Dirt Crit / Short Track tips??

[lukewiens]

So I will be racing next weekend at the Rim Nordic Stage race and was curious if anyone had any tips or experience racing in a dirt crit / short track scenario??

I figure I would just hammer and try to stay with the lead pack until I pop...wasn't sure if drafting is a factor...elbows, knees, lol!!

Thanks.

[denmother]

Ask Allison and SDYeti!!!

[lukewiens]

right on.....i'm curious on whether or not the lockout might be a benefit??
i will run pro-pedal in the rear fo sho....dang, i wish i had a remote lockout!

is there a lot of surges, or is it generally just a fast pace?

[allison]

Originally Posted by lukewiens

is there a lot of surges, or is it generally just a fast pace?

I think in Expert racing there's a lot more tactics involved (I wouldn't know, but I'm just guessing).

Try to find some blogs on it, or read up on info from other sites.

[Wrecker]

Where did you guys do crit practice?

[Zippy]

Dirt crits are balls out for the whole thing. I'd lock out your suspension as the crit course at Rim Nordic is just the small loop near the start finish area. Don't make the first hard right up the short rocky climb, but continue straight and the left down the finishing descent. Pretty flat from what I've heard.

The start is critical for such a short race. If you get caught up in a crash or a narrow section, a gap will form and you'll never catch back up before the finish.

I say stick with the leaders as long as you can and hang on!

Draft like a crazy person: a$$holes and elbows...

I won't be there: taking the written exam for Park Ranger/Lifeguard.

[kanga]

Originally Posted by mechmann

i have raced one short track race. i had a lot of fun but it was very hard.

in the case of my race being up front made a big difference. the first few turns were really big bottlenecks for the group. i am pretty sure that if kanga had been near the front he might have beaten me in the short track.

the two or three guys at the very front had a big advantage as they didn't slow down at all, and then didn't have to pick their way through traffic as much.

outside of that the course is going to determine what matters most. in keyesville i hadn't pre-rode the course at all. it seemed like every lap i was going faster through the turns/descent. the climb wasn't very steep or long and it suited me well, a steeper or longer climb would have put me much farther back.

traffic was quite an issue for me. in the first few laps there was quite a bit of elbow rubbing in corners and i wasn't very aggressive but was able to make passes by carrying speed and short bursts out of corners. after the first few laps passing became even rougher. i was lapping slower riders, and passing people who had been in front of me and popped. the lap riders were pretty easy to get around but the riders losing position did their best to make themselves wide!

you can count on a few people going too hard and popping, i think if you dose your efforts and keep from falling too far off the leaders you will have a good chance in the last few laps. at the end of the short track i raced in, i was closing on the leaders after the half way mark but they were way faster in the first few laps.

Maybe! I started middle to back of the pack and picked 'em off one by one until I was third, behind mechmann. If I'd started at the front I would likely have gone out in front and not lasted the whole race. In retrospect I'd have been better off starting near the front and having fewer riders to catch. But it was all about fun, and running 95% effort for 22 minutes. Ryan, the 13 year old who won, started at the front of pack and just stayed there, riding a 21 pound bionicon hardtail. I didn't lock out the 170mm travel bike I rode, but did put about 50% more air in front and rear shocks to stiffen it up.

[ghixon]

I've always heard that these short course races are more along the lines of a road race in terms of strategy. Stay close to the leaders during the opening and middle laps, conserving energy. As they start to pull off riders, that's when you really hammer to the end.

All the while, you were sitting back pacing the leader while they were expending too much energy. I'm not sure how that strategy will work against Sean Donovan.... He's not human.