"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Isla Vista Island View CAT 5 race UGHHHHHHH

So I did the Isla Vista crit today in Santa Barbara, and after a great performance last week I felt like crap today. Legs were sore and weak from the start of the race for some reason. I ended up feeling better towards the middle but knew I didn't have the gas to hold onto the front of the pack so I did the next best thing, launched a rediculous attack and flew out front of the pack untill I blew up :rolleyes: . It was cool to experience what it was like to attack like that and get out front, hopefully put a little hurt on the peloton (for about 20 seconds lol). I was happy to see that the attack didn't cause me to fall of completely and I ended up brining up the back of the pack to get 38/40th.

I can't figure out why I felt so crappy, do you guys just get days like that, I had the normal time I give myself to recover (1 full day), and I got decent sleep. I was thinking maybe it was because it was an afternoon race (1:30 pm) and maybe the fact that it messed up my eating and my mind was more all over the place than it is in the morning caused the poor performance. I ended up eating a full breakfast and before snacked on a banana and a hammer bar before the race. Then I had a gel on the trainer and one right before the race.

Anything stick out to you guys?

I personally don't recover in the same timeframe from every type of workout, and to look at it from a nutrition standpoint would necessitate looking at your intake 1-2 days prior also.

I ate A LOT the night before. I had a ton of roasted lean chicken, rice, veggies, and pita. Nothing unhealthy but a crap load of food.

Why the hell are eating gels and hammer bars before a crit. Cat 5 crits are usually quite short 30-40 mins. You shouldnt need special energy bars or gels before, during, or after. Those gels and bars are totally useless before a race. Just eat normal, tasty, food pre-race like that banana you ate and some water. Bring a bit on water on the bike for the race, or not, and hydrate with a normal meal after the race. Bars and gels should only be used if you are doing a long ride/race >1.5 hours and you are going to require some replenishment


So I did the Isla Vista crit today in Santa Barbara, and after a great performance last week I felt like crap today. Legs were sore and weak from the start of the race for some reason. I ended up feeling better towards the middle but knew I didn't have the gas to hold onto the front of the pack so I did the next best thing, launched a rediculous attack and flew out front of the pack untill I blew up :rolleyes: . It was cool to experience what it was like to attack like that and get out front, hopefully put a little hurt on the peloton (for about 20 seconds lol). I was happy to see that the attack didn't cause me to fall of completely and I ended up brining up the back of the pack to get 38/40th.

I can't figure out why I felt so crappy, do you guys just get days like that, I had the normal time I give myself to recover (1 full day), and I got decent sleep. I was thinking maybe it was because it was an afternoon race (1:30 pm) and maybe the fact that it messed up my eating and my mind was more all over the place than it is in the morning caused the poor performance. I ended up eating a full breakfast and before snacked on a banana and a hammer bar before the race. Then I had a gel on the trainer and one right before the race.

Anything stick out to you guys?

Why the hell are eating gels and hammer bars before a crit. Cat 5 crits are usually quite short 30-40 mins. You shouldnt need special energy bars or gels before, during, or after. Those gels and bars are totally useless before a race. Just eat normal, tasty, food pre-race like that banana you ate and some water. Bring a bit on water on the bike for the race, or not, and hydrate with a normal meal after the race. Bars and gels should only be used if you are doing a long ride/race >1.5 hours and you are going to require some replenishment

Typically I wake up have a small bowl of cereal before races about 2 hours before start and then have a gel right before the race and nothing during the race. I've been meaning trying to have no gel before the race, I definitely don't take anything during the race. The reason I had a hammer bar at about 11:45 (my race was at 1:30) was because i didn't want to eat my lunch before the race so I wanted to make sure I didn't get hungry since my body expects to typically get lunch between 12-1. Why I had two gels before the race I don't know, I thought I'd give it a shot, I won't do that again that's for sure. After the races before I drive home I typically drink a small 180 calorie recovery drink and that seems to work well for me, I end up feeling better the next day if I ride.

I'm still figuring out what to do for races where they're only an hour after or right on my lunch time. Maybe next time I'll try eating a normal lunch before the race.

Legs were sore and weak from the start of the race for some reason. I ended up feeling better towards the middle but knew I didn't have the gas to hold onto the front of the pack.
Anything stick out to you guys?

Sounds to me like you didn't get a proper warm-up before the crit. The fact that you say to felt like crap early on, but felt better in the middle, makes it sound like you started feeling better once you warmed up during the race. Everyone is different, but personally, I need to be on the trainer for at least 30min before a crit w/ at least 2 hard efforts to wake up the legs.

