 In this video, I'm going to share with you the number one mistake cyclists make in criterion racing. And look whether you just do bunch rides, you're thinking about doing your first criterion or you've been criterion racing for a number of years. I'm very confident that you'll get a lot of insight out of this video reason being I'm joined by an ex-professional cyclist by the name of Tommy Nankervis who after racing overseas for a number of years moved back to Melbourne and became one of the most highly regarded criterion races in this country. In fact, in the 2017 slash 18 season, he won 25 A-grade criteriums. Now season is about six months here in Australia so the guy knows how to race a bike. Now Tommy's pedigree in bike racing is a lot different to mine which I think makes this a unique piece of content. You see Tommy grew up on the track. He learnt his trade in bike racing at a young age. Myself on the other hand, I took up road cycling in my late 20s after I ditched triathlon and fell into criterion racing. And while I have made it to an A-grade level which is the equivalent to category one for all my US friends, I'm still making a lot of mistakes including the number one mistake cyclists make in criterion racing and that is wasting energy. Now I've told you the punchline, don't jump away because in this video what I've got for you is five examples where I've been wasting energy in an A-grade criterion at Melbourne's illustrious Caulfield Carniggy Cycling Club's Glenvale. And we're not only gonna be pointing out the mistakes, we're gonna be discussing what I should have been doing differently. The solution, such as sitting on wheels, closing gaps, and we even discuss body position amongst the five examples. Now to set the scene at one of Australia's great cycling clubs, that's right, it's Caulfield Carniggy Cycling Club at Glenvale. This criterion race was about 10 or 11 months ago. All the data, the GoPro footage and the conversation with Tommy was actually on a hard drive that exploded. But I've since salvaged the data and I can present this information to you. Now Tommy didn't actually race at this particular Glenvale. What he did is he came around to my house after the race and we sat down in front of my GoPro footage that was sitting on my bike and Tommy gave me a lesson. Now before we get into these five mistakes that I make and the solutions, I just wanted to point out there are probably other mistakes that people make. I'd be keen to hear your fuck ups in criterion racing below just so I don't feel so bad about sharing mine. But I think the only other major one outside of the five that we don't talk about in detail is wind conditions. And the reason being, which is surprising for Glenvale this particular day, it wasn't an overly windy day. So we don't spend much time talking about this particular topic. However, Tommy does give me a good slap or clip, virtual clip around the ears when he sees me rolling in different directions despite it being like wind conditions, it clearly doesn't matter. Now lastly, this entire discussion, which includes an intro and also my five major learnings that I whiteboard is over on theroadcyclingacademy.com. It's a $49 AUD short course, which is called the A-grade Criterium Lesson. But for the first 10 people from this video in there, I've got a 50% off discount code. All the details I'll put in the below video description area. And lastly, before we get into the meat of this video, don't forget I'm giving away a road bike. It's right behind me. It's called the Merida Skoltura 4000. To a lucky subscriber, a week before Christmas this year. So if you wanna join that competition, don't forget to subscribe below and let's get into it. And you've got to get to 50 if you didn't take the corner at 50. Yeah, okay. There's Warren Nevitt. You can always trust him as a wheel to follow. Yeah, so I've dropped. Yeah, see they kind of shafted you there because they made it look like they were gonna take the wheel. Yeah, but is that my fault? Yeah, that's really bad mistake if you ask me. Yeah, okay. See, look again, you've left yourself with, you know. Another big gap. So it's a 200. When you're trying to wind them in like this, see now like, what are you looking at? You're around about probably 200 meters now. 250, 300. You've just given yourself basically a half lap attack. Yeah. Is that really what you wanna do if you're saving your energy? No. Look at this. See, and then someone has to go past you. Yeah. But then you've got nothing left. Yeah, so we're gonna get back on the wheel. And you've got a surge while you're already gassed. Yeah. And then those guys are kind of letting you know that either you should have closed the gap a bit or seeing look is still doing over 500 watts. So you basically, that's three quarters of a lap near on. Yeah. And you still haven't got a seat. Now you're only just getting a seat now. Well, they've all set up. Probably that's a reason why. So obviously there was a surge but you've got a sprint to close the gap. Yeah. But that's three quarters of a lap. And so in that situation that you just saw where you sort of saw them, they were looking like they might have gone