How to win a crit race for beginners│2017 Avondale Cat 5 breakdown

Subscribe here: cyclingvirgin....
Support the channel for just $1 a month here: / cyclingvirgin
Strava: / strava
Instagram: / cyclingvirgin
Facebook: / cyclingvirgin
Gear: kit.com/cyclin...
Web: www.cyclingvir...
#crit racing
Here is the follow up to the last vlog. These are my tips and tricks for beginners looking to get into their first race and win!
Cycling Virgin Bio - I'm 31 years old. I live in Scottsdale AZ. I have been riding bicycles for the last 3 years after 10 years of doing absolutely zero physical activity. I am a normal guy trying to find my way to good health and maybe some speed on the bike. Follow me as I share with you everything I have learned to this point. From Cycling VLOGS training and nutrition, to product reviews I will give you info from a NEW persons perspective into cycling.

[@stevendeckert6373]

Thanks for putting up a cat 5 only video. As a guy who is planning to race crits and road races this year for the first time, this is helpful. I thought I'd have to hit 1400+ watts in a sprint to win a cat 5 sprint but maybe not.

[@CyclingVirgin]

It all depends. i thought the same thing too. In the next few vids I hit some higher numbers to win but it is more about how gassed or fresh you are when the sprint starts!

[@llllliillllliilllll]

Really like the quality over quantity. This video was packed with a lot of useful info and not too long or drawn out. Keep em coming just like this!

[@barkey13]

Great advice in this vid. Went away, changed my tactics and ended grabbing a 2nd in a cat 4 crit yesterday. The key thing that I took away from the vid was using your power to get into the position you want within the last lap rather than assuming a massive sprint will win you the race alone. Almost worked a charm!

[@CyclingVirgin]

Nice job James! Glad I could be of some help keep at it and the wins will come!

[@Sionnach1601]

That is outstanding news James!! Well done bud!!

[@titanium9000]

I've been riding for only 2 years as an amateur and this is my first time watching a Crit. I think it's very cool and your explanations during the ride makes me feel like I'm right there in the group..Cheers!

[@ChuiStrong]

I thought I was watching the Vegan Cyclist lol.

[@DiegoRevs]

SAME!

[@tribbyyonda-bass9186]

thought he just changed his name

[@BananaGamingYT]

Lol

[@elmalora4540]

Same

[@kreed1004]

finally a valid use for social media and go pro cameras

[@Dave-lr2wo]

I know, right, not like catching corrupt cops or politicians or criminal neighbors, but cycling vids and stuff.

[@CyclingVirgin]

Sorry the quality is poor. I will work on getting these long vids uploaded with better quaility!

[@gregg1571]

The quality seems pretty decent man, don't sweat it. First time watching your vids, good stuff, keep it up - subbed.

[@irvingabbott6]

Cycling Virgin the blog is great Bro..... were just missing your blogs. Not a lot of great blogs out

[@CyclingVirgin]

Soon...

[@svenamundsen4879]

I am planning on returning to "Crit" racing after many years of not racing in this manner. Sounds like some great, practical advice. Thank you

[@wdoug95608]

36 miles per hour for a sprint in a CAT 5.. Not to many of the people behind you can do that speed. Good Video thanks

[@JamesDownes]

Ya this is exactly my problem, I tend to loose focus and the group speed kicks up near the end and my position is weak. Need to be fresher so I am in the right frame of mind not just surviving. This was great info thanks

[@yishaithegift9953]

That was a Epic finish and a very well informed instructional video for beginners entering the sport. I'm just getting into the sport. A strong athele, but you helped me understand that it's not all about power. Definitely longer detailed videos would help a ton. Thanks.

[@livefreeandshred9818]

Cool video man well done. Gives me some more info for when I try my first race this season. Keep em' coming!

[@brianchristenson6055]

Very informative! So glad I saw your video before my first crit in three days. I’m subscribed. Thank you!)

[@patrickmannion4952]

Manhattan Beach GP you can actually sit a little OTB and just coast into the turns without touching the brakes. Accelerate a bit, slowly drift off the back again and repeat. Last five laps, move up.

[@ian3893]

I know it’s cat 5 but they need to train in groups ( chain gang in the U.K.) They would learn so much and gain confidence riding closer. There is absolutely no drafting just so much wasted energy as you said. Chain gangs are brilliant trying especially if there are mixed categories trading together, we cut our teeth on them in the 80s. The tall guy at the back seems to have too much leg stretch.

