Red Hook Criterium London

Triangles. Loominarty confirm.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=sPfxMIhEUrQ

For many this will be their debut race, keep the questions rolling

Why?

I'm tempted to say you have to start somewhere, but at the same time I'm not really sure this is the race is the best place to start...

Though I'm sure it will be fine.

It's quite a baptism of fire, but at least with this Crit, if you progress to the main race and can't keep up, you get pulled out, so less chance to get in the way of the professional amateurs.

Hahaha actual tears from laughter

IMO if this is your first fixed crit race its not a good place to start. As I have found out it takes years to become a good crit rider. Currently doing my first ever fixed crit season (which is punishing and especially when racing against the likes of Team Cinelli Chrome who are just insanely fast). I am not saying you shouldn't do the qualifying or racing but bear the following points in mind:

You need to be aggressive - meaning you have to push yourself to the front of the pack at the starting line (you haven't even started racing yet). You have to fight for your space on the course.

Sprinting - one needs to be able to maintain sprints at high intensity (120rpm+) in order to keep up with the peloton. Gear ratio plays a big part here - going too heavy will hamper your ability to do this in the beginning and also end of the race when you really need to sprint for the line. Blackouts can occur if you are not used to such high levels of intensity. It is the last thing you want being in the middle of a pack - losing focus for a nanosecond is not an option.

Drafting - this has been mooted before. You need to be confident to stay in a back wheel of the the rider in front to maintain the pace - once you lose more than a metre or two you will drop back fast unless you can recover quick enough to sprint again (again gear ratio all important). Bring chainrings because on the day there are other factors to consider - wind, gear ratio others are riding etc. Double sided track hubs are a good weapon too ;-)

Confidence/fearlessness - from my own personal experience of having amateur crit racers around you is a terrifying experience. Why you may ask? The inexperienced ones will jump up back wheels/skid to slow down as coming in too fast to a technical corner and this is a classic recipe for disaster - often ends in crashes and broken collarbones. You need to be able to slow down by releasing pressure from the pedals as you would do in the velodrome (its a big plus to be an experienced velodrome rider). Fear is a big aspect to this race - one cannot have any fear because it will likely cause a crash.

To achieve the best possible performance you need to train hard (this goes without saying) and work on the high intensity training for runs of 35-50km. Average should be around 30-35kmh solo (in a pack its easier to maintain if you regularly switch riders at the front). Doing anything more than 50km is counter productive.

I hope this gives you guys (newbies) some idea what to expect. I would have competed this year but know my level is not there yet and I'm aiming to be on course for next season.

Happy training guys and go H.A.M. on the day! If you need any good training routes in London feel free to ask ;-)

tl;dr ...what saddle will everyone be using?

it's an obvious choice

and what about moustaches? ironic or semi ironic?

Terrifying?

You need a dose of this;

Ha ha andyp that's really gonna make a lot of difference... You are going round a corner with a bunch (not paceline may I add) and people in the middle are jumping back wheels to slow down right in front of you whilst you have pedal to the metal - if that's not terrifying then I don't know what is.....?

If you get terrified in bunch races then I'd really prefer if you weren't racing alongside me.

people in the middle are jumping back wheels to slow down right in front of you whilst you have pedal to the metal

can someone translate?

Fixie skidderz r deth

Qualifiers are going to be lols to watch. Going to bring deck chair and popcorn.

I'm 10 time more afraid of scared people like you than people slowing down fast (i guess that is what you refer to).
Try to Backpedal hard at +20mph with a decent gear, extremely hard. So no one will slow down like crazy in front of you. You can only do that with very low gear....impossible to qualify with 70" gear.
Scared people panic and behave in a much more dangerous way, lateral move without looking, not announcing line change, not holding the line, not steady pace....
After some time, you can spot them at the velodrome and stay far away from them. If you can't, you will stick to the wrong wheel as you can't spot either the strong guy capable to break out. And stay at the front of the pack, back is always much weaker and more dangerous (but you need serious training/legs to do that).

You still have time to get some training at the velodrome...not too late.

1v1 Drag Sprints will be going down the night before..

PM me your FB name for invite.

And while on the subject..

Best fixed rider in London will be decided next week.

I understand your points (both santino and umop3pisdn) but look to explain in more detail it was a technical corner (90 degree turn) and the race had just begun (1st lap) so everyone was going hard and some too hard for the said technical corner causing this instance of people braking by jumping up the back wheels. Luckily no crash happened (only 5 laps later).

At the end of the day its all about being professional and respecting those who are riding around you, which I do.

I imagine all the jokes riders will get weeded out during qualifying. Qualifying won't be like a typical RR anyway

Yep they are indeed.

At the end of the day bike races have sketchy riders in sometimes. spot them and avoid them. If your strong enough to stay near the front and out of trouble then do that. if your not, then you know your not going to place anyway so just have fun and ride safe.

Worth watching these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flEx19ywkMY&list=PLUdAMlZtaV10DXaKA900aksfQfhjQlEGO
&v=flEx19ywkMY