in but they came out and then I was the one closing the 200 meter gap and I did it really slowly. What would have you have done in that instance? Just sprint. I would have gassed it real hard. Yeah. If I wasn't gonna get there, then I'd just flick my elbow and get the next person to come through. Yeah, okay. Cause you gotta, I mean realistically, everyone that's behind you, they've got to share that load to get back up. So you could probably each do like 150 meters. Yeah, okay. Yeah. See how he's just launching it across? Yeah. That's what you should have done. Yeah, okay. Cause if you go full gas, you're only doing it for, what was he done? Less than 10 seconds. You've still got no draft here. Yeah. He was on the wheel and he's got, you know, was that Dave Williams? Dave Williams, yeah. He's already sitting in the wheels and then Matt McKim's drifting there and he's still closing the gap, you know, 15 seconds later. So for that type of move, do you train that? Or do you? No, no, I just cop it. Like at the start of the season, you just do it and then Yeah, okay. As the season rolls on, they become easier. They become easier, yeah, okay. I don't mind if the person on the front wants to do it slow, it's much nicer. Yeah. But you do, you do worry that if the first person was like, say if you get there and you get halfway across. Yeah. The second person's in the same situation and they get halfway across. Yeah. You start to wonder, you're going, oh damn, am I going to have to sprint and close this gap here or is it going to, you know, are they going to bring it back? You're kind of a little bit wary of it. Yeah. But in terms of fatigue, you've got clearly a quick five second sprint, 20 times versus a 20 second effort, 20 times. You're going to be fresh at the end. Oh. Yeah, then you get to freewheel on the wheels. But yeah, probably if you wanted to quantify it like that, you could say that do the slow drag in, but you're still above threshold for both of them. So yeah. The thing, Mick Holingworth, who that's him on the left there in the fluro. Yeah. He's a... Olympian. Australian Olympian. Australian Olympian. Club champion. Club champion, life member, then everything. He, I've known him since the very first day when I went down the track. He's been there doing the lap counting on the track and all that. Yeah. I was always lazy. I still am. He used to say to me that when I go to close the gap, I'd just leave it too long and I'd do a big, long, slow, close the gap on the track. Yeah. And he's like, you got to slam it and just jam it, close that gap as fast as you can so that you're sitting on the wheels basically recovering again. And he used to say it to me all the time and I just started doing it and life was a lot easier. Yeah, right. So I still do it. There's something he taught me when I was 15 or 16. Interesting. Well, he knows what he's talking about. Yeah. And people would come in now with power meters and say, oh, you did this and did that and you didn't need to do that. Surge at 1,000 watts or whatever. And I'd be like, I know it was easier. So I'll just do it. Yeah. There's a lot of things that people want the scientific evidence for and then there's just some things that you just listen to what the old dudes say because they know. Yeah. You know, they didn't have to write a research paper on it. That's just the way it is. So what about these corners? So this one, maybe we'll talk about that one next because I've just gone through it. But like how do you approach some of these corners? Like let's just say this one coming up here. What are you, is there any specific technique or angle that you use or just fall on the wheel? Oh, I just go as hard as I can. Just go as hard as you can. The harder you take the corner, the less you have to accelerate when you come out here. Yeah, it's true. Depend where the wind's coming from for me. Yeah. It's actually kind of bothers me seeing how much power you have to do out of the corner because you think I'm doing too much. Well, I just don't like to see my numbers. Right, okay. So this is a bit of a technique for this corner up here. Like how would you say this? For me, whatever happens, I don't want to lose momentum. Right. So some people talk about putting in a lower gear and really sort of spinning up there. What do you think about that? For me, it's not long enough to have to worry about that. Yeah, okay. It's only a 50-meter hill. Right. I think that's uphill and then it kind of pitches about here. That one, you probably manage your gearing a bit more than maybe the other one. Yeah, right, interesting. Because then you kind of come up and then this is pretty flat and bogged down. It's pretty slow feeling straight, this one. So you've got a fair bit of power on there for someone who's finished their turn, you know? I'd be nearly on... If you take that corner right, you could probably ride zero watts till there. Yeah, okay. So what did I do wrong on that corner just too wide? No, well you didn't do really do anything wrong, but I probably would have just free-wheeled. Yeah, okay. Because then zero watts is better than 200... Right, and just let the bunch pass you faster. Yeah, and just because I mean, what are you trying to get back to about 20th wheel anyway? I'd just rather get there sooner and just be zero watts for a minute. How far do you sit off the wheel in front of you? Oh, it depends. I try and get as close as I can, but it really, it's... I think I definitely let it go too much, particularly coming out of that second corner. It's hard to... Yeah, because with the camera, I don't know where the camera is, but you can't see your front wheel, so... Yeah, I'm pretty close there. Like, you wouldn't want to get much close, so I know you try and get as close as possible. