# Crits and Fear of Crashing



## redroab (Feb 13, 2014)

Last year I participated in a local training crit a few times. I had fun, got a rush, and it kept me motivated to keep pushing myself. I was looking forward to the spring and racing again after my first winter of "seriously" training, until... 

About two months ago I broke my ulna while snowboarding (a Hume fracture). I've been snowboarding for over a decade and fully plan on getting out there again opening day next year. But my experience with the surgery and lengthy recovery for such a relatively minor injury has me rethinking my thoughts on acceptable levels of risk for my hobbies. The idea of returning to the crit doesn't fill me with dread, but it does make me wonder if it's worth it to me. Watching the carnage of stage two of tirreno - adriatico tonight hasn't helped either! Obviously I'm the only one who can make the final determination for myself, but do any of you have any words of encouragement (or discouragement!) you could share with me? 

Thank you!


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

The only time I race crits any longer is during stage races ... And I don't race those any longer. I've only been in one or two where there wasn't a crash and many, many more where there were. 

IMO ... People get "WAY" to aggressive in them for me, for no reason ... it's not like anybody at the amateur level is getting paid to win a crit.

Personally, I value my skin and bones too much to race in them any longer ... I'll leave them to the younger guys.

With that said, some love the rush and don't mind the crashing part of it.


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## sdeeer (Aug 12, 2008)

cliches.....

Life is short. 

Know your limits and test them.

I'd rather be out there doing than watching from the side lines. 

______________________

Tuck and Roll <-- a super valuable skill

Don't follow crappy rides through corners.

In all seriousness, almost everyone has some level of apprehension about crashing in a race (or even training ride). Knowing your limits and being confident on your bike helps with that. You would be surprised what you can ride over and through with enough practice and confidence.

And crashing does not always end up that bad. skin grows back, bikes can be replaced, and the 'tuck and roll' tends to save the bones.....
(or maybe that is my bone density from all those years of lifting...) 

But as you said, ultimately it is up to you.


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

If you are worried about crashing, I would advise taking up bowling. Few people crash in bowling.....One other option.....race Time Trials..(not that that is actually racing)

PS...I love Crits...I love Hot Crits, I love cold Crits, I love rainy Crits.
Had my first Crit of 2014 today.....It was 17 Frickin' degrees.......I am now 1-0 for 2014.
.
.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

does not have to be that bad. 
had one crash in 4 years of crits. 
and I basically knew that would happen at some point but did not move away from the problem.


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

I have not raced but given my age and having had a couple of nasty crashes, crits do not seem like a worthwhile risk. 

So I am thinking of doing some time trials this year. No expectation to win, even the Eddie division. Just a new way to push myself.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Worst crashes I have ever seen in races were in road races. That said crashes happen in crits, track races, cross races, and (if you actually going all out) from time to time in TTs. You can try and lessen the chance of it happening (riding at the front etc) but chances are at some point your going to crash, accept and move on.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

MR_GRUMPY said:


> One other option.....race Time Trials..(not that that is actually racing)


Those dang Time Trialists think they are racers!!! ... Get off my LAWN you solo losers!!! :mad2:


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Agreed that road races can get bad, too.

My general rule of thumb is that I only do RRs and crits that are on courses that will generally break up the bunch nicely.


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## jspharmd (May 24, 2006)

MR_GRUMPY said:


> *If you are worried about crashing, I would advise taking up bowling. Few people crash in bowling....*


^^^This. Crashing happens whether you are racing, riding in a group ride, or riding solo. Worst crash I've seen happened on a group ride at 14 mph, when a dog ran out. Guy landed directly on his hip (couldn't unclip). No crit, no blistering speed, no crazy turns, just riding along and slowed to avoid dog.


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## Poncharelli (May 7, 2006)

I've probably done about 60 or so crits since 2006. Cat 5 to Cat 3, weekly crit series A or B and Masters 1/2/3. 

Only one crash and it was my fault. I slipped on a square metal street cover (like a man hole cover). Luckily I was at the rear of the pack and it was "slow" speed. Only one guy hit me when I was on ground. Sore shoulder and some road rash, but not much else. 

