I Entered A Brutal Australian Crit Race & This Is What Happened!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ม.ค. 2023
- Alex is over in Australia for the Tour Down Under, and while in Adelaide, he decided to enter himself into a local criterium hosted by Norwood Cycling Club… as a Category A rider too! He takes in the friendly atmosphere of the event and gets to know some of the local riders before entering this brutal bike race. Can he keep up and fight for the win?
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Have you ever entered a local crit race? Let us know how it went! 👇
No, despite 40 years of road cycling behind me, it looks terrifying! 🤣Don't think I've the puff for it any more either!
Bikepacking is my poison. But it's great watching GCN
Yes, many times. Won some, lost many........all at lower grades. Love it, even at 65yo. They're freaking hard........all of the time. Anyone who says they're not is racing in a grade they shouldn't be in. 😁😃
I’m about to in mid May hopefully.
About 250 Crits in 30 years. On your average day, usually finishing mid pack. On a bad day, getting dropped and pulled. On a good day, finishing on the podium.
this bloke really said 'cool doing a bike race in the sun'. most English thing ever
Hahaha yeah it can be a rarity here 😅
What is this “Sun” you speak of ?
Bloke? 🤣😂
In Australia we ride on trainers in summer to stay out of the sun 😄
25 deg is a heatwave in England :)
Well done Alex!
Some really positive comments here, thanks, glad to hear loads of people enjoyed it as much as i did. Adelaide was a blast and if you ever get the chance to go, DO IT. Would you like to see more race videos? Im keen😎
More race videos. Every country you visit as part of your job should also be a country to enter an amateur race in.
Maybe also shed light into the particularities of these kind of races in different countries.
In Germany,, for example, a "Kriterium" is ridden as a points race. But I'd like to learn about all the other countries out there.
Adelaide has a great cycling atmosphere. Did you have a ride on the linear Trail? It’s a beautiful section of track that leads you from the main part of the city to the beach.
Huge respect for putting yourself out there and congratulations on a very respectable result! Thank you for highlighting the local cycling scene....all cycling is local!
It was a great time! Sounds like Alex has caught the racing bug again 👀
Great to see Alex jumping straight off the plane and into a race. 🚴🏻♂️
No rest for this boy!
Loving this Aussie content - especially content about Adelaide! Very much an underrated city when it comes to content about this country, happy to see GCN covering the TDU (and a tiny Crit race on Vic Park)
This crit course is part of the old Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit. (and current Supercars). Crit racing in Adelaide had always been next level ever since the 90s. Well done man.
For a second I thought you were me!
Part of the old F1 course is still used for the Adelaide 500 touring car race. You'll see the barriers and hoardings are still up. The "back straight" he mentions actually runs the opposite direction from the hairpin at the top of pit straight.
@@stevek8829 haha nope, it was me....
When the temporary infrastructure for motorsport is out of the way (part of it has been left in place for a classic sprint event in a few weeks) there’s a longer 1.4km version of the crit circuit using the pit straight. A number of HPV endurance races are held on that course throughout the year.
It’s all been resurfaced just a couple of months ago and is currently the next best thing to riding on a velodrome!
Yup was in Adelaide in 2010 watched Clipsal 500 Holden and ford V8's racing then Status Quo singing in the evening great day out!!
Was nice to have you out there in A grade mate enjoy the rest of your time down under
Cool seeing u on the show!
Thanks for having us jack 🙌 Thanks for looking after Alex!
That was an awesome performance!!! Top ten is a fantastic result and you should be proud. This has inspired me to give it a go at my local bike event…
Yes Thomas - let us know how it goes!
Nice to see Alex in the competitive mode. Well done. Thanks for sharing this experience.
What should we get him doing next??
@@gcn triathlon 😜
Good work mate jumping into A grade. Still shows you have some solid fitness.
Welcome to Radelaide. Now you know why I love it here.
Sneaky shot of Tori in her denim shorts.
Cheers man, enjoyed it, "Radelaide".....agreed, its a super cool place and my fitness is hanging on in there!!!
😅
Best video in the last six months! Love the cycling lifestyle video. Really loved talking to the local racers and the footage of the race. Looked really fun and can't wait for summer to arrive in Canada.
