Road Bike Racing - Can i Get Faster????

hi all,

im a newbie and i have done 4 races so far..

i've been racing in division 'D' so far,and with slight recovery improvements but not much on speed.

my question is, how do i improve my average flat speed? im currently at around 18mph/30k's but the other guys in my group seem to be a few miles faster than me.

i feel like im going as fast as i can and any more would be pushing into sprint mode for me.

i thought it was because i was abit fat but in the grade there is a really big guy and he flies.

am i asking too much too soon??? does going fast take time?? my recovery rates have improved dramatically and i dont feel so burned out after a race, but as for my speed, it seems to be staying put..

cheers,

lamagy.

You may be asking too much too soon. Take it in stride. The way I look at it imo is that your asking the wrong question. In road racing it's not so much, "Can I get Faster" as it is, "can I get more power?". Speed is for the time trials. Power allows you to hang with the field and that is really where it is at. Unless you are going to break away or bridge then you are really only going to go as fast as the field so speed is irrevalant to a point. If you cannot hang on the back then you don't have enough power. Now with that question answered you can develop more power. A good interval work out program after about 1k miles of base riding will build your strength to attack and maintain a high level of attack for longer time which is the key to hanging on.

post your training diary

Yeah, what jfmckenna said. Bike-racing isn't so much about pure fitness and speed like running marathons or triathlons. It's about mental-strategy and the chess-game of tactics. As such, being able to handle variable bursts of speed going from 20mph to 45mph in seconds, is critically important. Then being able to recover in the pack and being able to do it all again within a mile or two is vital as well. There's been plenty of crossover from those other fitness sports into cycing and I've seen numerous top-level pros from those fields with blistering 27mph average-speeds on TTs just get dropped like a rock when the peloton picks it up to 45mph charging a hill. The secret's in the sprints and intervals.. heh, heh... ;)

power?? isn't power more for sprinting??

well what happened was that we were doing a race on flat doing about 3mile laps...i was keeping up with the group until the 3rd lap, they didn't step it up but maintained the speed and i was going further and further behind them..

so what did i lose then??was it stamina,power,??

my training dairy ain't too crash hot, im only doing like 50miles a week....

can you guys suggest what i can do in order to be able to keep up with the rest?? is it just a matter of riding,riding and more riding?

its funny because been overweight im not too bad at hills...i kind of go faster than some on hills, i got big legs.

If you are overweight and good at hills then when you lose that weight and get down to a race weight you will be killer at hills because you will have an excellent power to weight ratio. Usually to race well and actually enjoy yourself you need a minimum of 8 hours a week training. So that could be about 125 miles a week. 50 miles a week is probably not enough depending on your natural ability. Intervals help develop the power you need to stay with the field on attacks or go with breaks and such but if you lost it in the 3rd lap after slowing drifting back then I think you just need more miles in your legs. You need a really good base before you start interval training. About 1K miles is what I was tought to be a good base. There are some pretty good books out there that can help you develop a training program. You can search this forum for some good titles.

A lot of people think sprinting is all about power - and it is. But its just as much if not more about leg speed, acceleration and what we call having some "snap". I can GET to some of the speeds that some of the sprinters on my team will hit in a sprint. I have the power to do it, but I can't do it from 28-30mph in 200m. It takes more like twice that long, which means nothing because there is no "snap" - everyone would just stick on my wheel until the last 200m.

When we talk about you needing power- you need the sustained power to keep up those speeds. Speed on your own is really not a huge deal, you simply lack the horsepower to stay with the other guys.

can you guys suggest what i can do in order to be able to keep up with the rest?? is it just a matter of riding,riding and more riding?




Basically....yes.

Usually to race well and actually enjoy yourself you need a minimum of 8 hours a week training. So that could be about 125 miles a week.


Thank God there are exceptions to that rule ... ;)

Mark

thanks guys for your help.....

so its that what people mean by their base...should i just get that base and ride normally before i start trying to ride faster ect?? or would it come naturally??

thanks guys for your help.....

so its that what people mean by their base...should i just get that base and ride normally before i start trying to ride faster ect?? or would it come naturally??


Spend $20 and pick up Joe Friel's book ("The Cyclist's Training Bible"). It explains 99% of what you need to know.

Mark

from what i've read so far... when you are working on your base mileage to start the season off, spin in the low gear ratios, never pedal so fast that it is hard to carry a conversation, and take this time riding tons of miles to work on your pedal stroke, making sure your hitting all your muscle groups.

just bought the book 'the cyclist's training bible' as recommended here, because i feel i need some guidance and some sought of structure.

from what i've read the guy seems to know his stuff.

i agree with one of his statements that one should train least amount properly timed, specific training which brings about constant improvement.

so im going to continue reading it and formulate a training schedule...

i got a 54km race tomorrow, so i'll let y'all know how i did in that one.

cheers biker boyz....