I think it depends on the group as well. I went into a local B flite crit last summer with a lot of new racers. Strong engines but fairly unsafe. Some guys were moving laterally, suddenly and unexpectedly. One guy hit a cone into the group, and another guy wrecked right in front of me (clipped a pedal); I don't know how I managed to get by him without wrecking. That was my last race with that series until these guys get a little better (I heard they had more wrecks after that race). Too bad I'm not fast enough for A group any more.


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## SpeedNeeder (Aug 19, 2013)

jspharmd said:


> ^^^This. Crashing happens whether you are racing, riding in a group ride, or riding solo. Worst crash I've seen happened on a group ride at 14 mph, when a dog ran out. Guy landed directly on his hip (couldn't unclip). No crit, no blistering speed, no crazy turns, just riding along and slowed to avoid dog.


Apparently this is not too uncommon. A group I rode with a couple times last year had a similar experience when a dog ran into the street and took out two riders. One rider had a broken fork and some broken bones and was in the hospital for a few weeks after. I think dogs barking get my attention more than an approaching car!


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## runabike (Jun 18, 2013)

Jump into some group rides. The more close-quarter riding you do, the more comfortable you'll get. Same thing with corners. The more high-speed cornering you can do, the more comfortable you'll get with it. 

Beyond that, it's really beyond your control. Personally, I've found that crits seem to have lots more crashes on corners where you slide out and hit on your side and slide. You lose some skin and clothing but nothing too awful bad most of the time. And the courses are usually big enough for people behind you to get around. And generally those 'slide-out' type crashes aren't as bad as the impact crashes that you see more in road races on tight roads where people can just plow into each other and go over the bars and get that vertical impact. 

It's something you can't dwell on. If you do dwell on it it'll consume you and then the enjoyment is gone.


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

Wookiebiker said:


> Those dang Time Trialists think they are racers!!! ... Get off my LAWN you solo losers!!! :mad2:


Damn straight.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

MR_GRUMPY said:


> Damn straight.


Well ... They do call the Time Trial "The Race of Truth" for a reason. 

Crits are for the brain dead wheel suckers, Time Trials are for the truly fit!


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## steelbikerider (Feb 7, 2005)

You race, you crash sooner or later. I agree with 32 3x about crits vs. RR vs TT's. I've crashed in all of them, training too. RR crashes can involve many flying thru the air and tumbling. Crits were usually slide outs and 1-3 riders but I saw no pattern in 10+ years of racing at all levels and could easily be vice- versa. Mostly, it is where you place yourself in the pack, how aggressively you ride, bike handling skills and random luck.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

First off, you're not alone. A little bit of fear is a good things. Unless you come from a BMX or motocross background where you're really comfortable with someone up in your grill, it can be nerve wracking to corner with friends at 30mph. 

Just one question: How is your fitness? I ask because I've noticed that I feel much more confident racing in the pack when I am most fit. When I have the stamina to fight for wheels and move into gaps then I am always moving forward in the crit. If I am fit it is just that much easier to defend my position. And I don't back down as easily. I can even handle some bumping around in the P1/2s when I feel like I can pedal forward, away from any collision. When I am on form I really have a "Bring it on, ahole!" attitude. 

When I'm fatigued it's a different story. I see an opening but can't quite get there in time. It always feels like other riders are moving into the spots that I want. Or maybe I will hesitate a little more because I don't want to burn a match and all of the sudden someone is coming over on me and I am moving backwards. That makes me nervous.


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## T K (Feb 11, 2009)

During a race I never think about crashing, I'm too busy thinking about winning.
I have never done anything in my life where my mind is so focused from start to finish than in a crit. At no point in a race does the thought of crashing ever enter my mind. When I surf, I don't think about drowning or getting eaten by a shark. I did give up motorcycles though. The thought of a seventeen year old girl texting her boyfriend and separating me from my family caused me to give that up.


