Go Back  Bike Forums > The Racer's Forum > "The 33"-Road Bike Racing
Reload this Page >

My first race. Advice?

Notices
"The 33"-Road Bike Racing We set this forum up for our members to discuss their experiences in either pro or amateur racing, whether they are the big races, or even the small backyard races. Don't forget to update all the members with your own race results.

My first race. Advice?

Old 02-17-07, 10:45 AM
  #1  
Member
Thread Starter
 
Thor05's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Auburn, New York
Posts: 45

Bikes: Cannondale r4000, Cannondale 1000 Jekyll lefty

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
My first race. Advice?

This is the course for my first road race. It's not till April. Any advice would be welcome.

profile_map.jpg

3d_map.jpg
Thor05 is offline  
Old 02-17-07, 12:48 PM
  #2  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5,820
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 383 Post(s)
Liked 133 Times in 91 Posts
Whats the scale? How many laps? Wheres the start/finish? Need much more info.
__________________
Il faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace

1980 3Rensho-- 1975 Raleigh Sprite 3spd
1990s Raleigh M20 MTB--2007 Windsor Hour (track)
1988 Ducati 750 F1
San Rensho is offline  
Old 02-17-07, 12:54 PM
  #3  
Dirt-riding heretic
 
DrPete's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Gig Harbor, WA
Posts: 17,413

Bikes: Lynskey R230/Red, Blue Triad SL/Red, Cannondale Scalpel 3/X9

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times in 7 Posts
First race? Work on intervals for the next few weeks. Start out easier, but build up to 1-minute all out with short recoveries, like 1min on/1min off. Those rollers will begin to suck pretty bad after a few laps...

Then show up on race day, hang on for as long as you can, and have fun.
__________________
"Unless he was racing there was no way he could match my speed."

Last edited by DrPete; 02-17-07 at 01:03 PM.
DrPete is offline  
Old 02-17-07, 01:01 PM
  #4  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,840
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 31 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
https://www.bikeforums.net/33-road-bike-racing/269178-road-racing-advice-tips.html

oh yeah, as Dr. Pete says, HAVE FUN! At the end of the day, that's really what it's all about.
MDcatV is offline  
Old 02-17-07, 02:02 PM
  #5  
Member
Thread Starter
 
Thor05's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Auburn, New York
Posts: 45

Bikes: Cannondale r4000, Cannondale 1000 Jekyll lefty

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by San Rensho
Whats the scale? How many laps? Wheres the start/finish? Need much more info.
The cat 5 race is 5 laps. It starts with the steep uphill.
Thor05 is offline  
Old 02-17-07, 02:07 PM
  #6  
Member
Thread Starter
 
Thor05's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Auburn, New York
Posts: 45

Bikes: Cannondale r4000, Cannondale 1000 Jekyll lefty

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by MDcatV
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=269178

oh yeah, as Dr. Pete says, HAVE FUN! At the end of the day, that's really what it's all about.

Great thread thanks for the info
Thor05 is offline  
Old 02-17-07, 02:14 PM
  #7  
.
 
Namenda's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: "The Woo", MA
Posts: 4,831
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Advice? Well, to keep it simple...don't fall, don't cause anyone else to fall, arrive early enough to warm up, hydrate properly, and don't forget to bring your bike.
Namenda is offline  
Old 02-17-07, 04:17 PM
  #8  
pan y agua
 
merlinextraligh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Jacksonville
Posts: 31,273

Bikes: Willier Zero 7; Merlin Extralight; Calfee Dragonfly tandem, Calfee Adventure tandem; Cervelo P2; Motebecane Ti Fly 29er; Motebecanne Phantom Cross; Schwinn Paramount Track bike

Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1428 Post(s)
Liked 697 Times in 353 Posts
in addition to intervals, get out and do some fast group rides between now and then.

