How to Prepare for a Bicycle Race

By. G. R. Kawa (NIS) cycling
So you've decided to try your hand at bicycle racing. Great! It's a marvelous sport, guaranteed to put some spice in your exercise regime and you will meet some new and wonderful people too. Participating in a bike race is a tough and demanding commitment and requires advance preparation. Since these races can be extremely competitive and dangerous, it's important that you put enough time and effort to get yourself ready for the competition.
If you're truly determined to get yourself in bicycle racing, you should be prepared to make a lot of changes in your lifestyle, more specifically, in what you eat, do, and even in how you look at things. Here are a few things to get you started:
Nutrition
• What you eat several days before the race will affect race day performance. For several days before the event, you need to have a high carbohydrate diet. This will maximize your internal glucose stores and will prolong the duration of activity until fatigue occurs.
• Stay away from alcohol, cigarettes and coffee/tea.
• Have a nutritious meal the night before.
• Eat a healthy breakfast, preferably with a lot of carbohydrates at least two hours before your race starts.
• On race day eat a meal high in carbohydrates and chose easily digestible foods.
• Don't eat high protein or high fat foods on race day as these foods can put stress on your kidneys as they take longer to digest.
• Eat 1g of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight 1-2 hours before the start of the event.
• Avoid sugary foods/drinks within one hour of the event.
• Have a few sport bars ready in your pocket.
• Dehydration impacts negatively on your performance. Over hydrating can also impact negatively on your performance. Drink no more than 80ml of water or diluted sport drink every 10-20 minutes throughout the race.
Training
• Make sure that you have trained sufficiently. Although gym hours will help with endurance, there is no preparation that comes close to preparing you for the big day as time spend in the saddle
• If you have some (cycling) fitness, a couple of months of preparation should pull you to the end. If you are a novice or are out of touch with cycling, you should start at least four to six months in advance.
• On the 6th, 5th and 4th day before the race, train for a short to moderate distance with a relatively low intensity. This close to the race, you are not going to make significant adaptations to improve your time by training really hard.
• The 3rd and 2nd day before the race are rest days.
• 24 hours before the race is time for the final ride. The aim of this ride is to boost the muscles glycogen storage capacity.
• Prepare for race day the night before. Ensure that your equipment, clothing and helmet are pre-pack and ready to go.
• Go early to bed the night before.
Equipment
• Clean your bike.
• Ensure that the gears and brakes are working at their best. It may be worth taking your bike to a shop for a professional service.
• Ensure that the tyres are pumped up and the chain is well lubricated.
Race Day
• The start of a road race is usually more relaxed but always be ready for a jump if the pack decides to take off. It is important to go all out to make sure you stay with the pack until the pace steadies after a lap or two.
• Drink regularly. Many people forget to drink until they are thirsty and by then its too late. Dehydration come quickly and will really slow you down.
• Do everything in your power to stay with the pack. A single rider is much slower than a group and has to work much harder so there is generally no chance of catching back up if you get dropped early on.
• You use less energy climbing when seated so only stand when absolutely necessary.
• Keep your eyes open and look ahead for obstacles on the road. It is polite to point out rocks or pot-holes for the riders coming behind you. Also watch the riders in front of you as a sudden motion or braking by them can cause you to crash if you hit their wheel.
• Know the course and count your laps, the officials cannot tell you when you are done and spectators may give you incorrect information!
Training for bicycle racing is hard work and professional bicycle racers will even be the first one to tell you that. The important thing to do is to persevere and not to give up. Pat yourself on the back when you've made the smallest achievement and learn from your mistakes rather than beating yourself about it. You can become a serious competitor with the right exercise, diet, and attitude. Good luck and we know that you can cycle your way to success!