Race Training

pioboyle

Hi...
I cycle to work every day in a 50km round trip.. but am hoping to cycle in the lacey cup next year.. anyone with any training tips
p

blorg

Join a cycling club. #1 thing you can do.

victorcarrera

How long would it take you to do that (50Km) commute on your race bike at present.?

pioboyle

it would normally take me between 45-50 for the 25km depending on the wind, well i am a member of of a tri club also if that helps?

Chips Lovell

blorg wrote: »

Join a cycling club. #1 thing you can do.

+1

That's the single most important step. Go out on their training spins and get used to riding in tight fast bunches. Aside from your commute, try and get plenty of training miles in over the winter. In the New Year you can start working on your speed.

pioboyle

well for speed training i go out with work mates for an hour ever so often during lunch.. is there any goal i should be aiming for in prep for a race..

SunshineCyclist

You won't really know how you are until the first race. But build your base at the moment, which you seem to be doing fine, from Jan 1st on start doing hill repeats and intervals and gradually build it into your training, don't forget to respect your body during this period and allow it enough time to recover from this training as it will put you under pressure.

If you get a chance to train with other people similiar to your ability, start doing 'half-wheeling', and get imaginative with your training, one example is to use a circuit and let your training buddy go 30 seconds ahead of you, it's great training for both of you as you try to catch them and they try not to get caught.

blorg

From my own experience starting racing this year the problem was not so much the pace as handling the bike in a tight group while pushing it at the limit. You will only get better at this with practice and you don't get it at all in triathlon where drafting is not allowed. Cornering in a tight bunch was particularly terrifying at first.

You would be better off joining a cycling club who will do bunch training and, ideally, not making your first race a major open race but starting in the likes of a club league where races are smaller and it is easier to learn the ropes. However the Lacey Cup is early in the season so if you are set on that I guess joining a cycling club and doing bunch training with them is your best bet.

Note cycling in a bunch racing is completely different than cycling in a group in a sportive or the like. Road racing is only partly to do with your speed and fitness on the bike; this is necessary but by no means sufficient or most of the picture. So much of it is tactics... and even that is step 2 after you manage just figure out simply how to stay in the bunch without causing any crashes.

Raam

blorg wrote: »

Note cycling in a bunch racing is completely different than cycling in a group in a sportive or the like. Road racing is only partly to do with your speed and fitness on the bike; this is necessary but by no means sufficient or most of the picture. So much of it is tactics... and even that is step 2 after you manage just figure out simply how to stay in the bunch without causing any crashes.

Step 3: learning how to get to the finish with more energy than everyone else. I.e. becoming a wheelsucker.

scottreynolds

Raam wrote: »

Step 3: learning how to get to the finish with more energy than everyone else. I.e. becoming a wheelsucker.

Step 4 : Under estimate you abilities always : Sandbagging

victorcarrera

pioboyle wrote: »

it would normally take me between 45-50 for the 25km depending on the wind, well i am a member of of a tri club also if that helps?

= 30 < 33 Kph which is fast enough to join and stay with a racing club training spin at this time of year. Note also that most racing club runs are coasting at 30Kph @ 2 to 2.5 hrs up to christmas maybe longer and faster in the new year. It is a good time to join a club now so try it out and see how you get on. That race is on around Feb/March so you don't have much time and if you have not raced before there is a lot to learn. Be realistic in your ambitions. FWIW It wouldn't surprise me if the average speed in that race was 40Kph+. If your background is tri you will need to learn a few new tricks to stay with the race pace like sprinting and climbing just to stay with them. +1 on joining a good club with some been there done that types.

Esroh

victorcarrera wrote: »

= 30 < 33 Kph which is fast enough to join and stay with a racing club training spin at this time of year. Note also that most racing club runs are coasting at 30Kph @ 2 to 2.5 hrs up to christmas maybe longer and faster in the new year. It is a good time to join a club now so try it out and see how you get on. That race is on around Feb/March so you don't have much time and if you have not raced before there is a lot to learn. Be realistic in your ambitions. FWIW It wouldn't surprise me if the average speed in that race was 40Kph+. If your background is tri you will need to learn a few new tricks to stay with the race pace like sprinting and climbing just to stay with them. +1 on joining a good club with some been there done that types.

