Crit racing: The act of taking a completely enjoyable and healthy sport like cycling and turning it into a gladiator-style fight to the death between featherweight jockeys.
They're not for everyone, and I'm not big on the argy-bargy part myself, but I do very much love crits... They really force you to be "in the moment." A combination of poetry and Heavy Metal on two wheels.
@@Garrick42 Oh don't get me wrong, I absolutely love watching crits. But you have to have balls the size of watermelons and no regard for personal safety to do them. I never got into racing, but if I had, I'd have been a road racer. They wreck as well, but not as often as crit racers I wouldn't think.
your thoughts about the negative effects of indoor training/racing on mass start events has been very, very, very noticeable at the Cat 3 and lower races. The average Cat 4 race these days always has a few guys who have bonkers power and 0 bike handling skills. Too many guys with too many zwift miles.
It was SO noticeable this year. I'm taking a break from racing road after all the carnage I saw in crits and focusing on XC and CX. Having way more fun playing in the dirt than fighting for sketchy wheels in a nervous pack. I think it's great that people are getting fit and fast, I just wish they would ride outside once in a while.
I’ve totally noticed this. I’ve found that local racing has gotten very tame in terms of how aggressive ppl used to be. Another recent thing I feel like I’ve noticed in the 3’s is really really bad strategy. Everyone thinks they are a sprinter. As a sprinter this can be frustrating and dangerous. I had a race where I was like 20th wheel with ~400m to go and everyone in front of me is blowing up or unleashing 700w sprints. This gets really dangerous when I’m sprinting ~1200w and the speed difference might be like 5-7 mph. Like I’ve had races were there were like 40 ppl all going for the sprint but realistically there are only ~10 ppl who remotely have a chance of winning.
I think you're right about indoor fitness v. outdoor skills, but I think there's more to the problem with crashes. It strikes me that people have internalized, accepted, and even at some level glorified the (unnecessary) danger of crit racing. Between videos highlighting nasty crashes/broken bones justified with a "well, that's bike racing", to videos promoting (intentionally or not) overly aggressive riding, to social media accounts that supposedly want to show crashes to figure out how to fix them, but it really seems like the point is to laugh at them, crit racing has been put in a place where crashes are considered normal and stupid moves are seen as the way you win. Add to that the problem of indoor riding/outdoor skills, and I think crit racing today is way more dangerous than it needs to be. I really think things can be better if people learn to be smarter and care more about other people. Maybe one way to help this is to have more training opportunities. Where I live, there aren't a lot of opportunities to learn crit skills other than in races. Maybe if there were more low stakes learning sessions, led by people with experience who can teach you that you don't have to take stupid risks to win, maybe things would get better. And maybe if people didn't just accept broken collar bones as the entry fee to bike racing, then maybe they would be less common. Anyway, I think there are a lot of issues with crit racing right now, but they are fixable. We just need to work to fix them.
Funny enough and I’m sure there needs to be certain levels of training obviously but there are certain pros a few off of L39GION that teach youngsters how to handle and avoid crashes, practicing in the grass and just good all around tactics. Something that would be nice to see more often.
To my eye, as an ex-bike racer, a very significant component to many of the crashes we see in there races is simply the atrocious pavement quality, sometimes aggravated too by the road design. But most of all, the race organizers poorly selected courses which are too short and with roads too narrow and pitted with broken pavement, poor quality patches and longitudinal cracks for such large fields like these.
I'm one of those indoor riders you mentioned. Formerly a good runner, now with good bike fitness. I have never done a crit and i dont think i ever will. Its just not worth it. On the weekends i spend part of my ride taking corners around the local high school and have gotten good enough to do a crit I think. But it doesnt matter how good of a bike handler I become when im totally dependent on others for my safety. I have been observing from the outside for a while, and from what i have seen the higher category fields are no safer. You just trade poor skills for dangerous aggression, where risks and near misses are applauded as good racing necessary to win (probably because its true to an extent). You even applauded the guy in the video for coming within less than an inch of clipping the wheel in front.
