VeloMTL

A friend of mine who has many years of racing experience wrote this for me when I started racing and was having trouble staying in whit the pack at the local masters weekday crit. This document and Ray Deslauriers help have played a big part in my progress. I also need to mention my coach Scott McFarlane who’s training programs did the physical part of the work to get me in shape to run with the leaders at the Laval Crit.

Preparation

Show up at least 30 minutes before start.

Sign in/register/put on number

Begin warm up laps slowly

Build up speed after a few laps and perhaps join small groups going at moderate tempo.

After about 20 minutes begin one or two small accelerations/jumps per lap.

Recover completely between jumps and build up to an all out sprint of 10 seconds.

Cool down and return to car to install race wheels with 10 minutes to go.

Do a few laps and jumps to test race wheels.

Food and drink: For the first races the goal will be to hang on as long as possible. It is unlikely that hunger or dehydration will be a factor and there will be little time to reach for food and drink. Use one bottle of concentrated sports drink and grab when possible.

Start

Move up as far forward as possible, towards the outside.

Before the start work on relaxing as much as possible.

Listen to the starter, but begin to move early if those in front do so.

Clip in smoothly and grab a wheel, going around the pedal kickers as needed. Do not stay behind stalled riders.

Aim for a line that will allow you to orbit the outside of the pack. Choose someone riding smoothly on the outside and ride ever so slightly outside their line and a little back. This will allow you to head out if there is an incident or an attack that the person in front does not respond to. You will also be able to go inside and move up if the rider blows a corner.

The outside line will allow you to keep a more steady speed and avoid breaking/sprinting too much.

Race

Try riding in the drops if comfortable. Besides being more aero to cope with the high speeds, it will allow your back to provide much more power for sprints. This must be trained ahead of time.

Follow the line of the rider ahead. If he takes poor lines, change wheels right away.

In a crit the inside and outside front of the pack are constantly moving up and moving over to the front. If you do not constantly try to pass people, you will start to go backwards and end up behind where the work is harder.

If you move to the front, take a pull to show people you deserve respect, but do not get sucked in to killing yourself. Allow yourself to be passed and then start moving slowly back and towards the outside again.

If you stay in the middle, the draft will be better. One third back in the middle is ideal, but as the sides move up it may be hard to stay there. In case of attack, it is harder to respond in the middle.

On the outside near the front you will have a good view of what is happening up front. When there is an acceleration or attack, anticipate, do not wait. Stand and be ready to move with the people ahead. Do not wait for them to pull away to chase. This is critical.

When there is a huge attack, pick a smooth line and go hard without panic. If you are near the front you can let people slip by for quite a while before you get dropped. Once you start to see gaps or struggling riders, turn on the power and get in the middle of the draft.

Do not be afraid to try a strong but measured acceleration off the front if you react first. Riders who are motivated to catch the attack will come around and you can catch on after a good draft has built up, keeping you near the front.

As soon as things slow down, do not ease to hold your position. Move out and up as far as you can. If it is a real slow down, go right to the front. You are basically saving energy by going contrary to what is happening. Drop back when it is hard, move up when it slows. The opposite is tempting but much harder.

When a breakaway goes, there will be a violent reaction. Once things have settled down teams may begin to block. That is the best thing that can happen. The ideal position is behind the last blocker. You will not be expected, or even allowed to move up, and the riders ahead will set a steady pace that is slower than the break. Slotted behind the block you will get an armchair ride and will see an counterattacks early, giving you time to anticipate and save energy.

In Laval, when riding outside, one turn will put you inside. Follow a wheel smoothly and give the curb a foot clearance. Pedal hard to keep riders from moving up and diving in on you, forcing you into the curb.

Riders with a lot of power are tempted to over use it and blow their legs. Do not be afraid to shift and save your legs.

Keep your upper body relaxed so the bike will not fight you around the turns, wasting energy.

If you get dropped, do not give up as sometimes an acceleration is followed by a slowdown.

Once you are really out, relax, stretch, drink and get ready to get back on the back at a safe place such as a long straight once the pack comes around.

Finish

The last few laps as the sprint is prepared can be fast. Find a steady wheel and hang on. Stay out of the way of the guys moving up and keep things safe. Once the animals have cleared the front, practice your sprint and see what speed you can achieve and how long you can hold it. You will need to know this when it counts in later races.