This is the big difference. Being able to sit in a bunch at a steady speed is 1 thing but its the constant changes in pace and the climbing at a higher tempo with no recovery :eek:that knocks the stuffing out of you the first few times.

Lumen

Judging by the boardsie race reports from last season, the first skill is to avoid getting lost every race.

pioboyle

well i have done a few charity cycles and the ring of kerry 5:50. cycling in a bunch was daunting at first but have n probs with it now.. but i guess how much of a diff is there between the leisure cycles and a race?

Junior

pioboyle wrote: »

well i have done a few charity cycles and the ring of kerry 5:50. cycling in a bunch was daunting at first but have n probs with it now.. but i guess how much of a diff is there between the leisure cycles and a race?

A lot

1 - Positioning (you'll need to know where you are, what's coming up, who's around you)
2- Speed (the average speed of a race group will be higher, it will also stop when people getting screwed at the front look around, it will suddenly speed up when people sense a climb or advantage point)
3 - Riders closer together (you will find leisure groups will be spaced further apart, in a race group everyone will be close together, people ride close to get the most benefit of a draft)
4 - Attitude (People won't trust you in race, your appearance and demeanor will set people's attitude up to you, wobble and people will mark you down as shakey and will give you a wide berth, ride at the front to early and they'll mark you as an inexperienced donkey, don't hold the wheel and you'll get bawled out or suddenly you'll find people going past you)

You'll also need to learn not to be abused, i.e. someone getting you to ride thru when you shouldn't, you'll also need to learn to ride when you know you can, when you can shatter a group or drop people, you'll need to know when to shelter or sit on when you need to. Riding in a cycling club spin will teach you some of this stuff, look out for gnarly veterans on steel frames. Also some of the lads that are in club rides might look a bit like freds, with carbon frames and sitting on, they are more than likely A's who are just out spinning getting some mileage on the body.

anything else just ask.

hynesie

pioboyle wrote: »

well i have done a few charity cycles and the ring of kerry 5:50. cycling in a bunch was daunting at first but have n probs with it now.. but i guess how much of a diff is there between the leisure cycles and a race?

I did my first charity cycles last year and started doing some racing this year and I can't over emphasize how different they are. The proximity of riders on all sides takes a lot of getting used to. The last race I did this year was Charleville and beforehand I thought I'd gotten used to riding in groups in a race but I was wrong. The first 1/3 was a bit nerve-wracking because it was such a big bunch (~140 I think) and people seemed to be slamming on the breaks all over the place so the entire group seemed a bit nervous, or maybe that was just in the back 1/2 where I was at the beginning. Once I made my way forward it was a bit better, but the farmer who left two bollards side by side across the middle of the road didn't help matters.
I started with a few club races, then 2 smaller races and then 2 bigger ones. I had been going out on club spins on and off for about 6 months before that so I'd gotten a small bit of experience. I definitely wouldn't go into an open race without having done the club races and the club spins. I think it's important to remember that you're potentially putting other people in danger too due to your lack of experience.

Home:Ballyhoura

Don't worry about the Charleville 2 Day, that was a messy race anyway! The garda on patrol had never done a cycle race before and was way too nervous, even got it stopped shortly after the start of the first stage for crossing over the line. Plus, that race had a lot of newbies in it and I have proof of that. Many cyclists I know who never race but enjoy cycling decided to enter it for the craic, "sure it's the last race of the season, it'll be some laugh" was some people's attitude. You could tell their lack of experience in a bunch (and that was a fast start - 50k/h for a while) and their grip on the brakes was doing no favours at all. Believe me, stay up towards the front and stay out of trouble. That's the only way to do it, unless you want to go on a solo break where none of this would concern you! Haha, most races usually aren't like this and are easier to ride in the bunch. Keep it up!

Hungrycol

Was thinking about this question on my commute home yesterday. One thing you can do when on your tobler is get out of the saddle and speed up after taking a left hand corner.

Raam

Riding hard into the wind for a few minutes on and off does wonders for strength and ability to keep up on the flat. I'm talking seriously hard into the wind. Really work that body. I really struggled in the first few club league races just to stay with the bunch. After a few races and some hard training, the strength and stamina came.

godihatethehils

pioboyle wrote: »

well i have done a few charity cycles and the ring of kerry 5:50. cycling in a bunch was daunting at first but have n probs with it now.. but i guess how much of a diff is there between the leisure cycles and a race?

A lot.....one is fun, one isn't.