.

oldwelshman

sub55 wrote:

well done jame58rown you had a go
Iwas there saw you going round and round, must say you looked fairly comfortable.
Which would imply that you were`nt trying hard enough. I spent all day on the start /finish line, trying to keep tabs on lapped riders and grabbing numbers in the final sprint.

oldwelshman wrote:

I saw you I wasin the masters race.
This circuit is a good one, but you do need to be quite experienced as it is very technical.
I noticed many inexperienced riders in your race the 3/4 riding alone for almost an hour I saw you and the other guy swapping places lol and a few others, some several bike lengths apart. It would have been far better for them to have sat up and waited for each other and worked in groups. Even for you two, you could have eased on the small hill instead of passing and you could have paced him up, then he could do the same on the flat, this way you share load.
The other thing to do is whn about to get lapped, take a breather and try to jump on the back of the bunches for as long as you can There were two main groups in your race and a vouple of small ones so could have done some nice interval training and get used to the speed.
Give it a year or two and you will be strong enough to hang in

Though as a rider, i would agree if your going to get lapped , sit up have a breather then jump on the back as they come by, as a judge / commissionaires assisstant , its a complete nightmare and should`nt be done. In the final event of the evening we had 9 riders in the lead and a further large group of 8 or so. They all came together with 2 laps to go , the 8 then thought it would be a good idea to mix it up in the sprint. You have no idea the aggro this caused . not moaning , but bloody hell .

Ah your right I will clarify, jump on the back for training but on the bell lap sit up and under no circumstances try to be clever and contest. Forgot to mention that in my last post.
I was almost taken out in my sprint ( by a lady) lol who tried to come inside me when I was on the barrier on the narrow part of the hill,she hit me into next rider, some how we stayed up but it meant a gap opened in the sprint for 4th place but atleast no crash