The shorter the race the longer the warm-up. The longer the race, the shorter the warm-up.

As far as nutrition, I usually eat 1 hr before a crit. Usually oatmeal no matter if its a morning crit or afternoon crit. Oatmeal sits well in my stomach no matter what time of day. Maybe a bite of an energy bar before I go off if I feel the need.

Sounds like warmup to me too, but afternoon races mess with my mind. Although the alternative, such as today, leaving at 6am to get to a 9am race isn't much better :rolleyes:

I got a 30 min warm up but didn't go hard for more than a minute during the warm up. I gotta say the afternoon races really do get my mind racing, I was all over the place physically and mentally at IV. I didn't have much strength today but I raced better.

I didn't have a gel today before the race like I normally do but I didn't feel much of a difference.

Were you in the top 20? Kim took pictures of some of the results sheets but not that one.

Were you in the top 20? Kim took pictures of some of the results sheets but not that one.

Me? Oh god no 38/40.

Me? Oh god no 38/40.

Oh I wasn't sure, I thought you said you did better than yesterday.

Anyway, my results were not spectacular, but if there is one thing I have gotten good at it is judging my position at the finish. I called it on the dot today both races :)

I managed fourth after a mix up between a 9 and a 4...

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It's funny you mention your not feeling well Nick, because my first few races I was never feeling great and kinda hanging on the back, and I didn't understand why. I was planning my training around my race and taking it wayyy to seriously (especially for cat5) then one of my (way more experienced) teammates told me since my races were only 30 long that I shouldn't bother training around a half hour cat 5 race and just ride my bike more. Long story short I got fourth today, rode a sub 2.5 hour 50 miler yesterday, and rode Glendora mountain ridge on Friday. absolutely tortured my legs this week and did fine. A half hour race shouldn't phase you, your body can easily perform for a half hour with the glycogen stores you have built up (most people can run on glycogen stores for 2 hours). I think you were probably overthinking it and taking your races too seriously. My worst race to date has been when I took the day before the race off to "rest". my 2 cents.

It's funny you mention your not feeling well Nick, because my first few races I was never feeling great and kinda hanging on the back, and I didn't understand why. I was planning my training around my race and taking it wayyy to seriously (especially for cat5) then one of my (way more experienced) teammates told me since my races were only 30 long that I shouldn't bother training around a half hour cat 5 race and just ride my bike more. Long story short I got fourth today, rode a sub 2.5 hour 50 miler yesterday, and rode Glendora mountain ridge on Friday. absolutely tortured my legs this week and did fine. A half hour race shouldn't phase you, your body can easily perform for a half hour with the glycogen stores you have built up (most people can run on glycogen stores for 2 hours). I think you were probably overthinking it and taking your races too seriously. My worst race to date has been when I took the day before the race off to "rest". my 2 cents.

I'll take that into consideration, I've been taking them pretty seriously. At the same time I only have three more races till I'm out of 5's and the races bump up to 40-50 minutes, I have one more crit one more road race and one more circuit race in 5s.

I'll take that into consideration, I've been taking them pretty seriously. At the same time I only have three more races till I'm out of 5's and the races bump up to 40-50 minutes, I have one more crit one more road race and one more circuit race in 5s.

The 4s races are 40-45 minutes on paper but usually we are lucky if they run 40 minutes. Today's races is 40 and 37 minutes respectively.

This week I just didn't have the power in my legs i felt and Long Beach, I tried to spend more time at the front and see if I could stay in the top 15 the whole race but I guess I'm just not there...

I seem to not have the acceleration out of the turns yet, I'm still figuring out how to shift into and out of the turns. Typically I've been shifting up into an easier gear in the turns and as I come out of them I shift back down into a smaller cog. I also have no power when I get out of the saddle I'm like maxed out so i do most of the races sitting down the whole time.

don't shift in the turns

don't shift in the turns

So you guys just power through it and out of it in the same gear as you went into it? Or do you mean don't shift while turning which I don't, i shift before and after.

don't shift in the turns

yes, don't shift mid turn, but shifting going in to the gear you will want coming out is a good idea...

So you guys just power through it and out of it in the same gear as you went into it? Or do you mean don't shift while turning which I don't, i shift before and after.

I try to shift down right before the turn, then as the field speeds up out of the turn and half the groups jumps out of the saddle I just spin out my current gear and hold tight to a wheel slowly shifting up. If you do it right you can kind of get pulled up to speed while the guy in front of you does the work. Turn two was the worst today... my back wheel could NOT stay on the ground.

