What the hell!!!!

[Jason Patrick]

Hey fellow hubbist!

 

Putting out an APV on my serious disappointment last weekend and need some advice. Went into my first MTB race last week all fired up. Had been training hard, legs were strong and the mind was right however when jumping away off the starting line i tried to stay in the initial pack. The pack was not riding seriously fast but were riding hard from the word go. Needless to say having never pushed hard on a ride from the start i found that 2km's into the race I thought my legs were going to die. The body felt like a ton of lead and there was no performance to talk of! Question is this: Is there a secret technique to racing in MTB challenges like warm up first, pace yourself till last etc etc.

 

All i know is that despite being fit i could not manage the first 5km's after getting off to a fast start!

 

will be good to hear your experiences

[koukie]

It sounds like me the first time I did a race. Yes you have to pace yourself, do you have a heartrate monitor? And you need to eat and drink. Dont get caught up in the moment!

[BlinkFan]

The same thing happens to me, but it's just because your legs aren't warmed up yet. I think?

 

I've found that if I start a bit slower for the first few kms, my legs start getting stronger, and my heart rate also settles.

[dutchMan]

Same thing happens to me, i find the start of any ride / race (with eager fit cyclists) sometimes too hard.

There are occasions when i don't recover from such an eager start and then the whole ride is ruined. I actually recall having breathing problems way back in the 2004 Burger Sanlam, the start was so rapid that i was off in the first 20km and could only draw shallow breaths - very scary

 

I reckon warming up should help, but sometimes those rides are so explosive from the go that the only real thing that can best prepare you for that is to ride more races to get use to the anaerobic effort required and to have some IMBA fartlek sessions with friends on training rides.

 

If you can hold out during that start phase it will slow down, its usually a reasonably short destructive phase where all the dead wood (myself) so to speak is shaken off.

[Zeps]

But the question is how come those 'pack' guys can do it ...........

[Cranck]

Pace yourself........ drink and eat......... and pase yourself some more... no use using all your energy in the beginning and then falling flat.

[Cranck]

and remember to breathe....... and train more. lol

[DownhillingKing]

I mostly ride DH but I do do the odd MTB race. Always a good idea to stretch before. Also before I start racing I ride around the parking area in granny gear to keep my legs spinning to wake them up before I start the race. Then from the start I get the bike up to around +-15km/h and try not go slower than that for the hole race.

[jugheaddave]

I mostly ride DH but I do do the odd MTB race. Always a good idea to stretch before. Also before I start racing I ride around the parking area in granny gear to keep my legs spinning to wake them up before I start the race. Then from the start I get the bike up to around +-15km/h and try not go slower than that for the hole race.

 

My advise

 

Slowy Slowy catch the monkey!!!!

 

Let me elaborate, I am not the best racer, but I do ok.

I generally start quite slow, then pick up the pace, and generally pass loads of people in the 2nd half of the race, then I try to finish very strong!

 

This might not work for everybody, but it works for me.

[FowlStArt]

The Same happens to the guys in the lead believe me, the difference is that they are alot more used to it and though they are suffering like u, they can hold it for longer and they recover alot quicker.

The more you race the more you will get used to it, u can push a little further and recover faster. Its called racing fitness, no matter how much training u do there is a big difference between training fit and racing fit.

 

Very NB is your warm-up, every race (be it road or MTB) u need to warm up, lactic acid levels build up faster at high intencity in cold legs.

[Zeps]

My advise

 

Slowy Slowy catch the monkey!!!!

 

Let me elaborate, I am not the best racer, but I do ok.

I generally start quite slow, then pick up the pace, and generally pass loads of people in the 2nd half of the race, then I try to finish very strong!

 

This might not work for everybody, but it works for me.

 

This is great for the 'funrider' to feel good but I guess it won't win too many races?

[Wyatt Earp]

This is great for the 'funrider' to feel good but I guess it won't win too many races?

Who cares about winning, I also enjoy starting chilled and riding through the peeps, it makes me feel fast

[Zeps]

Who cares about winning, I also enjoy starting chilled and riding through the peeps, it makes me feel fast

 

You know my motto 'start slow then go slower ' but I wondered what the OP's 'intentions' were .......

[Joeboy69]

The few MTB races I have done were quite different in that the initial few km were quite slow due to the traffic and the road making it difficult for the pack to stretch out ... Also agree with the appraoch of just staying out of trouble to start with and try to finish stronger in the 2nd half ... My problem is that I tend to sit behind a group of people, only to realise later that I need to wake up and pass them, this is not a sight-seeing experience only !!

[GLuvsMtb]

Don't underestimate how good the font bunches are at races. I've been doing this for over 3 years and consider it a good day out if I finish top 25% of the field. Uusually I manage a top 50% if the field is very strong.

 

The other thing that differs from most training rides is that you usually start off with a monster hill to seperate the men from the boys. Try to simulate this when training, ie. go and warm up, stop riding for a 15 minute period and shoot off like a canonball and see how your body react.

 

Eating also plays a role. Too much for breakfast, and you feel like vomiting on the first climb, too little and your legs come off after 20 minutes. Find a breakfast that work for you.

 

The time that you train also plays a role. Try to do your hard rides at the same time of the day as the races. Its no good doing hard training rides after work every day when your body must be sharp at 7am.

 

Use the same nutrition products to race and train with. Too many riders switch nutrition for races, with a total disregard for what your body is used to.

[Racingsnail]

Jason you need to find what works for you and your goals. If you are trying to win the race then you need to go from the gun, but if you want finish in the top 25% then you can try to finish stronger. You are going to have to try a few methods and find which works for you.

I agree with the warmups and that you must train like you intend to race.

A mate of mine is fairly competitive and his angle when he started was to go as hard as he could from the gun, until he blew...every race. Eventually his body adapted to the exertion levels required and he lasted longer and longer before he blew.