Visualization

In any fast moving sport, the most successful athletes have a dynamic rather than static view of the play. Instead of seeing objects in place they see the field in terms of lines of force moving through time. A crit is no different. The pack should be seen not as a forest of riders, but as a river. It is crucial to develop the ability to relax and see where the relative movements of key riders will bring them in a few second’s time. This is much easier than trying to follow each discreet object as in moves in real time. Even an unexpected move simply modifies the picture. You are basically functioning like a television with a picture-in-picture feature. One picture is the present and the other is where things will be. Once you start seeing this, the goal of your actions changes. You are not pushing harder or using the brakes to speed up or slow down, but rather to make sure you arrive at a target place at the right time. This way of seeing things requires a heads up riding style and extensive use of peripheral vision. This technique can be practiced by hanging at the back of the pack and watching the way the pack flows.

Economy

The ability to ride with economy is crucial to obtaining race end objectives in a crit. It is normal when beginning to not worry about this and use whatever resources are necessary to make the next move that needs to be made and learn from them. Soon however, using up more resources than needed will limit progress.

The first part of economy is relaxation. Not always easy in a close racing situation, it is essential to not waste energy by tensing muscles that are not needed to move forward. This will become much easier with experience.

The next part involves riding in the most efficient position. Generally for beginners this means moving up in the pack. The energy cost to do so is more than paid back in two ways. Firstly, the speed is more constant up front which saves energy. Secondly, when up front one can see situations develop earlier so that when there are accelerations, reaction is quicker and the top speed needed to stay in is much lower. Ideally, jumps can be anticipated. By doing so and speeding up gradually before the big burst in the pack, peak muscle tension is greatly reduced.

The effects of all of these factors are cumulative and make a big difference in how long one can stay in the lead pack and later how well one can place at the finish.

Ray Deslauriers

I was out teaching a friend how to ride more efficiently to help her with her next triathlon. When all of a sudden a weird clicking sound (loose spokes), once we were finished our little training session I rode over to the bike shop to have Luke take a look at my rear wheel. When O arrived at the store Luke assured me if I left him the bike he could get it fixed up by Friday night and as I have a full weekend of riding planed I had to leave him the bike and walk home. Now I live downtown Montreal for those of you who know the city you will know the Atwater area, picture walking one kilometer in full race kit bare foot, holding cycling shoes in one hand and a helmet in the other, through a grocery store parking lot. I wish I would have had a camera with me to be able to post pictures of the looks I got on the walk home from the shop. I always found it interesting to see how people react to things that are considered out of the ordinary. All the people that looked at me on my walk home have seen cyclist before but always on or near a bike, put someone in cycling clothes in the middle of a parking lot with no bike and the looks come out, they seem to be looking for the bike or something, it just goes to show that when you take something or someone and move them away from their usual circumstance people just don’t exactly know how to handle it, maybe tomorrow I’ll go pick up my bike in a suite of armor and see what kind of looks I get. Enjoy the sun now that it’s come back and enjoy the ride.

By Fred Matheny for www.RoadBikeRider.com

The key to riding long distances is food and drink.

Sure, training is important—but nutrition and hydration are even more vital. According to ultramarathon rider and coach John Hughes of Boulder, Colorado, “Nutrition, not necessarily training, is the limiting factor in endurance cycling.”

The reason? Even the best-trained riders pack only enough muscle fuel (glycogen) for a couple of hours of hard cycling. Fluid stores vanish even faster.

For everything from century rides to multi-day tours, remember these time-tested tips: 

• Enjoy the Last Supper. Eat aggressively the night before a long ride so your muscles are crammed with glycogen the next morning. Emphasize carbohydrates such as pasta, vegetables, bread, whole grains, and fruit. Don’t forget dessert!

• Don’t Skip Breakfast. Cycling’s smooth pedaling motion means you can eat just before a long ride without risking stomach upset. You’ll need a full tank. Cycling consumes about 40 calories per mile, or 4,000 calories in a century ride.

Three hours before the start, eat about 60 grams of carbohydrate if you’re an average-sized woman, 80 to 100 if you’re a man. (Cereal, skim milk, a banana, and a bagel with jam equals about 90 grams of carb.) Many riders find that adding some protein and fat, like scrambled eggs or an omelet, keeps their stomach satisfied longer.