[@Ossiningbjj]

Dude… nice analysis and details. Good job

[@Souzaphotos]

I was thinking about trying a crit race at some point (more likely next year) but the more cat 5 races I watch... it looks scary as hell out there lol

[@cyclejockey4397]

Keep these breakdown video coming bro. Good riding out there !

[@blaquaman1739]

Subscribed because of the water analogy 🤙🏿

[@TheStockBandit]

Yes - thank you for this. Keep bringing it please. Shorter but more frequent is my vote. Training and nutrition info would be great too

[@DonnaJoeDoc]

Yesterday I signed up for my first Cat 5 Crit. Thanks for the tips. I learned some things.

[@piteiracorp]

just what I needed since I began cycling some weeks ago. Greetings from Portugal, wish we had those crits here.

[@ClockCutter]

Lot of wisdom here. Where you need to work the hardest in a lower category race is just to get into position on the final lap. Then, you just go with what you have left for the line, win or lose.

[@Matt-cj9lm]

not new to racing, but really enjoy your vids and commentary. Glad I found your channel. Subbed.

[@cliffcox3555]

how many people in the field and how many minutes, or miles is your race? So your physicality has a lot to do with your wins aside from strategy.

[@anibaljesusdelgadillo2091]

This is very informative.

[@afterbusinessclub]

great, love the purple bikes

[@Hihihihi96]

With the Zebra forks!

[@toddmeerdink4782]

Good tips and nice to see a cat 5 race in action. May have to try one of these.

[@healthaccountserviceshbsbankof]

Thanks for the hints & tips brotha! Btw your yoning & cafe music made me fall asleep. lol!

[@eigobike3929]

Totally agree, to conclude, you want to know the distance you can go from initiation of sprint to finish line. And if you have some real sustainable speed, take it hard to those cat-n-mouse, reluctant finishers.

[@eigobike3929]

Only reasons I can think of to use brakes on these flat crits: 1. an unavoidable crash in front of you ; 2. very, very tight corner , and in that case, very light speed scrub based on anticipating the entering, apex and exit.

[@josephhorton85]

yo virgin! Right on for the quick upgrade! You are with the big boys now and it only gets harder 10-fold in the 2's and Pro's Hey the biggest problem I see is cornering here in this video. This is the biggest problem in the Pros today. There are some guys that are doing it right but this group is scary for the most part. Learn to corner proficiently and that will also catapult you!

[@melbman43]

On the subject of coming out of a corner on to the front/back straight get your position way before you arrive so you have protection and not have to go further back to get out of the wind. Also to, if your not strong enough and your Infront the headwind will slow you down like a parachute and the stronger riders behind you will crash into you, so bare this in mind to.

[@jaron87floyd]

I thought Crits were Fixed Gear races... learned something new

[@melbman43]

Yea interesting indeed, not much unlike what we do every race, anyone else watching this and thinks they are not ready to race as yet, you never will be, just go and do it, you get dropped, so what. Your hardest race is always the first ( not saying it get any easier thou) Do not keep putting it off, the season will be over for yet again for another summer.

[@jfloresdrums]

melbman43 I'm at 210lbs and my power to weigh ratio is 3.26 for 5min. seriously considering doing my first race soon.

[@Sionnach1601]

Robert Dulany, you're right. But I'd say I'd speak for most here that melbman wasn't referring to those kind of people in fairness. He is mostly right, and it was an extremely good point to make. Yours is too, but applies to a much smaller context. Cheers!

[@llllliillllliilllll]

Still watchin brotha! Eternally good!

[@_mtn]

killin' it CV... keep it up

[@henkroth]

Racing next year mate. good to watch these and get some ideas of what to expect. thanks. #subscribed

[@cyclejockey4397]

Sit in to win !

[@drewcama5481]

I thought the length and analysis was perfect. each topic will dictate the length, So don't worry about the length ever. Content is important over time and or frequency. Keep on spinning!

[@bicyclerider3978]

Congrats. Short and sweet works best n my IMO. I hope my schedule lets me begin racing some crits,

[@MrLutzyboy]

Add another student to your class on Crit Racing! Keep up the GREAT work!