When you get to race day, make sure you are thouroghly warmed up. Odds are strong that the Cat 5 race will start out hard up the first climb, so you need to do some maximal efforts in warm up.
merlinextraligh is offline  
Old 02-17-07, 08:55 PM
  #9  
Blue Light Special
 
kmart's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Bay Area, Sunny Cali
Posts: 1,467

Bikes: '05 Felt F55, Schwinn Prologue road bike, '86 Centurion DS Iron Man, Sette Flite AM MTB

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
The intervals practice sounds like a good idea. I've also read that it's a good idea to taper off riding intensity the week before the race to save an extra bit of energy for race day. That doesn't mean don't ride at all, just don't do intense intervals a few days before the race so you can fully recover.
kmart is offline  
Old 02-17-07, 08:58 PM
  #10  
Senior Member
 
wrote4luck's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 577

Bikes: 2008 Cannondale Six 13, 1980 Dawes Super Galaxy

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 9 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
I did my first race today and it wasn't bad at all. It just feels like a regular group ride with a fight for first place at the end. My advice is to relax and try to have some fun... and watch out for the scary guys!
wrote4luck is offline  
Old 02-17-07, 09:51 PM
  #11  
Mostly Harmless
 
Dead Extra #2's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Sittin' on a bench at the railway station, one toke over the line.
Posts: 905

Bikes: Giant OCR1, Giant ATX760, Raleigh Retroglide Seven

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Try to get as much sleep as possible during the week before the race. You may not get much the night before.
Dead Extra #2 is offline  
Old 02-17-07, 10:42 PM
  #12  
Firm but gentle
 
venturi95's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Oregon
Posts: 588

Bikes: 2005 Litespeed Tuscany, Soma Pescadero, Pure Cycles disc road, Jamis hybrid

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 159 Post(s)
Liked 104 Times in 60 Posts
Don't get in the back of the pack, you may get seperated from the leaders and have to chase 'em down. Try not to get "boxed in" in the center of the peloton, you will be unable to avoid big crashes. Don't waste energy attacking unless you have a team of some sort to thwart chasers, or happen to find like-minded and fast guys to ride off the front with. I would be suprised to see these elevation changes break up the field in a short (under 60 or 70 miles) road race. More likely, they will just shed the heavy or weaker riders off the back. Field sprinting is beyond any sage advice; sharpen your teeth the night before and just get the frenzy going at the exact right moment. Don't make any adjusts to your bike the day before or morning of the race without riding it quite a bit first. Don't over train in the week before the race- you're not going to gain any speed or fitness, you want to be fresh on raceday. I strongly agree with the interval training.

Last edited by venturi95; 02-17-07 at 10:48 PM.
venturi95 is offline  
Old 02-17-07, 10:51 PM
  #13  
Senior Member
 
Duke of Kent's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Blacksburg, VA
Posts: 4,850

Bikes: Yeti ASRc, Focus Raven 29er, Flyxii FR316

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 17 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by wrote4luck
I did my first race today and it wasn't bad at all. It just feels like a regular group ride with a fight for first place at the end. My advice is to relax and try to have some fun... and watch out for the scary guys!
Wait till you hit some climbs in a 4/5 race, or do your first crit. That's not a relaxing time. Good job today, though. Nice race report in the other thread.
Duke of Kent is offline  
Old 02-18-07, 12:37 AM
  #14  
Over the hill
 
urbanknight's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 24,340

Bikes: Giant Defy, Giant Revolt

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 987 Post(s)
Liked 1,186 Times in 681 Posts
They're going to shake off as many people as possible on that first climb. Hang on for dear life, even though you'll think you're going to blow up. After the first lap, your adrenaline will kick in and the pace will slacken a little, until the last lap of course.
urbanknight is offline  
Old 02-18-07, 02:20 AM
  #15  
部門ニ/自転車オタク
 
NomadVW's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Sterling, VA
Posts: 3,173

Bikes: 2008 Blue T16, 2009 Blue RC8, 2012 Blue Norcross CX, 2016 Blue Axino SL, 2016 Scott Scale, Fixie, Fetish Cycles Road Bike (on the trainer)

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I'd expect top riders to attempt to force a selection on the climb just out of the gate and at the 4 mile mark on every lap. The last lap the pace over the 4 mile hill is going to be brutal.
__________________
Envision, Energize, Enable
NomadVW is offline  
Old 02-18-07, 04:26 AM
  #16  
Aut Vincere Aut Mori
 