• Prehydrate. Fluids are as important as food. Drink at least eight big glasses of water the day before the ride. If you don’t, your performance and comfort may plummet by mile 50. During the hour before the ride, sip 16 ounces of a sports drink.

• Eat and Drink During the Ride. Drink before you feel thirsty. Your sensation of thirst lags behind your need for liquid, so grab your bottle every 15 minutes and take a couple of big swallow (about four ounces). About every 30 minutes, eat 20 grams of carbohydrate—the equivalent of half an energy bar, several fig bars or half a banana. Some riders prefer smaller portions more frequently.

On unsupported rides, use a backpack-style hydration system and carry food in your pockets. Stop at convenience stores along the way, if necessary. Most organized rides have aid stations every 20 miles or so, but always carry food and fluid just in case.

• Hydrate After the Ride. No matter how much you drink on a long ride you’ll finish dehydrated. Weigh yourself before and after, then compare the figures. Lost weight means you’ve failed to replace the fluid you’ve sweated out. Drink 20 ounces of water or sports drink for each lost pound of bodyweight.

How do you know you’ve caught up? Your urine will be pale and plentiful, and your weight will be back to normal. Rehydrating is especially vital during multiday rides. If you get a little behind each day, by the end of the week you’ll be severely dehydrated, feeling lousy, and riding poorly.

• Eat for Tomorrow. Muscles replace glycogen better if you consume carbohydrate immediately after riding. So within 15 minutes of getting off the bike, eat or drink 60 grams of carbohydrate (if you’re an average-sized woman) or 80 to 100 grams if you’re an average male.

The re-fueling process becomes progressively less efficient as time passes. Eat or drink a high-carb snack while chewing the fat with your riding buddies.

By Fred Matheny for www.RoadBikeRider.com

If it’s the summer cycling season, it’s probably hot where you live. Cyclists and other outdoor athletes are the first to notice rising temperatures. And the hotter it is, the faster you lose fluids when you ride.

Fluids are crucial to your performance and sense of well-being. We’re really just big bags of fluid—our blood contains about 50 percent water. Because water helps keep us cool, a loss of only one percent of our bodyweight as sweat means a significant loss of speed and endurance.

I know you’ve heard it before—drink, drink, drink! But it’s amazing how few cyclists heed this advice. They forget to drink because of the excitement of the ride, then they wilt before the end.

But proper hydration is easy. Here’s how:

• Ride Early or Late. You’ll need to replace fewer fluids if you ride when it’s cooler. One approach: commute by bike so you ride early in the morning and again in the evening when temperatures have moderated. Ralph Phillips, owner of Fairwheel Bikes in Tucson, beats summer temperatures above 100 degrees with dawn rides.

• Practice Drinking On the Bike. If you aren’t comfortable taking one hand off the bar to pull the bottle from the cage, practice while riding in an empty parking lot or lightly traveled road with a wide shoulder. Hold the bar with your other hand near the stem to limit swerving as you reach down.

• Pre-hydrate. Make sure you’re well hydrated before the ride. Most people are chronically dehydrated because they simply don’t drink enough water. Keep a bottle on your desk and sip frequently all day. For an energy as well as fluid bonus, down 16 ounces of a sports drink about an hour before the ride.

• Drink During the Ride. Because your body’s sensation of thirst lags behind its need for liquid, always sip from your bottle before you get thirsty. When you feel thirsty, it’s already too late. Make it a habit to reach for your bottle every 15 minutes and slug down a couple of big swallows.

Most riders need one big bottle (about 28 ounces) per hour but it’s highly variable depending on temperature, intensity of the ride, and other factors such as body size. Experience will help you judge your fluid needs.

• Hydrate After the Ride. No matter how much fluid you drink while riding, in hot weather you’ll finish the ride depleted. Your stomach doesn’t empty fast enough to keep up with the demand.

Weigh yourself before and after the ride. Compare the figures. If you’ve lost weight, drink 20 ounces of fluid for each pound of bodyweight you’re down. Keep drinking until your weight has returned to normal and your urine is pale and plentiful.

• Restore Sodium Levels. Those white stains on your clothing and helmet straps after a hot ride come from the salt that you sweat out. It needs to be replaced. Low sodium levels are associated with increased incidence of cramps. Heavy sodium losses lead to hyponatremia, a potentially life-threatening condition.

Your sports drink should contain at least 100 mg of sodium per 8 ounces (check the label). It may also help to salt your food when you’re riding frequently in hot weather.