Any tips for my first time fixed gear crit?

I have (potentially foolishly) signed up to do Fixed 42 this May with no prior experience of racing. So, in order to get some much needed experience, I'm planning on racing the first of the NL crit series and hopefully thundercrit prior to Rad Race.

I just wanted to ask if anyone has any tips/things they wish they knew before their first race for me as it would be a massive understatement to say I'm nervous about them ?

I also thought to do some road crits (such as the full gas league at Lee Valley), would this be worth while?

Cheers!

Fixed 42 isn't like other fixed gear races because it's on big open roads and there's no sharp corners. You want to put on the biggest gear you can push at about 100rpm for an hour because it's fast. That said, there's literally hundreds of people and a good chunk of them have never raced before, this means there will be dodgy moves, people overlapping wheels, moving sideways without looking etc as well as some that are just nervous.

Do some crits if you can and get comfortable riding in a big group, taking corners shoulder to shoulder with someone, learn how to move up through a group without causing a crash etc. It all comes with experience, the more you do it, the more you'll learn.

NL crit series is meant to be very well run, there is a strong field and good courses, it will be a good introduction to fixed crits. Thundercrit will of course be awesome, the circuit is good, the field isn't too massive and there's split groups of abilities so you don't have to race against the fastest guys if you're just starting out. I'm not sure when it will be but Minet Crit at Hillingdon is good too.

You're on this forum so I assume you're comfortable riding fixed around traffic, but if you've not ridden brakeless before then give it a go, obviously not on busy roads at first, but practice how fast you can take corners, how low you can lean and how to emergency stop if you need to.

Thanks for the advice man, that's really helpful! I think the thing I'm most worried about is other people making me crash or worse, me making other people crash.

Get used to riding in a bunch at speed and you'll be fine. It's about moving predictably, looking before you move and being careful where you put your front wheel, if you're overlapping with the rear wheel in front and that person moves sideways, it may take you down and leave them fine.

don't lean?

That makes sense, I'll just focus on being predictable and positioning myself well in the pack. I assume it's potentially safer to be towards the back of the bunch, although you can potentially get caught in crashes?

The front of the pack is the safest because there's less chance of someone in front of you crashing, there's usually a bit more room to move around too. Although saying that, when people are fighting to be at the front it's more dangerous than if people accept there isn't room for everyone. The main thing is that everyone needs to go to work the next day, no one is getting paid to race so if you get a change and see a gap, go for it, but don't try and force gaps that don't exist and if you're stuck behind people in the final sprint then you're already too late, you should have moved up earlier.

Right, I get you. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions, I really do appreciate that and I feel much more confident going into it now. I think I just need to do it and all the questions I have will get answered through experience. You can't teach someone how to race over the internet, at some point you just need to get on a bike and do it!

Yeah, the Lee Valley crits or other locals crits are good for experience. A lot of racing is just practice and fixed crits don't feel too different from road crits apart from tighter corners and no braeks.

To hijack the thread somewhat, is there any kind of fixed gear crit scene in the UK? Been trying to find any which are happening and seems to be limited info, anyone able to shed any light?

Sounds like I just need to put my name down for as many races as I can, I'll definitely sign up for some of the Lee Valley races. In terms of meeting people who race the road crits are there any clubs you would recommend? I think the most daunting thing would be turning up not knowing anyone and then not having anyone to laugh with about getting dropped after the first lap. London Velo CC has come up on various feeds and looks decent, some of them do fixed crits as well if I'm not mistaken

There's Thundercrit, Minet Crit, London Nocturne, Red Hook London. There's room for more but dates will start clashing with the ones in mainland Europe.
https://fixedgearcrit.com/calendar/
https://fixedbeers.com/events/

Do you have any sponsors?

Thanks for the info, appreciated!

If you sign up for any road crits that aren't during office hours, I'd come along and give it a go so we can not know anyone together

I like the sound of that man! I need to sort out a British Cycling licence and all that jazz first so might not be for a bit but I'll look for ones that are on the weekends and definitely keep you posted

How many Instagram followers do you have?

To add in my part, I did my first 3 bike races last year which were fixed crits. All the ones I entered were great fun, will be doing more this year!

Yo!
Right before the very first NLcrit race in the Netherlands (7th of April) there's a fixed crit clinic hosted by Yvo Kinkel from team FAST. He's got bare experience riding and racing fixed gear crits.
I know it's a bit long to come over to the Netherlands for a clinic and race, but just putting it out there :)
NLcrits are divided in 2 groups too. The B category for beginners and the A category for experienced riders. So could be a good low key intro to the sport of racing fixed !
Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/events/556361511411211/

Ah amazing, I'll definitely check that out. Thanks for the head up!