The
Athens Twilight Criterium, features cyclists representing teams from all over the nation and the world. The men's criterium is a 80-km race around historic downtown Athens. The course start-finish is on Clayton Street at College Avenue. The 1 kilometer course runs clockwise on Clayton, Lumpkin, Washington and Thomas. The 30th Annual event will be have the best criterium riders ever with the high speed action of night time criterium racing, this year promises to be the best yet.
The best women in the country look to kick off the USA CRITS Speed Week and National Series at the Athens Twilight.
With $120,000 in prize money on the line for the USA Crits Series, the Athens Twilight Criterium is dubbed the most insane criterium in the world. Don't miss a minute of the evenings events.
THIS IS A COOL WAY TO DETERMINE START POSITIONS....read on...Grid Qualifiers
What: Eight up Computrainer racing to create start positions for Saturday night's Twilight Criterium. Racing starts at 10:15AM on Friday, and the last heat goes off 6:45 PM (10 total heats). The finals heat begins at 9:00PM and features the top 8 times from the entire grid participations. There could be more than one rider from a single grid continue on to the finals. The finishing order of the 3K Time Trial on Computrainers will create the start positions for the Pro race Saturday night. Winners of each heat will earn front row starting positions for Saturday night's main event. Each Pro team will get one introduction, and these riders are ineligible for the Computrainer Race. All others must qualify through the TT. Participation is not mandatory but riders not participating will be issued the highest (or worst) start order positions (at the back).
Cat 2 racers must compete in a 3K heat to earn a spot in Saturday night's race. In order to be accepted into the Computrainer qualifier Cat 2 riders must enter Saturday night's races (online or mail in) and submit a resume. Riders not accepted will be automatically entered into the Cat 2 race Saturday afternoon at the Greenway. Riders who enter the Computrainer race and do not qualify for Saturday night are also automatically entered into the Cat 2 race. The top 10 (minimum) Cat 2 riders qualify for entry to the Pro 1 race. Additional cat 2 riders will be added to the Pro 1 event as space allows.
Racing starts every 45 minutes until the 3:45 heat, and then will switch to every hour, with sign-in 30 minutes prior to each race heat. Check-in at the stage at the intersection of College and Washington Street (the backstretch). Numbers will be issued and ready for pick-up on Saturday for the Big Show Saturday Night, based on the finishing order of the Grid Qualifiers.
When: Friday, April 26, 2008, 10:00AM - 6:00 PM
Finals heat: 9:00 PM
Where: 200 Block of College Avenue, Downtown Athens
Entry: Riders must be registered in the PRO 1 event to participate and pre-register in the appropriate class by mail or online. Start times will be available online. E-mail
twilight@gobike1.com with your resume (if Cat 2). Sign up online or download the registration form.
Who: All registered Pro 1 riders participating in the Saturday night PRO/1 race can participate. The TT is not required but recommended for Cat 1 riders to create start positions. A limited number of qualifying positions for Cat 2 riders will be available for Friday's heats.
Time Assignments: Heats will be assigned by the Athens Twilight, first to the Pro 1 riders, then the remaining slots will be available to the Cat 2 riders.
Start Positions: Riders will be issued a qualifying order number (not your race number) based on qualifying times starting at 1 PM on Saturday. Entry into the start grid will be from this number in order. You must pick up your grid number by 3 PM Saturday from the Computrainer booth. During the PRO introductions, riders will be admitted to the start grid area. The top 8 riders' times will be called to the line with the Pro team introductions. Grid positions will be based on time from the 3 K TT.
Heat Winners: Each heat winner on Friday qualifies for the Computrainer finals for a prize purse worth ($2000)
Michele Trdina crushed all of the women and most of the men at the Pittsburgh Triathlon...Nice!!
Getting ready for the roll out
Tish, Donna, Vicki, Rachael, me and Lisa (with the invaluable help of Ray Train) did hill repeats on Gambrill Park Road. The focus was on learning how to recover while climbing using heart rate and perceived effort, shifting, cadence, and tips on decending. We ended the day with a staggered start race. Lots of fun. Great work ladies!!
Steve Wahl (left) of 
Master's road racer Ray Trentini (left) of 
The group got a great anaerobic workout on the "Escape from Kelley Acres" course. A special ending to the session was a full on race on a three mile course. Lucas won this one but it left the rest of the group hungry. So watch out!
The after party
And this is after he toasted us in the one mile race at the end!