How to get the best start in your cycling race
by: John Cane
Posted on: Friday, January 4th, 2008 at 2:14 pm by: John Cane
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The start of a road race is usually slow and uneventful, but don’t let the fact that the first 5-10 miles rarely make the highlight reels lull you into thinking they are unimportant. By the time you reach the start line of a bicycle race you should have already have warmed up and have a working knowledge of the course. At a minimum, you should know the length of the course, number of laps, and where the major climbs are. If you are able, a pre-ride the day before or a quick car ride around the course can be invaluable. Use this information to develop a plan for the race that fits your riding style.
Getting warmed up ahead of time
Make sure you warm up before the race starts. All too often you see people whose plan for the first lap is simply to sit in and use the lap to warm up and get a feel for the course. This can work sometimes, but you will expend less energy if you know the course and are ready to race. In amateur road racing, the first few miles of the race are often the most confusing. Stronger riders are trying to move up, while weaker riders drift back and disrupt the pace on climbs and in corners. The field is sorting itself out. While this confusion can occasionally lead into a race-winning move, far more common is that inattentive riders will end up in wrecks or spend a lot of time and energy bridging small gaps in the field.
Don’t be too bold in the first lap of the race
Unless you plan on making an early break and staying away for the entire bicycle race, your basic plan for the first few miles should be to stay out of trouble, stay with the peleton, and burn as little energy as possible. In general it is a good idea to try to stay in the front half of the field, this will help you avoid the confusion at the back. Try to move up in the field a little as you approach corners and hills, and allow yourself to seek shelter further back in the pack where the course is less eventful. Being near the front for corners and descents will allow you to carry momentum and use less energy while riders near the back have to slow down to avoid riders in front of them and then chase as the field pulls back together.
Position in a bike race
Your position going into an early climb depends on your riding style. If you are a strong climber, you have the luxury of allowing yourself to hide a little deeper in the field on the run in. A steady pace will allow you to move up in the field as the pack stretches out. This leaves the tempo setting at the front to other riders and lets you sit back a little and not risk overexerting yourself at the front. Remember that there is usually not a prize at the top of the first climb, so getting there first only wastes energy and may cause you to waste even more by putting you out front all alone. A weak climber will need to make sure to be near the front early on the climb. This will allow them to drop back through the field slowly over the course of the climb without getting spit off the back. Again your primary goal for the early miles of the race is to use as little energy as possible without getting dropped. Breaks in the early miles of the race rarely hold so it is usually better to save your heroics for later in the race. Stay out of trouble and use pack positioning to allow you to ride steadily with the pace of the peleton.
