First junior race - He won!!!

dsmiff

My son( 8 ) is about to compete in his first race at Shrewsbury circuit this Saturday. He has never raced before and neither of us belong to a club or even been to a cycle track so have no real idea what to expect.

We do loads of riding, mainly MTB (sorry!), but I recently got hold of a decathlon 7.1 for him and thought I would give him go.

Any tips? He wants to win!!!!

Bronzie

Whilst it's great that he has a hunger to win, I'd get him to concentrate on staying upright and finishing his first race rather than set out to win it.

Winning a bike race is not as straight-forward as you may think - even if you are exceptionally gifted (ie strong with huge aerobic fitness), you have to know how to read a race and when to make your effort. No good being the strongest but just ending up towing everyone else around!

A few tips (from bitter experience :roll: ):
- don't get carried away and jump straight on the front only wear yourself out and then get dropped when the pace goes up - better to ride in the wheels and get a feel for cornering and riding in a big fast-moving bunch - this doesn't mean you don't have a go, just be sensible and do short stints on the front if you feel up to it
- that said, don't sit right at the back either - if the circuit has any corners, the braking and aceeleration of other riders acts like a concertina - the further back you are the more you brake and the harder you must ride to catch back up
- don't get upset if you get yelled at - as a novice, other riders may try to point out the error of your ways - in the heat of battle this can come over as outright hostility, but usually after a race people calm down a bit and may explain why they yelled at you!

Best of luck to him - I guarantee he'll want to try again, even if he doesn't win his first race!

Anonymous

Tell him it's just for fun and don't put any pressure on him .
If he comes last convince him that he did well; that way he'll probably have another try.
Are you sure he want's to win as much as you want him to win?

Bronzie

Actually reading my "top tips" again, they are probably more relevant to someone of 18 than 8!

If it's a short race (will probably just be a few laps at most) tell him to trying going flat out from the start - it's probably what all the other kids will try anyway!

The most important thing is that he doesn't get despondent if he doesn't win first attempt - we all have a win eventually - even me*

* - although I did have to wait until I was 38 for this strange event to happen - and no, everyone else didn't fall off for it to happen either

dsmiff

Thanks for the replies. I think the best bet might be just to stay with the leaders and then give it some on the last lap. My son is very placid so i hope the other "kids" are not too aggressive!

I think he WILL be devastated if he doesn't do well as he loves cycling, he's not normally that competitive - maybe I've built him up too much!!

Does anyone know what sort of pace an under 10 race is. I believe the circuit is 1 km with two tight "roundabout" type corners.

The race is only over 3 miles. We road 15 miles at the weekend at an average of about 16.5 mph (the route had a couple of hills and was windy).

Anonymous

An average of 16.5mph is pretty impressive for an eight year old.
Watching the kids at Preston Arena I would say that the ones who normally win are the cute ones who suck the wheel of the guy who goes for it from the off, then really tug their guts out for the last half mile, or takes him in a sprint finish.


PS.
Tell him not to discount the girls.
Some of them are pretty smart.

Looked at your pics. He looks the part.

ricadus

Anton de Lacey wrote:

Tell him it's just for fun and don't put any pressure on him .

Especially if he doesn't know who the other kids are and their relative strengths, or if there's a girl racing in the group who might be the next Nicole Cooke.

dsmiff

Thanks, I'll let you know how he gets on!

richard_l

dsmiff wrote:

My son( 8 ) is about to compete in his first race at Shrewsbury circuit this Saturday. He has never raced before and neither of us belong to a club or even been to a cycle track so have no real idea what to expect.

We do loads of riding, mainly MTB (sorry!), but I recently got hold of a decathlon 7.1 for him and thought I would give him go.

Any tips? He wants to win!!!!

As you've not done one of these before - suggest you give the organiser a call ASAP to check out timings and info. He is a good organiser and very helpful
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/si ... future.asp



Check out the pictures here as well for an idea about the circuit layout - basically is letter "P" shaped - U turn at the bottom and big sweeping turn at the top- ridden anticlockwise
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/si ... amount.asp

Above all - hope you have fun.

Where abouts are you based and maybe we can help direct you towards a good local club with other Youth riders - sounds like your lad is keen and would be good to get him involved with others of similar age. BC GoRide clubs are generally a very good starting point.

dsmiff

We are between Wrexham and Chester.

