Road Cycling - Beginning to Race

I want to try a couple races soon and I was wondering if you guys(and gals) could give me any tips to winning/having fun?

Im still riding my slightly-too-large bianchi piaggio with full campy(older groupo, not exactly sure what it is) with downtube shifters and a heavier steel frame. I know i'll probably be at a disadvantage with this bike but thats ok with me as I just want to try racing to see if it's something I want to do.

As of right now I can keep a steady pace(about 16mph) for rides up to 30 miles. After that I get really tired and have to take constant rests. It's like I hit a barrier, I know I can go farther than 30miles but I can't keep my speed at a steady 16mph.

Im going to try to go on some longer rides(40-50 miles) at a slower pace to help me build up some endurance.

I'm not sure what kind of race I should apply for though. Im 14 years old born in 1989 and I have been riding for approximately 1 1/2 years.

If(and only if) I decide I want to keep racing, Im going to be looking into a nicer road bike. I know the bike doesn't make the rider, but it would be nice to have a nicer/lighter bike. I really like my uncles Dean but that is out of my price range until I get out of school and have a good job :D I would probably be looking at bikes in the $1000-$1500 price range, and I would like to have campy components. The roads around here are fairly smooth with some slightly bumpy patches(road is raised in small 1" lumps).

Thanks for any(and all) help!

I also need/want to know about some racing terms.

On some threads that I read I saw:

CAT1/2/3/4/5
A
B
C
Junior

Im assuming these are the difficulty levels of the race? If so what level should I start out at(after some training of course). My fastest 20 mile ride ever was 58 minutes.

If you are 18 years old or under, you can be a junior. If you are on a collegiate cycling team you'll likely start out racing with the Cs and graduate to the Bs then the As.

If you are none of the above and starting out you can either race citizens or cat 5. At least I think they still have a citizens category.

Once you have been in 10 mass start events or accumulated enough points through finishes you can advance from cat 5 to cat 4. More at www.usacycling.org.

Thanks, I guess I will be racing as a junior then.

Anybody out there have any thoughts on the other stuff I posted?

ok your speed doesn't matter as you describe it. Being able to maintain a steady speed is only helpful for time trials.

In a race, you have to get used to intervals. Going really hard, slowing, really hard, harder, slowing, etc etc. Steady speed is of no use in a race.

Most likely you will be doing criteriums and they are usually timed events (like 30 minutes long). Usually juniors go out hard and then the pace steadies as the field is strung out and then a sprint finish.

The best training is with a club and doing group rides to get used to the pace and effort involved.

If you do really well as a junior, usually you can also do other catagory races like the 4's or 3's or even 1/2 races.

Doing longer rides to build up endurance is smart. You can taper off and do shorter faster rides the closer you get to the racing season (or race). Basically build your base mileage and then taper off into speed/interval work.

Ok, so I need to be able to do fast sections of riding then going back to a slower pace. I can work on that. Right now I'm just riding around with my uncle. Hes a fairly good rider and what we do is just go on longer rides. I'll try doing this:

let him get a 30sec head start on me. Then I'll start sprinting to catch up to him. Would that work or do you recommend something else?

I'll try and find a club I can ride with, im in Southern Cali. San diego to be exact, do you know of any websites that I can use to find a group to ride with?

I'll try and find a club I can ride with, im in Southern Cali. San diego to be exact, do you know of any websites that I can use to find a group to ride with?[/QUOTE]


Check out www.usacycling.org for a club in your area. If you like to read I would suggest "Racing Tactics for Cyclists" by Thomas Prehn and "The Cyclist's Training Bible" by Joe Friel.


Buddy B

Ok, so I need to be able to do fast sections of riding then going back to a slower pace. I can work on that. Right now I'm just riding around with my uncle. Hes a fairly good rider and what we do is just go on longer rides. I'll try doing this:

let him get a 30sec head start on me. Then I'll start sprinting to catch up to him. Would that work or do you recommend something else?

I'll try and find a club I can ride with, im in Southern Cali. San diego to be exact, do you know of any websites that I can use to find a group to ride with?

