"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Recovery Advice

Hey everyone!

It has been quite a few years (12 + years) since I've had two races in one weekend and I'm a little worried about recovering between them. Saturday I have the Table Rock road race, which will be 50+ miles and about 3,300 ft of climbing and on Sunday I have a crit. I'm looking for any advice on how to best recover between the races, I'm guessing that methods have changed since I last used them. Thanks in advance! :beer:

It's not too bad of a situation. Luckily, the two events are different enough that you are going to call on different physical abilities.

During the Saturday road race, make sure you stay hydrated and nourished throughout the race. Gels, energy drink, whatever you want to get those simple carbs. In the immediate aftermath of the race, try to get 50-80 grams of simple carbs into you. Recovery drinks are fine, orange juice, chocolate milk, even soda will work. Several hours later, have a larger meal, with a good amount of carbs. And take it easy. Drink tons of water throughout the rest of day to rehydrate and get some good sleep.

Sit on your butt and keep the legs propped up. Nap if possible. Get a good night's sleep.

If you do some low-low resistance high speed spin drills Saturday night you will feel great Sunday morning. They will not be fun but will pay off big time the next day. Maybe a half hour work with warmup- drill-warm down.

Legs up is good. You can even rest on your back with your legs up against a wall (ninety degrees) for 10 to 15 minutes. Hot bath, nap. You'll be fine.

+1 to sleep and eating right the first day. Hydrate like hell after the first race until you're peeing clear every 20 minutes, then get back to normal drinking so it doesn't carry over to the next day.

Try to us a higher cadence on the first day whenever you can.