no on the pills, in my opinion. some more races and you'll get over being (as) nervous beforehand. from what i've heard/read physical ability drops very little with a lack of sleep. it's more of the mental concentration that suffers. bike racing doesn't take that mental ability (any cat V races proves that), just be like pavlov's dogs- don't start salavating 'til you hear the bell ring... (and the announcer scream 'one lap to go, one lap to go...')