I stumbled upon a Criterum race while at the L’Etape du Tour last month in France and I was intrigued. A criterium, or crit, is a bike race held on a short circuit (usually less than 5 km), often run on closed roads. Race length is determined by number of laps or total time. The average speed and intensity are significantly higher than a road race. The winner is the first rider to cross the finish line without having been lapped. Crits often have point prizes called primes (pronounced “preems”), for winning specific intermediate laps. In order to compete in the UK you need a race licence from British Cycling. You will also need good technical skills, smooth cornering while holding your line and the ability to ride safely in a large group.

Crit Race Issoire, France

So armed with my new race licence I went to Goodwood to give it a crack! The Surrey Cycle Racing League run a 17-week series every Tuesday from April 26th until August 23rd. The Races are 13 laps of Goodwood motor circuit which equates to about 30miles/48km lasting about 70minutes. The circuit is dead flat but can get windy on some sections. Luckily I had the Pearmanator to hand (Team Wiggle’s experienced bike racer) who gave me some great tips for my first race.

This race was a handicapped race which means the different Cats get set off at intervals but by lap 3 or 4 the other Cats have caught the gap an you’re all riding together Elites to Cat 4′s. I started with the Cat 4′s with fellow Wiggle Team Rider James Braid, just back from his epic trip to the Alps. We worked together leading out the first few laps enjoying the smooth tarmac and no traffic. I soon realised on lap 10 this was a mistake as I’d burned all my energy and was struggling to stay with the main group, whose average speed was now around 28mph! I rolled into the finish on my own and was awarded the “Lantern Rouge” which I later found out is polite French cycling terminology for LAST! Despite this I was buzzing, it was awesome fun riding in a large group at high speed and feeling the drag of the main group on the long straights. I was hooked and signed up for the next race the following Tuesday.

Team Wiggle Riders Pearmanator (left) and James Braid (right)

So next Tuesday came round pretty quick and I was ready to race again. I paced myself on the first few laps staying in the main bunch and not staying on the front for long. By half way I was feeling good staying in the front part of the main bunch and on lap 7 I managed to get a good tow round the last bend and made a sprint for the prime points and managed 2nd! This made the next lap very tough as I tried to recover from my effort, but my fellow Team Wiggle riders Jon C and The Pearmanator helped me out with some good tows. On the last few laps the pace further increased and I managed to stay with the main bunch. By the last lap I was near the front and managed to finish in the top 20. Bit better than last from the previous week! There are only 2 more races left in the series but I will definitely be entering more crits.

Lap 7 Prime

So if you fancy taking your cycling to a new level get yourself a race license and find out where your local club races are…its way more fun than the turbo trainer! All the info you need is on the British Cycling website. Next big event for me is the Galway 70.3 Ironman in September…wish me luck!

Thanks for reading,

Big Bird