Better yet; have your uncle accelerate and try to stay with him. Tell him to go at random, not telling you when. You will learn to read his body, go with attacks and try to recover.

Best bet is to go to
http://socalcycling.com/
go to the teams and clubs section and find some in your area. There are alot of good ones in San Diego.

Better yet; have your uncle accelerate and try to stay with him. Tell him to go at random, not telling you when. You will learn to read his body, go with attacks and try to recover.

This is great advice...but your idea of having him ride out in front of you and trying to bridge the gap is also good. But if you combine the two ideas, you'll have a pretty good idea of what a decent crit is like...
Especially if after you catch up to him, he takes off again and does not give you enough recovery time...

Like in a race.

Thanks guys!

It's probably going to be awhile before I actually race(possibly even next year) so I have plenty of time to train.

I'll try this stuff out this sat/sun when I go out for a ride.

As of right now I can keep a steady pace(about 16mph) for rides up to 30 miles. After that I get really tired and have to take constant rests. It's like I hit a barrier, I know I can go farther than 30miles but I can't keep my speed at a steady 16mph.


You may want to try eating while you ride, if you're not doing so already. I find that consuming 100+ calories every 45-60 min allows me to sustain effort without bonking for much larger distances.

I'll try that. Usually when I ride I eat a gu before I ride and then if I get hungry I eat a clif bar.

I'll try eating a gu every 45 min and then a clif bar halfway into the ride.

Then maybe I'll stop for a smoothie at jamba juice:D

I'll try that. Usually when I ride I eat a gu before I ride and then if I get hungry I eat a clif bar.

I'll try eating a gu every 45 min and then a clif bar halfway into the ride.

Then maybe I'll stop for a smoothie at jamba juice:D

You'd be better off eating the cliff bar before the ride and then using the gu later during the ride.
This is because the bar is engineered to release its energy more gradually while the gu delivers an almost instantaneous (and short-lived) sugar rush.
Personally, I'm what you would call a more "natural" rider and kind of old-school, so I prefer bananas or a granola-bagel bar. You might also try drinking a sports drink. Ask your mom to buy a big 'ol can of Gatorade mix at the store. Then put some in your bottle before each ride. This will keep your electrolytes in your blood stream at an even level and prevent cramping (as will a banana).

As far as training for a race goes, the best thing you can do is to go on competitive group rides. Learning how to ride in a group / in a pace line and learning group ettiquette is essential. Just don't get in over your head where you have the potential to be dropped out in the middle of nowhere with no idea how to get home. No, this never happened to me (although I came close once :D ).

When I was your age, I found that school sports like track and cross country were a good training foundation for cycling. Though it work different muscle groups, running is a great way to train your aerobic / cardiovascular system. Not only that, but I learned proper training including pre- and post- stretching and intervals.

Joining a cycling club will certainly help. Once you feel comfortable riding in a pack, don't be afraid to jump in there and get your first race under your belt. Entry fees for juniors have traditionally been held very low (ie., around $5) in order to encourage more participation. You will need to buy a racing licence through the USCF. You can do so online here (www.usacycling.org).

I hope you have fun and stick with it. Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of juniors racing these days. With the state of traffic and road conditions in our country it is understandable. If you find you really like it and decide to stick to it, drag some (non-cycling) friends out and try to get them into it as well.

Good luck,

- Buddy Lee

I have a can of gatorade and cytomax to drink. For breakfast I usually have a bowl of cereal with chunks of banana in it. Some kind of cereal with low sugar(I don't like lots of sugar, it's just nasty).

Im looking for a group to join and I can go run with my friends, who are on the XC team at school.

What is the license for? Do I absolutely need it?

I already talk about cycling so much that two of my friends have decided to try it. One of them is hooked now and instead of driving to and from school she bikes. With all the money shes saving on gas she says shes going to buy a nice road bike and ride alot more.

eating right and training, training, and more training is paramount....also remember to time your breathing so it matches your pedal strokes...an excellent website for racing advice is www.cptips.com its a performance cycling website and has a boatload of great advicece...have fun...

tex