❤❤❤❤
Where should we send him next? Let's get those racing legs working 💪
'I don't want to appear too eager', he said jumping to the front of the lineup 😂 Also is that Glenelg Pier you're on near the end? If so, I'm super jealous 😫 Glenelg is one of the most beautiful places in Oz.
Welcome to Adelaide Alex, I hope you’re enjoying the tour.
Hopefully you’re able to sample some of the local attractions whilst you’re here.
I’m looking forward to watching the final stage finishing on mount Lofty for the first time.
Love hearing the lorikeets in the background! Enjoy your visit Alex!
Great effort Alex! Top 10 in an A race is VERY respectable! Congrats!
Pakapakanthi/Victoria Park is a beautiful part of the Adelaide parklands, it's great to see you jump into a local race on the track!
Your new tech video in Vic Square was top notch too Alex, great job and enjoy your time in Adelaide :)
Great content, love seeing you coupling the pro coverage with local crews!
adelaide's my home city! didn't expect to see a GCN presenter in prime Red Legs territory...
Adelaide was one my favourite places I visited. Gorgeous country
Love seeing your enthusiastic! And great to see Adelaide which is such a beautiful city to live. The racing standard in Adelaide is really high (and goes back, as the AIS for track where based there when getting all their world records) so you did extremely well!
I love how the video also captures how many bloody flies there are here.
Have you considered hanging corks off your helmet?
Would be cool to see crit footage on NorCal cycling broken down by Jeff!
GCN please oh please send your footage to Jeff for analysis! That would tons of fun.
A great Sunday video watching here!!! Kudos to you Alex for taking the bull by the horns and taking on this Crit challenge 😍 best guy in GCN to give it a bash🤔😜
Glad you liked it! What should we get Alex doing next??
@@gcn how about a competition series between Alex and Ollie across a range of disciplines. TT, Crit, Hillclimb, Gravel…. Ollie has gotten quite fit but Alex should be able to use his ex-pro craftiness to make up for his fitness deficit.
Welcome to Adelaide Alex! While you're here, it's a mandatory pedal through the Adelaide Hills. Rolling hills dispersed with coffee shops and wineries. 👌🏽
Sounds ideal!
‘I don’t want to line up right at the front’ *lines up right at the front*
Top-10 coming in cold, that’s pretty incredible.
Alex can turn it on when he needs it! Should we send him to some local races? 😉
@@gcn YES, and do a Power Testing before going there ;)...
Best video in months! Should do more of these, engaging with the local community, heading down from Sydney to Adelaide for the last 4 days of the TDU, hope we see you out on the roads Alex!
We'd love to do more at grass roots racing! The cycling community is always welcoming, where should we head next? 👀
The aussie crit scene is pretty strong. Bloody great effort Alex. When are you coming to Melbourne for a spin?? It would be crazy not to ;)
We actually made a GCN+ film about the cycling scene in Melbourne if you haven't seen it! 👉 gcn.eu/melbourne
Big Props Alex. You have serious game on the bike. 28.6 mph average. Wow!
You would be a contender for a top spot if you didn't have this as your day job and could focus on your training as no doubt you did in your past.
I follow a bit of crit racing in America which is undeniably a blood sport and have to say a bit surprised you participated because you know that and you recently donated skin as most of us have and not too long ago coming out of your bandages. Me too btw.
Way to go!
P.S. noticed Si or Ollie weren't there to participate...joking.
Crit racing in Australia is very competitive but not the elbow bashing, crashing stuff we see on the TH-cam videos coming out of the US!
Crit racing is super exciting, you've got to be on your game 100%! Alex smashed it 🙌 Don't give him ideas, we need him on!
So well filmed, I loved it . Genius
It’s such a great fun and pleasure to watch the GCN videos. Thanks!😊
That's what we like to hear 🙌 what have been your best GCN moments? 👀
Top 10 finish. Well done!
Unreal effort Alex 💪🏼
Thanks Alex and crew...good job !! That's a lot of pressure , the GCN kit is a double edged sword , perhaps ? Be safe .
