If you’d like to watch the full race with no commentary just click here 👉 th-cam.com/video/1cM8Yh2MJr0/w-d-xo.html handy if you’re training indoors and want to listen to music!? Comment below if you liked the footage or you raced! Would be good to hear from you.
Really enjoy these Michael. Spent 10 years hardcore amateur club racing here in NZ. Circuits, out and backs, kermesse, hill climbs and TT’s. I lived for it till my daughters arrived! Its great to see a channel of amateur racing. Its just as exciting as the pro’s. Hope you are able to keep adding videos. You commentary is fine.
Thanks Kevin! That’s great, think you’ll get back into it?? I’ve got two kids. 9 and 5. But in lockdown is when I got back out on the bike. Just kept at it. What I like about it, is you can be any stage and age in life and join a club. I always thought clubs etc were for the teens
@@michaelgraycycling I agree. The club I was a member of had kids as young as 10 and those in their 70's. There was a grade for everyone. Would be nice to get back into it but just enjoy casual rides with friends as the moment.
Nice one Micheal. I just used this video for my final 20 mins of tempo riding on the turbo!Hope winter training goes well. See you in a 3rd cat race next season
PS Reading Cycling Club have a crit race Saturday 25th June at Hillingdon Cycle Circuit too. Go here to register www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/260488/Reading-CC-Hillingdon-Crits-2022
I love that track !!! I’m not a racer at all but I like going there to do a few efforts now and again. I’m lucky as I’m about 20 minutes cycle away . I enjoyed watching your footage , keep up the good work mate
Great video, Jack and me went about 30 seconds earlier at the top of the start/finish straight, didn't realise how much that bend hides you from everyone but the front couple of riders.
Nice work man. Think they key to a successful breakaway is being sneaky like that, yiu went under the radar. That’s the only footage of you I could find where you were off I think 😆
Sam is correct. Good footage. Told myself before the race if I find myself on the front in last lap to just go early lol, kind of paid off. 1 point away from cat 3 now so hopefully racing against you again soon.
Great result! That's a strong sprint, may not have got over a 1000w but you held a high number for a bloody long time. I'm looking forward to racing Hillingdon with you tomorrow now 💪
Should be good! Looking forward to seeing how our race may differ. Especially being new cat 3 to someone who is settled into it with points. I think the sprint was more about positioning and timing.
Hey for sure! I’ll do a little list for you. 1) Be used to riding in a group with others. So if you belong with a club do some group rides, or chaingangs with them. That’ll get used to being on peoples wheels, reacting to others and generally riding safe. 2) Drop any expectations you may have of yourself. As in don’t expect to win. Don’t even expect to get points and finish in the top 10 for your first few races. Some of the races have like 30-40 racers. Only 10 will get points. The other 30 won’t. So don’t put pressure on yourself. And enjoy the learning process. 3) First race goals. Probably to try and not get dropped. And try make it round the race in the peloton. And if you do get dropped, no worries, just see how you can last next time and try beat it. I’ve been dropped a few times in races. If it happens you’ll learn from it 😃 4) Personally I like to have a exit at all times. What I mean by this is, if anything happens in front of me, I can get out of the way with no one next to me on one side. So I’ll always tend to ride on the edge of the peloton. If I’m on the right hand side of it. If someone crashes I can exit and go right and escape it. If you’re in the middle of the peloton, you get a better draft. But no exit. Depends on how confident you are. But me personally I like to be safe 😃 5) Book onto it. You can spend ages at the sign on page thinking about it. But just book onto the race and enjoy it.
@@michaelgraycycling Michael thank you so much - it really is much appreciated that you’ve taken the time out to give me those pointers! I’ll take them on board! I’ve followed you on Strava 👍🏻👊🏻
Awesome stuff, I LOVE this type of cycling content so a London/England channel is great. How fast do you average on solo rides (e.g. RP ballet laps)? Your Strava ride said 40kmh avg but I can manage about 32kmh solo on flats with no wind at HR Z3/4 so I'm not sure if I'm fast enough yet for cat 4 :/
Hey mate! Add me on Strava and you may give yourself a better idea www.strava.com/athletes/10871376 I wouldn’t worry about looking at speed. When your in the peloton it’s a amazing draft and it pulls you along quickly with little effort! It’s only comparable if you was on the front doing all the work. Which ideally you wouldn’t want to be doing. When I started cat 4 my ftp was about 225ish. It wasn’t high, but from not being a powerhouse you learn to be really efficient. Cat 4 is all about learning and gaining experience. If you go into the race of expecting not to win your first races you’ll take that pressure off yourself. When I started my goal was to simply to try and finish in the bunch and get used to riding in the wheels. I got dropped a couple of times in my first few races (including about 3-4 weeks ago!), but it’s all learning. Generally if your glued to the wheel in front of you, it’s hard to be dropped, so it’s about learning to get on wheels 😃 also remember there can 30 - 40 riders in some races. Only 10 of them will get points. That means if you don’t get top 10 just see it as “you’ve done well as the other 75% in the race learning” 😃 I hope this gives you a bit of confidence to enter some. Where are you from?