[@Mickeywrx1]

Some really good tips, love these sort of vids, 30 mins racecasts are ideal I rekon... good job tho!!

[@cheetahobx]

Good work.....each step up gets exponentially faster.....it amazes me how much energy riders waste during a ride/race......note....if there are any corner(s) near the finish line....be FIRST out of the corner.....if guys beat you....then that's okay.....

[@krrammetje]

Fun watch! And that Phaeleh background tune :)

[@drewcama5481]

Wow best race video for a beginner ever, the strategy of no strategy cat 4-5. If your not a sprinter what is your end strategy? Break early break hard?

[@benperiod]

Dude! I just found your channel, I love it already, I agree with the mention of VC, he's awesome. Great vid, you earned a sub. :)

[@rockytalkndawoods3057]

"Sit in to win", but you have plenty of strength to win a prime or 2 and still win. As you upgrade it won't be that easy.😉 I like to attack in crits cause it's fun. Having a bmx background almost guaranteed me a good finish no matter how I raced.

[@johndodd2349]

Good vid. Agreed though, boring to watch the initial ride on wheels, but good tactics, which more importantly for me, is the interesting part. Good win.

[@KeithRanly]

I subscribed. Awesome stuff.

[@789peoples]

Thanks for the great info....it looked chilly then but is one water bottle the way to go....I'm not sure if your allowed to throw a bottle towards the end...thanks again for posting and cheers on the wins

[@davidkitchener126]

Great race man!

[@cclemoyne4033]

Great race!

[@chrismichaelsmarketing6617]

Would you say at a cat 5, you still need an average speed of 24-28mph to compete ?

[@austinmarsden1841]

I knew this was Arizona! Awesome seeing this done at home. Where can I find these local crits? What's your Strava?

[@michaelpellegrino5046]

Where is this race? Love your commentary and advice. Never raced. Would like to this season. Im 53.

[@PapaleguasNY]

What was the average speed of this race? Sprint speed?

[@PeterMIcedVoltage]

Great video - thanks! subscribed

[@OnTheBicycle]

cat 3! great job man

[@dholanda]

Thanks for the info. Great information.

[@suburbancyclist1535]

nicely done. This will be my first year crit racing, should be interesting to say the least. My channel (just started) is a vlog mix of progress and daily life. Keep it up as I, among others, enjoy the content

[@anibaljesusdelgadillo2091]

Cycling Virgin, how do you train for these races?

[@matthewandelin1984]

Also curious about the best way to train for crits!

[@NOStyC5]

Tabatas. Look those up.

[@ezeekoku2483]

high intensity interval training. gcn has a good vid on it!

[@awakenedbahamut2574]

I'm racing in the 9-14 category in the Whiskey Crit this Saturday and I'm planning on doing a solo breakaway for the win. The entire course is under 11 km, 10 laps of just over 1 km. The other juniors all do about 24 kph on training rides and less than 32 kph in group rides. I can hold 40 kph for 10 km, most likely more on race day when I'm fresh, have a clean bike, and have all the preparations. My teammates who are adults in category 2-5 say I'm very strong and if I do breakaway, I won't see the other kids again. I'm doing the fastest local group rides and it's about 38 kph for about 100 km. I just did a 210 km ride at 33 kph average. Do you thi nk I should go for the breakaway or should I wait for the sprint? I am a sprinter but I'm also good at time trialling. I can provide my Strava profile if you need. Thanks.

[@huntingsynth]

Subscribed...great stuff

[@rgraham9860]

Cool video.What's your FTP?

[@CoxFamilyTreeCare]

Loved it. Thank you!

[@CyclingVirgin]

Thank you!

[@PrivateNeven]

Hey man - question, how did you get your power and rpm meters up on there?

[@CyclingVirgin]

Gamin Virb Software.

[@tyle.s9084]

Do you know what your FTP was at that time?

[@dho]

is that a 52cm allez sprint in purple?!!! fuck i've been for one since last summer

[@pupsiklove2024]

Very useful video! What kind of camera you used to record this race ?

[@irvingabbott6]

You guys did very good ... watch the WILLIAMS brothers.. good to see that you moved up to Cat 3 you need to come to chicago and race

[@CyclingVirgin]

Yeah I sub to their channel those guys are machines!