Currently on a Norcal binge watch and I really gotta applaud you for taking all these insights about training/tactics and pure joy for racing to the masses. Cycling is a scary sport for a beginner because of the steep difficulty curve and it can be quite overwhelming. You really help a lot of people who are just riding casually to say: F*** it let's just go for it
Crit racing has gotten so much faster over the years due to more people power meter training and aero innovations: frames, wheels, helmets. The speeds today I think are attributing to what you are seeing in the fields - things happen so much quicker and fighting for a spot is so much more critical - fields are typically strung out from the gun so one has to fight for every inch as trying to move up at these speeds is more difficult and yet it typically comes down to something as simple as the small contact patch of a tire in a corner.
Overtaking on the outside through a hairpin is my personal secret trick. Everyone is on the brakes coming into it, while you're on the outside off the brakes and peddling around the corner (or at least getting back on power sooner). You make up a bunch of spots and haven't had to use energy getting back up to speed while everyone else is putting down power to get back up to speed.
To me, it's so cool to just have seen Butcherbox and Miami Blazers Clever Martinez 2 days ago at the Concord Crit all the way over here in New Hampshire, and now I'm watching them race at the Intelligentsia Cup 2 days later.
2:55 "In fields like this, you're better off either being at the back or at the front." THANK YOU for giving a nod to skillful tailgunning. No, seriously. When you don't quite have the Watts, it lets you play in big races (like as a 50-year-old in a Sr. 3's race). 🤘😎
Stephen Wolfson make a good point about organizers' course choices. Here you have two corners with >120 degree turns..it guarantees traffic jams. Bike handling skills are also a problem at all amateur levels in crit racing and the only safe way of learning is to take it easy in small, local races and get experience. But even so, there are guys in the TdF peleton that dont know how to handle a bike. Jan Ulrich was probably the most famous one. The only really safe place to ride is up front, or top 6-8..
Excited I got to see this race in person( I can even see myself in some of the camera shots). Watching the riders coming into the "carousel/round-a-bout/hairpin" was insane, especially the break-a-way riders pushing hard on the entry to the 2nd and 3rd corners.
To your point on the crashing, I think you are 100% correct with indoor fitness vs. bike handling. That said, the national level element cannot be ignored either. The smaller races and local races in Chicago, even when they draw folks from Wisconsin and Indiana are nowhere near as crash heavy as Intelli or ToAD. Part of taht is knowing your competition and the wheel next to you. You don't always have that same level of familiarity with the national level races. Combine that with indoor power, pressure to take a victory in a big race and it's just a recipe for disaster. It was bad last year and I'm so glad I didn't race this year.
Have to agree with you on the trainer fitness being a significant contributing factor to the crashfest some of the bigger races have become lately. I've watched crazy strong guys jump in the 5's, 4's, and even the 3's and blow the doors off everyone from the gun, and they're able to ride away from peloton because they're so much stronger. That allows them to take corners at their own speed and in a single file line, so they never really learn how to handle a bike with zero room to move in a big group at lower speeds.
2:25 and 2:29 maybe a weird thing to ask - but are those killing floor ones sound effects you used there as slow motion fade in and fade out sounds? keep up the good work, lots of respect 👍
Would be really cool if you could mark out 15 sec power, 1 min power etc in the powergraph so u can get an even bigger understanding of how hard a an effort is for you! ALWASYS enjoy watching these crit videos! Keep them comming!!!
if the US wins the lottery van they spend it on street paving? For a developed country your roads are utter shite. Healthcare and roadcare, two things the rest of the world does better. Well done Ethan, great effort and glad you caught up with the Norcal guys.
One thing the rest of the world doesn't appreciate until they visit the US or Canada is just how big the countries are, and how many roads need to be built to access the remote places of the country. That takes a phenomenal amount of resources subsidized by the people who live in cities. As a consequence, road maintenance in some areas lags behind the ideal. Additionally, those that live in particular microclimates can experience multiple freeze-thaw cycles within a single day. Extend that over a single or multiple years, and roads degrade faster there than other places. Increasing the tax burden on a population to keep the roads in perfect shape for bicycle racing would drive people and businesses away.
@@The_R_Vid I don't think so much a problem of urban tax bases subsidizing rural expanses, but more the fact that road users simply do not pay the actual cost of maintenance for the roads they use in the United States. The government hasn't increased the federal gas tax since 1993, and state gas taxes are often diverted to other government funds like education and law enforcement. If Americans had to pay the actual cost of maintenance - figured into the per-gallon cost of fuel - most people wouldn't be able to afford to drive. I think most people outside the US can appreciate the fact that "America Big", but they can't wrap their heads around why we were dumb enough to sh**-can all of our railroads and public transit infrastructure for the sake of carpeting the land in asphalt. I guess it gives criteriums a place to be held, but mind the potholes eh?
