Race Day Prep

[The Ouzo]

Everyone has covered everything nicely here.

The days leading up to the race are also very important, I find that due to nerves (I still get nervous even after doing the same race 21 times) I dont get a good nights sleep the night before, so the days before are important.

Also learnt the hard way at this years CTCT, what you do on and off the bike in the week leading up to race day can have an impact. I was walking on average 8000 steps a day at work leading up to race weekend, then on the saturday I was killing time walking around the expo and the waterfront whilst I waited for check in time at the hotel.

Race day my legs were tired in the first 1 km.

Dont walk if you can stand, dont stand if you can sit, dont sit if you can lie down.

[Spinnekop]

21 minutes ago, Underachiever said:

In my early race days I suffered from a poor night sleep (schoolboy racing).

I've learnt that you need to have a good nights sleep 2 nights before. SO if race day is Sunday, FRIDAY night is super important.

  

 

I also read that. 
2 days before sleet is very important.
The day before not so much

[Guest Mike Dewing]

5 hours ago, W@nted said:

I would advise you to practice your race prep and not try anything new on the morning of the race. 

 

Depending on your start time, have a good breakfast 2-3 hours before your start, with enough carbs. Oats with some honey works for me, with a lekker coffee. Then drive to the start and have your pre race dump at the start in one of the portaloos. The earlier you arrive, the cleaner the portaloo will be. Then have a gel/energy bar about an half hour before you start. Just spin the legs between the parking and the start chute, as the race start is not typically that wild.  Remember to sip on your hydration/carb mix between your breakfast and parking departure.

 

 

I like this.. a proper dry run may be in order 🤔

[Guest Mike Dewing]

2 hours ago, Bro Derek said:

That is perfect then

It will go a long way to stilling the pre race nerves.

As others have said, pack, prepare and get as much ready as you can the day before. Again, being unable to find something or unable to do something is stressful, which will be hugely detrimental to the overall experience of the day.

Scar from the Lion King hit it out of the park though.... be prepared. 

The less you leave to chance, the better your experience and memories of the experience will be.

Enjoy!

Okay cool got you.  Yeah I tend to get worked up quite quickly when something isn’t quite working properly or I have to look for something😰.. I’m all about pre day set up 🥳

think I need to get my head around things will possibly go wrong on the day.. 🤔 and I must just chill and work the situation calmly 🤘🏻

[Guest Mike Dewing]

2 hours ago, dave303e said:

honestly, the biggest thing is experience... Do lots of racing, it gets easier.
You also learn you can still smash it on 2 hours of sleep with a hangover, but you send it a lot easier on 8 hours with perfect sleep and breakfast routine. You also then learn what works for you personally. You want to be hydrated, but you don't want to drink too much and have to wake to pee 3 times on race night.

For me the key things are getting good food in early and then top up at start line.

A lot also depends on the lead up to the race. Being relaxed at work so you have time to obsess and stress for a race is not helpful. But working late nights the whole race week and just throwing it together on the day also isn't ideal. But a balance of being busy enough that you are not over thinking but not too busy you are tired is ideal

Find a better way to sleep rather than a sleeping aid. You will wake up groggy.

We had a sleep consultant for our child when she was 6 months old(Best money a parent can spend). But if you apply some of those techniques it really makes a big difference. Main technique being a routine before bed, eventually that routine is like a light switch, boom you are down. Also helps if your natural life patterns align with race day. I wake at 3:45 most mornings and am passed out by 8pm most nights, means an early start for a race is just par for the course.
White noise machine is also a good sneak trick if it is a noisy environment.
Always give good time between dinner and bed as well.

Haven’t been able to enter many races the last two years but hoping to change that.. 

winter is a bit later but yeah in summer early mornings are easy for me, I like the peacefulness early in the mornings.. 9pm is a late night for me 🥳.. 🤣🤣

sometimes I go through episodes of not being able to sleep because of my anxiety disorder.. but honestly I’ve been managing that with THC lately and it’s crushing the problem🤣🤣 I sleep really well and over all less anxious 🥳 very little side effects the next morning if any🤷🏼‍♂️

[Guest Mike Dewing]

32 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

Everyone has covered everything nicely here.

