What Is A Criterium?
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- čas přidán 26. 03. 2015
- Criterium racing is becoming increasingly popular, with it's addictive mix of speed, corners and excitement. Click here to subscribe to GCN: gcn.eu/SubscribeToGCN
Crits take place on a circuit of 1-2 kilometres, which riders tackle a number of times over the course of 1-2 hours. The pace is intense throughout, with riders going over their threshold several times. Positioning, cornering and bike handling are key to being a good crit racer - ultimately anything that saves you energy for that final sprint will come in handy! We also caught up with Optum's Phil Gaimon for his take on this shorter type of race.
Thanks to the organisers of the Tour Down Under, the Sunny King Criterium and the Athens Twilight Criterium for the use of their footage.
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Nice primer on Crits. I remember reading a letter to the editor in one of the cycling magazines (citation neded) asking the question: "what is the best criterium bike?" the telling reply was "three cheep ones".
JIM GAIRDNER I
3rd alternative in GCN's Shaving vs. Waxing series. Crashing in the corners provide you with the speed of shaving and the pain of waxing all rolled into one. Lol.
Phil Gaimon has a book out, "Pro cycling on $10 a day" would recommend it to anyone!
2:54 that guy in the crowd in the left wtheck
Jordi Eslotes Haha, well spotted. I was focused on the unfortunate cyclists first time round. Someone LOVES crashes... Think he needs to fall off his bike to be reminded how it feels and so regain some empathy...
Member of mcc cycling club in Perth australia in under 15. Really appreciate and enjoy all your videos keep up the good work
Phil Gaimon needs to be on more often! Good video.
you think? i've never heard of him. he looks like he needs more sun, nice enough bloke though.
Very cool seeing you use the Sunny King Criterium for a lot of your footage!
Spent many Thursday evening racing the 3rd/4th cat. crit at Eastway when I was a teenager - great way to learn about bike handing and just how to ride in a bunch.
Great video. Makes me want to go watch a crit. Also makes me want to watch more Phil.
My favorite part of a crit is when it's over and we can move on. I only do them in stage races or when it's a popular one and my team needs me.
How apt it is to put how to improve your cornering as a suggestion
+1 for a video about cornering technique.
My first race was at the Sunny King Crit, which is featured throughout this video...memories:)
Hey GCN how about some videos about riding in (and winning) crits? There is definitely an etiquette and technique that new riders (like my former self) are ignorant of and which more experienced riders seek to master....especially when it comes to keeping your line to avoid crashes. Also, training for crits is different than training for road races. Your boundless wisdom would be much appreciated in this regard!
Has there been a video on how to prepare/train for your first crit race? It would be great as they are a bit of a step into the unknown for many of us!
Shoutout to a couple shots of the Sunny King Crit!!!
More Phil!!!!
i'd like to point out nationsnumber1beast's channel, where he uploads lots of videos of crits. Just awesome POV-footage.
I do crits out of necessity... there are not enough proper road races run around here. I hate the darn things.
I'm skinny and no good at crit racing but there are not enough proper road races round me too. I end up having to travel 40 miles just to get to a road race that I might not even place in
Living in america, I wish I could say I don’t feel that...
My first-ever race will be a crit a month from now, so I was very excited to see this. I can't wait!
why are you waiting so long?
cyc00000 not a lot of races in my area.
Ethan Sandstedt thats a shame.
In Belgium/Vlaanderen we call it 'kermis koers'. Kermis refers to local fairs which are held around the racing, making for a busy weekend (party) for the local town folk. The average distance is 80km, with the course averaging 6km, giving you enough chance early on to get a good feel for the course. It's an intense type of racing with an average speed of 39km per hour, involving anywhere between 120-150 corners or bends whereafter the tempo is always ramped up again (mini-sprints)! We race according to age groups (18-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60, 60+) as well as a 'tourist' category. The first few rounds see a high tempo with lots of attacks in order to shake off the weak and wheel-suckers, then it settles down a bit before increasing again from half-way to the end. As for crashes: I've had more crashes during training! Never during a race! Touch wood!
