Road Race Prep Guide
Your Race-Day Guide for Road Bike Racing
Whether it’s traveling to the race, figuring your nutrition, planning your bike race strategy or just getting a good night of sleep away from home, there can be a lot of stress that comes along with your cycling race. Unfortunately, these outside stressors can distract you from the reason you’re there in the first place… the race!
It’s important to be prepared and have a plan for every aspect surrounding cycling racing. This will keep stress levels low and help you to focus on your event. Nothing is worse than getting to the road bike race and realizing you forgot something or don’t have what you need.
The last thing you want before a big event is a panic attack. This step-by-step guide will help ensure you have your road race prep dialed so you can focus on unleashing your cycling fitness in the race.
See Also: Peak Cycle Training
Driving to The Race
Most of your cycling events probably take place several hours away from where you live. It’s important to consider what time your race is to determine what time you need to leave. If you have an early morning start, it might be best to book a place to stay for the night. A good night’s sleep is important before a race and getting up at 3:00 AM to drive to your race might make things tougher than they need to be.
Always give yourself more time than you think you need to get to the race. I almost always find that despite my best efforts I’m running a little late! There are a lot of unforeseen circumstances that might slow you down in getting to the start line on time.
One common problem is finding where your race actually is and where to park. A lot of road racing might occur in remote areas or even in the middle of a big city. Finding parking can be tricky a lot of times. Sometimes if the parking area is full and you end up having to park really far away from race registration so give yourself some extra time.
And then there is… the bathroom stops.
The pre-race jitters can do some funky things to your bowels and multiple unexpected bathroom stops can eat up a lot of time. Not only that, but there are often Disney World sized queue lines to use the port-o-potty at the race. It’s not uncommon to wait 10-15 minutes just to use the restroom!
The last thing you want is to be scrambling at the last minute to get to the starting line on time. It can really take you out of your element and distract you from the race. Plan to get to your race at a minimum 90 minutes before your start time.
See Also: Criterium Training Plan
Warming Up For The Road Race
This is very individual depending on your race distance. The shorter and more intense your road bike race, the longer your warm up needs to be. The race is going to be hard from the start and you need to have the engine running hot before the race even begins.
A longer road race won’t require too much of a warm up. 10-15 minutes of spinning with a few digs should do the trick (see below for more details).
You also need to figure out if there will be roads to warm up on or if you need to bring a trainer. I prefer to warm up on the road if possible. Messing with a trainer is annoying!
See Also: How to Pace a Cycling Time Trial
TT or Crit Warm Up:
~20 minutes
Warm up in Zone 2 for the first 5-10 minutes. Then do a 6 minute progression. Start in Zone 3 for two mins, progress to Zone 4 for two minutes, then Zone 5 just above your FTP for the last two minutes. Spin easy for another couple minutes and then throw in two short 5-10 second sprints to get the neuromuscular system firing.
Long RR warm Up:
~10 minutes
Ride in Zone 2, throw in a couple short efforts as you like until the legs feel opened up. If you are going to full-send in the breakaway from the gun then consider using the TT or Crit warm-up. However, for a long road race we want to save as much energy as we can before the race so don’t do too long of a warm up.
As you do more and more races, you’ll really start to dial in how much warming up you need, for your style of racing. More warm up is better until you get the hang of this.
See Also: Gravel Racing & Training Tips
What to Eat Before The Race
You are only as good as your nutrition for the race. This is something a lot of newer riders don’t give enough thought to and experienced riders still mess up. You must have a detailed nutrition plan for before, during, and after your race.
After carb loading the day before, you need to have a good pre-race meal planned out. Don’t wing it and go for the McMuffin on the way to the race. Bring your own food.
If you’re driving and racing on the same day, you will need to pack something to eat before your road bike race and might need to eat in the car. Pick a portable carb-based meal to ensure you have the energy to sustain you for the race. Here are some pre-race portables that I have used often on the way to races
Overnight Oatmeal – Simple. Cook some oats the night before your race, throw in some nuts, raisins, some honey or agave syrup and you’re good to go!
