First Criterium this Sunday: Tips?

[Ride]

Race report?

A big fat fail; I didn't place. However, I had heaps of fun doing it. One of the veterans said that my cadence was too high. I was zooming around at 100+ rpm but he said that I was not taking advantage of my power at that rate. The pack, about 10 or so Adult C (Cat 4?) slowly pulled away from me and I basically ran the race on my own trying to get around and not be lapped.

Open Women and Junior A started right on our heals and I managed to pass the junior pack and the women's pack at some point. I never caught back on to my group. I was told they were 20 to 30 seconds ahead of me. I kept my pace of about 2 min per lap through the entire race but it did fluctuate up to 2:15 at one point. If I can get some balance on cadence and power I think I'll be able to hang with the group next time.

There is a road race next weekend. I'll try to tweak the cadence and see what happens.

Race route: http://goo.gl/maps/o3Qvq

Race video:

Ride

 

[Ride]

Results have been posted. I came seventh out of twelve.

Look in Adult C

http://www.islandstats.com/sport.asp?assoc=1&sport=39

 

[Rob3rt]

Glad you had fun. Also, it is not a fail to have not placed, it was your 1st race. 6 people might have beat you, but you beat 5 others!

Only 12 competitors though? Bit sparse!

Re. cadence, I don't race crits or RR's, only TT's and HC's so take this with a pinch of salt but I have tended to do okay in TT's riding at 100-110 rpm, I don't think such a cadence is a limiter in terms of getting the power out, so I would say don't worry about your cadence. In fact a slightly higher cadence suggests you push an easier gear, which means if there is a sudden change in pace, you are going to be more likely to be able to respond than some grinder who has to suddenly push out a load of watts to get on top of his gear.

 

[Ride]

Glad you had fun. Also, it is not a fail to have not placed, it was your 1st race. 6 people might have beat you, but you beat 5 others!

Only 12 competitors though? Bit sparse!

Re. cadence, I don't race crits or RR's, only TT's and HC's so take this with a pinch of salt but I have tended to do okay in TT's riding at 100-110 rpm, I don't think such a cadence is a limiter in terms of getting the power out, so I would say don't worry about your cadence. In fact a slightly higher cadence suggests you push an easier gear, which means if there is a sudden change in pace, you are going to be more likely to be able to respond than some grinder who has to suddenly push out a load of watts to get on top of his gear.

Yes, only 12 in Adult C. I added a link to the results from all classes. Much more then 12. Not bad numbers for such a small place. http://www.islandstats.com/sport.asp?assoc=1&sport=39

Ride

 

[zizou]

Dont treat it as a fail, you enjoyed yourself and gained some experience thats a good first race.

Wouldnt worry too much about cadence either. There was a guy in Flanders yesterday on a similar bike to yours who was doing just fine in terms of power output with a cadence of 100+ rpm!

Sticking with the group will get easier when you have more experience too. Looking at the video briefly you could often get closer to the rider in front and then you'll be able to conserve more energy.

 

[montage]

Glad you had fun. Also, it is not a fail to have not placed, it was your 1st race. 6 people might have beat you, but you beat 5 others!

Only 12 competitors though? Bit sparse!

Re. cadence, I don't race crits or RR's, only TT's and HC's so take this with a pinch of salt but I have tended to do okay in TT's riding at 100-110 rpm, I don't think such a cadence is a limiter in terms of getting the power out, so I would say don't worry about your cadence. In fact a slightly higher cadence suggests you push an easier gear, which means if there is a sudden change in pace, you are going to be more likely to be able to respond than some grinder who has to suddenly push out a load of watts to get on top of his gear.

I thought that was a bit odd until I checked where the race was!

 

[montage]

Ride - sounds like you did just fine, place about halfway down the pack so a good result!

 

[smutchin]

Cancellara was doing what looked like a steady 120rpm @ 50km/h while TTing his way to victory in the final 15km of RVV yesterday.

If a high cadence is good enough for Spartacus...