Haute Route training & racing
pedalbasher
Posts: 215
I am riding the Haute Route Pyrenees this August.
Training's going well, I got a lot of good base miles in over the winter and I've upped the intensity a fair bit over the last couple of months, working primarily on threshold and climbing - ultimately, doing well in this event is going to be about riding hard up a mountain for 60-90 minutes, recovering on the descents, then doing it again (3 to 5 times per day for 7 days).
Now my fitness and form are good, I'm very tempted to do a bit of racing. I've ruled out crits on the basis that they wouldn't achieve much for the event I'm targeting, but would the occasional road race be a good idea?
Positives: practice riding in a bunch, good hard (2 hr plus) workout, build confidence.
Negatives: crash risk (disaster if I can't do the HR because of a needless crash), effectively rules out hard training sessions a couple of days either side of a race.
Would be interested to hear thoughts on whether a bit of racing is a good idea or, alternatively, should I stick to the training plan and keep on doing hill repeats, threshold rides and all-day slogs to best prepare (and avoid the crash risk...)?
Cheers
Training's going well, I got a lot of good base miles in over the winter and I've upped the intensity a fair bit over the last couple of months, working primarily on threshold and climbing - ultimately, doing well in this event is going to be about riding hard up a mountain for 60-90 minutes, recovering on the descents, then doing it again (3 to 5 times per day for 7 days).
Now my fitness and form are good, I'm very tempted to do a bit of racing. I've ruled out crits on the basis that they wouldn't achieve much for the event I'm targeting, but would the occasional road race be a good idea?
Positives: practice riding in a bunch, good hard (2 hr plus) workout, build confidence.
Negatives: crash risk (disaster if I can't do the HR because of a needless crash), effectively rules out hard training sessions a couple of days either side of a race.
Would be interested to hear thoughts on whether a bit of racing is a good idea or, alternatively, should I stick to the training plan and keep on doing hill repeats, threshold rides and all-day slogs to best prepare (and avoid the crash risk...)?
Cheers
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Comments
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Perhaps Longer distance timetrialling? Crits wouldn't really suit at all. Road races in most areas have a higher than average crash risk.
something like a 50 mile or 25 mile TT once or twice weekly might well help you.0 -
Some bunch racing practice might be useful, but not if you can only stay in the bunch for 5 minutes before being spat out. And if you don't have specific race fitness, that may well be the case. I wouldn't rule out any other form of group riding though, like club rides or even chain gangs. In fact, chain gangs would be a good place to start, if you don't already do them...0
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Thanks both. I've got the strength to hold my own in a road race but agree the crash risk is significant and really plays on my mind particularly with this event on the horizon. I'd never forgive myself if I had to pull out due to something completely avoidable. So I reckon I have to be disciplined and not race this Summer
Time trials - good idea, might give this a go. I already do a weekly 30 miler on local lanes, pretty much as hard as I can, which is basically an informal TT - but I'm missing the buzz of a race/event.
Chain gangs - also a good shout.0