I've been shifting before the turn going into an easier turn to spin out of the turn before I was going into the turn and not shifting and then going out pushing a big gear, neither worked well. I think I just have a lot of work to do on my legs, I've only been riding about 10-12 months and I've only been riding consistently hard since Sept. Once the crit gets going I rarely can stand out of the saddle and just crank it like crazy. I'm just trying not to rush anything, but I'm very competitive so I get frustrated.

Did my first crit here in Collegiate D's. 30 minute race became a 22 minute race and me and a teammate thought that people were going for an intermediate sprint.

Turns out it was the finish.

Cruddy day but not as bad as my crash today at the UCSB RR. Major UGHHHH weekend for me too.

So you guys just power through it and out of it in the same gear as you went into it? Or do you mean don't shift while turning which I don't, i shift before and after.

Yeah don't shift in the turn. What Ze said, go into the turn in the gear you want to be in when you come out of the turn. In the lower cat crits with the slowing down into the corners there is a lull where you don't need to keep the power on and you can shift down. Then come out of the turn and once you get back up to speed you can shift back up. When I did the 30+ 1-4 crit two weeks it was just fast the whole time and we kept the speed into the corners.

Did my first crit here in Collegiate D's. 30 minute race became a 22 minute race and me and a teammate thought that people were going for an intermediate sprint.

Turns out it was the finish.

Cruddy day but not as bad as my crash today at the UCSB RR. Major UGHHHH weekend for me too.
if you were in the D's at least your crash wasn't as bad as the crash in the C's. Just think of how bad it COULD have been.

edit: the lap cards were super visible starting with 15 to go (or 24 to go in the 4s). no excuses, just learn something and move on.


Yeah don't shift in the turn. What Ze said, go into the turn in the gear you want to be in when you come out of the turn. In the lower cat crits with the slowing down into the corners there is a lull where you don't need to keep the power on and you can shift down. Then come out of the turn and once you get back up to speed you can shift back up. When I did the 30+ 1-4 crit two weeks it was just fast the whole time and we kept the speed into the corners.

The smoother the pack, the better off you are and the less gear selection comes into play. Also, if the pack slows way down, try not to be RIGHT on someone's wheel through the corner so you don't have to brake (too hard anyway), then you can coast up to their wheel, keep some speed and stay low in the saddle to get up to speed like capn said without that annoying 'sprint out of every turn' bit.

I thought collegiate races were laps rather than timed anyway...

I thought collegiate races were laps rather than timed anyway...

they did the same thing with that whole speech about 'if you want a long race.... blah blah blah' at every race

Nick, what did you do the day before the race, day off or recovery/pre race ride?

I often find my legs feel worse if I skip a day altogether, our usual rides before a race will be a couple of hours easy with a couple of hard efforts thrown in.

Yup. Didn't realize lap cards were counting down to the finish. Thought it was to the primes. In retrospect, really stupid thought but it seemed ot make sense at the time.

And yeah, I was at the finish line watching the C's sprint up to the line when we saw bikes sailing up in the distance. One of my teammates who got caught behind the pack said the first guy went into the ground face first. I think two other guys broke their collarbones too.

Really wish I could go do UCSC next weekend but with Finals coming up, its too long a drive.

How's the Cal RR, kudude? I'm from San Francisco and I've never biked the East Bay but I've heard a lot of nasty things about McEwen.

Yup. Didn't realize lap cards were counting down to the finish. Thought it was to the primes. In retrospect, really stupid thought but it seemed ot make sense at the time.

And yeah, I was at the finish line watching the C's sprint up to the line when we saw bikes sailing up in the distance. One of my teammates who got caught behind the pack said the first guy went into the ground face first. I think two other guys broke their collarbones too.

Really wish I could go do UCSC next weekend but with Finals coming up, its too long a drive.

How's the Cal RR, kudude? I'm from San Francisco and I've never biked the East Bay but I've heard a lot of nasty things about McEwen.

you've probably heard the same things I'd tell you. I hate that hill -- I hate most hills, but especially that one. The thing about it is you turn a corner and you're on something like a 10-12% for a few tens of meters. Everyone in their big ring shifts down around the corner and inevitably someone drops a chain. If you get stuck behind that it just kills all momentum. The hill flattens out as you go up, but the first 1/4 mile is NOT GOOD.



also -- yeah two broken collarbones in that wreck, and at least one very trashed wheel

Have fun...

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I think Cal Road Race has the fastest and slowest sections in the WCCC.

The descent at Reno was probably faster, but being at that altitude was cheating.