Race Anecdotes: Men’s Cat. 4–5 Crit Racing Cycle

Disclaimer: I had a blast trying something new and this is all in jest and for fun. Instead of writing a race recap like I usually do, I chose to write a parody article of the 5 stages of grief. This is based on what I heard from the men within the peloton, after the race, and my interpretation of it. Sometimes we take racing at an amateur level too seriously. I know because I’m guilty of it, so this is a playful blog post (like if it were published in McSweeney’s) to make light of racing.

An examination of the McWhirt Model.

Men’s Cat. 4–5 Crit Racing Model Background

Throughout our amateur cycling careers, we experience many instances of men’s category 4–5 criterium racing. Crit racing can be caused by race directors, BRAC, USAC, and Do-it-yourself-ers. In 2019, Jessica McWhirt described five popular stages of crit racing in Cat. 4–5. They include:

• Premature Lineup
• Chop Wheels
• Caterwaul
• Fight the Washing Machine
• Braking Bad