Need Advice
 

I am not a new rider, but i am new at racing. I want to enter my first race this year, but i have a problem. I am 15 years old 180 lbs and 6 foot 3 inches i also play ice hockey, because of hockey i work out 4 days a week thus i weigh 180 lbs ( not fat at all). I really love to ride but i dont know if i need to lose weight for cycling or what. i am in good shape i can pace in the low 20's solo. i need advice as if i should lose the weight and back off weight lifting or is that a plus?

You're a big guy for 15! Anyway, I know where you are.. I used to play hockey as well. Skating really helps build up your legs - so you are at an advantage there, however your upper body probably has a lot of muscle. Look at pro cyclists... The only reason you can see any muscle on their arms or chests is because they have such a small amount of body fat. If you are still playing hockey, you won't loose that muscle very easily (and if you do, your playing will suffer for sure). When you stop skating and start riding a lot your body will digest all that upper body muscle within a couple months. Within a year of solid cycling you will be skinny up top... I would say keep lifting if you are still playing hockey. If you are quitting hockey and going to start cycling then you probably don't need to lift - just start riding a lot.

180 at 6'3" is not too bad. The question where is most of the muscle mass, in the legs or in the upper body? Also what is your frame size? Both of these are real determining factors in how heavy you are. I am 6'6" and I could neve be below 200 and I race, I just have a large frame.

Muscle mass can help alot if it is in your legs, good strong legs means high wattage but also you need muscular endurance. If you stop working out as much you may loose some muscle mass due to using the muscles differently. The other question is whether you are really huge or lean in muscle mass. IMO cycling requires fast lean muscles not big huge muscles but that comes from time on the bike. Remember that you do need muscles in your upper body though, expecially in your arms in the more aero posistions on the bike.

Good luck with racing, if you want to do it just go out and try it and see how you do. Then decide on things like loosing weight. If your averages are really in the low 20's then you should be close to being able to hang in the lower catagories (4,5) assuming you have the muscular endurance.

Good luck

I would say this is more about core strength. If you have a strong back and stomach, they can support you when you are tucked instead of your arms...

at the level you will be racing, weight won't be a big deal unless there are big climbs. If you are athletic, then you should be ok after some training. The differing levels of fitness will make more of a difference than weight. You do need to ride with a local bike club so you get experience riding with a group before you race, though

ok, i have lean muscle, mostly upperbody. I have "ok" legs but the bulk of my muscle is located in my pecs, biceps, tricpes, shoulders, ect.... i will work more on my legs and just keep my upper body up to par but i will try not to bulk it up

I do ride with a local club, and also by myself, club i pace it the 20's solo i go around 18-20 range it varies i also ride about 3-4 days a week more if i have the chance.


Thanks alot for everyones input i will put it to good use

you'll probablly do just fine and have a good time racing. Even if you get stuck with a really fast group and get dropped or something, you'll have a lot of fun and learn a lot about riding. Defidently work on lower body though. It sounds like you do some lifting, so try to incorporate some squats into your routine if you do lift (light weight, 20-30 reps). Keep up the riding. It sounds like you ride a good amount (i know a cat 3 who rides once or twice a week), so with some good training, you should defidently be succesful in racing. I am also a junior racer, so PM me if you have any questions. Good luck!