Hellyer Velodrome WNTL 'C' Miss & Out 4th May 2022 (Nasty Crash - Race Abandoned) 

Since this is the "Open C" group (Novice and Cat 4 riders), I thought it would be good to take a moment and critique this video for educational purposes (a "teachable moment"). (I waited to see if a seasoned coach or someone would chime in.) I was in this race (the green guy). While I'm a little new to the track, I'm not new to racing in a pack. Please feel free to point out anything I did that was unsafe -- we're all trying to get better. Before I do this: all of the riders are OK. One was taken to the hospital but was quickly discharged. * First, you see a lot of "noodling" of the riders. This is really easy to see at about 0:30 where riders will go left a little, right a little, left a little, etc. The front wheel is not holding a straight line. It's safer if everyone is holding a straight line. This is a basic skill, and one of the best ways to train it is riding the rollers. An improper bike fit can also make you more prone to noodling (e.g. if you are too stretched out). * While "noodling" is not good -- it is kind of expected that the bike handing skills are a mixed bag among entry-level racers. If you're an experienced rider, you can usually assess the skills of the people around you pretty quickly. You must be aware of it, and allow extra space between yourself and other riders. Thus, you must be extra careful that your front wheel is not overlapping the rider in front of you. And I'm not just saying this after-the-fact... this was something I consciously thought about during the race. * You must protect your front wheel. There are several times where riders are spending a large amount of time with their front wheel overlapped a little with a rider in front of them. Example: 0:55, front-facing cam, rider in gray has been overlapping with rider in orange for a long time. If the rider in orange makes a sudden move to the right, the gray rider will likely lose control and go down. * When overlapping wheels, you're not "safe" until your handlebar reaches the front rider's hips. And even then, there's still potential to become entangled in their pedals. * Don't look back. Looking to the side is OK, but looking backwards is liable to cause a crash. This was a miss-n-out race, so it's really tempting to look back. At 1:28 I hear someone shouting "look straight ahead" -- which is a Good Thing. * At 1:40 (front cam) it looks like the rider on my right (I'm in green) is nervious about how close I am and noodles. I'm not actually too close -- but this kind of nervousness can be expected in the C group. When he noodles, the rider in the blue jersey reacts by moving to his right. This forces the pink rider to move even closer to the rail -- he does not have much room to escape. This just goes to show why it is so dangerous to overlap wheels, and you must stay on your guard. * At 1:40 when the blue rider moves to his right, we can't tell that he ever looked to his right. While he was reacting, it would have been better if he turned his head a little. Full disclosure: I may have been guilty of this, too. This is something I'm working on. * At 2:21 the rider with the camera seems to be overlapping wheels and not much space between the front rider and the rail. This is dangerous. * At 2:58 we see lots of riders compressing in the back to avoid elimination. The tendency is to take risks, overlap wheels, and make sudden left/right moves to avoid elimination. The back of the pack is never "safe" -- but this is doubly-so in an elimination-style race. * At 3:40 the rider in lavender shifts from the "hoods" position to the drops. The simple rule is that you must be in the drops at all times to avoid hooking handlebars with another rider (which will take both riders down). For more experienced riders, you will sometimes see them move to the tops or hoods if they are in a small breakaway. * At 3:54, notice how the group seems stretched out a little and are not so wide on the track? Someone has increased the pace a little. Faster is actually safer. * At 4:28, notice how the group seems a little bunched up? We've slowed down a little. According to my bike computer, we were going about 41 kph (25.5 mph). This is a little slow for a track race. When the group is bunched up like this (and the riders are tired), it's not as safe. * At 4:28, we see that the front wheel of the rider in black has made contact with the rear wheel of the rider in front of him. There is sometimes a counter-balance move you can make to save it (which they teach at the Early Bird training races in January). But the general rule is that when this happens, you're going to crash. * At 4:30 the rider goes down. The two riders to the right go down like dominos. First, a rider in white and second a rider in orange. * It looks like the rider in orange was far enough forward that I don't understand why he went down. Usually, someone can swipe your rear wheel pretty hard and you can hold it up. It's hard to tell from the video -- but it looks like his front wheel made contact with the wall, and this sent him over the handlebars. * Immediately, riders are admonishing each other: "Don't look back! Go straight!" This is a Good Thing. When a crash happens behind you, do not look back. Hold your line. Continue to be vigilent of what's a head. In summary, here's some advice: 1. You must be vigilant to protect your front wheel. It is your responsibility. When passing a rider you must allow extra space in case the make a sudden move. 2. When you see that riders are less skilled in handling their bike, allow extra room. In fact, stay as far from them as you can. 3. Sudden moves to the left and right are bad, and could take someone out. Practice riding a perfectly straight line. Rollers can help with this, as well as a bike fit. Train yourself to look when you're needing to evade. 4. When racing in a pack: stay in the drops at all times. 5. The front of the race is the safe place. It's less likely that you will become a victim of someone else's mistake. 6. The back of the race is not the safe place. You have a combination of tired riders who are losing concentration and the churn of the "accordian effect." It's more likely that you'll become the hapless victim of a mistake in front of you. 7. When riders are fighting for the front, it makes the race faster -- and this makes everyone safer. 8. Even when not overlapping wheels, riding near the rail can be dangerous.

Only two places to ride this race, at the front in the pull or at the rear.

I've seen you race and position lucky I took a few flyers and then out early....

My son Jalen said the same thing as Steve. He said he was hanging all the way on the back to stay out of the sketchy pack. He got crashed out anyway.