How do the Pros Warm Up for a Criterium?

[@nerdalert545]

The only way to warm up for a crit by showing up late, pinning your number on as everyone else is lining up.

[@NorCalCycling]

this feels personal 😂

[@adadinthelifeofacyclist]

My daughter's still trying to get this method to work... 😬 (Okay, we've got earlier in recent years 😅)

[@FuriousFilipino]

The only way to warm up! Even better if you have to drive to the venue like it’s a rally special stage, get’s the heart rate up before getting the legs warm.

[@adadinthelifeofacyclist]

@@FuriousFilipino I drive 🏎️, my daughter races. Could work better if she drives; if the rider is a nervous wreck on arrival, is that warmed up enough? 😁

[@alanrogala1167]

Great video. Keep making these interview style videos.

[@BigBrownMonke]

Tom Perkins seems like a chill and goodhearted person

[@VonHanzee]

You love those gay vibes huh

[@danny_59067]

Love this style of video- great questions to help us newbie riders with concrete tips!

[@NorCalCycling]

Glad it was helpful!

[@richjones2263]

These last 2 on Nutrition and Warmup tips 🔥 👍🏾

[@NorCalCycling]

Glad you like them!

[@Mattskis36]

Jeff - how about your warmup routine?

[@JordyJayHomer]

It REALLY shitted me when guys in my races attacked from the 'gun', mostly because I couldn't warm up properly. I usually raced on big circuits with multiple grades at the same time. With so many riders and other stuff going on, races rarely started on time, so we'd usually be sitting still for at least ten minutes before we began. I could do at half-arsed warm up on an adjacent car park, but I missed the start once or twice by doing this. I pushed for a neutral lap or half lap, but not enough people wanted it

[@PatrickLino]

5:44 mark - Winspace T1500 and Hyper wheel riders UNITE!

[@MaLdocK]

What exactly are openers?

[@29203811919]

Same question

[@LekkerMan12]

I think its sprinting the day before to get the legs warm

[@CyclingChefDiane]

Openers are efforts to prepare the body, generally done the day before event, and generally at different energy systems, with full recovery. They "open you up" and "prepare you for the intensity". Everyone responds to load differently, so everyone has a different opener routine, a big part is figuring out what works best for your body.

[@MaLdocK]

@@CyclingChefDiane Massive thanks for this. I reckon it's more about firing up all the functional muscles including those at the top end huh

[@aquicktake]

This was insightful stuff. Kudos

[@julcerin]

Not use to the terminology… I understand the zones but don’t know what opener means.. could someone tell me what is an opener ? Thanks for your videos!!! ❤

[@NorCalCycling]

short but hard effort, generally like 20s to 1min at like 90%

[@jbp4532]

By pushing P

[@geeeforce]

are these guys paid a salary?

[@andrewrivera4029]

Seems like way too much before a race but they’re winning races so it seems to work for them.

[@boldcord7947]

Thanks for this

[@NorCalCycling]

my pleasure!

[@Northwindbreeze]

You see the type of cyclist I am: just by listening to them about their warm ups my legs are already toasted!

[@stevocanuck]

what is "openers" suppose to mean?

[@Northwindbreeze]

Are Warm up routines with efforts at certain intensities done usually a day before the race. But everyone does it slightly different.

[@stevocanuck]

why not just call them intervals? @@Northwindbreeze

[@Northwindbreeze]

the purpose of intervals is different from the Openers. When you do intervals, you are targeting zones and a specific energy system for a certain duration of time to produce adaptions when doing the Openers, you are stimulating those energy systems rather than attempting to improve them. The energy system has to have a stimulus in order to function better and finally, the openers are not training sessions: one shouldn't stimulate them like in an interval training session.@@stevocanuck

[@NorCalCycling]

intervals are training workouts to target a specific type of effort usually until exhaustion. openers are short and hard efforts the day before a race generally 20s to 1min at like 90% capacity (not all out until exhaustion)

[@harryluns]

Good stuff

[@1971lemond]

Americans are fixed on Crit races which is good for spectators”, it’s cool for those type of riders flat, fast, short course, are fine” However Road races are where true athletic ability is at. Time trials , climbing mountain passes, sprinting, and having descending skills is essential in an all round road racer. Of course this is the opinion and thinking of World tour riders that race in Europe and including the opinion on what Greg Lemond said as well. I did my fair share of countless crits and I got bored of doing them, now road racing was much much harder than crits any day, but way better than crits. Road racing test you on all aspects mentally and physically because of the distance involved in a road race. Some of my races exceed 120 miles, a Crit race is typically 40/55 miles. Most people in decent shape can ride this distance if flat. I get that there’s a skill for Crit racing but it doesn’t show the full potential of a rider.

[@ryanallen6443]

I'm guessing lots of these riders would choose to do more road racing if it was an option. Road races are much more expensive to hold and therefore most of them have been cancelled in America

[@marvinothomas4098]

And yet here you are on this video writing a novel….. just appreciate the work by Jeff and enjoy the Crit culture…. because YOU did click and watch this instead of watching hundreds of other videos…. cheers!! 😊

[@SethNeverEnds]

@@ryanallen6443 speaks volume of truth! In Dallas Texas There are crits 3 days a week and we can drive over to Austin for more. There are so few road races and we all wish there were more but Crits are closer, cheaper, fits in with work and family schedule.

[@christopheroliver148]

@@ryanallen6443 Agree. The logistics of road closure in our car-centric society makes road races a very rare thing which is a big shame. I think part of this is that Europe has a very long history with bicycle road racing, and here it's been very fringe except for a brief spell during Greg and Lance's time in the spotlight.

[@timtaylor9590]

Warm up? Step one: clean the coke out the nose sniffer

[@punkandprovocation]

Featured: no professional riders.

[@NorCalCycling]

Luke is the national champ, just signed for quickstep. Legion is a UCI continental pro team.

[@punkandprovocation]

​@@NorCalCycling Legion is a UCI Continental team, yes, but not classified as a pro team. Conti teams have no minimum salary and most riders are not paid. Good try though.