MTB Race Week

[MTBguy67]

Hi all,

Hoping to get some insight. New to racing this year, riding in Sport Class. What are some tips on how to prep for a race during the week prior? Rest Saturday? Ride alot during the week coming up? Do any of you all ride road bikes as part of the training? What things enabled you to move from Sport Class to Expert? Any other insights? Anyone done TransAlp? How hard is it to get a registration slot? I have heard it is tough to get in the race.

Thanx

[CouchingTiger]

Here's Couch's training tip of the week.

Beer and Chinese buffet are an excellent pre-ride choice. While all those sally-a$$ weenies are stopping to fuel up on Goo and PowerBarz or just plain bonk/faint because they have exhausted their energy stores, you can motor on by with a full and happy belly ;)

-Couch

[AA]

What Couch really meant was:

Training is a complex topic & if you are really serious about racing a good training program is really what you need. There are several good training books out there, one good one is the mt bikers training bible

http://www.velopress.com/mounbiktrain.html

I would recomend a heart rate monitor for training and racing as well. I dont race much anymore because of the time involvement but I still ride the road bike as a prime way to build fitness.

Good luck

[sizlinseagulsoup]

I didn't get much training in this spring because I worked 30 hours a week while I was still in high school. Doing this taught me one valuable lesson, if you have the choice to sleep or do a training ride: sleep. Sometimes I would ride after work and only get 5-6 hours of sleep, and I became extremely overtrained, despite only biking 5 hours some weeks.

If you ever start to feel slow and pitiful, take a week off. Do some mountain bike RIDES (not training), and sleep a ton. This week I've slept about 30-40% more then what I had been getting over the past few months, and I don't feel nearly as winded as I was.

I have some more advice, such as a training schedule, however, I need to go set up my pit area for the 24 hour solo race this weekend ;D

[MTBguy67]

thanks for all the input y'all! What about racing strategies? Do you try and get a good position in the first lap, then peak the third/fourth, then hold position?

Anyone out there done a transalp or trans rockies? Got a race this weekend, see how it goes!

:)

[sizlinseagulsoup]

The best strategy is the one that works for you the best. What exactly does this mean? This means expect crappy results your first season because your going to try different things. Some race, try attacking early, others save your energy and redline the entire final laps. Also, during the races, experiment with Gu's, Clif Bars, Apple Juice, Extran, or just plain H20. If you feel like you're gonna puke after the race, then you know that doesn't work for you.