My first crit is torroow night and I had a couple of questions. The crit is 9 laps about 15-20 min in length. Should forget the water bottles and just make sure to have plently of fuilds before the race? Also since the crit is so short should I ditch the repair kit since I don't have an extra spare wheel do you in case of a flat?
First Crit 4-18 I have a couple questions?
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ditch the repair kit. alot of crits have pit area, put it there. If you get a flat, you are s.o.l. personally i'd call it a day but if u can fix and pump a flat in under 2 minutes and still ahve the drive to get back on and race thats up to you, most crits give you a free lap to a certain point.
for 20 minutes, i would say you wouldn;t need a water bottle. that being said i personally would have one with me with, about 1/4 full. its nice to be able to have a few sips if you do get thirsty, and gatorade does give you some energy.....sort of. you could always toss the empty bottle, but it really isnt that much weight. also be carefull of overhydrating prior to the race, that won't help. (i tried that once and ended up puking up stuff in my mouth and having to spit it out mid race. i had no water, so i had to taste vomit for another 10 minutes before the end of the race)
good luck, and have fun.
for 20 minutes, i would say you wouldn;t need a water bottle. that being said i personally would have one with me with, about 1/4 full. its nice to be able to have a few sips if you do get thirsty, and gatorade does give you some energy.....sort of. you could always toss the empty bottle, but it really isnt that much weight. also be carefull of overhydrating prior to the race, that won't help. (i tried that once and ended up puking up stuff in my mouth and having to spit it out mid race. i had no water, so i had to taste vomit for another 10 minutes before the end of the race)
good luck, and have fun.
You shouldn't need to drink during a 15-20 minute race as long as you are well hydrated to start with. A race that short will probably be intense enough that there is little time to grab a drink anyway.Clark said:
Many officials will ask that riders remove pumps and bags from the bike before criteriums. Since the laps are so short and there's usually a pit area, pumps, bags, repair kits, etc. won't be necessary anyway, so they are just one more thing that can potentially fall off the bike in the middle of the pack and cause problems.
If you don't have a spare wheel, you're pretty much out of luck in any case if you get a flat - you only get one free lap, so unless you can change a tire in under a minute, you'll lose more than the free lap. See if you can borrow a pair of wheels just for the day. Even if you can't don't sweat it - the odds of a getting a flat tire in a 15 minute race isn't that high to begin with.
Well my first crit went well didn't finish with the main group but I am very satisfied with the result. I hung in the middle of the pack for the first 3 laps and the back half of the pack got dropped. Then the rest of that group I dropped and rode solo for 6 laps. It was a fast crit and I could stayed with the main group if I hung with the group and if I was a little more aggressive but I wanted the experience of riding with that many people in a crit. Hopefully next week will be better.
Sounds like you've learned Crit Lesson Number 1: Stay at the FRONT of the pack. Not the middle, and sure as hell not the rear. I like to stay in the top 10 if I can, top 20 if it's really crowded or something. And unless you are 2nd wheel already, you should always be trying to move up and improve your position. Not only is this important for a good finish, but if someone wrecks, you're more likely to be ahead of it and to not get caught.Clark said:
Good luck with your next race!
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take a water bottle along - geesus it's not going to slow you down at all. You'll likely be hyperventilating at some point and appreciate a drink. I used to laugh in races where I'd smoke guys who had tossed water bottles on the last lap like that'd make them any faster
yes, ride near the front and don't sit in the wind at all.
yes, ride near the front and don't sit in the wind at all.
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