Bagel or Sandwich – If you need to eat while driving, this is the way to go. Cream cheese or a PB & J will do the trick. If it’s a long race, I might eat 2 or 3 sandwiches and also some fruit.
Rice ‘n Beans – A world-renowned classic. No explanation needed!
Don’t forget to put on Lactigo before your race!! This will make a HUGE difference.
See Also: Polarized Training Guide for Cycling
What to Eat During The Race
This is also imperative. I can’t tell you how many races I messed up my nutrition during the race. Unfortunately I can’t go back in time and change it. Don’t make the same mistakes I did!
Road racing is very intense and you will be burning through a ton of glycogen. You must constantly top up the engine with carbs to keep the power coming.
Of course, your nutrition depends on the length of the event. A short criterium or time trial won’t require any exogenous carbohydrates, but for anything longer than 60 minutes you need to bring some carbs with you.
For road bike racing, we don’t take any chances with nutrition. It’s better to be slightly over-fueled than under-fueled. Target 100 grams of carbs PER HOUR of your race length. That’s a lot of carbs! A lot of times when the race gets intense we forget to fuel; we want to target the top-end of carb intake because it is very easy to end up below the target.
To figure out how long your race takes, divide the race length by your expected average speed. Multiply that by 100 to find your carb needs for the race. Bring everything you will need to eat with you to the cycling race.
To get in that amount of carbs can be a challenge. Liquid carbs in your bottles and gels are essential to meeting carb demands. Mix it with some solid food too if your race is long. Here is an example of what I might bring to a 3 hour road race:
3 bottles with 60 grams of carbs in each = 180g
I use maltodextrin and/or gatorade drink mix to save money, but there are some more “premium” brands out there.
4 gels = 80g of carbs
1 Clif bar = 40g of carbs
That comes out to 300g of carbs for the race! I’ll go through 1 bottle every hour and consume a gel or the clif bar every 20-30 mins.
Related Post: Best Food For Cycling
GET READY FOR RACING WITH OUR RACE PREP TRAINING PLAN
Nutrition For After The Race
If you are racing the next day, you also want to have a good cycling nutrition plan in place for after the race. The focus for after the race is on simple carbs and some protein. If you are racing the next day, I would not recommend you go for a pizza.
I will usually pack a recovery drink and some rice to eat right after the race. You don’t want to wait an hour before eating something after a race while you are trying to find a good restaurant.
It can also be hard to find a healthy restaurant that will provide the right recovery fuel. However, if you’re not racing the next day and want to reward yourself, now is the time for the fried chicken or pizza!
Driving Home From The Race
Regardless of how the race went, this is the time to be thankful for the blessing of being able to ride a bike! Put on some feel-good tunes and vibe the whole way home. Sing along if you so desire.
Post-Race Reflection
In the days following the race, take some time to reflect on your race. By asking these questions:
What am I most proud of?
What could I have done better?
What did I do right that will help me in future races?
Was there anything within my control that could have produced a better result?
Are there any weaknesses that I need to address to do better next time?
Did my training prepare me for the race?
Road Bike Race Training Program from EVOQ.BIKE
There is a hunger within every cyclist to maximize our full potential. Each of us has unique strengths that can be honed. We are all capable of doing things we never thought possible if we set our mind to it.
What are your strengths and weaknesses? How can you reach your full potential? What should your training look like to prepare you for your road racing goals?
It can be hard to know the answers to these questions. There are many nuances to road cycling training. Having an experienced cycling coach alongside you will help you on the path to success.
Whether you are a new racer, a veteran looking for an extra few percent to get that breakthrough performance, or seeking to break out of a plateau, the EVOQ.BIKE road cycling training program is right for you.
Do you want to reach the next level?
Learn more about our road cycling training offerings by clicking the link below!
See Also: Cycling Training for Beginners
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