For Bikeline Racing Members - The Charles Coin Memorial & The Cunningham Classic - Part 1

I am planning on writing a series of three blog articles specifically for other Bikeline Racing members, who may be about to tackle their first (or second or third?) Charles Coin Memorial or Cunningham Classic, or more experienced riders who might enjoy a little insight into how they could approach the two races. The first article will be a fairly general one, followed by the second which will focus on the Charles Coin and the third will be about the Cunningham. 

Why? For those of you who don't know my cycling background, I spent a LOT of time racing in the 1990s both here and abroad. I had a full twelve years away from the bike before I got back on it two and a half years ago. I guess you could say I have a bit of experience. I have always wanted to get involved at club level with Bikeline Racing, but it is difficult to do that when you live in Dalby and ride for a Toowoomba based club. I am often asked questions by members about racing and I am of course very happy to help out whenever I can. I thought these articles would be a way that I could support newer riders and also open the door to any members who want to pick my brain about this great sport at any time. 

So here we go...

I see a lot of mistakes made by new and inexperienced riders (and to be honest, not-so-new and experienced riders). In the end, if you are new to the sport, you should be making mistakes, so don't stress. The important thing is that you learn from them and improve your craft as a result.

Mistake 1 - Not recognizing bike racing as 'more than an endurance sport' 

Notice how I used the word 'craft' just then? That's exactly what bike racing is. The strongest man on the day doesn't always win. The first rider across the line wins. People who come across to cycling from other sports often become very frustrated by this fact. What riders need to do is develop an understanding of all the little bits and pieces that go into race craft and develop their tactical awareness, conservation of energy mid-race, toughness and planning, to maximize their chances of being successful (there are many other things to consider as well). To consider bike racing as a straight out endurance sport is a mistake. This is half the reason the sport is so fascinating, frustrating and addictive; all at the same time.

Mistake 2 - Approaching racing with the same mindset as training

This is a huge mistake and I see people doing it all the time. When you are training, you should always be trying to work hard. Long turns on the front, charging up hills, giving it your all and blowing yourself up. The whole intent of a hard training ride is to come home shattered. Racing is a completely different ball game and many riders struggle with the shift in mindset required. In a race, you need to be in conservation mode. This means soft pedaling up hills (when you can), avoiding turns, not chasing breaks down without a reason and doing everything in your power to make life easy for yourself; until it 'counts'. As I said, people really struggle with this shift, but to approach your racing any other way, is a big mistake. So often I hear people say 'yeah. yeah, I came 14th today but I did a heap of work so I'm happy'. Really? Did you get a trophy for 'the rider who did the most turns?' Oh that's right; there isn't one! The trophy went to the rider who was first across the line (funnily enough). Now I know there is a kind of 'unwritten rule' about not sitting on all day and being a wheelsucker and I'm not suggesting that this is what you do. What I am saying is that you need to be conservative and careful about it and not waste energy. A good rule to follow is, every time you are doing a turn, ask yourself 'why am I doing this?' Is there a good answer? No? Then get on a wheel; now!

Mistake 3 - Approaching racing with the same nutrition plan as training

This happens all the time and is easy to fix. Let's say you regularly do a 100 km training ride. You do this on a light breakfast with two muesli bars and a gel in your back pocket. You go off to a 100 km race with the same plan and hey presto at 80 km your legs are like lead and you are out the back like a stone wearing an anchor for a backpack. What's going on? You need a lot more nutrition when you are racing. Your average power output and energy used will be much higher in a race and you need to consume additional food to compensate. You are better off to come home with leftover food in your pocket than to blow up in a heap on the side of the road

Mistake 4 - Poor positioning

You've all heard this before. You need to be riding near the front (not actually on the front) so you can avoid crashes, be close to the action and to give yourself an easier ride. The front of the bunch is a lot less 'surgy' than the back and over the course of a long race this adds up to some big energy savings. The impact of the positioning does change a little depending on the size of the bunch. In small bunches (like at club racing) it's not really going to matter too much. When the pack is big though, it makes a huge difference.

Mistake 5 - Not backing yourself for the win

Let's play out a scenario. You are in a six man breakaway nearing the end of a long road race. You are feeling pretty good, but know that there are two very quick sprinters in the break with you. If you get to the finish with them, you'll probably come third or even fourth. You could attack and have a go for the win, but if you do that and you fail, you may end up fifth or even sixth at the end. So what do do you do? Time and time again people will 'play it safe', ignore their good legs and be happy with their third or fourth. This is a big mistake! If you have got the legs, have a go! Winning is actually fun...

Mistake 6 - An unwillingness to hurt

This game...it hurts. It hurts so, so, so, much. Have you ever been really deep in a bike race with the pain? I mean really deep? Fuzzy vision, dribbling, mucus everywhere, ignoring cramps, lungs on fire? If not, it's a place you need to visit. Not all the time, but you need to know how to get there. If you can do that...who knows what you might just be capable of.

So there you have it. Some (hopefully useful) introductory advice before we get specific in the next article. Looking at that list above, if I was to pick the one that is the most common and could have the most impact, I would say number 2. Does that surprise you? Maybe. But trust me, being able to flick the RACING / TRAINING  switch in your head is a skill well worth mastering.

Please email me questions if you have any at: arthurdog@gmail.com

Race Report: Queensland Titles Individual Time Trial, MMAS 3, 16 June 2014

This, was a good day...

This was a target race for me and I am pleased to say that I manged to exceed my expectations. I came 5th in this event last year, still recovering from a nasty chest cold. This time around, the field was stronger and I had it in my head that I would be satisfied with 4th or 5th, but still hoped I could pull something out of the bag.

