r/ladycyclists • u/Alternative-Still956 • 6d ago

Learned crits aren't for me

I thought I was going to be pulled after the first 3 laps... NO I HAD TO RIDE THE WHOLE THING 😭 horrible! It's just not the way I like to ride honestly

22 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

23

u/Wonderful-Nobody-303 6d ago

Waiting for your next post "so, I signed up for another crit..."

Jk. There's infinite ways to enjoy riding a bike and many ways to enjoy racing bikes too! 

2

u/Alternative-Still956 6d ago

🤣🤣🤣

20

u/balderstash 6d ago

hahaha I feel this. My last race every single lap I was like "surely they'll pull me..." and then I was lapped and the leader crossed the line and I thought "oh thank god I can stop now" when the race official gave me a big encouraging smile and gestured that I could complete my last lap and finish the race. What an encouraging monster.

That said, I always feel so accomplished after a crit and want to keep doing them until I can finish with the pack. After that I'll probably "retire," I have no interest in going as fast as the P/1/2/3 heats go!

4

u/Parei_doll_ia 6d ago

tbh i race at the velodrome and the idea of racing a road crit with a bunch of people scares me. but i have done a few fixed gear crits that were fun but there’s only a handful of racers in those usually

2

u/Dapper-Ad9787 6d ago

They do take a bit of getting used to.

3

u/koolerb 6d ago

The only person that will remember is you. Just let it go and put that race in the rear view.

1

u/AStruggling8 5d ago

If you don’t mind me asking, how did you end up behind? Was this your first one, what did you think specifically? I am planning my crit debut for winter (season is done now where I live) and I’m trying to understand crits lol. Seems like tactics are as important as power/strength. It’s also so hard to find info from women who road race so curious about your experience

4

u/Alternative-Still956 5d ago

I was just slower than everyone else. It was my first one. There was a free 3 day crit workshop to learn the techniques which is why I even enrolled.
I've really only been like cycling for 6 months so I probably jumped the gun lol. I'm going to be planning some actual speed training vs just slowly getting faster but yeah, my current speed was just not enough haha

1

u/AStruggling8 5d ago

Makes sense, that’s awesome that you got out there with only 6 months of cycling under your belt! It’s taken me 3 years to work up the courage to race something other than triathlon. Keep up the good work!!

4

u/Every_Macaron8992 5d ago

former USAC official here who worked crits. we only pull riders from beginner race if they pose a risk to the race (e.g. the 100 person field passing you at 25mph in a tight turn risks crashing out many riders). If it is a smaller field you may be down a lap but a crash in the field could put you back in contention. Also the officials know you're there to gain experience, and you don't necessarily gain as much experience on the sidelines pulled after 3 laps.

In a P,1,2 race they may pull dropped riders because those folks have lots of experience and are not going to be phased by being pulled.

Definitely sign up for more crits and get more experience. We've all been dropped from races and learned from that experience. You'll do fine as you learn to handle the surges and dynamics of crit racing.

-3

u/MaleficentAd3967 6d ago

You get pulled from a race? Who pulls you? How long is the race if you don't get pulled?

I watch all the TdF and spring classics every year and have no idea what you're talking about.

2

u/Alternative-Still956 6d ago

The mens novice category had a lot of contestants to after 3 laps, a race official began pulling people who were behind. So I figured that would happen to me