You got that right. Just read a story of an injured climber who has racked up over 1 million dollars in medical bills by hurting herself in the US. In her home country her bills would be paid for. Only in the US can your life and finances be ruined by an accident or medical condition.
no shortcuts, gotta practice and do races, practice races, and fast group rides as much as possible, which is why there may be something to comment about the overuse of indoor trainers
@@joesguitarshop8194 Thanks for asking! You are constantly engaged to be one with the bike, sharpening your handling skills, firing the hips to be more responsive while activating stability muscles when it comes time to climb- breaking the monotony of pedaling only to coast. Cornering on a fixed gear forces you to pedal through corners making you more self aware when choosing lines for speed and avoiding clipping pedals- addicting as well!
From observation this year, locally, my P1/2/3 races seem to be normal vs. other years in terms of sketchiness and poor bike handling skills. Watching the 4 and Cat 5 races, it's genuinely scary the number of crashes and bad skills I've observed. To be fair, there are no longer many educational opportunities for lower category rides other than jumping in a fast field. It's a tough barrier to entry for the sport.
Sitting in a peloton is a scary thing in road races , criterium racing even worst when men on their brakes in corners bunching up a group etc 🤦🏻♂️! I use to swear all day long
Very good vid. Crazy good footage! Re: Comments about the bike handling. You nailed it. In my local CAT 3/4 scene there has been much discussion this year about the "Zwift fit" people, who are not Crit fit people. It seems some people are literally "unaware" of the damage they can cause to themselves and someone else. Zwift racing is not bike racing. Plus one for more rider safety...
Thoroughly disappointed not to have the "Cat 5 salute" comment about the blazers rider posting up not realizing his teammate was gonna lose. Come on Jeff!
From a casual observer, whilst you might find that indoor fitness might contribute to poor handling skills, the biggest problem is the American crit culture of "rubbing is racing", and then getting testosterone angsty racers taking that too far by undercutting etc etc
People usually don't really care about their health and/or rig. If you would ride safe and handle every situation with ease, you would be a much better rider. (Because others have to spend months for recovery due to broken bones or even worse).
I'm not sure I totally buy the indoor training correlation at the P/1/2 level. Sure, USA cycling has changed upgrade requirements, but to be in those races don't you have to cat up from 4 -> 3 -> 2 based on results / points? Its not like you can just hop into those races, it takes time to get the results to get there. At P/1/2 I would think that lack of mentoring / in-race feedback, less racing due to the pandemic, fewer group rides, and possibly the way USA cycling has changed the upgrade process (no mandatory 10 races as a cat 5, lesser points-based upgrade requirements, etc.) are contributing more than indoor training.
It's both. The reality is you aren't learning to be an excellent bike handler with only a few races(you can go from 4 -> 3 with 3 race wins) and I for one did not learn good bike handling as a 5. The competition breeds competence, and higher level competition forces you to get batter in a way the beginner cats do not. What I have observed over the past few years in Colorado is riders coming from other sports and lots of indoor training, winning races in breakaways from the gun, and never even being in a position to learn to handle a bike in a tight peloton. They just ride away on the straights and take corners at their own speed. What you have, then, is 3's and even some 2's with maybe a dozen mass-start races, and they've only really had to practice handling in a tight peloton a handful of times.
@@JoshuaKleitsch Sure, however, most of these blame games come down to 'indoor training = reason for sketchiness' and don't take other factors into account. One could easily do all the same training they might do indoors, but do it outdoors and still have sketchy racing due to lack of skills training in group rides and lack of race experience due to the USAC upgrade structure.
i think it does. lots of new faces in the peloton both local and abroad who are STRONG AF but lack confidence and predictability in the corners. you'll see more of this as i post the next videos from intelli
Because I have completely over trained myself, I am unfortunately condemned to watch. It's been 9 months since I last ridden my bike and I'm still plagued by sore muscles and pain.