@@michaelgraycycling that's really helpful, thanks. I'm in SW London and I train in the Herne Hill velodrome. so long as I don't get spat out, I'll be very happy so I'll look at some local cat 4 crits. cheers
If you’d like to watch the full race with no commentary just click here 👉 th-cam.com/video/1cM8Yh2MJr0/w-d-xo.html handy if you’re training indoors and want to listen to music!? Comment below if you liked the footage or you raced! Would be good to hear from you.
Really enjoy these Michael. Spent 10 years hardcore amateur club racing here in NZ. Circuits, out and backs, kermesse, hill climbs and TT’s. I lived for it till my daughters arrived! Its great to see a channel of amateur racing. Its just as exciting as the pro’s. Hope you are able to keep adding videos. You commentary is fine.
Thanks Kevin! That’s great, think you’ll get back into it??
I’ve got two kids. 9 and 5. But in lockdown is when I got back out on the bike. Just kept at it. What I like about it, is you can be any stage and age in life and join a club. I always thought clubs etc were for the teens
@@michaelgraycycling I agree. The club I was a member of had kids as young as 10 and those in their 70's. There was a grade for everyone. Would be nice to get back into it but just enjoy casual rides with friends as the moment.
Great footage.
Hey just see this message. Thanks! Do you race!
nice footage, got to see my own posture and how red socks do look like from the outside :)
👊 yea always good to see your own posture! When are you racing next?
@@michaelgraycycling in two weeks time, CX season ;)
I love this videos😃
Thanks! I’ll be posting up the Guildford Town Centre Crit tonight hopefully. What’s your fave video so far? Do you race too?
Nice one Micheal. I just used this video for my final 20 mins of tempo riding on the turbo!Hope winter training goes well. See you in a 3rd cat race next season
Ah great. Yea I love watching races in training. You race at the Hillingdon?
Awesome video and thoroughly deserved podium. Go well in Cat 3!
I’d say it’s going to be good to race with you in cat 3, but you only need a point for cat 2. So I’m sure youll leave me hanging again 😆
PS Reading Cycling Club have a crit race Saturday 25th June at Hillingdon Cycle Circuit too. Go here to register www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/260488/Reading-CC-Hillingdon-Crits-2022
I loved Hillingdon
It’s great there. You race there this year?
I don't ride a bike anymore. Disc/nerve issues in lower spine
@@statueman1000 ah fair enough! That’s a shame. Caused from a accident?
@@michaelgraycycling no. Sat in the racing position and not doing any core work
Well done. Great vid
Thank you :)
I love that track !!! I’m not a racer at all but I like going there to do a few efforts now and again. I’m lucky as I’m about 20 minutes cycle away . I enjoyed watching your footage , keep up the good work mate
Lovely track to train on. I use it too after work sometimes as I don’t work to far away.
Great video, Jack and me went about 30 seconds earlier at the top of the start/finish straight, didn't realise how much that bend hides you from everyone but the front couple of riders.
Nice work man. Think they key to a successful breakaway is being sneaky like that, yiu went under the radar. That’s the only footage of you I could find where you were off I think 😆
Interesting to see where we actually got our break was later than I thought.
Was too early 😂 such a long break 😅
@@JackLeighJCL I salute you 😆
Great footage Michael and well done on the result
Thanks. Are you racing tomorrow?
@@michaelgraycycling yes but still in the 4ths for now. I'll have to get my payback in the 3rds sometime in the future
@@olly.bowles for sure. How many more points do you need?
@@michaelgraycycling those were my first so 6 more points I think
@@olly.bowles nice! That’s a great grab of first points!
Sam is correct. Good footage. Told myself before the race if I find myself on the front in last lap to just go early lol, kind of paid off. 1 point away from cat 3 now so hopefully racing against you again soon.
Ah I’m sure I’ll be racing with you in cat 3 next week in that case!
