Tips for Bike Race

kimmydct

I'm doing my first bike race on Monday and I'm really excited!  (I'm so loving the more biking, less running training!)  I'm looking for any helpful tips that more experienced folks might have.

My goals are as follows:  1) Keep the rubber side down 2) Stay on a wheel if at all possible, anyone's! 3) Have fun! 4) Don't finish dead last?

Also, I registered as "Masters 35+" vs. "Women's Cat 3/4".  I'm both technically and it is the same race so I'm not sure it really matters?  (There's fewer people in the Masters group so far so maybe that's the right choice.  LOL)

Anything else? 

http://www.jamestownclassic.org/pdfs/course_map2.pdf

 

novaavant

The turns will be the most dangerous of the race so just remember to hold your own line and watch for people cutting across in front of you not watching their line. Coming out of the turns the leaders are gong to be shifting quickly to try and drop people behind them coming out of the turn so listen for the shifting and be ready to jump early to stay on people's wheels.



Try and stay in the group as much as possible to conserve energy if you get dropped look back to see if there is another group you can join if you can't bridge back to your group rather than plugging away by yourself. The group behind you will probably catch you anyway so no need to waste more energy.



I usually will put my garmin on the bike but tape over it so I don't see the data, it's just a distraction in bike racing and not something you can act on anyway. If you are blowing up you will know without the electronics.



From my experience the masters groups are pretty tough, a lot of super fast folks in those groups at least in men's racing.



Enjoy yourself and stay safe!

rlh2000

No tips, but have a great time! I'm sure you'll learn a ton! I look forward to hearing about it!

Jacklyn Moore

WOW! Way to go. Can you give us deets on the race. length, hills, descents etc. How high are you going to do your tires and whats the weather going to be like? 

Be watchful of people who are going to be aggressively drafting and possible half wheeling. 

Good luck and have fun! 

kimmydct

Attila- Awesome, thanks! On my group rides I tend to lose people on turns (cuz I like to be careful!) so I'll def. be more mindful of getting back at it quickly after the turn!



Thanks Rachel and Jacklyn! I'm going to put my GoPro on the handlebars so you'll be able to see the whole thing!  Didn't think about tire pressure....  I usually do 100psi and havent thought of more.  Any thoughts on that?  I have Gatorskins on now and will put on race tires assuming no rain.  (I'm unsure of race slicks in the rain!)



Here's the race info. It is 38 miles total, 2 loops. http://www.jamestownclassic.org/indexclassic.cfm



I found this map on Ride with GPS:



http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1931021



Looks very "bumpy"... Although people call it "flat".  Maybe cuz its lots or mini rollers?

Coach Rich

I don't race but I've done a lot of very fast group rides. Notes:

• Sounds like you might be "that gal" in the corners who like to break going in / or in the corners. Do your best to not be. If I were Kim, I think I'd try to go into the corners near the front and to the outside, so that if I did want to brake or adjust my line outward, I have more room. That said...do your best to not be that gal. Experienced riders will be sizing everyone up before / in the first couple turns and identifying who they need to watch, make go away, etc.
• Never, never push your own wind, for any reason. The front-ish is usually the safer place to be but if you find yourself in a line of gals with the expectation that you'll take your turn at the front...GTF out of there. Slide out, slide to the rear and find a wheel. 
• Never, never work to close a gap if you feel that doing so will overstretch you. Very common for riders to let you hang yourself struggling to get back on a wheel, and then jump through the gap and up to the group ahead when they sense that (1) you are crushed but (2) the gap is small enough for them to bridge without much trouble. So if you find yourself at the front of gap, GTF out of there, sliding to the side and forcing someone else to take the gap. 

All of ^this^ applies to a group / bunch situation. If you find yourself in a small group or breakaway, then, yes, usually best to share the work until it's not a smart idea to share anymore. But until then, you don't owe anybody anything. Do. Not. Work. 

Dino Sarti

Like Rich, I have not raced, but have done many of the same very fast, very competitive large group rides.

I think everyone captured it. I would just add two things:

1. Always, always protect your FRONT wheel. No else will, so you had better. Don't over lap the rear of the gal ahead as you try and hide in the draft. If she moves and you can't cause your boxed in, down you go and she will likely just glance back at you on the ground as she rides away. So, protect that wheel!

2. From what I have seen when "experts" dissect power data during the Tour or any of the Spring Classics is that the rider that was the laziest is often the winner. The winners produce very little power and often have cadence gaps from coasting as laying in wait. Those riders then have the freshness and the power to pounce when the time is right or when a selection happens and they need to make a move with a couple strong riders.

Cheers!

Cary Blanco

Don't look at your PM. Put tape over it for the first race or two. The power you put out in a bike race is so different from tri training/racing the numbers you see may actually have the effect of psychologically fatiguing you. Stay with the group, be safe and have fun.

kimmydct

Well, I'll have to file these tips for another day.... I now have a business trip on Monday so I can't do the race. I'm bummed but I'm going out to LA to a taping of "Ellen" since my brand, Litter Genie, is the sponsor of Cat Week.

Luckily, I was able to move my hotel reservation. I booked it through Hotwire and got a great deal but no cancellations/changes are usually allowed.

On another positive note, my bike fitness is probably the best it has ever been from all the bike training so I'm actually looking forward to doing an FTP test as soon as I can and will try like heck to keep as many of those hard-earned watts til Jan OS!

Keith Wick

File one more thing for later----if you struggle on climbs then make sure you're someplace close to the front when the climb starts. That way, hopefully you'll be able to hang onto the tail of the group by the top of the climb so you don't get dropped. If you start at the back, it's very easy to get spit out of the group very quickly.