Filed under: Bike Racing
We had our friend Juan Pablo Castro, who has been a professional cyclist for several years, put together some tips for you racers out there. Pablo rode for several years on the (USA) Ideal Tile/Brielle Cyclery team. When asked for the top 5 things he learned from his career, this is what he said. Check it out.
Whether you are a beginner or an advanced cyclist, you will find these 5 points very helpful to further improve your racing skills. Keep in mind that the more racing you do will ultimately be your greatest teacher.
1. Proper diet and hydration along with proper training to build endurance and power will ultimately make you stronger and faster. What you have in stored energy for Sunday’s race depends on what you ate and drank the day before. Energy drinks and energy bars are great for race day supplements, but complex carbohydrates, proteins and fiber are the building blocks for proper energy reserves and fuel for race day.
2. On raceday always remain calm and focused; don’t waste valuable energy mingling around. Save all your energy for the race. Let your legs do the talking during competition and you can then socialize plenty afterwards.
3. Know your competition so as not to waste time and energy with unnecessary breaks or attacks. Race conservatively, learn how to be patient and stay out of the wind. Drafting efficiently can save valuable energy needed for a final sprint to the finish.
4. Know the terrain you are racing on. Whether racing a criterium, road race, or time trial, every course will have characteristics that determine strategy for final selection to aim for a possible win. These course characteristics will determine when to be on the alert for a possible break or when to reserve and remain sheltered by the moving peloton.
5. Be a professional in all aspects. Your racing equipment should always be clean and properly maintained. Your clothing and appearance should always be sharp. Race smart and be humble yet aggressive when race conditions call for it. Remember: talk by using your legs to ride away from your oponents when the opportunity arises.
Salt Lake’s own Jeff Louder won the Redlands Classic over the weekend. I dug deep for a great win on Stage 1 in Beaumont and his team took control of the race putting two riders on the podium in the Stage 2 crit. Jeff lost 4 seconds in the final stage to the leaders but held on to his 5 second margin to take the overall. He adds his name to an elite list of race winners of the 25 year old American Classic.
Lance Armstrong crashed out of the 1st stage of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon in Spain yesterday. It could spell disaster for his comeback plans. He will miss at least two weeks of training and racing. Most people take 4-6 weeks to race again after a broken collar bone, though some say that Lance could be back within two weeks to prepare for the Giro and the Tour de France.
Broken Collar Bones are the most common injury in road racing (other than road rash). When you go down in a fast paced race there is little time to react. Someone crosses wheels and you all fall down. If you don’t have time to drop a hand or twist your body to change the path of your fall, you’ll go down on your shoulder and brake the clavicle. You’ll sit on the ground for a while, head in hands, one shoulder a bit lower than the other. Somehow Lance had managed to avoid this common injury until wheels crossed in front of him and it was his turn to sit on the side of the road. In all of Lance’s time racing bicycles his worst accident saw him go down and fracture a vertebrae in his neck. He quickly got back on the bike and won Tour again that year. I predict that his second comeback of the year will be closer to two weeks away than six.
