Race Day Prep

[Prince]

All great advice from the guys and it all works. Me, i was more simplistic. Good breakfast, crumpets, toast, jam etc. One bottle water, one bottle sports drink and 6 energy chews.

Sports drink and energy chews/bars/ gels etc are all personal taste. I always though that breakfast is the most important as 3 hours really isn't a long time.

As for the week before , all i did was a 20 minutes indoor spin on the Thursday to keep the legs loose. If you are racing in the front of the bunch then yes you need the proper warm up for the early accelerations. 

Horses for courses and the above got me through in 3 hours. Maybe i should have been more scientific but it worked.

But as jcza says - have to be in the bunch!

 

Edited July 23, 2025 by Prince
Typo

[cadenceblur]

I have been looking at nutrition / fueling efforts in a bit more detail lately.

It helps having a power meter along with history of similar efforts to get a view of the Kj / work involved which in turn guides on calories. 

All products have nutritional analysis (calories and carbs)  so you can kind of work out what you are burning vs what you need to replenish.

 

 

[Guest Mike Dewing]

57 minutes ago, buckstopper said:

In SA cycling, road racing 'in teams' is a team sport in half the elite bunch and maybe 10-20% of the Vets groups. If you're afraid of bunches, ride in a small group of 3 or 4 and do a team tt for fun. 

Or ride alone. In which case you don't need to be doing 'tiring' intervals, at least not now. Just get used to riding the distance and maybe seek out some hills in October and you'll be fine

I live in the parks area of joburg and been driving around Mellville the last couple days.. holy hell, I’ll be riding around there for climbing practice😳 haha.. 

[Guest Mike Dewing]

54 minutes ago, Prince said:

All great advice from the guys and it all works. Me, i was more simplistic. Good breakfast, crumpets, toast, jam etc. One bottle water, one bottle sports drink and 6 energy chews.

Sports drink and energy chews/bars/ gels etc are all personal taste. I always though that breakfast is the most important as 3 hours really isn't a long time.

As for the week before , all i did was a 20 minutes indoor spin on the Thursday to keep the legs loose. If you are racing in the front of the bunch then yes you need the proper warm up for the early accelerations. 

Horses for courses and the above got me through in 3 hours. Maybe i should have been more scientific but it worked.

But as jcza says - have to be in the bunch!

 

Okay nice, thanks, I actually hadn’t considered that the pros are pushing break aways super early and therefore warm up accordingly.. I plan to push it but trying to be smart so will wouldn’t be red lining it from the start .. 🥵

 okay I’m happy to warm up at a comfortable pace for the first couple kilometers 🥳

[Guest Mike Dewing]

1 hour ago, The Ouzo said:

Mike, as someone that ALWAYS trained solo, bunch riding confidence and skill is something thats been hard to learn, but makes a big difference with race times.

When I was young and brave (or dumb, the debate still continues), I could sit in the middle of massive bunches and cruise along at stupid speeds. 1 fall many many years ago in a bunch and that was the end of that. Only ever riding in bunches in races had me sitting on the outskirts or the back working much harder than I should.

When I joined my cycling group beginning of last year it took me a long time to get the confidence in the bunch, those first group rides were hell to try and stay with the bunch. As I slowly got more confident it got easier.

Then the groups got faster, the crashes became more frequent, my confidence took a know and I found myself suffering again. And then I crashed, and now I'm on the outskirts or at the back again working my ass off to stay with them, those days that I have confidence and I correctly position myself in the bunch I can feel are much much easier.

 

I still feel solo rides are great. They are great to clear your head, they are great to ride are your own pace, and with nobody to hide behind they are great to build fitness and strength.

. I work with my hands, I actually can’t afford to crash in a group.. if I think about it😅.. or crash at all🤦‍♂️🤣

[The Ouzo]

3 minutes ago, Mike Dewing said:

. I work with my hands, I actually can’t afford to crash in a group.. if I think about it😅.. or crash at all🤦‍♂️🤣

yeah tell me about it. I'm in and out of cars all day, when I went down in April, between the broken ribs and the roastie on my knee rubbing against my work pants, getting in and out of the lower cars was a mission.

