"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Well, I THOUGHT I was in decent shape

After 12 years off the bike, and almost 1 year back riding again, I tried a Cat 4 crit on Sunday. I didn't have any problem with the pace, and it's almost a circle so no real corners. Though, there is a hill each lap just before the finish. I was spinning it fairly comfortably each lap. At the finish, I was about 10th at the base of the hill, and 40th at the top !!

Guess I got some work to do, eh ?!?!

Guess I got some work to do, eh ?!?!

we all do

That's why I do it. Its a lot easier to have someone else kick your ass than do it yourself.

Congrats on getting back into it!

A pack finish is admirable for a "first" race. Now hit the intervals and you'll be set.

Sounds like Bethel. If that's the case, the lack of wind (extremely unusual) meant fresh legs on the hill for everyone. This meant the sprint was particularly aggressive. Spinning the hill is fine for training but if you want to fight out the finishes, you'll need to use some big gears when you sprint. If no wind or tailwind on backstretch/hill, go pretty early (by the big rock in front of the mirror building). If wind then you have to wait a bit longer. I jump in perhaps the 13 or 14 if jumping on the hill, 12 if jumping before it. I usually shift at least once in the sprint, if I jump late I'll shift up all the way to the line, if not I shift up then down as I can't turn a 12 fast at the top of the hill.

a guy who's been racing at Bethel since the first race there, the Bethel promoter :)
cdr

Yup .. Bethel !!

I think I was in too big a gear at the final and bogged down. Maybe I was spinning up the hill so much that when it came time to sprint, I wasn't ready to push that big gear.

I did 2 tuesday night races there last summer, and just 1 this spring, so I hadn't figured out the timing. Thanks for the tips. I'll try to make the next one, and maybe race 2 races (Cat 4 and 45+) and see what I can learn.

Guess I got some work to do, eh ?!?!

You really don't know how well training has gone until you enter your first race. Then you know .... fast! Good job on the race, though. It sounds like your form is pretty good, and you'll only get better throughout the year. :)

... Brad

i am guessing by the amount of layoff in between that you might be older (i am 23 so older to me means older than 25, so don't freak out). nothing wrong with that. it seems to me that the older you get, the more time you need to knock off the cobwebs for sprinting and the less time to regain the endurance aspect of cycling. it seems like whenever i start the season, the older guys that i ride with are able to put in much longer rides than i can, but i have a slight edge in sprinting. compare that to the end of the season, where they can beat me at sprints AND ride longer. that being said, i wouldn't sweat the race at all. you are probably doing a lot of base miles and not too much interval/vo2 max workouts yet (both of which were probably being taxed on the final climb.) furthermore, it is only the first week of april. good luck next week! keep us posted!

Guess I got some work to do, eh ?!?!

Random thoughts:

You did your first race, so now the hard part is over. It just gets easier from here. 95% of your rides should be recovery. As the race season progresses cut way back on your training. You only need to do about 90 minutes of saddle time a week to maintain your fitness.

Since the course you rode has few corners, you will need to practice cornering while training. Approach a corner at about 25 mph, hit the brakes hard, coming out of the corner stand in as big a gear as possible and go hard until you are back to 25 mph. Do this at least twice each training ride and you will become a great cornerer.

The only thing at this point that could possibly make you any faster would be to buy exotic wheels (not less than $1500.00 a pair), K-wing carbon handlebars, and $350.00 carbon fibre soled shoes. That's assuming you already have a bike frame that cost no less than $4,000.00. It is a myth that you can't buy speed. At all the races I've ever been to, the guy with the most expensive equipment always won.

Optygen, Enervit, Phosphates, Ketones and Red Bull should be part of your everyday menu. If you need to lose weight, just train in the "fat burning" zone all the time. Don't believe that b.s. about taking in less calories than you burn. You will only lose weight if you burn "fat" calories. No other calories count.

Lastly, during races, do as much work as possible in order to earn the respect and admiration of your fellow racers. Take monster pulls. Lead out the sprints. Bridge every gap and drag the pack with you. Be on the front as much as possible and always do more than your share of the work. The lazy wheelsucker who hides in the pack for the whole race and then wins the sprint finish is despised and reviled by all other racers. This unethical behavior is under review by USAC as possibly worse than doping and may be part of sweeping rules changes to clean up the sport.

Follow the above rules and you will become an awesome racer....

...NOT!

:p

Bob

12 years off the bike and you're back in the game, you're off to a good start allready.
dont be too hard on yourself!
looking forward into reading about your improvements!:)

Nice! The first one back is always the hardest.

"... i am guessing by the amount of layoff in between that you might be older (i am 23 so older to me means older than 25, so don't freak out). nothing wrong with that. it seems to me that the older you get, the more time you need to knock off the cobwebs for sprinting ..."

Yup .... I qualify for the 45+ now ...... The good thing is I get more choices ... Cat 4, 35+, 45+ depending on what's available. I wonder how 45+ compares to cat 4

meh... connecticut.

meh... connecticut.
meh ?

Also, what "IIRC" ?

meh ?

Also, what "IIRC" ?

No other word describes CT as well as meh. I grew up there, it was a terrible weekend that 10 years.

No other word describes CT as well as meh. I grew up there, it was a terrible weekend that 10 years.

incorrect. :)

Living here in the sticks isn't so bad....plenty of roads for cycling in my area.

I really like being out west though, and plan on moving there at some point.

^^ Started here. Went out there. Came back. (six years - LA, and OC) What does that tell you? (well, besides the fact that there's a lot more to the west than SoCal). Trust me, you're not missing much there.

See? I just saved you the trip!