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What impact does it have being as close as possible versus... Oh, more draft. Yeah, but is it... Like, so at the end of a race, how much are you going to save a few per cent? I don't know, I can't really experiment with how hard it is to get further back. No, I'm just asking, like, just asking. But how close do you want to get in a crit, though? Because crits, you know, they're a bit... Oh, a foot. Yeah, okay. Because I'll do everything imperial, you know? Yeah. Half a wheel, I suppose. But I think, particularly in the lower grades, I ride as a probably a bit reluctant to get really close on people's wheels, aren't I? Yeah, but you'd like to think you can trust everyone in A-grade. Yeah. They should be there for a reason. You know, you've got the 40 of the best riders in Melbourne here, so... Yeah. Yeah, I think that's one of the challenges that I have. I can ride close, but then, you know, there'll be a surge or something, or, you know, a rider looks like they're going to pop in, so maybe like there, for example. Yeah, see, it looks like you have a whole bike link there. Yeah, and then... Which, if you knew you were going to pick up speed around the corner, like, jam it on, and then come onto the wheel, then that's good, but... Yeah, okay. So what I'm saying is... See, you're going pretty fast this lap, but see, you did too long a turn back there. Yeah, I know. And then you had a second wheel again. Yeah, I know. But see, the danger here is you can't just get to the wheels and then want to sit up. Like, you've got to... Even if you're about to be the guy that's going to be in fifth wheel there, that's a pretty long turn again, but then you're getting past. But the guy who's coming through on your wheel, if he slots into fifth wheel, he's got to be ready to do the turn when his turn comes up. Yep. So if that's you, and then you're too cooked when it's your turn, you should have peeled off before then. Yeah, see, bent elbows tucked down. Five second turn, perfect. Yeah, okay. If you don't want to help, fine, we'll go back to the bunch and I'll hopefully have a bunch sprint that if you're not a sprinty, you're probably not going to get top 20. What are people down here for to get a result or to get a workout if they want to work out? Chase. Yeah. If you want a chance to win, chase. If you want to sit in the bunch and not do anything, you may as well stay at home. Yeah. Save your entry fee and... Go for a ride down Beach Road and do a couple of Insta photos and do a Strava and tell everyone how awesome you are. You don't need to be a hero at all if you're tucked in the wheels properly. True. So I always say, all these new positions, everyone goes like really low in the front end and put all their weight forward and all their load is on their quads instead of on their glutes and hammies and all their bike handling goes out the window and it's funny because you've watched guys that... The way you can tell is the guys that are on their hoods and their arms are locked straight instead of being bent. Yep. That means their front end is too low. Yeah, right. Yeah. So how do you sit on the bike then? Oh, just like a champion. Just like a... Oh, I got an idea. Just how it feels right. How it feels right? Yeah. Look at all the old dudes. They don't have their handlebars up higher because they don't have as much flexibility. They've got their hands up higher because they've got a balanced position that's got more control. Because really, like if you see Walker there, he's on the wheels. Yep. Obviously, you've got a bit of a fisheye lens, so it's never going to be reflective from behind there. But he's got a bit of a bend while he's down in his drops. Yep. But what's the aerodynamics matter to him when he's tucked in on the wheel? Like, you know, he's probably 10 centimetres off the wheel in front of him. What's the aerodynamics matter there? Yep. Doesn't matter at all. Yeah. You can be in a pair of board shorts and you'd still be getting a draft. What about when you hit the front there so he's hit the front? Yeah. See, bent elbows tucked down. Five second turn. Head down. Perfect. Yeah, okay. Oh, the head down just for he's looking through his legs to see where you are. Yeah, okay. That's why he's doing that. So you're going wide around there again. Yeah. You're hoping they pass you on the left or right. You've got to have thought for what the dude's doing behind. Yep. See, last time you let them pass on the right, this time the left, why are different? Mmm. That would be probably not concentrating.