 

But, for the 947, to get a good time, you need to, atleast for the M1 stretch, sit in a bunch. 

[Guest Mike Dewing]

30 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

yeah tell me about it. I'm in and out of cars all day, when I went down in April, between the broken ribs and the roastie on my knee rubbing against my work pants, getting in and out of the lower cars was a mission.

 

But, for the 947, to get a good time, you need to, atleast for the M1 stretch, sit in a bunch. 

Yeaaah that doesn’t sound like a party.. 

We also need to see where they start me.! Last year I was given a 7:25 start time but I didn’t end up riding, I haven’t entered anything since so I have no idea what my time might look like this year.. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Previous year I started at like 9:05 or something.. long story short, there were no groups. It was like the wild f$&king west out there.! 

Edited July 23, 2025 by Mike Dewing

[The Ouzo]

16 minutes ago, Mike Dewing said:

Yeaaah that doesn’t sound like a party.. 

We also need to see where they start me.! Last year I was given a 7:25 start time but I didn’t end up riding, I haven’t entered anything since so I have no idea what my time might look like this year.. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Previous year I started at like 9:05 or something.. long story short, there were no groups. It was like the wild f$&king west out there.! 

have always ridden in the mid to later groups, like you said, wild west. every man for himself. everyone is just trying to finish, let alone get a time.

Last couple of years I've worked my way forward by getting decent time and realised more bunches get formed the earlier you start.

Last year we put a team together to get sub 3, and I must say it was impressive looking having 9 guys in the same kit starting together and pushing through on the road with everyone else sucking our wheels.

 

But if you can suck wheel until the end of the M1, get to woodmead with a highish average, from then onwards if you're decently fit you can push through on your own and still manage mid 3 hours.

[Gr3mlin131]

14 hours ago, Mike Dewing said:

Yeaaah that doesn’t sound like a party.. 

We also need to see where they start me.! Last year I was given a 7:25 start time but I didn’t end up riding, I haven’t entered anything since so I have no idea what my time might look like this year.. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Previous year I started at like 9:05 or something.. long story short, there were no groups. It was like the wild f$&king west out there.! 

There are also levels to sitting in a bunch. You can sit in the middle of the bunch, getting maximum benefit, but if someone goes down in front of you not much you can do. Or you can sit to the side of the group, getting less benefit but being safer as you always have a specific way out to dodge. It is all about managing the risk and what you are comfortable with. 

 

I have dropped out of many group when the people start getting tired or started swerving and rather going at it alone further. 

[Underachiever]

2 hours ago, Gr3mlin131 said:

There are also levels to sitting in a bunch. You can sit in the middle of the bunch, getting maximum benefit, but if someone goes down in front of you not much you can do. Or you can sit to the side of the group, getting less benefit but being safer as you always have a specific way out to dodge. It is all about managing the risk and what you are comfortable with. 

 

I have dropped out of many group when the people start getting tired or started swerving and rather going at it alone further. 

To expand

When I am fit I race Vets/Masters.  These bunches normally rides in a proper, predictable manner - like the pros

When I am unfit and race in the Alphabet soup groups, I choose the group when I can sit in the top 10-20 in the main bunch.  So even if I am seeded in say B bunch, I will drop back to say D bunch.

This has proven the safest option in a bunch that has way less skills and predictability.

[The Ouzo]

6 minutes ago, Underachiever said:

To expand

When I am fit I race Vets/Masters.  These bunches normally rides in a proper, predictable manner - like the pros

When I am unfit and race in the Alphabet soup groups, I choose the group when I can sit in the top 10-20 in the main bunch.  So even if I am seeded in say B bunch, I will drop back to say D bunch.

This has proven the safest option in a bunch that has way less skills and predictability.

good tactic, because then you, in theory, should be stronger than those around you, which means its easier to sit near the front, you're not bleeding out of your eyes so your response times and awareness is better.