My 2 cents worth re looking at the crashes and the lock-ups - a lot of riders went into the pandemic quite likely still running rim brakes. They are now, as you say, super fit from all that trainer time but have come back out on the road on newer disc set ups they have zero on-road race experience with, they haven't mastered the disc brakes under heavy braking and this is contributing to accident frequency.
For me it's just an overall decline of fine motor skills and awareness in the population. The time that is normally spent with developing fine motor skills and how to not get injured in a city/nature is now spent in front of a screen playing some games. Now there is so much money out there that everyone can afford a 10k bike and they start from 0 to 100 and this is exactly what happens. Generally people are missing the sense of danger, everyone lives in his whole little world that resolves around their screen. It's one thing people being careless for themselves, it's a whole other thing when parents are blocking a bike path with their kids on bikes, checking something on their phone leaving kids to block the whole path on a descent without any sense that they are doing something dangerous and wrong. I see this at least twice a ride. It's like they have given up to raise their children to someone else. I left the road because it's too dangerous driving around people who constantly check their phones while they drive only to know meet these people on bike paths where they i assume feel less danger than on a sidewalk close to cars.
Thanks for having me on. Great shots!!
Crit racing: The act of taking a completely enjoyable and healthy sport like cycling and turning it into a gladiator-style fight to the death between featherweight jockeys.
Not necessarily featherweight either...
They're not for everyone, and I'm not big on the argy-bargy part myself, but I do very much love crits... They really force you to be "in the moment." A combination of poetry and Heavy Metal on two wheels.
@@Garrick42 Oh don't get me wrong, I absolutely love watching crits. But you have to have balls the size of watermelons and no regard for personal safety to do them. I never got into racing, but if I had, I'd have been a road racer. They wreck as well, but not as often as crit racers I wouldn't think.
Are them too much different from large course road races? If yes, are the sharp turns making the difference?
@@mateagoston8145 yes and yes. Many sharp turns at high speeds.
your thoughts about the negative effects of indoor training/racing on mass start events has been very, very, very noticeable at the Cat 3 and lower races. The average Cat 4 race these days always has a few guys who have bonkers power and 0 bike handling skills. Too many guys with too many zwift miles.
It was SO noticeable this year. I'm taking a break from racing road after all the carnage I saw in crits and focusing on XC and CX. Having way more fun playing in the dirt than fighting for sketchy wheels in a nervous pack. I think it's great that people are getting fit and fast, I just wish they would ride outside once in a while.
The requirement to take bike class and do obstacle is required for a human that just involved from monkey brain
I’ve totally noticed this. I’ve found that local racing has gotten very tame in terms of how aggressive ppl used to be. Another recent thing I feel like I’ve noticed in the 3’s is really really bad strategy. Everyone thinks they are a sprinter. As a sprinter this can be frustrating and dangerous. I had a race where I was like 20th wheel with ~400m to go and everyone in front of me is blowing up or unleashing 700w sprints. This gets really dangerous when I’m sprinting ~1200w and the speed difference might be like 5-7 mph. Like I’ve had races were there were like 40 ppl all going for the sprint but realistically there are only ~10 ppl who remotely have a chance of winning.
@@ABobroff why are you sprinting from 20th wheel? You should simply be closer to the front
@@DM-jh5rs man, i couldnt agree more. loving the fact i sold my road bike for a XC bike.
I think you're right about indoor fitness v. outdoor skills, but I think there's more to the problem with crashes. It strikes me that people have internalized, accepted, and even at some level glorified the (unnecessary) danger of crit racing. Between videos highlighting nasty crashes/broken bones justified with a "well, that's bike racing", to videos promoting (intentionally or not) overly aggressive riding, to social media accounts that supposedly want to show crashes to figure out how to fix them, but it really seems like the point is to laugh at them, crit racing has been put in a place where crashes are considered normal and stupid moves are seen as the way you win. Add to that the problem of indoor riding/outdoor skills, and I think crit racing today is way more dangerous than it needs to be. I really think things can be better if people learn to be smarter and care more about other people. Maybe one way to help this is to have more training opportunities. Where I live, there aren't a lot of opportunities to learn crit skills other than in races. Maybe if there were more low stakes learning sessions, led by people with experience who can teach you that you don't have to take stupid risks to win, maybe things would get better. And maybe if people didn't just accept broken collar bones as the entry fee to bike racing, then maybe they would be less common. Anyway, I think there are a lot of issues with crit racing right now, but they are fixable. We just need to work to fix them.