[@TheStockBandit]

Channel name??

[@irvingabbott6]

Jeff White nationnumber1beast that's his Channel name but one of the brothers are on a different team now

[@TheMASDrummer]

I'm about to do my first D grade criterium in Australia. I'm 92kg with an ftp of 400w. Any advice ? I'm pretty unfit

[@YouTubesucks..]

Where are the videos of all these wins you speak of..?

[@imagesbyperry]

you just helped me a lot

[@taurus20077]

Are you racing with your new 2017 Specialized Allez Sprint? How is it?

[@yerlanm1]

Your cadence is crazy. How do you keep up

[@civiSapper]

I’m racing my first race this weekend and trying to get some advice I should have remembered though this is cycling. Every single video is cynical judgmental review of their pissing match. If it didn’t inspire me so much to beat you all I’d pull out like your fathers should have.

[@frankmoore993]

Most of the world perceives speed in KMH. Please help

[@car6120]

my tips to win: 1) sit in the wheel 2) be acceptably fit 3) have fast twitch muscle genetics 4) poke ur head out 200m to go and smash. No one likes a camper but he wins

[@CyclingVirgin]

+Declan Cargill Most commonly used excuse for being lazy: 1)Genetics

[@car6120]

lol true, but i wasn't complaining i genuinely win races coz i can sprint.

[@darkslider802]

Thumbs up

[@lowseatpost]

Just curious as to how many hours a week you put into training? I like the video.

[@CyclingVirgin]

+Anthony Escobar Follow me on Strava the link should be in the description of the vid. I would say only about 5-6 hours a week recently. When I'm full go it's a steady 9-12 hours. I'm a big believer in time isn't as important as effort. I will get a what I do for training vid up soon!

[@danfuerthgillis4483]

LOL too bad Canada sucks for Crit. Crappy roads, 25 km hr head wind daily with Weird 20 km hr cross winds. We get or ass beat up badly by the winds near the lakes. Speed sometimes looks like you are being pulled back lol. Try doing that on a 14 kg road bike with 32c tires serious workout .

[@jameseby8207]

Have you raced with Michael hemmerlin?

[@artificialbox]

Man I feel like I could do very well in a cat 5 race because I have great fitness and have been absorbing so much info from these analysis vids, but I would just feel so out of place joining a race on my 800 dollar shimano sora road bike that I got off of craigslist and being surrounded by all these dudes with 2,000 - 7,000 dollar bikes 😑

[@btbike_24]

Beat them on that bike.

[@awesumpowerz6805]

NIIIIIICE!!!!!!

[@clydethekiller]

I do messenger/Courier work i avg 40 hours a week on my bike. I want to try crits this late june but thinking these guys are gona smoke me its a different kind of riding im thinking

[@cliffcox7643]

Condensed version, you have to be in the right position and use power. New cyclist racers don't have the power to even be in the right positions. Many times, they're dropped and taken off the course.

[@Mario-if5tl]

Great 👍

[@danielbennett4655]

10:34 guys, is that a tcr or a defy?

[@stephenroberts4749]

Is that guy with the purple specialized at 12:28 riding the aluminum or carbon fiber frame?

[@CyclingVirgin]

Aluminum. Allez!

[@stephenroberts4749]

@@CyclingVirgin what do u think about those bike....I'm seriously considering getting one to start my season next year with dura ace components I'm not a big fan of carbon bikes

[@irvingabbott6]

Are you coming back to blogging?

[@code3xiv]

Haus means thirsty in my language haha.

[@patrickmannion4952]

Funny, but no real attempts at getting away. A fairly fit duo could ride away

[@kristopherstewart4890]

I'll watch... But man.. stop yawning in your video.. edit that out! 🧐

[@joshschrader4732]

Lol

[@lavalla1985]

It was cool until you started bragging. Its annoying.

[@griffin2355]

Sandbag much? 😂😂😂

[@robertturinia3129]

find fresh air fool

[@LongStraightLines]

Nice vid but the rest of the world is waiting for the USA to convert to metric! Wtf is a mph?

[@stevemarshall8726]

A mile is 1.6 km, mph is mostly used in the uk as well. It depends what you use in your country. To me, mph is easier to understand than km/h because ive been brought up on it. Each to their own.

[@martinpvp5292]

Yank doesn't have a clue.