Masters Road Racing and the Four Keys to Success

This article applies to Queensland masters road racing, which as a very general rule are two to three hours in duration on flattish or undulating courses. If you do any 'non-high level' road racing of about the same duration and course profile, then this article may be useful for you. When you head off for a Queensland masters road race, there are four things you need in your back pocket; endurance, strong power across the 1 - 4 minute durations, repeatability and a sprint. I am not going to get into specifically how to train for these four things as that information lies behind the DRP Coaching paywall :)

Endurance

This is not what you think. When I talk about endurance, I am referring to the ability to be strong and competitive across the duration of the race. This is the difference between hanging onto wheels and finishing in the main bunch vs. being able to actually take part in the finale. This kind of endurance is not the ability to ride for 5 - 6 hours at a steady pace; it is the ability to ride for 2 - 3 hours at a high Normalised Power. How high? If you want strong legs when it counts, then you need to be able to put out a Normalised Power that is at least your high Tempo Zone. So if your FTP is 250 watts, then you need to be able to put out a Normalised Power of around 215 - 225 watts for 2 - 3 hours. If you can do this, you will be ready, willing and able when it counts. Training Peaks' definition of Normalised Power is here: LINK

Power Across 1 - 4 Minute Durations

Most surges, bomb blasts, explosions (call them what you like) in Queensland masters racing are between 1 - 4 minutes. These can be attacks, surges in the cross winds, following an attack or a hill / climb (pretty rare to climb for more than 4 minutes). As a result, you need to be strong across those durations. If not, you will have a weak spot which can and will be a limiter for you. For example you might be strong at 1 - 2 minutes but then your power curve fades. If so, then a  3 - 4 minute surge in the cross winds is going to be the end for you. 

Repeatability

I bet many of the avid cyclists reading this article work really hard on their intervals. I also bet that those same readers enjoy a lovely little recovery spell between those intervals. Does that ever happen when you race? Afraid not. Those 1 - 4 minute efforts just mentioned need to be repeated with minimal or at best patchy rest inbetween. You need to drop those bombs again and again with sometimes almost no opportunity to recover. This is something that you need to train specifically for and this is an element of coaching and training that I think is vastly underdone. You see good criterium and track racers with excellent ability to repeat efforts and it doesn't happen by accident. 

Sprint

The reality is that the win in most Queensland masters races involves a sprint. You do see solo breakaways but they are not so common. Be it in a group of three or fifty-three, a sprint is an important part of this. It is not always about being a super quick sprinter either. If you have developed the endurance mentioned earlier, then often that translates into a strong sprint simply due to your freshness.

So there you have it; four things to work on if you want to improve your Queensland masters road racing (and other similar types of road racing as well). Good luck!

Making Clubbies Count

Food for thought...completely ignore this, take it on board, do what you like. This is written with my Coach's hat on and also in an effort to contribute to our team:

I have raced A Grade in Toowoomba for 6 years now and yesterday was the first time I have experienced a club race like 'that'. I am also pretty sure it is the first time I have seen all starters contest the finish (unusual). A disappointing and surprising outcome.

Let me break this down for you... club races (if you have bigger goals) have a specific purpose. That purpose being to absolutely blow your doors off, empty the tank and leave nothing out there. They differ from open or important races in that there is minimal strategy and very little conservation of energy. My memory of local A Grade is exactly that; an absolute bloodbath of attacks, surges, breaks and everyone flogging themselves into submission. Yesterday (regrettably) was negativity; chase / stop / sit on / chase / stop. I heard someone say after the race 'well what are you supposed to do when two riders are clearly stronger than everyone else?' The answer to that is easy; attack, chase, surge, counter attack, go over the top, go again. To be fair, some riders did at least try this a little.

My point here is that clubbies are a brilliant opportunity. A chance to put some absolute quality into a Saturday ride and I would say that for the majority of the A Grade bunch yesterday, that didn't happen. And before I hear 'sour grapes from Dean because he didn't podium' trust me I couldn't give two shits about a club race podium. My legs were ordinary before the race, during the race and even now, but I am satisfied with the work I produced (I was actually legless for the last few minutes - could you tell?)

Are you satisfied with your club race? And before you answer that question...if you 'failed to participate or barely participated' in yesterday's race until the last lap, then your answer should be 'no'. You missed an opportunity.

Please don't take any offence at this or feel insulted as it is not my intention to do either of those things. My intention is to make you a better bike racer. 

Zwift Rides and Races; finding some of the best spots to spend your indoor time

Anyone who rides with me or is coached by me knows that I am a huge fan of the indoor training platform Zwift. I just can't get enough of it! 

If you are new to Zwift, it may be difficult to navigate your way through the multitude of events that you can participate or compete in through the Zwift Companion App. The following rides and races are events that I have found to be spot on in terms of achieving what I need from a particular session (keeping in mind that I am in Australia and obviously ride in that time zone):

SAS 1-2-3 Ride: 

5.55am, 45 minutes, weekdays. This is a great recovery ride with some good social banter. The pace is nice and steady and perfect for spinning out those sore legs. Always on a flat course.