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## woodys737 (Dec 31, 2005)

> Last year I participated in a local training crit a few times. I had fun, got a rush, and it kept me motivated to keep pushing myself. I was looking forward to the spring and racing again after my first winter of "seriously" training, until...
> 
> About two months ago I broke my ulna while snowboarding (a Hume fracture). I've been snowboarding for over a decade and fully plan on getting out there again opening day next year. But my experience with the surgery and lengthy recovery for such a relatively minor injury has me rethinking my thoughts on acceptable levels of risk for my hobbies. The idea of returning to the crit doesn't fill me with dread, but it does make me wonder if it's worth it to me. Watching the carnage of stage two of tirreno - adriatico tonight hasn't helped either! Obviously I'm the only one who can make the final determination for myself, but do any of you have any words of encouragement (or discouragement!) you could share with me?
> 
> Thank you!


To be perfectly honest I think that's part of the reason so many of us who are older race masters over category races. A very strong junior dove the last corner of a crit last year and took me out along with about 8 others. I broke 8 ribs, clavicle and punctured my lungs. I was back at it last year after 8 weeks and I am currently having one of my best seasons since 2008. I'm at 25 races this year so far and going really well. I usually do a training crit on Tuesday night as well. 

I still race some cat races but they always follow the masters race I want to do well in. So, when fresh and/or relatively strong in the field I stay way up towards the front and follow wheels. Right now my fitness is good enough to always try to establish a break or bridge to one. If I'm not so fresh or weaker relative to the field I stay back and don't get in the way of guys trying to do what I was doing in the first race. I actively stay away from really aggressive riders and maybe even the super strong junior who is a newly minted cat2. They seem to take a ton of chances. Also, I stay to the outside and give myself a touch more room compared to when I'm really fresh.

With all that said, a buddy of mine and his wife were just hit from behind by a truck while riding their tandem and went to the hospital. Another suffered a stroke out of the blue. And yet another, missed a drop on the mountain bike prepping for a race and went to the hospital. Point is their are risks with everything we do. If you are that consumed with fear or find yourself pondering what's all this worth then perhaps it's not your thing. I do believe anyone can overcome that fear with experience. So, stay to the back. Stay outside. Give yourself a touch of room. Stay away from overly aggressive riders. Perhaps ride in larger group rides on the week end that are more point to point and not crit/race oriented. Don't get too fixated on the wheel directly in front of you. Scan towards the front of the group often. You'll see the group shift or slow etc...and can react to it just like you would driving in heavy traffic.


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## redroab (Feb 13, 2014)

Thanks for all of the great feedback folks, whether it was tips on how to improve, how to be more comfortable, or why you don't race anymore! 

To be honest "fear" was probably a poor word choice in the title. It's more like a "I will be really pissed if I get hurt" situation. 

My fitness last year was just so-so. I do agree that if I am more fit I'll be able to better position myself, and maybe that will put me at a little less risk. But alas I haven't really been able to be that active- this week will be the first time since my accident that I'll be getting on the trainer. 

Certainly everything we do has risks. But I'd bet that racing (crits or road) have a noticeably greater risk of accident than just solo or small group rides (although the severity may be greater!).

For the moment, my thoughts on the matter is that once I'm back to "100%" (after several solo and then group rides), I'll give the crit a shot again. Maybe I'll have a very visceral reaction, either positive or negative, that can tell me more than hours of thought ever can. 

The crit is the wompatuck training series, in case anyone's curious.


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## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

Since you're pre-occupied about hurting yourself, it's going to distract you from the race which then in turn, you'll end up crashing and hurting yourself.

In order to race again, you need to think positive and focus on winning (or trying to win).

Otherwise, maybe you'll have to retire from crits and just enjoy riding as a recreation, or maybe find another avenue of challenges to fulfill your competitive spirit.

that's why I don't do the terrain park when I snowboard, I'm too pre-occupied from minor injuries when I don't nail the landings... so I don't bother with it. My challenge on my snowboard is moguls


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

Every Criterium is actually two races. #1 is the first 98% of the race, and #2 is the last 2%. 
Racing Criteriums is like juggling chainsaws........and playing chess with your other hand.
.
.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

MR_GRUMPY said:


> Racing Criteriums is like juggling chainsaws........and playing chess with your other hand.
> .
> .