yup, a vid on Kermesse's would be nice, a whole different ball game
Sounds pretty crap, we have some ace crits in Australia. Melbourne especially has a real type of cycling culture you wouldn't understand. The world fastest crits are run here, they're real fast.
cyc00000 'Crap' is a kermis-koers in Lokeren, a 3.5km course with more 90 degree turns than a Pakman game! Longest straight stretch is 200m, which turns onto a 150m cobble sector, whereafter sharp turn right, then 80m to the finish line. Some of the turns are around a school, therefore speed bumps (while leaning into the turn)! I raced once in Lokeren, never again! Do they have cobbles in the Aussie crits?
Darren Janes of course our crits are lame compared to even the crapest kermis over there. I was just trolling fat arsed aussies
Darren Janes "kermis" has been explained to me as the flemish word for "circus" by someone from Belgium.
damn, crits are intense!
Don't brake if you don't have to, one of the best crit tips I've ever heard.
Is Phil Gaimon going to be a regular? Seems like a good move.
I hope he comes back to the world tour again in the future
The toughest crit racing is definitely taking place in the Netherlands!
They are also great for youths it realy helps your bike handling
Hello GCN,
I was wondering if there is stats on how many more crashes there on in crits than road races. Thanks.
A lot of footage from the Sunny King Criterium held in Anniston, AL. Just a hours drive from me!
Guys are you planning on entering a criterium in 2016? You could show us the preparation, warm-up, discuss tactics beforehand and race as a team? It's been a long while since this video, so perhaps the concept needs dusting off? #askgcn #TorqueBack
Most of what we do here in the states. Fast, hard, dangerous, and good for fans.
sprintermaximus All on 14 kg road bikes ? Perfect sign me up .
heh, I'm in this video! You guys used several bits of footage from Athens Twilight 2014 there at the end.
@gcn you guys need to do an update to this blog.
any good short crit videos
Most post-tour criteriums the pro's ride are set-up right? The organisers want the tourwinner on their top spot of the podium and often a popular rider of the home country on the podium too. So which criteriums are the real deal, and which aren't?
The Milk Race in Nottingham :)
So THAT'S why they have all those signs saying Adelaide. Looks like I've always underestimated them as a local.
Number 1 Rule of Criterium Racing: Always give yourself adequate room. Otherwise: SPLAT. And you can't win if SPLAT happens. And it's horrendously expensive. And painful.
Grrr.... I hate SPLAT! >.
I'd like to see a video on cornering in a pack technique. I have always struggle, btw, to understand why bicycle cornering technique is so differently from that of motorcycles. On bicycles, we are told to keep the body more upright whereas on motorcycles we hang our bodies off the bike. WTF!?
The big difference is the ratio of body weight to the weight of the motor-/bicycle and therefore the distribution of the forces is quite different. To compensate that in order to have maximum grip you have to use different techniques.
mik3ydll Thank you for the reply... yes, I figured it is related to relative weight and speed... but have you ever tired cornering a bicycle like you would a motorcycle? I do it sometimes out of habit and it feels good... I can hang my body off the bicycle and corner without leaning the bike as much as I would otherwise. So then I ask myself why we all don't always do it that way and I wonder if it has to do with what happens if the bike starts to slide out from under you (?).... MUCH easier to recover if you are not hanging off the bike. Thoughts?
Michael Fiola I also do it more often I possibly should 😅.
What could be a problem is, if the center of mass is too far in the corner that the tiny tires can't provide the grip needed and your bike slides away (I wouldn't like that to happen). With that in mind the possible cornering speed with a motorcycle is much higher than with a bike. Also touching the road with the knee like in motogp wouldn't be very pleasant xD
Big tip when cornering: Keep low. The lower your centre of mass, the quicker you will corner (physics). However, don't try and corner too sharply, because the tyres could let you down
Hi im 13 i just cycled 30 miles do u have any tips
Make Phil a regular presenter!