Snuffleupagus's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Posts: 4,166

Bikes: Irish Cycles Tir na Nog, Jack Kane Team Racing, Fuji Aloha 1.0, GT Karakoram, Motobecane Fly Team

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by NomadVW
I'd expect top riders to attempt to force a selection on the climb just out of the gate and at the 4 mile mark on every lap. The last lap the pace over the 4 mile hill is going to be brutal.
Bingo. There are going to be attacks and counter attacks up that hill on the last lap. Anyone whose strength is climbing and or TTing is going to try and get away to avoid the field sprint.

Heck, I make my best power in the 5 minute range - and I'd launch up that sucker with everything I had
Snuffleupagus is offline  
Old 02-18-07, 06:03 AM
  #17  
Member
Thread Starter
 
Thor05's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Auburn, New York
Posts: 45

Bikes: Cannondale r4000, Cannondale 1000 Jekyll lefty

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
in addition to intervals, get out and do some fast group rides between now and then.

When you get to race day, make sure you are thouroghly warmed up. Odds are strong that the Cat 5 race will start out hard up the first climb, so you need to do some maximal efforts in warm up.

How much time do you usually give yourself between the warmup and the start of the race?
Thor05 is offline  
Old 02-18-07, 06:25 AM
  #18  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,840
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 31 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Thor05
How much time do you usually give yourself between the warmup and the start of the race?
Some of that will be out of your control as start time will be dependent upon whether the races are running "on time" or have been delayed due to prior fields running over, or whether your start/finish is in a different spot than your staging area, etc. Ideally you want a minimum amount of time between your warm up and start. However, especially since this is your 1st race, and nerves are going to be high if you're anything like me, plan to finish your warmup ~30 mins. before race start time. That way you'll have ample time to get your warm up stuff put away, race stuff all together, go to the porta john 1 last time, and hopefully be at the front of the group in the staging area so you start the race in the front group of riders as opposed to mid/back of pack.
MDcatV is offline  
Old 02-18-07, 06:25 AM
  #19  
Member
Thread Starter
 
Thor05's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Auburn, New York
Posts: 45

Bikes: Cannondale r4000, Cannondale 1000 Jekyll lefty

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I 've been doing some intervals on the trainer, we still have several feet of snow. will a month on the road we the local group be enough time. I use the trainer 1-2 hrs a day 5 or 6 day's a week.
Thor05 is offline  
Old 02-18-07, 06:30 AM
  #20  
部門ニ/自転車オタク
 
NomadVW's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Sterling, VA
Posts: 3,173

Bikes: 2008 Blue T16, 2009 Blue RC8, 2012 Blue Norcross CX, 2016 Blue Axino SL, 2016 Scott Scale, Fixie, Fetish Cycles Road Bike (on the trainer)

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Assuming you're riding against all the other snowbound New Yorkers, you have to assume that they have the same training time available you have.
__________________
Envision, Energize, Enable
NomadVW is offline  
Old 02-18-07, 09:21 AM
  #21  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,616
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
There are a ton of "my first race" threads on this board. Do a search and soak in as much info as possible. There's a lot of good advice and discussion here.

It takes a certain level of fitness to be able to hang with the pack in a race. If you don't have that, then all the advice in the world won't be able to help you, because you'll be off the back. But once you have that minimum fitness to hang, the rest is about racing tactics. i.e. the decisions you make during the race.

If I could give you only one bit of advice, it would be to draft, draft, draft. The draft is your friend. The winner of the race is most often the guy who did the least work during the race, not the "stud" who did the most work.

Bob
Bobby Lex is offline  
Old 02-18-07, 10:36 AM
  #22  
Over the hill
 
urbanknight's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 24,340

Bikes: Giant Defy, Giant Revolt

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 987 Post(s)
Liked 1,186 Times in 681 Posts
I've been told to get a short warm-up for road races and just do a slow speed build up then a few intervals to get the heart going, but I always struggled with the first few miles of the race that way.
urbanknight is offline  
Old 02-18-07, 11:10 AM
  #23  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,616
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by urbanknight
I've been told to get a short warm-up for road races and just do a slow speed build up then a few intervals to get the heart going, but I always struggled with the first few miles of the race that way.
The general rule of thumb is the longer the race, the shorter the warmup. Crits are relatively short, and they usually go balls-to-the-wall right from the start. Road races generally start at a reasonable pace, and build from there.