Great result! That's a strong sprint, may not have got over a 1000w but you held a high number for a bloody long time. I'm looking forward to racing Hillingdon with you tomorrow now 💪
Should be good! Looking forward to seeing how our race may differ. Especially being new cat 3 to someone who is settled into it with points. I think the sprint was more about positioning and timing.
Great video thanks for posting. Can I ask what camera you use and the overlay software afterwards? Thanks.
Hey. I use a gopro 10. And then afterwards I use a program called Dashware on windows :)
Thanks appreciate it
You’re welcome.
Such an awesome race and great footage! Next time you can join me and harry in the break, 3 man team! I’ll see you in the 3rd cat race
Maybe the new cat 4s will dominate? 😂
Love it, I'm bringing my cam to the next one
Would be great to see more content of crit racing as it’s hard to find in the uk. Just make sure to email British cycling as you need their permission
I want to race This its Nice
It’s a great course. Probably my fave. Odds down in bath is great too however I didn’t record that one
Epic footage- thanks for sharing. How easy was it to get BC permission?
Pretty easy. I just emailed them with reasons why I want to
@@michaelgraycycling awesome thanks. I wanted to do similar a few years ago but they point blank refused.
Hi Michael great video. I’ve cycled round Hillingdon a few times but haven’t raced yet! Any tips on racing for the first time?
Hey for sure! I’ll do a little list for you.
1) Be used to riding in a group with others. So if you belong with a club do some group rides, or chaingangs with them. That’ll get used to being on peoples wheels, reacting to others and generally riding safe.
2) Drop any expectations you may have of yourself. As in don’t expect to win. Don’t even expect to get points and finish in the top 10 for your first few races. Some of the races have like 30-40 racers. Only 10 will get points. The other 30 won’t. So don’t put pressure on yourself. And enjoy the learning process.
3) First race goals. Probably to try and not get dropped. And try make it round the race in the peloton. And if you do get dropped, no worries, just see how you can last next time and try beat it. I’ve been dropped a few times in races. If it happens you’ll learn from it 😃
4) Personally I like to have a exit at all times. What I mean by this is, if anything happens in front of me, I can get out of the way with no one next to me on one side. So I’ll always tend to ride on the edge of the peloton. If I’m on the right hand side of it. If someone crashes I can exit and go right and escape it. If you’re in the middle of the peloton, you get a better draft. But no exit. Depends on how confident you are. But me personally I like to be safe 😃
5) Book onto it. You can spend ages at the sign on page thinking about it. But just book onto the race and enjoy it.
@@michaelgraycycling Michael thank you so much - it really is much appreciated that you’ve taken the time out to give me those pointers! I’ll take them on board! I’ve followed you on Strava 👍🏻👊🏻
Well done Michael! Subbed
Thanks! 😃
Awesome stuff, I LOVE this type of cycling content so a London/England channel is great. How fast do you average on solo rides (e.g. RP ballet laps)? Your Strava ride said 40kmh avg but I can manage about 32kmh solo on flats with no wind at HR Z3/4 so I'm not sure if I'm fast enough yet for cat 4 :/
Hey mate! Add me on Strava and you may give yourself a better idea www.strava.com/athletes/10871376
I wouldn’t worry about looking at speed. When your in the peloton it’s a amazing draft and it pulls you along quickly with little effort! It’s only comparable if you was on the front doing all the work. Which ideally you wouldn’t want to be doing.
When I started cat 4 my ftp was about 225ish. It wasn’t high, but from not being a powerhouse you learn to be really efficient. Cat 4 is all about learning and gaining experience. If you go into the race of expecting not to win your first races you’ll take that pressure off yourself. When I started my goal was to simply to try and finish in the bunch and get used to riding in the wheels. I got dropped a couple of times in my first few races (including about 3-4 weeks ago!), but it’s all learning. Generally if your glued to the wheel in front of you, it’s hard to be dropped, so it’s about learning to get on wheels 😃 also remember there can 30 - 40 riders in some races. Only 10 of them will get points. That means if you don’t get top 10 just see it as “you’ve done well as the other 75% in the race learning” 😃
I hope this gives you a bit of confidence to enter some. Where are you from?
@@michaelgraycycling that's really helpful, thanks. I'm in SW London and I train in the Herne Hill velodrome. so long as I don't get spat out, I'll be very happy so I'll look at some local cat 4 crits. cheers
Its cringe to see how Some people take their corner 🥴hahaha
Ah this was a cat 4 race. All in the learning stages 😊