"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Pre-Race Jitters...

So I have a crit race this weekend that will start off the season for me, and I'm getting quite anxious. I had a really bad season last year where I wasn't able to ride enough due to conflicts and suffered extremely in every race:( . I always finished near the end of the pack. This year on the other hand has started off great, training wise. I have rode my tail off for the past 3 months in preparation for the season but I'm still very nervous about getting back out there. Any advice? My heart rate soars at the thought of getting out there because of my bad experiences from last year, even though I know I need to get back out there.

on sunday? get some sound sleep tonight as jitters get crazy the night before. eat well on saturday. that's the fuel you're going to use on sunday. have a good warm up and get out there and shred.

Xanax, possibly with a whiskey chaser.

Well you say you've been riding hard for three months. Have you been doing any good, hard group rides? If so, did you get dropped? Did you do the dropping? I expect, since you say things have been going well, that your form is probably better than last year, and you are likely doing well in your group rides. If so, what's to worry about? You're probably at a good level, at least better than last year -- and to borrow a hackneyed bit of wisdom that is nonetheless true, worrying about it now isn't going to do any good: you're either ready or you're not, and excessive anxiety isn't going to help you.

A little anxiety is a good thing though; I wouldn't trust my 'readiness' without it. Once I figured out that anxiety was inevitable, but that it can actually be directed, I handled the pre-race much better. I've been able to focus more on feelings of my own strength and capability, rather than worrying about things I can't control -- specifically, other riders' abilities and strengths.

Get out there and lay on the hurt!

On race day, admire the scenery. and by scenery I mean ladies. Takes my mind off racing anyway... my coach actually recommended it (crazy ex-euro pro dude). it works, just try not to stare :)

On race day, admire the scenery. and by scenery I mean ladies. Takes my mind off racing anyway... my coach actually recommended it (crazy ex-euro pro dude). it works, just try not to stare :)

+1

Someone posted a story a while ago about this race that went along a golf course. It was a nice summer day and two ladies happened to walking along the golf course and were wearing bikinis. This spelled bad news for two guys who were staring so much that they forgot where they were going - drifted into each other and both went down...much to the ladies' amusement.

On race day, admire the scenery. and by scenery I mean ladies. Takes my mind off racing anyway... my coach actually recommended it (crazy ex-euro pro dude). it works, just try not to stare :)

I'll hope for some warm weather...if ya know what I mean ;)

Good warm up, music in the ears appropriate to your nerves. If you're feeling wired, play something mellow. I get anxious ahead of time, but usually once the pedals turn the first few times after the start, I typically drop into the "zone" of the race and think about a thousand other things.

Jitters? Are you a pro with thousands of dollars on the line? This should be just dumb fun!