AHDR Bacon Rolls:

5.50am, 60 minutes, Monday, Tuesday, Friday. Very similar to the SAS ride (above) but the pace is higher and duration is a little longer. This is my 'go to' recovery ride on a Monday and Friday. Always on a flat course. 

AHDR PretzHELL:

7.02am, 72km, Sunday. For my money, the best longer bunch ride on Zwift. Normally over the Watopia Pretzel course with a big group and plenty of climbing. There is a mini-race at the end if you are keen. If you are wanting to avoid the cold conditions outside on a Sunday morning and get a great workout, then this is the ride for you. 

GGCC Glasgow Green CC Cat & Mouse Training Ride:
5.45am, 30 km (varies), Wednesday. I stumbled across this organized group ride and it is an excellent option. You select which group you start in and then the ride unfolds as a 'handicap training race' where the faster groups have to catch the slower ones. A good steady pace with plenty of work at threshold. This is often a great mid-week ride for me.

The Chop (WBR) Race:

6.00am, 30 km (varies), Thursday. This is one of many races hosted by the WBR (World Bicycle Relief) Zwifters (I am a proud member of the Race WBR team). This is very much like the Cat & Mouse ride mentioned above, except that it is a full gas handicap race. Riders start in graded groups and chase each other all the way to the line. This is a quality workout! 

WBR 1 Lap Flat Race:

Various times, 10km (varies), every day. The WBR 1 lappers are probably the best 'bang for your buck' rides in terms of time on Zwift. Quick warm up, race, quick wind down. Some big efforts and a hard workout all over in thirty minutes from getting on the bike to getting off. Always good sized fields and a high pace. If you are short on time I can't recommend these enough.

KISS 2km Pursuit League:
7.05pm, 2km x 4, Saturday. A really bad time slot (Saturday nights), but a unique and fun race that involves four 2km Individual Time Trials with a twenty minute break in-between. Something different and a guaranteed heart starter!

So there you have it, a few options to think about if you are trying to work your way through the huge number of events available on Zwift.

Ride on!

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Race Report: Australian Masters Track Championships, 2-3 March 2018

The Darrebin International Sports Centre (DISC) in Melbourne hosted these championships a little over a week ago. I competed in the Individual Pursuit and Points Race in the MMAS 4 (45-49 years) division and the Team Pursuit in Open Masters. I had prepared well and was hoping for a strong performance. 

Individual Pursuit

I was looking to beat my PB of 3.34.13 in qualifying. The track was not running especially quick with a slightly cool morning. Maybe I wasn't running especially quick as well? Either way, I qualified in second place in a 3.35.37, 1.33 seconds behind Victoria's Matthew Bowman. Now guaranteed of being on the top two steps of the podium, we would race for the medals later that day. With John Eder calling me, we opted for a strategy in the final of starting steady and then bringing it home. History shows that this approach works better for me. In the final Matthew had a steady first lap and then went very hard. He had me three seconds down by halfway. At that point I clicked and started to reel him in. I made big gains in that second half but ran short by 1.3 seconds with a 3.35.31. The two of us had ridden identical times in the final down to tenths of a second! So a Silver medal for me. 

Points Race

This would end up being an extremely frustrating experience for me. Apparently, there has been a rule change in masters points races, where the final sprint no longer carries double points. Unfortunately the program had not been updated to reflect that. Also unfortunately, riders who entered the track from the side of the track where Queensland were sitting, were not privy to the pre-race briefing which advised of this rule change. So I headed off thinking the final sprint was double points. Can you see where this is going? The event turned into a two horse race very quickly, those horses being Stuart Grieve from NSW and myself. Stuart held the lead the whole way, but I chipped away at the points and stayed close. I won the second last sprint and then checked the points and saw that If I won the last sprint (assuming double points) I would be Australian Champion. I dutifully put myself in the twilight zone for the last sprint, won it...and then was advised it was normal points only and I had in fact won...the Silver medal. Gutted...

Team Pursuit 

Our Queensland Team of myself, Andy Patten, Robbie Reid and John Eder were always going to have a hard time of it. Firstly, Robbie was as sick as a dog and it was a miracle that he even started. Secondly, Hunter District had a red hot team with an average age of at least ten years younger than us, who we raced in the final. We gave it a good crack though and ended up with the Silver medal. Our time was 3.06.28 after (inexplicably) the final was run a lap short. I really feel for the Hunter District team as they were on track for an Australian record. 

So there it is...three events and three Silver medals. A part of me is immensely satisfied with three from three, but another part of me is pretty miffed about not being able to secure at least one Australian Title.

So what now? The racing calendar is pretty quiet for a few months. I am interested in the new State Individual Time Trial Series that starts later in the year so we will see how that goes. Might need to get back into the Zwift racing zone for a while!