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Writer's pictureBecky Hair

What is a criterium (crit) race?

Photo kindly from Monument HQ

2019 was when I got a race license – purely from peer pressure. I didn’t know what a race license was, or why I needed it, but after a bit of digging through the British Cycling website I figured it out. 

( A race license is something that gives you a ‘Category’ to race within. As you race, you win points on it and you move up a category. You win a race – you get the most points allocated to that type of race e.g. 10 points for a win. If you come 2nd you get 9 points, and so on. You start in Category 4, and move up to 3 until you hit ‘Elite’. It all just depends on the points that you win in a season.) 

I borrowed some wheels, I borrowed a speedsuit, and I donned the colours of Magspeed racing.

Now, I know that crit racing isn’t for the faint hearted. I’ve always loved draft legal racing when I was doing the French Grand Prix races in triathlon, but that doesn’t mean I was any good at it. My first crit race was in Birmingham about 5 years ago. I was dropped, spat out the back, and swore I would never ever go back. BUT – those few moments where I did get to work with people, and where I was in a small ‘pack’ of riders – my god I did love them! I remember being in awe as the front group went past at supersonic speeds.

A crit race, in it’s most basic form – is a group of riders set off to ride around a purpose built circuit, you ride laps of the circuit for the given time – usually somewhere between 40-60minutes. These circuits could be a tarmac track – such as Redbridge in Ilford, or the track at York Univeristy, or perhaps the Olympic Velopark. The tracks are generally about 1km-1mile long. They could also be town centre courses – such as town centre crits in Winchester or Saffron Walden (just south of Cambridge). The idea within these races is to stay with the group – so the first 5-10mins is HARD, then the pace will settle, until the event organiser shouts the last 5 laps and then it’s every woman for herself! You have to be reactive, the pace is fast and furious, and you’ve got to be able to handle yourself within a group of 20 riders or more. One bad corner can cause you to be dropped, and you’ll be fighting hard to get back on. The groups will break off and you’ll get smaller packs working together throughout the race.

Now, reading that back, it sounds like a pretty scary affair. In my first couple of races there were only a few of us ladies that turned up – I remember riding one race with just 3 of us! (We need to get more women racing please!) The whole point is to work together, so don’t just time trial it at your FTP pace, or you’ll be very bored – they are a great time to hone your skills, hone your sprints, and work closely with others. Don’t worry – it’s OK to feel anxious, or to not know what to do, but the groups will always have more experienced riders than you and they’ll help you out. I was very kindly taken under the wing of some lovely ladies in my first few races. I still don’t think I’m any good at tactics, but that will come with more and more experience. In one of my first races I rode on the front thinking ‘I’m really strong’ and then wondered why I got beaten in the final few hundred metres – I’d been riding at threshold for 40mins so no wonder I had nothing left! It’s all about tactics!

My favourite race of 2019 was the Saffron Walden Town Centre crit with Monument HQ. It was a gloriously hot day in August, the sun was beating down on us during the warm up loops, and there were plenty of spectators and friends out on the course too. The course had a very fun ricochet in the middle over some cobbles – so I was a bit scared about that before the start. I was on the start line with some of the best female cyclists I knew, and a few who I had raced before in other places. I was so excited! I think my caffeine and the adrenaline paid off, and I was so scared of not being able to clip in quickly, that I absolutely hammered if off the start! There’s an excellent video of me looking very bewildered as I came into the first corner! Haha!

The rest of the race went OK (I think I was 7th in the Cat3-4 race), I took the last corner too wide and clipped my  back wheel on the railings – suddenly it felt super hard to get going for the sprint (I found out later my wheel had been knocked so it was rubbing on my brake!) – no wonder my heart rate rocketed!

The best things about these races, are that the bigger races come afterwards – so whilst you have your post race pint, you can watch the elite cyclists ride round, and the men’s races too – they’re so fun to watch and try and pick up tactical tips from!

If you’re never done a crit race before – I urge you to have a go if/when we get back racing this year! 

Photo kindly from the Monument HQ website

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