The days leading up to the race are also very important, I find that due to nerves (I still get nervous even after doing the same race 21 times) I dont get a good nights sleep the night before, so the days before are important.

Also learnt the hard way at this years CTCT, what you do on and off the bike in the week leading up to race day can have an impact. I was walking on average 8000 steps a day at work leading up to race weekend, then on the saturday I was killing time walking around the expo and the waterfront whilst I waited for check in time at the hotel.

Race day my legs were tired in the first 1 km.

Dont walk if you can stand, dont stand if you can sit, dont sit if you can lie down.

Okay cool. Be mindful the days before to conserve energy.. got you.. 

[Underachiever]

Do a few hard efforts 2 days before or even 1 day before race day.  Will prevent you having "dead legs" when all hell breaks loose in the 1st 15min of the race.

Some call it race activation...

[Guest Mike Dewing]

17 minutes ago, Underachiever said:

Do a few hard efforts 2 days before or even 1 day before race day.  Will prevent you having "dead legs" when all hell breaks loose in the 1st 15min of the race.

Some call it race activation...

I was thinking a couple chilled efforts to keep the legs moving🤔 but nothing too crazy 🤔

[Pandatron]

Dont forget an oil change - Thad Castle

[dave303e]

1 hour ago, The Ouzo said:

Everyone has covered everything nicely here.

The days leading up to the race are also very important, I find that due to nerves (I still get nervous even after doing the same race 21 times) I dont get a good nights sleep the night before, so the days before are important.

Also learnt the hard way at this years CTCT, what you do on and off the bike in the week leading up to race day can have an impact. I was walking on average 8000 steps a day at work leading up to race weekend, then on the saturday I was killing time walking around the expo and the waterfront whilst I waited for check in time at the hotel.

Race day my legs were tired in the first 1 km.

Dont walk if you can stand, dont stand if you can sit, dont sit if you can lie down.

expos are the worst thing you can do before a race in my opinion.

All they do is put unnecessary steps on the legs, build up nerves you didn't need which adds stress and keeps you up at night. On top of that there is always someone selling you something which usually ends up becoming the biggest sin of trying something new on race day. 

[GLuvsMtb]

I try to keep it simple leading into race day:

At least 2 days before:
Thoroughly clean and check bike and all kit.

On my checklist:
- Torque all bolts
- Check sealant
- Check tools and spares
- Check suspension pressures
- Check bearings and pivots for play 
- Check brake pads

Day before:
- Confirm start time and race day logistics 
- Screenshot my CSA nr
- Pack my post-race clothes
- Ensure the car is fueled
- Lube chain

Race morning:
- Simple breakfast (Pro Nutro works for me) 
- Leave giving yourself around 45 minutes ETA to when you need to enter your batch
- Park, kit up and go to registration
- If there is a decent coffee, have a flat white
- Banana as a snack when I go into the start chute
- Start up Garmin and double check that HR strap is picking up
- Line up in batch with 5 minutes to go till chute closes
- Say Hoopla and go. 

[Baracuda]

Really good advice above on nutrition and eating before. I have also found good advice from this channel. This Aussie lady is straight forward;

With respect to sleep, pressure and the mental side; I have not worked it all out, but I did get some advice from a mate who was a chopper pilot in the military and they get taught to manage pressure in many ways, but useful in this context, by (i) being very well prepared and ready in terms of training, having all their kit ready and checked - be fully confident before you go to bed that everything is in place; (ii) putting matters into perspective. It is a bike ride with your mates that you doing for fun - we not jumping out of a plane behind enemy lines, no one is depending on us winning or finishing. Even if you sleep late and miss the whole event, you'll get teased at work on Monday, but no one really cares after that. Just chill, relax and enjoy for yourself. 