We haven't managed to find any local clubs with other kids for him to ride with.

We normally ride together at Llandegla every Sunday (black and red), but have started to do a road ride alternate weekends. I struggle against him at Llandegla, especially on the long climbs out of the black, but not on the road.

redddraggon

dsmiff wrote:

We are between Wrexham and Chester.

When you said you average 16.5mph on 15mile trip with an 8yr old I thought, because most of the time I struggle to average 16.5mph, that you must be on flat land.

I cycle in that area most of the time and I seem to spend most of my time going up hills struggling to get over 11mph.

How do you and your 8 yr old manage the 16.5mph average?

dsmiff

We ride from Rossett thru Doddleston then to the top of Higher Kinerton (lower mountain) and back down thru Burton, not too hilly.

richard_l

dsmiff wrote:

We are between Wrexham and Chester.

We haven't managed to find any local clubs with other kids for him to ride with.

We normally ride together at Llandegla every Sunday (black and red), but have started to do a road ride alternate weekends. I struggle against him at Llandegla, especially on the long climbs out of the black, but not on the road.

The Chester Road Club, is starting the GoRide Youth accreditation process with British Cycling. It seems they already have some activites for Youth riders. A bit of circuit racing, timetrialling and track racing, so I wouldn't be surprised to find they do cyclo-cross and MTB stuff as well. Probably worth talking through with their Youth co-ordinator - contact details are on this link.

http://www.chesterroadclub.co.uk/crc/in ... &Itemid=36

redddraggon

dsmiff wrote:

We ride from Rossett thru Doddleston then to the top of Higher Kinerton (lower mountain) and back down thru Burton, not too hilly.

Do you mind plotting your route on bikely?

I might give your route ago, see If I can hit 16.5mph average, over the weekend or tomorrow.

I often go from lower kinnerton to higher kinnerton, past the school all the way through to the A550, and I find that quite a steepish hill.

dsmiff

Hope this works: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/rossett-route

redddraggon

dsmiff wrote:

Hope this works: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/rossett-route

I think I'll give that route a go this afternoon. See what I can manage on it

dsmiff

He won!!!!!!!

Finsihed about 1/2 a lap in front of the next rider.

He was just young enough for the under 8's maybe I'll take him to a few more races next year.

Anonymous

Excellent stuff dsmiff. He looks well chuffed.
Proud Dad as well no doubt.

dsmiff

Kind of promised him a new bike for his birthday if he won, oh dear........well at least it's not until next Feb.

Bronzie

dsmiff wrote:

Kind of promised him a new bike for his birthday if he won, oh dear........well at least it's not until next Feb.

Nothing motivates the little darlings more than a good old fashioned win bonus!!

Fantastic news - hope he can carry on with his racing successes next season now that he has got the bug. Well worth investigating getting him involved in your local British Cycling "Go Ride" club where he can train and race with others of his age and help to encourage a healthy competitive streak in him.

dsmiff

Race results posted on Wolverhampton Wheelers website.

http://wheelers.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2007/9/23/3248889.html

All the other kids were in clubs.

Gussio

What a great photo - congratulations!

cougie

Blimey thats fantastic ! I just pootle around with my 8 year old - theres no way he'd be able to do 16.5mph for 15 miles !

Well done him ! I'm very impressed !

NervexProf

Smiffy Senior...congrats to Smiffy Junior...great photo..encourage him do.

You must be proud...I would be.

top_bhoy

dsmiff wrote:

He won!!!!!!!

Finsihed about 1/2 a lap in front of the next rider.

He was just young enough for the under 8's maybe I'll take him to a few more races next year.

Quite a pace for an 8yo, well done! That was a big gap in his first race. I hope the blood tests come back negative

richard_l

dsmiff wrote:

He won!!!!!!!

Finsihed about 1/2 a lap in front of the next rider.

He was just young enough for the under 8's maybe I'll take him to a few more races next year.

Congratulations indeed. And good to see the applause coming from other Youth riders waiting at the gate for their event.

Although the circuit races for this year are just about all finished, if he is still after some competition you could get him to ride some of the cyclo-cross events on his MTB bike.

North West Region events here - looks like some close to you on 7 and 27 oct.
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/si ... sultspp=20

West Midlands REgion here
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/si ... sultspp=20