At the end of the race season (for fun) I’ll be doing my first stage race. I will have had a month off after the ITU world tri champs to specialise. It has 3 stages, a 2.4km hilly prologue, and a 50km lumpy road stage on day one and then a 40km TT on day two.
It’s my first one and whilst I’m a relatively able TT’er I only would have a month to jump from being a sprint distance triathlete to doing this. If anyone has any advice on either physiologocal or tactical needs or past anedotes I’d like to hear them.
I was feeling about going all out for the prologue win rather than the GC. Do people do this ?
Can you climb & or sprint, and are there time bonuses? To do well on GC you’ll probably need to be near the pointy end of the prologue, esp since short stage races are decided by seconds. Go for the prologue, and then see where you stand after that. The race you are describing is a little wierd, actually. Not too many 3 day stage races have 2 individual TT stages.
It’s been designed to encorage more people into the sport plus includes realistic stage distances for weekend warriors.
I’m assuming the riders fall into 3 camps - those that know they are good but won’t do too much in the prologue, those who are lousy and will roll through the prologue, and those that aren’t certain and will go all out in the prologue. I’ll fall inot the last camp.
I’m heavy for a road racer (think Magnus Backstedt) so my options on stage 2 will be limited over lumpier terrain against the 70kg guys. I’d probably be inclined to use the prologue and the TT to gain time and the road stage to limit my losses…
Assuming this is at the Cat 4/5 level, or UK equivalent, because of the way you described it…
For the prologue and the TT warm up on a trainer very well. Be sweating when you roll to the line. On the TT, pace yourself well to finish strong. Do not blow up early on either one. That is the biggest danger.
On the road race, sit in the middle of the pack. Do not get in the wind. Do not go with a breakaway. Just sit in and if you feel like it go for the sprint in the last 200 meters. You want to wait for the absolute last moment to do anything. Let other people do the work and try to profit off it.
When I raced during a tri break, I was a strong cyclist and pictured myself in breaks and all that. That stuff does not happen at entry level racing. It is chaotic and without tactics. My very experienced friends finally sat me down one day after a few races and said very loudly, “Sit in, sprint the finish, get points and move up! Quit screwing around! Quit being an idiot” I did, I won some races, and moved up to race with more experienced people. The more experienced categories are much more fun to race in.
Anyone know of any similar stage races in the US (doable for newbie roadies), particularly the northeast?
There is basically no more stage racing for Cat 5s in the US. Last year USCF put in a field limit of 75 riders for combined Cat 4/5 fields (5 only fields have always been capped at 50). As a result pretty much all stage races only have a cat 4 (to keep fields in the 100 - 125 rider range, makes the race more economical), nothing for the 5s.
If you get your upgrade, Green Mountain (VT.) and Fitchburg-Longsjo (MA) are two awesome races. I raced Green Mountain 2 years ago and the Stage 3 Finish at the Top of Appalachian Gap is quite an experience.
From your description I’m assuming you’ve never raced before. For the most part road racing isn’t that much different from an aggressive group ride. It isn’t difficult to stick with the pack but, once you do get dropped, good luck on catching back up. Hills, or mountains where I live, truly separate the boys from the men. Don’t expect to be carried on the hills. If you’re climbing legs aren’t up to par, do lots of hill intervals (your competitors are).
Pay close attention to the front of the pack, if a strong rider breaks away, make sure all gaps are filled. If a weak rider breaks away, let him go. He’ll walking his bike home during the last 5 miles. Unlike group rides, you’ll get no breaks so eat and drink plenty during the ride; whatever you do don’t wait until you bonk to break open the GU.
Finally, save some legs for the final sprint. If you start sprinting too early you are going full bore for nothing. If you know good riders, especially smart riders, mimic what they do and don’t worry about beating them until the last quarter mile.
As far as the time trial, practice several runs at the same distance. Like others said, pace yourself but pace yourself fast – you don’t have to go far. If it is a turnaround course you’ll want to practice turning on your TT bike. Flying by the turnaround point at 27mph will kill your time.
Racing is as much mental as it is physical. Be smart and ride hard.
No I’m pretty competant in single stage racing and win or place locally relatively regulary. i just wondered if the approach was different when you race over several stages in a short timeframe. It’s interesting though that nobody mentioned recovery strategies here…
You’d think so but at this level it may not be too bad. The prologue is roughly 4 minutes long and going by my previous hill climbs tt’s (which i placed) is more about massive power expenditure for a short burst than a sustained, long power to weight issue. Boonen goes up the Koppenburg fine…
