Race build up
AK_jnr
Posts: 717
Can you guys walk me through my first race please. Castle Combe this sunday. 30 minutes plus 3 laps.
What sort of warm up, what to put in my jersey etc.
It would be much appreciated.
What sort of warm up, what to put in my jersey etc.
It would be much appreciated.
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Comments
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Warm up - usually down to personal preference, but at least 20mins for me usually.
What to put in jersey - for a 30min race, nothing. You probably won't even need a bottle.0 -
Warm up nice and easy to start with a few gentle sprints for me. Whilst your going round the circuit have a look at the corners where you might not want to get yourself caught up e.g. gravel, sudden drops/inclines in the road surface. Plus you can get a feel for how the circuit flows.
As for in your jersey if you mean food I wouldn't bother unless you want to pop an energy gel but your heart rate should be up enough from racing. Do you mean tools etc? Is a tough one really as you might get a puncture and its up to you unless you have a spare wheel to swap over you can either change it by the side and carry on but you might find yourself completing the race on your own.Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.0 -
Down all your fluids and energy stuff 30mins prior to race.
A 30min race shouldn't require food or drink. I'd imagine it'd be way too fast to even have the opportunity.0 -
Yeah that makes sense. It will be about 45 mins with the 3 laps on top so thats still not long enough to need a drink I suppose? Well that makes it a bit easier for me!
I live about 1hr30 from the track so porridge and my herbalife shake first thing which will be pretty early and then an energy carb drink throughout warm up?0 -
Hour warm up at least.0
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i do about 10 mins warm up on the rollers, take an energy gel just before and then only take 1 small bottle half full for the race.0
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AK_jnr wrote:
I live about 1hr30 from the track so porridge and my herbalife shake first thing which will be pretty early and then an energy carb drink throughout warm up?
Sounds spot on to mePain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.0 -
Thanks for all the help so far.
Training wise my last hard ride was Tuesday and tonight is usualy a club chain gang but due to the weather im gonna do some intervals on the the turbo. What about Friday and Saturday?
How do cat 4 races at CC usually finish? Crash and Sprints or do breakaways work there?0 -
Unless the weather is actually 'dangerous' - get out on the chaingang. Racing takes place in the cold/wind/rain, so you might as well train in those conditions.0
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Yeah I understand its more that nobody else comes out when its wet.
On the subject of rain, do race numbers drop or is everyone hardcore.0 -
AK_jnr wrote:How do cat 4 races at CC usually finish? Crash and Sprints or do breakaways work there?
Crash and sprint.
_very_ occasionally a break will work, but it's not very likely. Out of the 15 Summer Series races last year, 13 of the 3/4 races ended in sprints.0 -
DavidJB wrote:joe.90 wrote:i do about 10 mins warm up on the rollers, take an energy gel just before and then only take 1 small bottle half full for the race.
Good attempt at trolling but I've spotted it.
What's going on here then, I feel like I've missed something?Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.0 -
Seriously...
Folk get to wound up about the does / donts / what to take what not to take. Whatever happened to taking advice from club mates?
Its a 30 minute race.
You should be positivley dripping with sweat and be utterly caked in salt on the line..
If you can manage that you are halfway to cracking your opponents.
The shorter the race the more intense the warm up needs to be. Try 20 mins gradual warm up then 3 x balls out efforts in the last 10 mins. Short races do and will go from the gun.
The thing to remember is that you either need to be able to go odd the front yourself - or go when everyone else does - even when you do not want to go.
The more you become accustomed to frequent t*******ng of ones self the better you will become.0 -
Thick Tester wrote:Whatever happened to taking advice from club mates?
Maybe the OP is not a club member & is treating the Amateur Race BR contingent as his virtual club mates?Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.0 -
I've taken advice from club mates but this is much quicker and get broader range of ideas. I apologise for all the questions in that case!
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Danlikesbikes wrote:Thick Tester wrote:Whatever happened to taking advice from club mates?
Amateur Race BR contingent as his virtual club mates?
What a sorry state of affairs. How did the cycling community survice without forums? After all they are the backbone of all amateur event promotions hey ?
FWIW.. I spent most of Sunday chaperoning two club mates through their 1st open RR, after spending most of winter ripping each others legs off. They both got through fine and learned a lot more.0 -
Thick Tester wrote:
What a sorry state of affairs.
Each to their own I guess - why else would the forum exist if not for people to ask questions about amateur racing.Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.0 -
Haha what a kn*b0
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Thick Tester wrote:Danlikesbikes wrote:Thick Tester wrote:Whatever happened to taking advice from club mates?
Amateur Race BR contingent as his virtual club mates?