Funny enough and I’m sure there needs to be certain levels of training obviously but there are certain pros a few off of L39GION that teach youngsters how to handle and avoid crashes, practicing in the grass and just good all around tactics. Something that would be nice to see more often.
To my eye, as an ex-bike racer, a very significant component to many of the crashes we see in there races is simply the atrocious pavement quality, sometimes aggravated too by the road design. But most of all, the race organizers poorly selected courses which are too short and with roads too narrow and pitted with broken pavement, poor quality patches and longitudinal cracks for such large fields like these.
I after hearing the sounds of cracking carbon frames at my first cat 5 race I decided it wasnt for me. Too much risk and 0 reward.
@@ReVoltaire all the damn road furniture these days is just ridiculous too.
Well said completely agree
I'm one of those indoor riders you mentioned. Formerly a good runner, now with good bike fitness. I have never done a crit and i dont think i ever will. Its just not worth it.
On the weekends i spend part of my ride taking corners around the local high school and have gotten good enough to do a crit I think. But it doesnt matter how good of a bike handler I become when im totally dependent on others for my safety.
I have been observing from the outside for a while, and from what i have seen the higher category fields are no safer. You just trade poor skills for dangerous aggression, where risks and near misses are applauded as good racing necessary to win (probably because its true to an extent). You even applauded the guy in the video for coming within less than an inch of clipping the wheel in front.
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Currently on a Norcal binge watch and I really gotta applaud you for taking all these insights about training/tactics and pure joy for racing to the masses. Cycling is a scary sport for a beginner because of the steep difficulty curve and it can be quite overwhelming. You really help a lot of people who are just riding casually to say: F*** it let's just go for it
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Crit racing has gotten so much faster over the years due to more people power meter training and aero innovations: frames, wheels, helmets. The speeds today I think are attributing to what you are seeing in the fields - things happen so much quicker and fighting for a spot is so much more critical - fields are typically strung out from the gun so one has to fight for every inch as trying to move up at these speeds is more difficult and yet it typically comes down to something as simple as the small contact patch of a tire in a corner.
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Watching Ryan skim those curbs at 33+ was terrifying.
Really cool that you were able to interview the winner of the race. More of that, please!
Here is one vote for more Ethan. Great stuff as usual.
The nicest guy racing back home in NZ!! Well done Ethan!
Cool to see so many Standert bikes from berlin!
You guys are so cool... the future of bike racing coverage in my book. All of your commentary is so valuable to us developing riders... thanks!
Overtaking on the outside through a hairpin is my personal secret trick. Everyone is on the brakes coming into it, while you're on the outside off the brakes and peddling around the corner (or at least getting back on power sooner). You make up a bunch of spots and haven't had to use energy getting back up to speed while everyone else is putting down power to get back up to speed.
To me, it's so cool to just have seen Butcherbox and Miami Blazers Clever Martinez 2 days ago at the Concord Crit all the way over here in New Hampshire, and now I'm watching them race at the Intelligentsia Cup 2 days later.
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Great race evaluation and footage! I'm not a crit racer, but it's really cool to get a true feeling of what it's like being a participant.
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2:55 "In fields like this, you're better off either being at the back or at the front." THANK YOU for giving a nod to skillful tailgunning. No, seriously. When you don't quite have the Watts, it lets you play in big races (like as a 50-year-old in a Sr. 3's race). 🤘😎
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Awesome mahi Ethan so good to see a kiwi winning races 🇳🇿. Also awesome to have a kiwi accent on the channel Jeff. Kia Ora
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So Rad seeing a fellow kiwi up the head of the race! Excellent footage and analysis as usual.
Man, I can't get enough of your vids. Keep 'em coming!
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Stephen Wolfson make a good point about organizers' course choices. Here you have two corners with >120 degree turns..it guarantees traffic jams. Bike handling skills are also a problem at all amateur levels in crit racing and the only safe way of learning is to take it easy in small, local races and get experience. But even so, there are guys in the TdF peleton that dont know how to handle a bike. Jan Ulrich was probably the most famous one. The only really safe place to ride is up front, or top 6-8..
The cut around 2:31 shows us some statistical data on helmet color preference.
Big fan of Ethan. Seems like a stud. More videos!!
What’s the silver bike at 4:41?