Probably one of the hottest days to do the Vic Park crit so great effort Alex as your not conditioned to the weather. There's a spot on the track that is a bit dodgy but overall a good circuit. My niece used to race enclosed recumbents with her school on that course.
Pretty good going for a pasty Brit.💪 Have you shown the video to video to your niece? We are sure it'll bring back some great memories 🙌
Nice work!!
more like this please!
Solid numbers Alex. Hopefully I can do that one day too
You a savage going into A grade and going top 10!
Great to see you on Victoria Park! I said hello to you on the 10th in Victoria sq. I hope to see you again somewhere on the tour!
More content like this, please.
Ideally from different amateur criterium events all around the world.
Rode the Norwood Club Tuesday night summer Crits in 1990's too old for it now though. Glad you had a good time and enjoy TD Under.
Excellent job in the race!, you've got me thinking about Crit racing again. 👍 Just thinking, GCN should do a video on how to mount a camera on our bikes, my recordings are too shaky to show in a public forum.
Good idea! Alex has a custom made bike computer and GoPro mount that he uses 👉 th-cam.com/video/L_PyVWw_vEQ/w-d-xo.html
Nice seeing some people I know in the video. Sad I couldn’t make it to this race
Alex, welcome to Adelaide. Looks like you had fun, and what a brilliant spot for a bike race. BTW, excellent result in the race, Hank couldn't do it 😎
Excellent Alex!
This brought back memories of when I used to race B grade with the Southern Masters Cycling Club at Sandown Motor Raceway in Melbourne. It was heaps of fun, but did get pretty hairy at times like when passing lower grades (or being passed by A grade) while barrelling into a corner at 50km/h.
And then the bell would ring on the last lap and you would think to yourself “here we go, it’s on!” with everyone jostling for position and your heart thumping through your chest as you try to get into the top 5 before coming around the final bend at warp speed and absolutely gunning it down the straight to the finish line with everything you’ve got!
Fun stuff! But then Covid hit and the racing stopped and my fitness went down and I didn’t get back into it when things started up again. One day!
They're pretty exciting aren't they! Are you going to get back into it?
@@gcn yes hopefully I’ll be able to get back into it again this year, although probably at a lower grade to start with. The great thing about it is that it caters for all fitness and skill levels!
Nice to see you in our fair city.
Go champs go for it, fans are always here to backup you guys, cycling is the most exciting adventure of life, you can bet on it guys
Would love to see y’all do a NorCal ride with that channel.
good on you Alix, looks like a great place to race
Well done finishing in the top 10, Alex!
So many happy Memories of simply well organised racing in Port Melbourne on Summer Sundays, Thank you GCN and St Kilda CC
it was a great evening of racing! We could see many happy summers spent on this circuit 🙌
Aussie rise into cycling power house is motored by club races like this, its super cool. Im from Indonesia and always envious at how well organized amateur races in down under is.
Strong grass routes and community is the way to build a cycling nation! These Aussies are fast!!! 💨
Welcome to Australia Alex,;a great video and it's why I've enjoyed my 130km annual gran fondo race in Lorne, Victoria each year. The Great Ocean Road setting doesn't hurt my enjoyment either, nor does supporting the Amy Gillet Foundation's efforts towards safer cycling through their successful "a metre matters" campaign.
Try to not melt too much due to the upcoming temperatures expected during the Tour Down Under, that's part of why I abandoned Melbourne in 2017 for northern Tasmania.
Great to hear from a local rider! We loved our time in Aus, now to hunker down and watch the TDU 🙌
@@gcn So you've left Aus already ...were you missing snow or winter or your partner? :O ;)
Yes, watching Rohan Dennis whip up the course in his home town feels like a flash-back to Jack Bobridge doing the same before his holiday or when Rohan stormed the Tour of Cali.
So cool Alex. That’s no mean feat to be competitive in A Grade here!! I hope I get to see you while I’m here. Also hope you are enjoying riding the Adelaide Hills.
You guys should definitely do a video on the Melbourne “Hell ride”
Yay Alex. You did great
Thanks for doing this I raced yesterday
Many years ago, I spectated at a crit in Victoria Park. Not this Victoria Park but the one in Perth, WA. There, it’s a road circuit as Victoria Park in Perth, doesn’t have a Victoria Park, Park, that could be raced on, just a suburb. Other than that, it was exactly the same.