 

 

[Guest Mike Dewing]

On 7/17/2025 at 5:58 PM, Baracuda said:

Really good advice above on nutrition and eating before. I have also found good advice from this channel. This Aussie lady is straight forward;

With respect to sleep, pressure and the mental side; I have not worked it all out, but I did get some advice from a mate who was a chopper pilot in the military and they get taught to manage pressure in many ways, but useful in this context, by (i) being very well prepared and ready in terms of training, having all their kit ready and checked - be fully confident before you go to bed that everything is in place; (ii) putting matters into perspective. It is a bike ride with your mates that you doing for fun - we not jumping out of a plane behind enemy lines, no one is depending on us winning or finishing. Even if you sleep late and miss the whole event, you'll get teased at work on Monday, but no one really cares after that. Just chill, relax and enjoy for yourself. 

 

 

That video is awessome.. really helpful thank you

[Guest Mike Dewing]

Lads.. how does this sound.? 

I am a 40 year old 65kg 177cm tall he/him
 

32Gi food list(consumed per hour)

- 1 x cranberry almond race pro bar @25g(20.4g Carbs)

- 1 x Sports chew jelly bar @ 50g(33g carbs)

- 1 x sports gel @27g(21g carbs)

= 74g of carbs consumed.. half way between that 60 and 90🥳.. 

32Gi drink list(supplementary carbs)

2 x 600ml bottles

- 2 x race pro super carp sachets(60g of carbs per sachet (one sachets per bottle)(should I carry two extras in case I fill up.?)

I feel like I’m going to be carrying a ton.!

Will start here and play around with what I can handle and train to eat before the big day, don’t worry.. 

any input welcome.? 

[Ncayi]

1 hour ago, Mike Dewing said:

Lads.. how does this sound.? 

I am a 40 year old 65kg 177cm tall he/him
 

32Gi food list(consumed per hour)

- 1 x cranberry almond race pro bar @25g(20.4g Carbs)

- 1 x Sports chew jelly bar @ 50g(33g carbs)

- 1 x sports gel @27g(21g carbs)

= 74g of carbs consumed.. half way between that 60 and 90🥳.. 

32Gi drink list(supplementary carbs)

2 x 600ml bottles

- 2 x race pro super carp sachets(60g of carbs per sachet (one sachets per bottle)(should I carry two extras in case I fill up.?)

I feel like I’m going to be carrying a ton.!

Will start here and play around with what I can handle and train to eat before the big day, don’t worry.. 

any input welcome.? 

You could swap the 32gi bars with the chews. You get 4 pcs in a pack and each block has 33g of carbs.

Namedsport also gels that have 40g of carbs per gel but they are pricey. I use them only during races.

You could also have all your liquid carbs in one bottle and only just water in the other. Some people add electrolytes to the water, but I add them to my carb mix. 

You also have more options if you plan to use any of the stops. Coke, brownie, cake, sweets etc.

 

[Guest Mike Dewing]

2 minutes ago, Ncayi said:

You could swap the 32gi bars with the chews. You get 4 pcs in a pack and each block has 33g of carbs.

Namedsport also gels that have 40g of carbs per gel but they are pricey. I use them only during races.

You could also have all your liquid carbs in one bottle and only just water in the other. Some people add electrolytes to the water, but I add them to my carb mix. 

You also have more options if you plan to use any of the stops. Coke, brownie, cake, sweets etc.

 

Okay cool.! I didn’t realise that was per block.?!😳

what’s the benefit of having just a plain water bottle.? Is it not a wasted opportunity to get electrolytes and a bit of carbs in.. 

I don’t plan to stop.. first year I did end up as it was soo hot I ran out.. I will stop if I have to.. thats a decision I’ll make on the day at the time👍🏻

haha finances are also going to restrict certain things.. i might be fueling with peanut butter sandwiches ☠️🤣🤣