The course was slightly longer than usual because the course marshals got their tens and elevens confused. We ended up doing a touch under 22 km instead of the standard 20 km. The course itself was reasonable with a bit of wind that picked up as the day progressed. I must confess though, that I do not like the Purga course one bit. I don't think the ups and downs suit me too much. 

I ended up riding an official time of 30 min and 50 seconds (debatable, again, as I honestly believe they have mine and Chris Pryor's times incorrect by ten seconds, but an irrelevant detail I suppose), which gave me the bronze medal, sixteen seconds behind Chris Pryor in second and a minute behind Tim Dagliesh in first. This was far and away the best time trial I have ridden in masters racing. I was a scant two seconds in front of fourth place and six seconds in front of fifth. 

So a solid 'tick' in the 'goals for 2014' list. A state medal (my first one in sixteen years) in a target event I have worked very hard towards. Happy days!

Race Report: Club Individual Time Trial, 8 June 2014

I am a big fan of the Wyreema course as I reckon it is well suited to a lanky grinder like me. It was a very nice morning for a race, but I do disagree with the common sentiment that it was 'perfect conditions for a time trial'. Here is why... 

With the course being almost all downhill on the way out and then (obviously) largely uphill on the way home, in my opinion you will do a faster time with a little headwind on the way out (which you will barely notice) and (obviously again) a little tail wind on the way home, to help you uphill and also to ease the fatigue that is setting in. I also thought that the day was cold and heavy and the course was a bit of a grind as a result. I think that the evidence to back up my theory is that of the four times I have raced the Wyreema ITT, this edition was my highest average and normalised power (by a good 12 - 15 watts) but was actually only my third fastest time. The two occasions I went quicker (by 12 seconds and 28 seconds) the wind was as I described earlier. The other telling factor for me is that fact that Andrew Patten (last year's silver medallist in the Masters World Championships in the 44 - 49 year group) won the race in a time of 27 minutes 17 seconds. Andrew is well and truly a sub-27 minute rider on that course. I reckon the conditions knocked him around a little as well. Assuming that I am right, anyone who rode a PB on the day should be especially proud of themselves. 

So to the race... I came third with a 28 minute 4 second ride. Andrew won (as I said above) and Trent West came second with a 27 minute 42 second ride. Matthew Locker also a notable mention in fourth with a mid 28 minute ride. Matthew has been working hard on his time trial and fine tuning his position, with some solid gains starting to come through for him.

Overall, a week out from the State Titles Individual Time Trial, I am pretty pleased. I pulled off a good set of numbers (with, it's got to be said, some tired legs from a solid 200 TSS ride the day before). There is another part of the ride I am very pleased with. Since last September, I have been on a pretty intense core program. I think I am finally starting to see some tangible benefits from it. This was the first time at Wyreema (or any time trial with a hill in it for that matter), where I have stayed locked in position, on my extensions, in the seat, uphill or downhill, for the entire race (except the start and the turn around of course). This is really encouraging as that kind of form makes a difference in terms of power output and aero gains. 

So off to the State Titles Individual Time Trial this weekend, in the Masters 40 - 44 years category. Who am I up against? Well there is the guy who has won the  Australian Titles Individual Time Trial in Masters 35-39 previously. Or there is the guy who came second last year in the Australian Titles Individual Time Trial in Masters 40-44 years. Or that guy who used to be a pro for Fly V... I think you get my point. It will be highly competitive but I intend to ride my guts out regardless. Wish me luck... 

Race Report: Metropolitan Titles Road Race, 1 June 2014

This was my first race 'back' in Masters A and I'm afraid there is not a lot to report. It was a day of delayed starts and noob errors that combined to make one very boring and meh Sunday.

For starters, the race start was delayed by one hour and fifty-five minutes (some mix up with the traffic control). This was a particlular pain in the arse for me, as the trip from Dalby to Mount Alford is two and a half hours, so I could have left have at 8am instead of 6am.  There was also the fact that pre-race meals and hydration were timed around the original start time, so I needed to recharge and top up while I was waiting in the car. Honestly, if I hadn't driven so far to get there, I would have spun around and come home. 

The race itself was not too exciting for me. A break of six riders bolted almost from the start (a very good group of riders for the record) and they stayed away. I was positioned perfectly to go with them, but actually hesitated, thinking that a 90km break would not steal the day's spoils. I was of course, wrong, wrong, wrong. I had a solid dig off the front on the second lap and managed to get across to two others who were away, but it was short lived and I was destined to finish in what was left of the main bunch (maybe half the original field?) by the end.

Apart from my 'not going with the break' noob mistake. There were two others. I have recently been on a seemingly never-ending quest to get a creak out of my bike. I regreased my seat post the day before this race and obviously had not tightened the bolt properly. My seatpost had slipped by about 1cm - 1.5cm by the end of the race. This explains a lot as I was not feeling strong when seated and ended up getting an 'out of the blue' hamstring cramp right near the finish.

The other noob error involves hydration. I don't think I drank enough before the start (with the delay) and then ended up sucking down my two bottles of water with still 15km or so to go. This probably didn't help with the random cramp either.

So in the end, a day to forget as far as the racing goes.

As a positive I did race today with super-coach Mark Brady (my coach). Mark has been a VERY successful masters A rider but has recently been focusing on triathlons. This was his first road race in over a year. There was an awkward moment where I jumped over Mark very hard and bridged across to someone who was off the front. Instead of being impressed with his own coaching, Mark had the hide to complain about how I had done this to him! I guess you can't please everybody ;)