Excited I got to see this race in person( I can even see myself in some of the camera shots). Watching the riders coming into the "carousel/round-a-bout/hairpin" was insane, especially the break-a-way riders pushing hard on the entry to the 2nd and 3rd corners.
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To your point on the crashing, I think you are 100% correct with indoor fitness vs. bike handling. That said, the national level element cannot be ignored either. The smaller races and local races in Chicago, even when they draw folks from Wisconsin and Indiana are nowhere near as crash heavy as Intelli or ToAD. Part of taht is knowing your competition and the wheel next to you. You don't always have that same level of familiarity with the national level races. Combine that with indoor power, pressure to take a victory in a big race and it's just a recipe for disaster. It was bad last year and I'm so glad I didn't race this year.
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Beautiful and Awesome as always. And so many close calls and awesome saves so good on you
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This course RIIIIIPS. I know we talked about this at the races, but this year was definitely muuuuch sketchier than in the past.
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Crit racing is so damn hard sprinting out of every corner gotta love those long road races lol
Crazy to see EJ in the past knowing he would be a beast soon after
Have to agree with you on the trainer fitness being a significant contributing factor to the crashfest some of the bigger races have become lately. I've watched crazy strong guys jump in the 5's, 4's, and even the 3's and blow the doors off everyone from the gun, and they're able to ride away from peloton because they're so much stronger. That allows them to take corners at their own speed and in a single file line, so they never really learn how to handle a bike with zero room to move in a big group at lower speeds.
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Wow that looks terrifying😳 everyone was so close
Damn, 56km on the straight? That's some speedy pack going on hahah.
2:25 and 2:29 maybe a weird thing to ask - but are those killing floor ones sound effects you used there as slow motion fade in and fade out sounds?
keep up the good work, lots of respect 👍
Would be really cool if you could mark out 15 sec power, 1 min power etc in the powergraph so u can get an even bigger understanding of how hard a an effort is for you! ALWASYS enjoy watching these crit videos! Keep them comming!!!
if the US wins the lottery van they spend it on street paving?
For a developed country your roads are utter shite.
Healthcare and roadcare, two things the rest of the world does better.
Well done Ethan, great effort and glad you caught up with the Norcal guys.
One thing the rest of the world doesn't appreciate until they visit the US or Canada is just how big the countries are, and how many roads need to be built to access the remote places of the country. That takes a phenomenal amount of resources subsidized by the people who live in cities. As a consequence, road maintenance in some areas lags behind the ideal. Additionally, those that live in particular microclimates can experience multiple freeze-thaw cycles within a single day. Extend that over a single or multiple years, and roads degrade faster there than other places. Increasing the tax burden on a population to keep the roads in perfect shape for bicycle racing would drive people and businesses away.
@@The_R_Vid I don't think so much a problem of urban tax bases subsidizing rural expanses, but more the fact that road users simply do not pay the actual cost of maintenance for the roads they use in the United States. The government hasn't increased the federal gas tax since 1993, and state gas taxes are often diverted to other government funds like education and law enforcement. If Americans had to pay the actual cost of maintenance - figured into the per-gallon cost of fuel - most people wouldn't be able to afford to drive. I think most people outside the US can appreciate the fact that "America Big", but they can't wrap their heads around why we were dumb enough to sh**-can all of our railroads and public transit infrastructure for the sake of carpeting the land in asphalt. I guess it gives criteriums a place to be held, but mind the potholes eh?
You got that right. Just read a story of an injured climber who has racked up over 1 million dollars in medical bills by hurting herself in the US. In her home country her bills would be paid for. Only in the US can your life and finances be ruined by an accident or medical condition.
Happy to see you back racing!
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Great race commentary again!
i rly miss the days of outdoor training only. back then there was barely any crashes. 2 a year?
Great video! How do you develop the skill to handle those turns at 35mph ?
no shortcuts, gotta practice and do races, practice races, and fast group rides as much as possible, which is why there may be something to comment about the overuse of indoor trainers
Ride a fixed gear for training and learn bike handling skills quickly
@@GiArK wow that’s interesting…why the fixed gear ?