STI had just started being a thing and the racing was very noisy, as a consequence.
Well done Alex!
Top ten is awesome! Looks like a real good time
That's our boy! 🥲
Welcome to Adelaide! Hope you enjoy the TDU :)
Thanks! It looks like it'll be a great race!
Definitely should go to heffron park in Sydney.
Great job!
Adelaide is my home town! I hope you had a great time!
Still in pretty good shape. Respect Alex.
Well done Alex - that looked PAINFUL! 😂
More racing videos like this, please!
Glad you enjoyed it - you might like our GCN+ documentary two-parter: World Tour to Cat Four
gcn.eu/cat41
With those sunglasses at the end, Alex can never judge Si on his glasses again.
Have you seen Si's glasses in his most recent video?? 😎
46,5km/h average 😨 well done Alex 👏🏽 come to Sydney while you're here
Good to see Brendon Davids on the top step of the podium
You did awesome for not competing anymore! Just incredible!!!! Note to most of us, even these guys here are on a level we can't comprehend. My bag was climbing. I'd be sucking wind and worthless bringing up the azz end racing crits. LOL.
Top ten! 😎👍
I really enjoyed this type of content.
Great to hear Matt! Where should we be racing next?
Great job , cookin' it at 40. I got into ONE road race in Cottonwood, Arizona way back in the day, was in the 2nd bunch, had no idea about drafting and figured I'd catch up to the first bunch like a typical running road race...HA !.... i got exhausted and as my previous pack caught up I couldn't even manage to draft the last guy....it was no fun. Hence, no racing since 40 years ago
Lucky Alex to be down under at the moment 👍🏻🌞
Well done
Welcome to Adelaide 🙂
good job, Alex. Your GCN celebrity broke the ice and had people welcoming you. Local crit races can be hard cliches to break into.
Awesome I'm a racer at heart ❤️ I loved watching
Nice! What kind of racing do you do?
@@gcn hmm I normally do time trial circuit training at the hight of my fitness I always fancied joining a racing group but never got round to doing it
Go for it! Its great fun getting stuck-in with likeminded people!
You need to come back for the Pedal Prix in June.
At 41 years old and 2 years back into cycling the only races near by are Crits and I'm really considering it next season.
I'm looking forward to Alex getting a little color to his pastie palor 😉
Welcome to the beautiful city of Adelaide, Alex. A short loop up Norton Summit Rd to Mt Lofty then back down to cruise along the coast is a rite of passage for all cyclists here.
Shame we weren't there long enough to sample more of the local riding! The cycling culture is alive down under 🙌
My Cannondale got more air time then I did 🤣🤣🤣 was great to see you Alex.
Still smiling at the end of the race. Sounds like a win to me.
What an amazing place to race
Good job Alex.
And just think summer hasn't even really kicked in as it's been a rather mild summer so far. 😎
Wow aus..
Hope you've cooled down after racing Alex! Enjoy the rest of your stay in Adeliade
GCN outside of Europe (or the rare North American venture)? Wonderful to see. So exciting to see core GCN outside of their usual territories.
I just flew back from NZ last week. Such a loooooong flight.
To be fair, GCN have been a regular at TDU, but obviously this wasn’t happening in 2021 or 22.
Have they?I don’t remember seeing that. Take your word for it though.
Yep. Always good to go and check out all the shiny new tech ahead of the season!
@@FlatSpinMan Jon canning was down here in 2019
@@glennoc8585 hello
Top 10 in the A grade criterium field is pretty decent. Regularly get world class riders there.
You guys should come do some Belgian kermesse racing, it's really gnarly!
You did great in the race. Sometimes just sit and enjoy the race and finish in the peloton is fun. At least for me. I'm almost 50 but still enjoys fast group rides and races.
Well done,Alex, for a solo rider!
I’ve raced that A Grade crit a windy night and it’s effing brutal. Allan Iaucone on that start sheet too, absolute legend (ex Nat Champ, Linda Macarthy etc)
It was hard enough when then sun was out 😂 How did you get on?