What's a criterium?

I'm still relatively new to cycling and completely new to racing. However, a local cycling club is going to be holding weekly criteriums about three miles from my house and I thought they might be a good way for me to start racing and increase my speed. But I'm really scared! I don't really know exactly what a criterium is let alone if I'm ready for one...what kinds of skills do they require? What should I know going in? What are the strategies? Should I practice the course ahead of time? What's the maximum speed one can go around turns? Agh! I'm so overwhelmed!

criterium

Zen linked to the description so I won't repeat that here. But, as to your other questions...

Required skills would involve riding in a tight pack, and cornering at high speeds while staying in that tight pack. I'm not sure what your experience/comfort level is in those areas, but I think a good approach might be to go attend the first of the weekly races as a spectator rather than an entrant. Station yourself by a corner and watch one, and you'll get a good sense of whether you're ready to dive in now or whether you'd want to get more skills practice in first.

There's no one answer to how fast someone can take a turn. Depends on the angle of the turn, the camber and condition of the road, the arc radius/path you are able to take thru the turn (sometiems you can pick, but in a criterium you'll have people around you so you might not be able to take the optimal path), road conditions, how good your tires are, etc. It's definitely a good idea to pre-ride the course so that you would be familiar with the turns and know when you can speed through them and when you might need to lay off a bit.

Road races or circuit races are probably a better entree into the sport. Crit racing takes some pretty advanced handling skills.

Going as a spectator the first time is a good idea - then talk to some of the riders after the race and see if you can start training with them.

My first bike race was a local crit. I was scared to, but once I did it, I decided it wasn't as scary as I feared. I am still scared every time I come to the line to start a race, but it is a different kind of scared.

However, cornering in a pack is really what's scary about a crit as it is where handling skills really come into play and where crashes are most likely.

+1 to the advice already given. Also call someone at your local club and tell them you're interested but not sure where to start. Most clubs are delighted to take a new person under their wing, which can help enormously. They can explain how they like people to start and might even have skills clinics. At my club, senior riders act as ride marshalls and in the novice grade will help out a newbie with all kinds of tips while riding. And a vets club here is known for having a senior rider help out new women too. Makes a huge difference. Good luck! :)

I agree with Oz Rider. Find out if the club will offer clinics as part of the series - many do. At our local training crit, there is a women's/juniors beginner race once a month, and more experienced raceers will come out and coach for these races.

Most importantly, make sure that you are comfortable riding in a tight pack. If you don't have the handlings skills, there is a good possibility of a crash.

That said, crits are some of the most fun I've had on a bike! They used to terrify me, but after some practice training crits, I really love them!

Good luck.

SheFly

Think of NASCAR on bicycles ;-)

It sounds to me that your local weekly crit is more of a training race type of thing. That isn't to say that it won't be crowded or anything unlike "real" racing.

What kind of group riding have you done? Before you start racing (even road races), please get in some fast group rides where you can get used to riding at race speeds in close quarters (even if there are slowdowns and regrouping points) and do some cornering practice. Cornering doesn't have to be done in a group for you to get techniques down and learn to be more comfortable at speed.

If the course at the local crit is open in between fields, then that is a good time to practice. Go one week as a spectator first but take some laps in between the races if you can to practice doing a course like that at speed on your own and with closed roads. Watch the races from the corners and pay attention to the line the racers are taking. Also note how much more smoothly the front of the field will go through than the back (if you're in the back, you will slow more before the turn and then have to catch up after).

I might suggest something a little more unorthodox to develop cornering skills...

If you don't ride a motorcycle already, look into a motorcycle safety class. (And if you do ride a motorcycle, but haven't taken the safety class, DEFINITELY do. ;)) You don't say where you are, but many states subsidize the classes (in other states, it might be a rather expensive option though). The beginner class is always done on the school's small bikes, and they have helmets to lend if you need one.

Bicycles are so light, have such skinny tires, and can be comfortably ridden so slowly that many bicyclists never learn how a two-wheeled vehicle actually turns (by leaning, and by turning the handlebars very slightly in the direction away from the turn to initiate the lean).

The motorcycle safety class will teach you how to countersteer and how to look through turns, with enough repetition and positive reinforcement that you should carry the lessons away from the weekend and in fact continue to learn from your own practicing.

I quit racing bicycles before I learned to ride a moto, but I'm made aware almost every ride that I'm a much, much better bicyclist because I ride a motorcycle.

(The only thing that will be very different between a bici and a moto - and it's an important difference - is body weighting. Even with a very light motorcycle, your body weight is a MUCH lower proportion of the package than on a bici, making your center of gravity much higher on the bici. On a moto you'll weight the inside foot; on a bici you'll weight the outside foot and use the outside knee as your shock absorber to keep your rear wheel on the ground.)

I am glad this came up as I've been recently confused on what a criterium actually is. I had it in my head that this was a ranking system for racers, not the actual race/course itself. Then I got confused when I saw a route at MapMyRide showing the criterium route for this same park :) I was surprised at how short it was.