Crit Racing

A good criterium racer needs experience. Get out and race! Being fast and fit is only a part of the equation. Patience, strategy pack positioning, bike handling and luck are just a few strengths a crit racer possess. But while you are working on becoming "that" crit racer, you have to tailor your training to mimic a criterium. First, it is important to define what actually happens in a criterium in terms of power in order to replicate that power in your training. Without getting into a detailed description, power in watts is to a cyclist, as horsepower is to a Mustang! Like the silver one you see me driving! At first glance, the power output of a cyclist racing a criterium looks like a lot of peaks and and a lot of valleys. A typical SRM or PowerTap file from a criterium spikes up and down several times per lap creating a complicated maze of peaks to the untrained eye. However these short sharp peaks, anywhere from 300-1000 watts or even greater, represent the cyclist sprinting out of corners, accelerating, attacking, counter attacking, and finally the big spike: the field sprint.

Those valleys ( no power ) represent time spent coasting, setting up for a corner, cornering, or just getting sucked along in the peloton’s draft. Further analysis shows how much time was spent in certain power zones and also how much time was spent at zero power.

There are two power zones critical to successful criterium racing that are often overlooked in a traditional training plan: power above your threshold and a no power zone. Often times comparison of files between the winner and a pack finisher in the same crit reveals that the winner spent more time at zero! However, when it really counted such as making “the break” or the sprint finish, the winner’s power output dwarfed the pack finisher. Why? Because the winner spent more time at zero, was more rested, and metered his efforts better than the pack finisher. Something to think about when your at the front working for no reason at all.

So.....does this mean the guy who rolls off the couch once a week to work on his sprints can hang on in the draft in a high speed crit then blast his way past everyone in the final few meters?

YEP! If he knows how to draft, conserve, ride with in himself and stay safely protected at all times, the guy with the most power, the guy willing to go anaerobic, the guy who has the most left in the tank (the guy who just rolled off the couch) will blast past all the other pack fillers!

You have to work on your top end if you want to win!! It's a must!!