Advice for a woman who is looking to race?

alex1rob

Hi,

My housemate is curious about racing but is unsure on how to get into it. I've encouraged her to come to a few TT's and she has been doing so. However it's the same thing that everyone goes through with "I don't want to be rubbish' mindset.

I've done my best to say just give it a go, but to be fair all the women's races are 'Elite, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th' so are they really that competitive?

Any tips would be good, she is 23 and has only really 'trained' to run a marathon last year but not much cycling.

me-109

You'll never know until you try. Your task, should you accept it, is to get her to try.

hammerite

Just get used to club rides and club TTs first (beginner friendly competitiveness). Once she's used to riding in a bunch and can hold her own give some races a go.

As for women's races, it really depends who turns up. If a load of elites turn up she's likely to struggle, if it's mainly cat 3/4 then she'd probably be ok.

Herbsman

alex1rob wrote:

However it's the same thing that everyone goes through with "I don't want to be rubbish' mindset.

If she doesn't change that mindset she'll never get anywhere with anything. If she really wants to race then she will race, regardless. Nobody forces anyone to race against their will; it might be hard but it's supposed to be for fun, and for enjoyment so she needs to ask herself why it would matter if she didn't do well. If she gets dropped after 2 miles and lapped three times (as I did in my first two races), it's all part of the fun, and part of the learning experience; it should be motivation to try even harder next time. Would anything be as satisfying if we were automatically good at it straight away and didn't have to struggle and fail a few times before succeeding?

maryka

This time of year is a great time to try out road racing as many who started earlier in the season are getting fed up or burned out or are simply on holiday or not bothered with racing that much. March/April, on the other hand, is the worst time to try out racing as races are oversubscribed and full of nervous riders.

Depending where you are, the best thing to do is try out an evening crit. Even here in London, you won't find more than a dozen women these days at Hillingdon (every other Wed evening) or Hog Hill (Thursdays) or even Crystal Palace (Tuesdays when it doesn't rain). Weekend crits may see more racers.

After making sure she has the requisite skills and confidence to ride safely in a bunch (some group rides or club runs should do it -- in fact, joining a club is helpful in this regard), she should just show up and try it out. Day license plus entry will be no more than 15-20 quid in a crit, so fairly cheap as experiences go. If she likes it, she can do it again, buy a real license, etc.

As for TTs, club events are the most accessible and generally least intimidating so it's worth seeking out one of those -- 10 miles is generally a good beginner distance.

huuregeil

I don't think anything beats having a female mentor who has been in exactly that same position. Find her a club with some women racers and go from there - all the women I know who race would love there to be more women racing, so she should get (in addition to group riding skills/confidence) plenty of support and encouragement! One other observation, and this is gleaned from another sport where I've been involved in some coaching, is that the "bloke way" of doing things (summarised by Herbsman above, who I assume is a guy!) with regards training, competition, etc. is generally not suited to women. Guys can generally be persuaded to jump straight into the deep end, if they've already expressed an interest to do something (for better or worse!); girls tend to need a better defined/understood process. Clearly, a huge generalisation (and I hope I haven't caused any offence because, for sure, not everyone, guy or girl, fits into this mould!), but I'd say simply pushing your friend into a crit isn't likely going to cut it; sitting down with someone who can say, this is how it was for me, this is what your should be doing, this is how it's going to work, this is what might happen, is far more likely to succeed.

Good luck!

amrushton

Look at clubs who will be able to advise or Google women, bike races. What about track riding? It's hard but it's controlled. Road racing isn't about being rubbish, it's developing a skill set that can only be developed by bunch riding. Knowing when to ride or shelter, commit to a corner etc. Worth a look on YouTube at e.g. Juliet Elliot riding criteriums to get an idea of what might be involved.

webboo

Do you think the female in question is still waiting for advice after 8 years.

amrushton

Probably.