How to find some speed!

Try doing intervals the theory ive always worked on is go faster than the required speed over a shorter distance for example in time trials i do 5 minute reps faster than i would do a 10 mile time trial which means my body is used to getting up to the speed this works because ive taken 5 minutes off my 10 mile tt pb in less than 6 months. My best advice is to do intervals and various other speed work then your body will eventually get used to riding at an increased speed

Thanks. I was thinking that also but I guess I have to figure out a training routine for it. One guy at the races told me to practice "spinning" when I ride. Guess that is the saem thing you are saying.

I guess I went into the race over confident. I used to race professional motocross and so I thought this would be easy based on my racing experience. Of course, I raced over 15 years ago. It is amazing how "race pace" is so much faster than just riding.

Future-pro said:

Try doing intervals the theory ive always worked on is go faster than the required speed over a shorter distance for example in time trials i do 5 minute reps faster than i would do a 10 mile time trial which means my body is used to getting up to the speed this works because ive taken 5 minutes off my 10 mile tt pb in less than 6 months. My best advice is to do intervals and various other speed work then your body will eventually get used to riding at an increased speed

race more...!

enjoy.

sooray02 said:

race more...!

enjoy.

train in groups as often as you can and practise racing with them as much as you can as well.

Our club only meets and trains once a week and we do the rest by ourselves, but on club day we warm up for 30 minutes then we race for 30 minutes. It's ot much but we can do ore after if we like. The heart knows it's going to race at least once a week... Once a week at race speed. It shows you if you're getting faster or slower and if you need to do more work by yourself mid-week.

I struggled last week and got dropped and then did some long slow rides during the week. This week I lead from start to finish over 18kms on a long flat course. Felt good.

A lot of it is mental and determination...

dkolonia said:

Thanks. I was thinking that also but I guess I have to figure out a training routine for it. One guy at the races told me to practice "spinning" when I ride. Guess that is the saem thing you are saying.

I guess I went into the race over confident. I used to race professional motocross and so I thought this would be easy based on my racing experience. Of course, I raced over 15 years ago. It is amazing how "race pace" is so much faster than just riding.

Spinning is pedaling at higher rpms with less exertion.

Another HUGE part of racing (unlike in MX, which I also do) is drafting. Ride with others and learn this technique.

On my first race day (with a similar background to yours), I pulled a 4th and a 2nd. Because I was well conditioned....NO! I was/am reasonably fit but I had a strategy and followed it. Stayed with the lead pack (between 5th and 10th), drafted virtually the entire race, and gave it all I had at the end. No primes, no chasing down 1 or 2 rider breakaways, just steady and consistant.😄

Here's a video I put together of it. Notice at the first of the video how disorganized and broken up most of the pack is at the rear. Most of those guys got pulled. Also notice how tight the front pack is, that's how you want to be, and to do that you'll need to be comfortable with your handling skills so find a club to ride with and that will also help you greatly.
media.putfile.comSwiss Crit RaceOpen ↗

Good luck,
Steve

dkolonia said:

I can ride for 2-3 hours at a good pace and can handle hills well

You have to ride with others at least once a week (maybe more). It's trivial to tick off the kilometres by yourself because you're in control. Ride with others and you have to go hard when you're not expecting it (which is exactly what happens in racing but at a higher intensity).

One of my riding partners and I do a lot of fartlek (speed play)... essentially we ride along until one of us pushes the pace on a hill... after 10 or 20m we're out of the saddle and sprinting for the top 🙂 It's all unspoken and a lot of fun.

Do interval training (google it and search this forum and you will come up with dozens of examples, then work on them and figure out what is good for you).

And race, race, race, and then race some more. 🙂 Jokes aside, it is the best way to learn how to ride in an aggressive group and to get the speed you need.

Above all, have fun!

SteveAZ said:

Here's a video I put together of it. .
media.putfile.comSwiss Crit RaceOpen ↗

Steve

Ehm, OT!

Hey Steve, checked out your video. Cool and well done. Could you tell us (maybe in another thread) how you did the video (equipment, placement on bike, etc).

Thanks!