22/03/2016
Waterford Cycle Centre Crit 2016
This years crit will run for
10 weeks starting from
7th April , the first night will be open to anyone that would like to come out and give it a go !
Sign on from 5:45pm , Airport Business Park, Waterford
Start time - 6:30pm
1st off - Non racing /lady's
2nd off - A4 racing
3rd off - A3 racing
4th off - A2/A1
Time gaps will be notified on the first night, and may be altered week by week.
Entry fee - €5.00 per nigh
Changing facilities and toilets,parking are on site.
Race Rules
“NO HELMET / NO RIDE"
you can have a vis vest
Racing's pretty simple, but in crits there's some interesting rules - for example if you have a mechanical problem - a puncture etc, you can usually take a lap out to fix it and then rejoin the main bunch in your grade. You have to ride around to the race officials and inform them. You can't do this in the last few laps - but the officials should tell you that at the start. If you've been dropped by your bunch and lapped, you have to pull out with 3 laps to go and stay out of the way for the rest of the time. It is illegal to ride with another grade. If you're riding A4 and A3 comes past overtaking your bunch, you are not permitted to jump across into the A3 bunch. You have to ride outside their slipstream. Usually your bunch will be neutralised (no overtaking)when being overtaken, and if you think that's a good time for a surge or an attack, be prepared to be disqualified!
As you get closer to the finish, the pace usually increases, and riders will try late attacks and so on, don't panic at this point. If you have a plan, stick to it (at least for your first race!). And you do have a plan, right? If you're in a sprint for the finish, ride in a straight line, do not try and weave over the road to stop anyone overtaking you. It's illegal and very dangerous. Once you cross the finish line, ease off and roll around the course or follow the instructions of the officials. There's usually other groups racing at the same time and you don't want to get in their way, especially close to a finish! If you think you got a place or won, see the finish line officals and tell them . Also, although the Pros put both hands in the air when celebrating a win, don't do it. It's actually illegal in amateur racing to take both hands off the bars at any point during a race, and you run the risk of not only crashing, but being disqualified!
And that's it, your first criterium! Get out and do it!
Your first criterium
A Criterium is a short road race, typically on a road circuit of between 800 metres to 2 to 3 kilometers. Crits are short, fast races, often involving technical (lots of corners!) courses with close competition. They usually have no set distance, but instead the race is run over a set time and then a number of laps. For example, A1 and A2 grade race for 60 minutes and then three laps, while A3 and A4 grade race for less time, but still with 3 laps at the completion of the time. Having a timer as part of your cycle computer is therefore useful!This is one example and our session will be decided buy the numbers attended
What do I need to bring?
• Water bottles, take one on your bike, and one for afterwards. As the races are short there's rarely a need for more than one bottle, and also there's no need to eat during a crit. It's good to have some sugar immediatly afterwards though.
• A legal bicycle.require that you use a road-race legal bicycle. This means a conventional double-diamond frame and conventional wheels. Road bike handlebars are mandatory, and the ends of the bars must be plugged. Partially this rule is for safety reasons, and partially to ensure a level playing field. You can't ride disk wheels, you can't use aerobars. Lights, mirrors, frame pumps etc, take them off before you race. Apart from them being heavy(!) they're against the rules.
• Safety equipment. This should be a no-brainer.. Gloves aren't mandatory, but I think anyone racing without gloves on is insane. Skin tears easily in crashes, hands don't heal well at all. You should wear cycling clothes, everyone else will be in lycra knicks and cycle racing jersey
