Racing can interfere in a number of ways. A lot of folks back off their training for all racing because they want to do well in the races. That costs big time as you're always tapering and never building. Also the smarter you try to be in the race, the less you're working above tempo and the less you're building FTP. Racing can also leave you pretty worked over and encourage you to take more rest which can also hinder progress relative to steady training.wiredued said:I have heard a triathlete say racing can interfere with training and I have also heard from cyclists that racing can increase FTP. So are there certain races that are beneficial and other types of races that are not?
I like ya Blog Ray. But don't forget to paragraph - reading huge chunks of text without a break is hard work on the eyesrayhuang said:Its within your control to get a good workout in a race or not. if it is an A-priority race to you and you dont do a lick of work till the last mile and win, then that race was a success. But if the race is just for training and you sit in for the entire race and complain that racing is holding back your training then I dont think its racings fault (not attacking anyone in particular).
The saying "racing into shape" is true I think. Also, if the racing isnt hard enough for you, then cat-up or make the race. Roll off the front and TT for as long as you can or try bridging to a break thats up the road, attack every time a break gets caught, the list is endless.
Besides, and this is just me, but if your "training" then what are you training for if not racing (road or individual event)? Not to mention theres suprises in races that you simply cannot duplicate in training (tactical or efffort). I have set almost all my personal bests (power vs time) in races or in training after big blocks of hard races so for me it is definately improving my fitness.
Ahh-good point and thanks!!Ade Merckx said:I like ya Blog Ray. But don't forget to paragraph - reading huge chunks of text without a break is hard work on the eyes
best post yet! We train to win races dont we??? You can race every weekend if you want. It doesn't mean you have to taper for all your races! You can do a 5 hour ride on the saturday, race on the sunday and do another workout after the race if you have sat in and conserved your energy.grahamspringett said:Don't we train to race? Or am I missing something? If you don't train to race and do it to keep fit or whup the Saturday/Sunday bunches, why enter a race?
truth be told I think a lot of forum members don't actually race, but spend their time training alone, often indoors on a trainer, trying to improve their FTP so they can "move up" the Coggan chart and feel like they're getting somewhere.....fair play if it's what you like, but they're gonna have very different priorities to someone who rides 3 races a week.dm69 said:best post yet! We train to win races dont we??? The end goal should always be winning a race or races not to increase FTP...no one really cares what your FTP is when your "palmares" is blank. Funnily enough racing provides the best workout for racing, you cant get much more specific than that!
If all you do is train then you will be at a disadvantage with tactics, bike handling.
BullGod said:truth be told I think a lot of forum members don't actually race, but spend their time training alone, often indoors on a trainer, trying to improve their FTP so they can "move up" the Coggan chart and feel like they're getting somewhere.....
well - those "big numbers" on the flow seem to be getting me some good results in elite / Cat 1 Europe this season.....Squint said:Yeah, some of them even quote big FTP numbers from their Tacx Flow trainers and wonder why they are off the back at races.
Yep, or you can sit in and be cagey, stay sheltered and get one big windup and sprint per race. I used to live in northern California where we could race Tuesday crits, Wednesday track, Thursday crits, Friday Track and usually had a couple of choices for weekend races. I knew a lot of folks that tried to do way too many of the weekly race options and then wondered why they plateaued and their racing suffered across the board. Sure we train to race but racing isn't always the best training.grahamspringett said:It's often been said there's no training like racing. You can push yourself harder and further if it's a race. ...
I just did a 100km crit....is that too short? God I hope not I was cooked afterwards!Spunout said:So you've illustrated that sometimes racing is too easy. Also if you are racing crits: Crits are too short.
You could also combine racing and training. One of my teammates who lives in Belgium had a period where he did 3 hour rides in the morning, and then did kermesse races in the afternoon.Spunout said:You have the luxury of riding Kermesses I believe, these are not the short stay-together crits of North America alluded to in the others' posts.
If I could have a 100km training Kermesse once per week, I'd be all over it.
That would be the way to make it a good workout, but then why pay the entry fee and take the extra time to enter the race when I can ride 40 into the wind straight from my doorstep and get a good workout in the evening after work. The only time I'm going to pay the entry fee and take the time to travel to a race is when I want to compete and beat the others, or help a teammate do so.BullGod said:as far as racing to win vs racing as training is concerned - i don't entirely agree with you - in a relatively easy unimportant race I will go all out from the off, constantly attacking, riding solo, or just pulling the bunch into the wind at 40 just to make the most of the time and get a good workout.
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