@@joesguitarshop8194 Thanks for asking! You are constantly engaged to be one with the bike, sharpening your handling skills, firing the hips to be more responsive while activating stability muscles when it comes time to climb- breaking the monotony of pedaling only to coast. Cornering on a fixed gear forces you to pedal through corners making you more self aware when choosing lines for speed and avoiding clipping pedals- addicting as well!
@@GiArK I have to try this …!!!
Thanks!
Those storm water grates are terrifying.
Excellent video brings me right back to when I was allowed to do crit racing
Definitely get a cam on his bike as well! Awesome recap/interview.
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13:51 cat 5 salute
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Great video. Great racing! Looked like the road surface sucked!
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Sickly fast and terrifying at some points hahaha. Awesome video again 👍
It looks like the guy at 1:45 got taken wide by the guy in front of him. What a tough break
Literally
Yes, and his bars also got hooked (direct from the source). Jeff should be complementing him for not causing a pileup.
It’s so good to see our ‘mates’ from across the ditch smashing it….🤣🇦🇺🇳🇿👊👊👊👍
impressive dodging in that big crash
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so many scam bots damn
As a Resident of Mundelein, the pronunciation is "Mun-da-line" Not "Mun-del-ein"
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From observation this year, locally, my P1/2/3 races seem to be normal vs. other years in terms of sketchiness and poor bike handling skills. Watching the 4 and Cat 5 races, it's genuinely scary the number of crashes and bad skills I've observed. To be fair, there are no longer many educational opportunities for lower category rides other than jumping in a fast field. It's a tough barrier to entry for the sport.
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Crazy close racing 😳🙈 Great footage as always 👍
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Are your using VIRB for the gauges in your video ?
Hi Jeff how is it going! I heard Mike´s Bikes have partnered with Cervelo will that mean next race bike will be Cervelo?
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Hey Jeff! Did you use Dashware for the overlays in this video?
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Fantastic video
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1,300 @ a buck 43...and Jeff is like....well....lol. Dang Boi!
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Sitting in a peloton is a scary thing in road races , criterium racing even worst when men on their brakes in corners bunching up a group etc 🤦🏻♂️! I use to swear all day long
Sunglasses too dark for conditions?
Very good vid. Crazy good footage! Re: Comments about the bike handling. You nailed it. In my local CAT 3/4 scene there has been much discussion this year about the "Zwift fit" people, who are not Crit fit people. It seems some people are literally "unaware" of the damage they can cause to themselves and someone else. Zwift racing is not bike racing. Plus one for more rider safety...
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Liam White with the massive save at 6:18
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Fantastic
Did Jeff crash out or have mechanical problem? The video does not show a crash. Did Jeff simply get caught up in the aftermath of the crash?
He got caught in the aftermath and sadly when there is under 6 laps to go there is no free laps so he’s done.
8:22 looks like that dude dropped his chain
Thoroughly disappointed not to have the "Cat 5 salute" comment about the blazers rider posting up not realizing his teammate was gonna lose. Come on Jeff!
opportunity missed, forgive me 🤣
The awful road surface probably doesn't help avoiding crashs...
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gahdamn its the standerts bois, the hottest bike in the peloton!!!!
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From a casual observer, whilst you might find that indoor fitness might contribute to poor handling skills, the biggest problem is the American crit culture of "rubbing is racing", and then getting testosterone angsty racers taking that too far by undercutting etc etc
What?
@@mitchellsteindler rubbing*
@@niallwoan5847 ah, yes
Yup. Ethan-cam should be a thing.
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Looks like the German guy had his chain slip off the big ring causing him to unclip
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People usually don't really care about their health and/or rig. If you would ride safe and handle every situation with ease, you would be a much better rider. (Because others have to spend months for recovery due to broken bones or even worse).
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yeah def lets hear from Ethan. you get some sane people on given the insanity of the sport.
Line not lane for the city name 😏
chillin
I'm not sure I totally buy the indoor training correlation at the P/1/2 level. Sure, USA cycling has changed upgrade requirements, but to be in those races don't you have to cat up from 4 -> 3 -> 2 based on results / points? Its not like you can just hop into those races, it takes time to get the results to get there. At P/1/2 I would think that lack of mentoring / in-race feedback, less racing due to the pandemic, fewer group rides, and possibly the way USA cycling has changed the upgrade process (no mandatory 10 races as a cat 5, lesser points-based upgrade requirements, etc.) are contributing more than indoor training.