Criteriums are for climbers what climbs are for criterium racers. I love climbs and I hate crits, but I think they are an awesome way to promote cycling and to get the public's attention.
What happened to the musette video lol?!
maybe they got nobbled by Ferroro Rocher lawyers ;)
We have a crit around a 500m course. Don't get a lot of time when you get spit out the back...
That would just be a outdoor velodrome...
+Mark Cunningham old NASCAR track without banking called "the mellowdrome"
Ok but not all velodromes have bankings and vary in size. Its a velodrome
+Mark Cunningham yes. its a vellowdrome, that's why we call it a mellowdrome.
I won one once ... a long time ago
you forgot about Red hook
Late reply but it's not UCI sanctioned and sits outside of most if not all cyclings governing bodies. Pity because I love watching it.
Even better with track bikes.
Juan Fernando Cerón Tafurth No, en realidad no.
Saying its less exciting because it takes place over 90mins instead of 5 hours is bogus, the excitement builds over the 5 hpurs its more exciting watching the culmination of hpurs work than minutes
how do i train for crits?
Dan Warfe do over and unders
Would I be able to race a in a crit with a 53/39 and a 11-25, 11-speed in the back? I'm pretty new and got a race bike at a good price.
If you can push it; then why not?
Duy Phan
some people say that I would be undergeared. But I didn't know exactly since I haven't had the opportunity to test myself against others.
Doesn't really matter how fast they go; if you can't stay on 53-11 yourself, then that gear wouldn't be undergeared (for you). If you spin out while on that gear, then it's undergeared. Only you know how strong you are, so that is where you should ask first.
yes exactly what I meant! Do you have an opinion?
4thwonder
yes exactly what I meant! Do you have an opinion?
who did you race Armstrong didn't face chit a Cruz
And that's Crit racing for you crashes, high speed, corners in just an hour 😂👌
This just looks brutal😩
I'd say KierIn is more like NASCAR, crits are more like F1, especially fixed gear ones.
festival for folks with short attention spans
you roadies want to see something a little more intense look up on youtube wolfpack hustle civic center criterium its all on track/fixie bikes
You DO know that the Criterium/Critérium differentiation doesn't work in French, right? ;¬)
RED HOOK CRIT
Who narrates these videos?
not me.
you dont need to piss during 1hour races...
Phil gaymen
told us everything excelpt how a crit actually wokrs
it's shaped like a little bean and hides in a hood made from skin. whatevs.
If you finish first, you win. Like a normal road race, except on a circuit. I think that's a pretty comprehensive summary.
Lots of cornering. Not much tactics beside just sit in and sprint and corner really well.
Bananas
I train on a 14 kg road bike alloy, would love to see these guys race me on a 14 kg road bike weight race lmfao. Let's have a Criterium with 14 kg road bikes... Let's see who show's up
More like F1 than nascar. In Nascar you only go left, and there is hardly any cornering skills involved.
Fisrt
Gotta say as a lanky boy that i’m not a fan
Phil Gaimon is one of the worst crit racers. He is even quoted at Redlands joking about his inability to race crits
C to the R to the I to the T...
I thought it was a European thing because the word sounds French.
I was thinking Nascar on bikes and then he said it, ideal for the "I demand entertainment now" generation of people wanting to see crashes and high speed at the cost of what makes cycling special. Stop Americanizing things please.
Major MajorMajor then don't watch or race in crits? It's just different.
It’s more like formula one.
Look very American.
Nascar... 'Merica
LIKE NASCAR ? WTF ... Nascar is the absolute rock bottom version of car racing ... crits are a very demanding type of bike race ... (read in comicbookguy's voice): worst comparison ever
Crits are pretty rock bottom depending on your location. There is a bay side club in Melbourne that runs crits a big fat pig can get around no worries.
I actually did a crit on a mascar course that featured left and right turns, but the corners were banked, so it practically turned the bike for you. Easiest crit I have ever done, another was on an F1 track, much harder without the banks.