Relatively New Rider Looking for Advice on Racing

[MeMyselfAndI]

I was hoping to find some guidance on what to do in preparation for road racing. I don't know if it matters but I am female. I have been riding about a year and a half now and now have an opportunity to race with my university. I would love to talk with some of you 'out there' who have experience racing and wouldn't mind sharing some of your insight. Unfortunately most of the racers I have met here men and women alike have been put off by me I guess so I never ask them about the sport. I'm discovering that cycling can be very clicky? I've been doing training rides as much as time permits. I live in the midwest so the weather right now it getting nasty. I do have rollers and am slowly getting used to them. So.... any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Alex Simmons]

I was hoping to find some guidance on what to do in preparation for road racing. I don't know if it matters but I am female. I have been riding about a year and a half now and now have an opportunity to race with my university. I would love to talk with some of you 'out there' who have experience racing and wouldn't mind sharing some of your insight. Unfortunately most of the racers I have met here men and women alike have been put off by me I guess so I never ask them about the sport. I'm discovering that cycling can be very clicky? I've been doing training rides as much as time permits. I live in the midwest so the weather right now it getting nasty. I do have rollers and am slowly getting used to them. So.... any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Why are they put off? Cycling is in many ways a social sport.

It helps to work within a team, you can train together and get results together (as well as learn together). Otherwise, find a good racing club to join.

Enter plenty of races and learn through doing.

Get a coach.

Be prepared to ride lots but learn about how to train effectively.

Make sure you do plenty of work on your skills.

 

[Eden]

I am also a woman and I've been racing for 2 years now.
I got involved with a team before I ever did a mass start race - I did a hillclimb TT unattached, did well enough and found I liked it, so I looked into teams. It was quite near the end of the season so it was an easy decision to make. Riding with a team all winter long was a great way to prepare for pack racing and I know I would have been lost without the mentorship of our more experienced racers.

It sounds like you will be able to join your University team? That is a great first step. I would guess they have a training program for new riders and I would say definitely take advantage of any classes or clinics that they offer. If they have group training rides I'd say do as many of those as you can too. For most people, unless they are uncommonly strong their first season is really spent more learning how to ride in groups safely and race your bike rather than focusing on being fit enough to win. Things that are good to work on are paceline skills and cornering.

I won't disagree that cycling, like anything else can be cliqueish, but there are some explanations of why you may find team riders seem a bit standoffish. Cycling is very much a team oriented sport. If you approach it as an individual you may not find it to be completely friendly. Its also not uncommon for "unattached" riders to be treated with some suspicion, because no one knows how skilled they are. Pack racing puts your safety somewhat in the hands of others. We all like to know that the people around us know how to ride safely. The community is pretty small, so we tend to know most of the other team riders, but unattached riders....... sometimes they've never even really ridden in a group before and can be really scary to ride with. In the interest of keeping their own skin intact most people are watching the unattached riders pretty carefully and won't hesitate to tell them if they are doing something dangerous (we don't hesitate to tell team riders that they are doing something dangerous either - in fact often it will be your own teammate who tells you!). A lot of people react pretty negatively to this, but really its not personal!

To talk to more women who race I'd suggest checking out the forums at Team Estrogen http://forums.teamestrogen.com
There are a few of us who post regularly over there and just not many women who race on this board.

 

[MeMyselfAndI]

Why are they put off? Cycling is in many ways a social sport.

It helps to work within a team, you can train together and get results together (as well as learn together). Otherwise, find a good racing club to join.

Enter plenty of races and learn through doing.

Get a coach.

Be prepared to ride lots but learn about how to train effectively.

Make sure you do plenty of work on your skills.

I'm not exactly sure why this is, it may be exactly what Eden said below that the other riders were just 'leary' of my riding ability. I'm over trying to figure it out . I will have a coach next semester which will be January. Cold training weather, yeouch! I ride with a local club on a regular basis and the training rides I have been attending are part of that same club. When people are referring to skills, are they referring solely to bike handling? I'm told the rollers are supposed to help with this?

 

[daveryanwyoming]

.. When people are referring to skills, are they referring solely to bike handling? ...

Bike handling is the big one, both how you ride alone and also how you ride in a group. For instance, do you hold a steady line on the straights as well as through curves? Do you ride well on someone's wheel without letting gaps open up or stabbing at the brakes unecessarily? Do you pull through at even tempo with the group or rocket off the front when your turn comes breaking up the group's rythm? Do you stop pedaling when standing up or sitting down on short climbs thereby falling backwards into the front wheel of the rider behind you? Can you take a drink from your water bottle or feed yourself without swerving all over the road? Do you ride close enough to the wheel in front of you without dangerously overlapping a rider's rear wheel inviting a crash? Those are all basic safety and etiquette skills for group riding.

But there's also tactical riding skills. For instance being able to slide back into the front portion of a large group after taking a pull on the front or being able to quickly close a gap out of a fast criterium corner without expending too much energy. The list goes on and on, but safety skills are mandatory and tactical skills can easily make the difference between finishing with the front group or off the back by yourself.

The rollers can help you to learn to ride smoothly in a straight line, but you need to ride with others with good close pack riding skills to pick up the rest. A big one is learning to control your speed without excessive braking by always looking ahead to what the terrain and leaders are doing. Next to riding a squirrely line there's nothing that alieninates folks more than a rider who brakes out of nervousness and allows gaps to open up forcing riders to expend energy getting around you and to regain contact with the leaders.

I second the suggestion to join a racing club including perhaps your collegiate team. Intercollegiate racing has some very good beginner categories and can be a great stepping stone to sanctioned racing without being quite as serious at the lower levels.

Good luck,
Dave

 

[Frigo's Luggage]

Probably the best thing you can do is to find a team. Look for one that aims to develop new racers and possibly has other Cat 4 women. Most developmental teams actively look for new riders (particularly women). Also, try to find a team that has been around for a bit of time. Don't be afraid to ask plenty of questions. Most people remember what it is like to start racing and will be more than happy to help. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.