The Race Thread.

Tristan23

Tristan23

Farkin guerilla
So, although i'm guessing there's only a few riders here who race their road bike, i'd love to know who does. It doesn't matter what kind of race - road crits, TT, track, etc - i'm interested to hear about your training schedule, your game plan and tactics, and your results. Is anyone here heavily into it?

I've only competed in two local races since I started riding the road bike, but it's definitely become addictive already. Both races were 30km road criteriums, and both I finished with an average speed of around 37kph...after leading the bunch for much of the race, which definitely put me in the box and wasn't the smartest idea, but it's given me a good idea of what my ability is like under pressure and an idea of what I should be doing in order to come closer to the front of the bunch. If you race crits, what's your usual tactic? Stay with the bunch until the sprint, or power it early and hope to hold the lead with a breakaway bunch? It's a bit of a steep learning curve at the moment, but definitely an enjoyable one.

Any experiences you can share?
 
cha_cha_

cha_cha_

Likes Dirt
I've been racing track for about 6 months now and crits since the beginning of summer for some extra training. loving it. track is awesome for top end, it teaches you heaps about positioning and bike handling and sprinting is great fun. one of the best aspects is that you'll do 4-5 races in a night so you can always try stuff without fear of it not working cos you always get another chance to try something else. at crits i just want to have fun and that means going fast. there are too many strong guys who are happy to sit in the bunch and only contest the sprint so lately i've been trying to get on every break i can and if i miss it i'll chase it or try to bridge it.

i agree - road is great fun and i'm always surprised that more mtbers don't make the cross-over.
 
C

Christian

Squid
I pretty much stopped riding mountain bikes when I started track 3.5 years ago. Started back on the mountain bike again about a year after stopping. As mentioned track is great fun, you'd think the training would get a bit boring but it doesn't, we ride madisons at training and that always makes it interesting. Country track opens are a lot of fun, Goulburn being my personal favourite.

As for road racing I do the odd crit, Macarther would be my favourite, on the 3rd of April this year. I prefer shortish road races when people talk me into doing them, after all who wants to suffer for more then 3 hours. The Ken Dinnerville memorial is only 90km, Mudgee is another short one.
 
Sumgy

Sumgy

Likes Bikes and Dirt
First ever Crit race today.
Missed the C Grade start time so raced B.
Finished in the top 75% of the field despite not really having any idea what I was doing.
Awesome fun.
 
Tristan23

Tristan23

Farkin guerilla
Raced two crits in the last few days. Tuesday afternoon's race I finished 10th out of 45 but wasn't that stoked with myself...I finished with lots left in the tank and should've moved up the bunch earlier. Average speed was 38.5. Yesterday morning's race I finished 11th out of 60 which I was happier with, especially seeing as it was a more aggressive race - average speed was 40.4. Definitely learning more and more each race, and above all else, i'm having a load of fun.
 
Flying haggis

Flying haggis

Likes Bikes
Started racing road events last year to improve my fitness, then started to enjoy it more than I thought I would. Probably done about 6 road events in 2010, including the 3 Day Tour and the Tour of Bright. Didnt get anywhere in terms of results, although I think I was about 12th in C grade in the 3DT. (dont hold me to that) Raced in B grade most of the time, found it tough but really good for the fitness, which was the point in doing it to begin with.

After all the rain we had last year the road events came in handy, as alot of the mtb races I planned on doing where canceled.

Really enjoyed the Tour of Bright, loved climbing Mt Hotham. Will most likely continue to race road this year aswell as mtb, keen to try some crit racing.

Cheers,
FH
 
Tristan23

Tristan23

Farkin guerilla
Had another crit this morning. Raced B grade this time, with not so large a bunch. Came 7th out of 30 or so. Average speed was 38.8. More learning going on. Good times indeed.
 
Tristan23

Tristan23

Farkin guerilla
Won C-grade 30k crit this arvo. Started raining with 4 laps to go so the MTB skills came in handy and I broke away by myself for the last couple of laps. Pace was pretty slow though - 35.5k/h average - so I feel like a bit of a sandbagger. :p
 
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