Road Bike Racing - Junior gearing limiting sprint? - Incorporating sprints in TT RR workouts.

I've become a little tired of working on my sprint. After focusing on threshold power and spinning and power I haven't seen much improvement. I can hit 30 in the saddle in a regular time trial position with a little more effort. My average sprint on flat ground in 31.some. (I don't have any other way to measure it sorry!) Tonight after my 3x5 intervals I still couldn't get it above 32. Frustrating :notamused:.

Suggestions? I'd also really appreciate suggestions on how to incorporate sprinting into longer power workouts now that I'm transitioning to 5x3's, hill attacks, and 2x20's. Or any workouts good for RR's.

Thanks!

Youngin

Keep racing and keep riding at a high tempo. You want to develop your FTP and threshold power. That will move all your power zones (is that what they call them?) up. I was sprinting to just under 32 mph on training rides before starting the racing season this spring. By May, I was sprinting to 35+. That's without doing ANY sprint work at all, no intervals, no structure of any kind, just training hard and racing. Keep in mind that I'm not a real sprinter, or those numbers would be higher. Are you a sprinter? If not, working on your sprint seems pretty pointless. As you get stronger, it'll get higher, but training spent on sprint power won't help you get stronger in the places that will do the most for your performance in a race.

Keep racing and keep riding at a high tempo. You want to develop your FTP and threshold power. That will move all your power zones (is that what they call them?) up. I was sprinting to just under 32 mph on training rides before starting the racing season this spring. By May, I was sprinting to 35+. That's without doing ANY sprint work at all, no intervals, no structure of any kind, just training hard and racing. Keep in mind that I'm not a real sprinter, or those numbers would be higher. Are you a sprinter? If not, working on your sprint seems pretty pointless. As you get stronger, it'll get higher, but training spent on sprint power won't help you get stronger in the places that will do the most for your performance in a race.

Au contraire! While working on sprint alone can be fruitless, a good finishing move is critical. Mastering the jump is key.

Edit: As to junior gearing limiting one's sprint - I'm a junior, and the CA/NV state champion on the track for match sprinting and I can tell you that a 100'' gear (the 52x14) is waaaay big.

Indeed. Even with junior gears last year I could sprint up to 38ish, and now that I'm not required to have them, I rarely shift down to the 12 or 13 tooth to sprint. Especially around here where most races are crits, or races that at least end in a pack finish, a sprint is a must, even if you're not a sprinter. A good way to pratice these sprints is to incorporate them into another workout, like starting a 1 minute interval with a 10-15 second sprint, and then finishing it out, or doing "jumps" during a threshold workout, that way you don't lose a day training you're spring, but you still get some of the benifits or working on it.

Heck, as a junior, I hardly ever use the 14t anyway, except for downhills. My fastest sprint-gear is 52x15t and that's good for 40mph. Most sprints are slower than that. The problem most people encounter with sprinting speed is that they use way too tall of a gear.

Can someone tell me, not in gear inches, but in a ratio of front/rear what the hardest Jr gear allowed? Or just tell me what a "typical" jr setup is like? Or what the hardest allowed setup is... I'm just curious. When I was a Jr I only did mountain biking.

Sometimes I race in - a 34/50 compact with a 13-29 cassette, I really doubt Jr gears are lower than this??????

I remember going up Union vale hill, standing, and spinning my rear wheel, then sitting and grinding, expecting the JRs to pass me with those climbing gears.

^^^

Juniors are limited to 52x14, or the equivalent. Some like to use a 45x12.
Your 50t chainring would be halfway between the 13 and 14.

btw - I use a 50x12 as a top gear and rarely have to use it, except maybe in the fastest of sprints.

-- your regular cat1