Either juggling chainsaws is a lot safer than it looks or you're exaggerating considerably. If you and the people around you know what you're doing, crit racing is just as safe as any other type of riding. Yeah it takes learning and a couple mistakes to get to the point where everyone in a crit knows what they're doing but once you're there its just pedaling a bike.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

kbiker3111 said:


> Either juggling chainsaws is a lot safer than it looks or you're exaggerating considerably.


it's normally a good idea to stay clear of people in a crit that thinks it's about juggling chain saws.


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## Poncharelli (May 7, 2006)

redroab said:


> The crit is the wompatuck training series, in case anyone's curious.


Looks like Mass. Another thing I do to mitigate injuries and still keep the competitive 
juices going is to expand into other types of racing: MTB and cyclocross. I believe CX is pretty big up there.

I figure the more time I spend on the dirt, the lower the probablility of serious injury, either through pavement crashes or collisions with cars. I love racing on the road, but racing on the dirt is pretty awesome in it's own way. There are still injuries on the dirt, but overall they are a lot lower in severity. 

In Utah, there's probably 10 roadies killed on the road (during races and training rides) for every 1 that gets killed on the dirt. Most that die on the dirt are at lift parks (Deer Valley, Canyons). Just last week we had two roadies killed in a single accident, both hit by same truck.


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## redroab (Feb 13, 2014)

Poncharelli said:


> Looks like Mass. Another thing I do to mitigate injuries and still keep the competitive
> juices going is to expand into other types of racing: MTB and cyclocross. I believe CX is pretty big up there.
> 
> I figure the more time I spend on the dirt, the lower the probablility of serious injury, either through pavement crashes or collisions with cars.


You are indeed right. I have had an eye towards cross. Sure, there are some tarmac portions and dense packs, but that seems like it's for a briefer period compared to the dense pack you have every lap on a crit. 

It is probably no coincidence that I've been thinking more about CX since the worlds were on when I was at home recovering from surgery!


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## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

Poncharelli said:


> I figure the more time I spend on the dirt, the lower the probablility of serious injury, either through pavement crashes or collisions with cars. I love racing on the road, but racing on the dirt is pretty awesome in it's own way. They're are still injuries on the dirt, but overall they are a lot lower in severity.


Crashing into a tree or a sharp pointy rock does hurt also, and can also cause serious injury.

Last season I was out for 2 months due to a MTB crash early in the season


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## bikerector (Oct 31, 2012)

I think that often times it seems like there are a lot of people crashing in crits because of the number of crashes but I think you will see a lot of the same people crashing from week to week. It's because they're trying to juggle chain saws in one hand and play chess with the other and steer through corners on their azz.

More seriously, I seem to find crashes in crits are most often corners and are usually from product failure (tires!! popping or rolling tubs) or from people trying to pass in the corners. In road races, sprint finishes are a disaster in my area. It's always an A-clown 20 guys back trying to get the front in the last 500 meters because he got boxed in. A lot air time and broke crap happens in those high speed crashes like that. Most crit finishes aren't quite that fast because they don't have a 1 mile straight away leading to the finish line, usually only have a few hundred meters from the final corner to the finish line you just have to watch for bozo's diving into the final corner and taking out riders. Of course, a summit finish negates all of that. Hilly crits can be a blast as well as they offer more attacking options.

And seriously, the tuck and roll thing. It's the way to go. Stopping with your face, shoulder, neck, hip, etc. is not going to end pretty. I know you can't control all of it but "roll it out" or "rolling through" has saved my butt a lot of times, it should be a required technique for CX racing.


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## crit_boy (Aug 6, 2013)

bikerector said:


> I think that often times it seems like there are a lot of people crashing in crits because of the number of crashes but I think you will see a lot of the same people crashing from week to week.


I agree. Everyone crashes eventually. Some people crash perpetually. 

I used to ride/race with a perpetual crasher. He quit b/c he said he could not keep showing up to business meetings with ripped up knuckles and road rash seepage.


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