One thing about crit races (I know its hard especially with hypoxia and you focusing on how you are feeling) is you need to be assessing the riders around you first and foremost. The whole race. More so than you are focussing on yourself. How do you think they are feeling? Do you know who they are beforehand (Good sprinter? Break away buddy)? Are they consistent with their riding (steady peddling, taking good lines)? Are they generally a strong rider? You should be constantly asking these questions about the people around you and if you find that they are a) tiring out significantly or b) swerving in and out, taking horrible lines, or generally being unsafe then you need to take that extra energy to find someone elses wheel, which will likely be someone ahead of them. If you are constantly doing this it also makes you prepared to make that split second decision so you can save more energy (and not hesitate when a gap opens costing you that precious energy). Eventually you should find a good wheel to follow at a pace you can keep (and yes sometimes this wheel is off the back... thats ok though! We use those wheels to get stronger :)) Try playing that thinking game with yourself of "what would I do if x or y happened" throughout the race and it will help you respond to moments quicker where gaps open and, when you get more competitive, when attacks happen or breaks begin.
Wow! This is fantastic advice. THANK YOU Lindsey! First off, you are totally right and I can tell you’ve been there before. I had so many plans going into it, but my strategy fell to pieces when I realized how tired I was 😂 Also, I was completely heads down when in the peleton (even for that short while). I agree that this was likely the #1 cause for not seeing what was going on, or predicting which corners they slowed down / sped up through. I committed energy only to hit the brakes into a corner, which is pretty devastating. I will definitely take all this into the next race, and hopefully focus more on it in my training! (Like actually using the drops on my indoor trainer in stead of the middle of the bars) :)
@@JadenFeddock drops certainly help in making you more aero (and consequently buying you some precious energy), but I cant stress enough that its almost more important for you to be assessing the pack (and I stress heavily everyone around you, not just the wheel in front of you). Not sure how much group riding experience you have and how fast the group ride usually is, but quickie trick is to try practicing riding in a group and not looking at the wheel in front of you but looking two wheels ahead (approximately) and riding that way. Should find that you can find a gap you are comfortable with and you can better predict the slow downs and speed ups (and these happen quicker in a crit!). Also quick question: were there any right turns in this race (like 90 degrees) seems like this race had pretty flowy turns since it was a car race track. If that is the case you can stage the lines and the corners right that you shouldnt need to brake... im dumping info let me know when you want me to stop lol. The corners sound like they certainly helped do you in but the nail in the coffin is when you waited too long behind that guy that was flaggering. Had you been assessing him you may have switched off his wheel before he even started falling back.
@@noobgravelgal no the info is great! I’m drinking it all in ;) I’ll have to spend a lot more time on group rides in general to practice these tips… there weren’t any 90* turns, but there was one hairpin, and one of the corners goes uphill pretty quick (so everyone slowed at that corner)
@@JadenFeddock Im guessing you primarily ride on Zwift or an indoor trainer then? Great way to get your fitness up. Unfortunate downside is it does the pack positioning for you. It sounds like you just could use some practice getting used to pack riding and pack tactics. Have any large group rides in your area? They dont have to be race rides, just start riding in a group of 10-20 peeps and you should start picking up things that will help for your next race really fast. If anything it will help you just be more confident and comfortable in a pack.
@@noobgravelgal exactly… winter up here in Utah is cold! But now that it’s warming up, easier to find group rides in the area… I’ll have to prioritize that for sure! Thank you again!!
