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Criterium Racing 101
The USA Crits Series is a one-of-a-kind event that brings together the best and most exciting criterium races and athletes from across the country together in one racing series. Whether you attend either the National or Southeastern Series (or both), we would like to offer some suggestions that will enhance your experience at any of these criterium races.
A criterium is a short, technical, enclosed course, generally through cities or downtown areas, and are usually 1 kilometer in length (which is .6 of a mile long). Criteriums, unlike other bicycle races, are extremely spectator friendly since you, as a fan, are able to enjoy the race for a longer period of time. The air around a criterium course is filled with excitement and anticipation, not to mention lined with activities to participate in all day long.
At the beginning of a criterium, there will be call-ups, a ceremonial event of sorts that brings the best rider from each team represented in the race to the front of the group, or peloton. National champions and past winners of each respective race are generally those who get a call-up. Make sure you watch the beginning of the race since this may be the only time all the riders are together.
Furthermore, watch the race from several different vantage points from around the race course. You will be able to see how team strategy and tactics develop throughout the race and how riders navigate through the turns and accelerate down the straight-a-ways. Walking around the course in the opposite direction of the racers will ensure that you see more action as you make your way to another viewing section.
An important principle to note is that the racer at the front during the race is not necessarily ahead and may not win the race. Strategies like drafting or sitting in, where racers ride close together attempting to limit the effects of air resistance, help save energy throughout the race, and the rider who saves the most energy generally wins the final sprint to the finish.
Team strategy plays an important role in energy conservation. Team members work together to either keep the peloton together or to keep it a part. Working to keep the field together is important, especially if the team is confident in their sprinter, a rider who specializes in, well, sprinting to the finish. By drafting, the team sets up what is know as a train for a lead-out for the sprinter. The train sets the pace at the front of the pack to ensure that their sprinter will be the first to the line. If a rider is in a break away, the team members remaining in the peloton will attempt to keep the pack away from the lead group. By minimizing attacks from the front of the group by other teams and keeping the group at a slower pace, this allows the rider in the break to maintain his or her chance of winning the race.
Team strategy also comes into play when talking about the sprint line or primes. Indicated by a bell, primes are races within the race, where riders race around the course, and whomever crosses the sprint line first (which can be the start/finish line or another line marked on the course) in the respective lap wins the prime/sprint prize – which can be points or monetary payout. The overall race continues on after a prime lap is completed. There can be several primes within one race, and usually there is a mid-race prime signaled halfway through the race, which is a 3-place prime awarded to the first 3 riders across the sprint line. So why are team tactics important here? Many teams will focus on winning the primes within a race since primes normally are attached with large payouts. Many races also have a sprint jersey. So, the rider who wins the most amount of prime/sprint points wins the sprint jersey and the prize associated with it.
Also, you may notice the riders eating and drinking throughout the race. Since bicycle racing requires large amounts of effort for a prolonged period of time, nutrition during the race is an important way that the riders keep their energy level up. And as discussed above, the rider who reserves the most amount of energy is more likely to win the race.
No matter the outcome of the race or who you are cheering for, the rider who wins is sure to be an exceptionally-conditioned athlete with a team that is built on trust, tenacity, and determination. So, sit back and enjoy the show this year at the 2007 USA Crits Series races.