[Guest Mike Dewing]

3 hours ago, The Ouzo said:

good tactic, because then you, in theory, should be stronger than those around you, which means its easier to sit near the front, you're not bleeding out of your eyes so your response times and awareness is better.

Say for arguments sake I get a similar 7:25 start time again.. whats the chances the riders would stick together as a large bunch.? What’s the kind of cut off time for where things arguably shift into the Wild West.? 🤣🤣 it’s really like something

out of zombie land🤦‍♂️🤣

*no disrespect meant to anyone getting out there, but that mid day heat is a scorcher and okes were struggling

Edited July 24, 2025 by Mike Dewing

[NotSoBigBen]

Just now, Mike Dewing said:

Say for arguments sake I get a similar 7:25 start time again.. whats the chances the riders would stick together as a large bunch.? What’s the kind of cut off time for where things arguably shift into the Wild West.? 🤣🤣 it’s really like something out of zombie land🤦‍♂️🤣

Don't want to be THAT GUY but the wild west can and often will happen in almost any group. Over my many times there I've seen it in the licenced vets groups (lesser so though) as well as most of the early to late groups

You need to have your wits about you at all times

I would posit that for a race lasting 3-4 hours meticulous carb measuring and scheduling may be a bit of overkill

My brother and I have always had the same routine of you like .... anything up to 2 hours, do whatever you feel like

Over that .... the first hour, in road races anyway, can be a bit hectic so just get into your 'groove' and see who you're with and try to keep up and still take your turn!

As far as eating goes we do the eat something (normally half a banana) every hour on the hour and make sure you drink something on the half hour .... if there's 20k's to go maybe grab a gel. It still needs time to get into your body so taking much after that won't have the desired effect besides making you hyper on your way home

Anyway just my 5c .... the hub sports scientist have already given the necessary to do a Slovenian ride I guess 🤪

A good night's rest 2 nights before is fine most people don't sleep that well the night before anyway!

[The Ouzo]

8 minutes ago, Mike Dewing said:

Say for arguments sake I get a similar 7:25 start time again.. whats the chances the riders would stick together as a large bunch.? What’s the kind of cut off time for where things arguably shift into the Wild West.? 🤣🤣 it’s really like something

out of zombie land🤦‍♂️🤣

*no disrespect meant to anyone getting out there, but that mid day heat is a scorcher and okes were struggling

I would say @ 7:25 start time you're probably near the end of any start groups that will stick together.

Try and start at the front of your batch, as you're heading past Jan Smuts offramp start trying to find some one or a group thats going at a speed you want to be going. 

[Underachiever]

1 hour ago, Mike Dewing said:

Say for arguments sake I get a similar 7:25 start time again.. whats the chances the riders would stick together as a large bunch.? What’s the kind of cut off time for where things arguably shift into the Wild West.? 🤣🤣 it’s really like something

out of zombie land🤦‍♂️🤣

*no disrespect meant to anyone getting out there, but that mid day heat is a scorcher and okes were struggling

If the route is the same & and weather is kind of constant, most alphabet groups will ride similar racing times year after year. 

Look at the finish time of each group (say 1st 30%) and see what group aligns to your target finish time.  Start in that group.

Don't be the strongest in the group, then you will have 150 wheel suckers for the entire race. 

Not an exact science, but can make the race safer AND faster for you. 

[jcza]

2 hours ago, Mike Dewing said:

Say for arguments sake I get a similar 7:25 start time again.. whats the chances the riders would stick together as a large bunch.? What’s the kind of cut off time for where things arguably shift into the Wild West.? 🤣🤣 it’s really like something

out of zombie land🤦‍♂️🤣

*no disrespect meant to anyone getting out there, but that mid day heat is a scorcher and okes were struggling

You don't need a bunch, just one rider to sit behind until they blow then find the next one. Repeat until you run out of riders to sit behind or reach the finish line.