What a sorry state of affairs. How did the cycling community survice without forums? After all they are the backbone of all amateur event promotions hey ?
FWIW.. I spent most of Sunday chaperoning two club mates through their 1st open RR, after spending most of winter ripping each others legs off. They both got through fine and learned a lot more.
Cool story bro.
Forums are designed to share ideas if you hate them so much why are you here.0 -
Danlikesbikes wrote:
Sorry that warm up and advice is so terrible I thought it was a joke. Why do you need a gel before you start racing?? You have over an hours glycogen stores in your muscles...the only thing you're doing by taking a gel is getting fat. Plus 10 minutes warm up come on. 10 minutes isn't even the warm up of a warm up.0 -
DavidJB wrote:Why do you need a gel before you start racing??
Fair point, though if its a caffeinated one might get your HRM up or have the placebo effect of making the OP feel better???
Think I did that with one of my first races, did it make a difference? Probably not, but it made me think I was going through the right motions.Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.0 -
Danlikesbikes wrote:DavidJB wrote:Why do you need a gel before you start racing??
Fair point, though if its a caffeinated one might get your HRM up or have the placebo effect of making the OP feel better???
Think I did that with one of my first races, did it make a difference? Probably not, but it made me think I was going through the right motions.
Honestly I just race with water for an hour crit and I noticed zero difference then when I used to put multodextrin in my water. I'll probably eat a banana when I start my warm up.
Zero benefit for a crit.0 -
Me too on the water during racing but at 30mins + laps I don't even bother with carrying anything fluid wise at this time of year. If it were the middle of our summer (so a few weeks away) might carry some but again probably not at this length/time.Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.0
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DavidJB wrote:Danlikesbikes wrote:
Sorry that warm up and advice is so terrible I thought it was a joke. Why do you need a gel before you start racing?? You have over an hours glycogen stores in your muscles...the only thing you're doing by taking a gel is getting fat. Plus 10 minutes warm up come on. 10 minutes isn't even the warm up of a warm up.
lol, as if anyone bothers warming up for an hour for a bloody 4th cat crit, just do 10 min warm up and off you go. As said nothing is going to stick so you could even just turn up to the line cold and use the first few laps to warm up? I've done both with no major difference in outcome.
People overthink it hugely, I raced at the weekend, I rode 30 miles to the race, stood around for an hour watching my mate, then had a 5 min warm up and did my race. It made ZERO difference to the outcome.Blog on my first and now second season of proper riding/racing - www.firstseasonracing.com0 -
okgo wrote:People overthink it hugely, I raced at the weekend, I rode 30 miles to the race, stood around for an hour watching my mate, then had a 5 min warm up and did my race. It made ZERO difference to the outcome.
Presumably you won the race? Otherwise, how could you be certain that it made zero difference to the outcome?0 -
I agree with okgo. Don't think about it too much. Eat some stuff early, get to Castle Combe, ride around a bit then race. After that you can work out what works for you and what doesn't.
Take at least half a bottle of drink though. It's better to have something if you need it than not (I drank almost half a bottle in 50 minutes at Ludgershall a few weeks back).0 -
Danlikesbikes wrote:Thick Tester wrote:
What a sorry state of affairs.
Each to their own I guess - why else would the forum exist if not for people to ask questions about amateur racing.
Probably because its a manner in which Future publishing can justify their online circulation figures to potential advertisers in lieu of justifying their fee's
Think laterally FGS.
The fabric of the cycling community is in amateur clubs, who care nothing for revenue or market share.0 -
Oh to be in the position where I could plan my nutrition around a race, get there in time to warm up etc etc. For me its usually a case of getting ther with just enough time to sign on, pin on number and do a couple of laps to check which way the wind is blowing. At 3/4 cat, there's no real need to do a full warm up, you can generally warm up over the first few laps. I guess if I actually had time for a proper warm up then I could really attack from the off and catch people cold...0
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Imposter wrote:okgo wrote:People overthink it hugely, I raced at the weekend, I rode 30 miles to the race, stood around for an hour watching my mate, then had a 5 min warm up and did my race. It made ZERO difference to the outcome.
Presumably you won the race? Otherwise, how could you be certain that it made zero difference to the outcome?
We raced for an hour, we let one bloke get away, and I came 3rd in the bunch sprint by about a wheel, after 5 mins I was at full 'warmed up state' so it made absoloutley no difference to the outcome of the race, warming up for 20 mins would not have helped me chose the right gear to have won that bunch kick.
There are far more important things to worry about than ridiculous warm ups, such as knowing the finish, which probably would have helped me get a better placing.Blog on my first and now second season of proper riding/racing - www.firstseasonracing.com0
