Road Bike Racing - Racing after a Century Ride

There's a hilly century that I would like to do and the following day there's a crit and I was planning on racing twice that day. Is there anyone on here that has raced a crit a day after doing a century or difficult ride. If so, any advice on recovering.

There's a hilly century that I would like to do and the following day there's a race and I was planning on racing twice that day. Is there anyone on here that has raced a day after doing a century or difficult ride. If so, any advice on recovering.

Can you get a hold of some testosterone? Kidding of course. That just sounds ugly to me. But I'm a puss.

sounds intense, unless you go very light during the century

I did a recovery ride with a friend the day after riding the Mulholland Challenge. I'd gone pretty hard on the MC but I was suprised that my legs didn't hurt more than they did. However they didn't have any snap and I'd have done even worse than usual at any sharp hard effort like in a crit.

But that's me; I'm old and weak. The only way to find out how these things work for you is to try them. Guys do stage races all the time so its not like it's impossible.

Give it a whirl. Think of it as a stage race.

There's a hilly century that I would like to do and the following day there's a crit and I was planning on racing twice that day. Is there anyone on here that has raced a crit a day after doing a century or difficult ride. If so, any advice on recovering.

Present and accounted for! :o I DNF the crit.

if you've trained properly, and recover sensibly after your century, you should be fine for crittin' next day. Although your 2nd race might be over quickly.

Here's what I'd do...

Make sure you're fueled up. Take the century at 90% of your normal effort (i.e. 5:30 century becomes a 6 hour one). Post century, spinspinspin at Zone 1 or 2 for a half hour. Do at least 10 minutes of stretching, then eat until you're stuffed and don't stop sipping water.

Crit day, fuel up and pack the trainer. Spend a little extra time spinning to get going, then warm up however you're accustomed.

Good luck!

Hi,

I rode 100 Km with 6,300 ft of climbing last Saturday mostly in Zone 2 (Encanto Park to Baldy Village and back). I did the Masters 45+ and Cat 3 races in Torrance on Sunday. All of this was on purpose in preparation for three consecutive weekends of road races. I treated the crits as training races and finished both for a total of 45 miles.

IMHO, if you are riding the crits to win, don't do the century. If you are riding the crits for experience and to build your race fitness, go for it. If the latter is the case, ride the century easy and focus on finishing the crits with the main pack. Don't chase breaks unless you are feeling really good. If you are feeling good, save it for the second race. The point of doing something like that is to get as much high speed mileage as possible.

Hope this helps.

if you've trained properly, and recover sensibly after your century, you should be fine for crittin' next day. Although your 2nd race might be over quickly.

I think it depends on the century, too.

The crit I DNF was after my sixth century of this year--six centuries by mid February. It was hilly enough that I started to get leg cramps. So, even though after I got home and tried to rest and recover as much as possible (I had no obligations to anyone afterwards, so the rest of the day was mine) putting my feet up, eating, and hydrating, it still wasn't enough time. The next day, I blew a gasket after 20 minutes into the Trade Zone crit.

It really all depends on your personal physiology.

Some people are able to build on hard days in the saddle, some people need a break.

I did two 50 mile crits (70mi each day with warmup/cool down) on a Saturday/Sunday last year, in 90 degree heat, and then had my best race of the year that Monday in a 62mi road race.

One of my friends can't recover to save his life, but when he's fresh, he's amazing.

So, it goes both ways. Only way to find out is to do it.

just eat well after the century and get a good long warm-up before you race. it's not that big a deal.

i've done Everest Challenge, which is 120 miles, with 15,000 vertical feet, the first day, and a similar race the second day.

The basic advice is eat, drink and rest. Massage would be a good idea too.

Pound fluids as soon as you're off the bike. Get around 300 calories of carbs, with some protein within 15-30 minutes of getting off the bike.
( a formulated recovery drink, or chocolate milk both work).

Then rest laying down for an hour or two, then eat a big healthy dinner, with emhasis on carbs. Keep a water bottle next to you always, and keep sipping.

Get a good nights sleep and race the next day.

It wouldn't work for me. Unless, of course, I didn't care about placing well in the crits, in which case, it would be fun.

It really all depends on your personal physiology.

Some people are able to build on hard days in the saddle, some people need a break.

I did two 50 mile crits (70mi each day with warmup/cool down) on a Saturday/Sunday last year, in 90 degree heat, and then had my best race of the year that Monday in a 62mi road race.

One of my friends can't recover to save his life, but when he's fresh, he's amazing.

So, it goes both ways. Only way to find out is to do it.

Yep this is really spot on. You have to experiment with your own physiology in terms of recovery windows.

Pcad can only comment on racing after a half-century.