Augusta training series races
- Thread starter Ironjunk
- Start date
I used to do these from time to time. They are pretty fun and safe but they would be a lot more fun if traffic on 15 wasn’t so bad. Augusta is a perfect way to dip your toe into the James Brown Celebrity Hot Tub of crit racing.
I’m sure many people have written better “intro to crit” articles but my basic advice is to just line up figure it out as you go. Keep your head up, your ears open and your brain on.
Aside from that, be ready to pedal really hard for short periods of time. Cat 5 racing is defined by wild power surges followed by periods of indecision, awkward swerving and shouting..like prom night but without the regret.
If you’ve not done a lot of fast group road riding and aren’t comfortable riding in close company there a good change you’ll get dropped. It’s ok. It happens to everyone eventually so might as well get it out of the way. The officials will give instructions at the start line but in these races they typically let you rejoin the race on the next lap if you get dropped provided you don’t contest the sprint.
AFAIK disc brakes have never not been legal in USAC road racing.
I’m sure many people have written better “intro to crit” articles but my basic advice is to just line up figure it out as you go. Keep your head up, your ears open and your brain on.
Aside from that, be ready to pedal really hard for short periods of time. Cat 5 racing is defined by wild power surges followed by periods of indecision, awkward swerving and shouting..like prom night but without the regret.
If you’ve not done a lot of fast group road riding and aren’t comfortable riding in close company there a good change you’ll get dropped. It’s ok. It happens to everyone eventually so might as well get it out of the way. The officials will give instructions at the start line but in these races they typically let you rejoin the race on the next lap if you get dropped provided you don’t contest the sprint.
AFAIK disc brakes have never not been legal in USAC road racing.
Jmann
Never gonna let you down.
Lesson 1: don't pull in your first race. Or at least only for short moments. My first crit I pulled for the first two laps and proceeded to blow up and get dropped.
Lesson 2: be patient. Do your best to not get dropped but cat 5 (or 4 or 3 for that matter) tend to have a lot of silly attacks that get brought back. I suffered from impatience and would start sprinting way too early, like 400 yards out.
These are mistakes I personally made that may not apply to you, but that's my cat 5 experience. Once I learned to be patient and sit in until the sprint I got results.
Lesson 2: be patient. Do your best to not get dropped but cat 5 (or 4 or 3 for that matter) tend to have a lot of silly attacks that get brought back. I suffered from impatience and would start sprinting way too early, like 400 yards out.
These are mistakes I personally made that may not apply to you, but that's my cat 5 experience. Once I learned to be patient and sit in until the sprint I got results.
huffster
Well-Known Member
Ironjunk
Well-Known Member
http://www.skylandscycling.com/fairgrounds18/
Judging by youtube videos it looks like this is the course.
Judging by youtube videos it looks like this is the course.
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xc62701
Well-Known Member
I know the smart way to get results but that's no fun for me. I like to go here and try and mess up the flow. When a few attacks have gone and it just settles in I'll attack and try to get away for a lap. I know it won't stick but it gets boring sometimes. I'll do that repeatedly - it's a great workout! One time it even worked to get me away with a group of 4 and it stuck till the end - then I got shredded.
You've never done a crit? This is hard to believe knowing how much you dig competing. I guess that explains why you've never upgraded anything on your road bike...just like with MTB, people start looking to buy speed anywhere they can. I think you'd enjoy these races.
#Cat3problems. Hard to jump back in at that level.
This is looking pretty sexy this year. I've also been thinking about Crashbrook, but based on the apparently way-less-gnarly-ness of the responses so far, heading West seems the smarter play...
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Yes for sure. This is from experience.
This exactly. I was a terrible crit racer mainly because I suck at watts but it never helped that I couldn't help trying all sorts of stupid attacks during races and never had anything left in the tank for the sprint. I finally started getting a few upgrade points when I chilled the eff out and saved my one and only bullet for the end of the race.
xc62701
Well-Known Member
IDK winning a sketchy bunch sprint is pretty awesomeExactly. But where's the fun in that???
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Yea but I sprint like a wounded animal...