It's both. The reality is you aren't learning to be an excellent bike handler with only a few races(you can go from 4 -> 3 with 3 race wins) and I for one did not learn good bike handling as a 5. The competition breeds competence, and higher level competition forces you to get batter in a way the beginner cats do not. What I have observed over the past few years in Colorado is riders coming from other sports and lots of indoor training, winning races in breakaways from the gun, and never even being in a position to learn to handle a bike in a tight peloton. They just ride away on the straights and take corners at their own speed.
What you have, then, is 3's and even some 2's with maybe a dozen mass-start races, and they've only really had to practice handling in a tight peloton a handful of times.
@@JoshuaKleitsch Sure, however, most of these blame games come down to 'indoor training = reason for sketchiness' and don't take other factors into account. One could easily do all the same training they might do indoors, but do it outdoors and still have sketchy racing due to lack of skills training in group rides and lack of race experience due to the USAC upgrade structure.
2:16 reminds me of ebikers I see out there.. Speed without the ability to handle it..
Incredible racing. I’m finding it hard to accept the footage isn’t speeded up. 🥴
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What was the prize for winning this? Cant imagine it would be worth it.
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2:06 it's August of 2022, not sure that hypothesis holds up
i think it does. lots of new faces in the peloton both local and abroad who are STRONG AF but lack confidence and predictability in the corners. you'll see more of this as i post the next videos from intelli
@@NorCalCycling if you say so it must be true then 🤣
Jeff, looks like you got a spammer trying to scam your viewers. Reported, but you might wanna look into it.
Thanks I got rid of him 👍
"Disc brakes cause all these crashes. In my day-...." *plays tennis with wood racket and golf with balata balls. 😂
Ouch 🤕
Because I have completely over trained myself, I am unfortunately condemned to watch. It's been 9 months since I last ridden my bike and I'm still plagued by sore muscles and pain.
Jeff,
It's pronounced Mundel-"ine" not "ane,"
Sincerely,
Someone from Mundelein.
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This is terrifying.
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My 2 cents worth re looking at the crashes and the lock-ups - a lot of riders went into the pandemic quite likely still running rim brakes. They are now, as you say, super fit from all that trainer time but have come back out on the road on newer disc set ups they have zero on-road race experience with, they haven't mastered the disc brakes under heavy braking and this is contributing to accident frequency.
New Zealand 🇳🇿
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You can 100% tell the people who got into biking during lockdown. Tell tell signs when they get into a grouo
Yeah, but no one at this P1/2 national race is new to biking.
Jeff - actually the town is pronounced Mund-e-LINE
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It's cuz the German had the long sock doping gives him too much power to control 😆, just kidding I see now it's a bandage of some sort
100% on trainer fitness comment.
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The track is just way too thin for a 100+ riders
Disc brakes..... criteriums.. lol All out for only an hour. Dont ask why there is so many crashes
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Great video! Scares the $%&# outta me though😬
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For me it's just an overall decline of fine motor skills and awareness in the population. The time that is normally spent with developing fine motor skills and how to not get injured in a city/nature is now spent in front of a screen playing some games. Now there is so much money out there that everyone can afford a 10k bike and they start from 0 to 100 and this is exactly what happens.
Generally people are missing the sense of danger, everyone lives in his whole little world that resolves around their screen. It's one thing people being careless for themselves, it's a whole other thing when parents are blocking a bike path with their kids on bikes, checking something on their phone leaving kids to block the whole path on a descent without any sense that they are doing something dangerous and wrong. I see this at least twice a ride. It's like they have given up to raise their children to someone else.
I left the road because it's too dangerous driving around people who constantly check their phones while they drive only to know meet these people on bike paths where they i assume feel less danger than on a sidewalk close to cars.
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4 views wow and that's that i clicked so fast
It's pronounced "MUN-DE-LINE" fyi
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25mm high pressure tires with disc brakes are a recipe for disaster. The modulation on disc brakes lock up those tires quick.
no.
Line. It’s pronounced line.
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applying lube on an upside down bike..... lolwut
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Who's that weirdo posting up with hands off bars 10 wheels back in the middle of the sprint?
Leadout for man in yellow. Clearly misjudged his teammates win
@@sambarrett4726 gotcha! Didn't see a matching jersey, but if his boy is in yellow, that would explain. Thanks!