But, there are always exceptions. Last year in my very last Cat.5 race, I was at the starting line of a 35 mile road race with 50 other riders. The air temp was 95 degrees, so over the asphalt it was probably well over 100 degrees. Humidity was 80%+. The heat was going to make things brutal.

While the starter was going through the opening comments ("...yellow line rule...7 laps...drink a lot...blah blah blah...") I noticed several of the racers nervously tapping their shifters, their legs shaking like they had restless leg syndrome. I just knew that when the gun went off, those guys were going to fly off the front like bats out of hell.

So, I calmly speak up and say, "Hey guys. This is a road race. It's hot out there. No need to go like hell at the start."

A young voice from the back yells back, "Did you hear that? He didn't warm up. Go hard! We'll drop him!"

Sure enough, when the gun goes off, these guys hit 29 mph in the first 100 yards and held it for pretty much the whole first lap (7 miles). By then, 1/2 the field had been dropped. Even though the pace slowed after that, the field never came back together and those 25 survivors finished in a bunch sprint.

Lesson learned. Even in road races, get in a good warm-up, just in case some boneheads aren't aware of the "rule of thumb" for warming up in road races.

Bob
Bobby Lex is offline  
Old 02-18-07, 12:13 PM
  #24  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: SoCal
Posts: 756

Bikes: custom built roadie

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Bobby Lex
The general rule of thumb is the longer the race, the shorter the warmup. Crits are relatively short, and they usually go balls-to-the-wall right from the start. Road races generally start at a reasonable pace, and build from there.

But, there are always exceptions. Last year in my very last Cat.5 race, I was at the starting line of a 35 mile road race with 50 other riders. The air temp was 95 degrees, so over the asphalt it was probably well over 100 degrees. Humidity was 80%+. The heat was going to make things brutal.

While the starter was going through the opening comments ("...yellow line rule...7 laps...drink a lot...blah blah blah...") I noticed several of the racers nervously tapping their shifters, their legs shaking like they had restless leg syndrome. I just knew that when the gun went off, those guys were going to fly off the front like bats out of hell.

So, I calmly speak up and say, "Hey guys. This is a road race. It's hot out there. No need to go like hell at the start."

A young voice from the back yells back, "Did you hear that? He didn't warm up. Go hard! We'll drop him!"

Sure enough, when the gun goes off, these guys hit 29 mph in the first 100 yards and held it for pretty much the whole first lap (7 miles). By then, 1/2 the field had been dropped. Even though the pace slowed after that, the field never came back together and those 25 survivors finished in a bunch sprint.

Lesson learned. Even in road races, get in a good warm-up, just in case some boneheads aren't aware of the "rule of thumb" for warming up in road races.

Bob
LOL

this post just made my day. thanks!
stea1thviper is offline  
Old 02-18-07, 07:36 PM
  #25  
Member
Thread Starter
 
Thor05's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Auburn, New York
Posts: 45

Bikes: Cannondale r4000, Cannondale 1000 Jekyll lefty

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Bobby Lex
There are a ton of "my first race" threads on this board. Do a search and soak in as much info as possible. There's a lot of good advice and discussion here.

It takes a certain level of fitness to be able to hang with the pack in a race. If you don't have that, then all the advice in the world won't be able to help you, because you'll be off the back. But once you have that minimum fitness to hang, the rest is about racing tactics. i.e. the decisions you make during the race.

If I could give you only one bit of advice, it would be to draft, draft, draft. The draft is your friend. The winner of the race is most often the guy who did the least work during the race, not the "stud" who did the most work.

Bob
Thanks, I have been looking at the other threads. I think I have the fitness, it's the tactics I not to sure about.
Thor05 is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.