I have found my best cycling fitness evolves when I regularly participate in criteriums. I think everyone can benefit in some way from criteriums as a way of improving as a cyclist in general. The standout benefits for me are.
- Great threshold training
- Improved bike handling in group situations
- Ability to put myself in the hurt box for extended periods
- Improve race craft
Consistent weekly racing will dramatically improve your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) which is what all cyclist aim to do with regular training. Criteriums are also short enough in duration (45-60minutes) that you should also be able to back up for training the next day. Learning race craft and being able to control a race is very satisfying, but takes time to master. But what I believe is the most important benefit of racing in general is the ability to put yourself in the hurt box for extended periods of time, I find that I am only motivated to really hurt when I am hurting those around me :) There is nothing more satisfying than destroying a field of riders and its primarily for this reason that I race - winning is a bonus. I guess in this respect I follow the Jens Voight school of thought. `shut up body and pedal`.
I highly encourage people that haven't raced to give it a go. It is very addictive. See you out there!
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