10 Tips for Junior Racers

By PCG Elite Coach Mark Orton

Racing as a junior can be very rewarding, but it can also be very stressful. Here are some quick tips that will help aspiring junior racers keep enjoying the sport, and keep from burning out. 

•   Take school stress into account. Don't plan any big race events within a week on either side of finals, midterms, prom, homecoming, or anything else that may stress you out. Don't have a tough training week on any of those weeks either. If you can work it into your schedule, make those weeks your rest and recovery weeks. 

•   Try all kinds of disciplines. Give cyclocross, track, trials, bmx, mountain bike, road, or gravel a try. Different disciplines allow different strengths to shine. I’ve seen racers struggle to be an XC racer, then transition to Enduro and Downhill and excel! You’ll never know if you missed your calling if you haven't tried them all.

•   Have fun and don't take things too seriously. If you get too serious, and specialize in one thing too early, you will burn out. We ride bikes because it's fun, don't forget that! Even if you’re on a serious training plan with a dedicated coach, be sure to work social and fun rides into your plan. 

•   Play other sports and do other activities at least up until mid-way through high school, if not through college. A well rounded athlete is more attractive to college programs, and has developed a better sense of themselves, resulting in higher overall confidence levels.

•   Do well in school, take school seriously. Your biggest supporters are your parents, keep them happy and willing to support your sporting endeavors by keeping your grades up. Most of us won’t make a living on the bike, so keep your options open by keeping your grades up. Plus, cycling is expensive, so when you move out you’ll need a good job to pay for this sport!

•   Work with a coach that has experience with juniors and knows the differences between training juniors and training adults. Junior racers are not just small adults. When interviewing prospective coaches, ask questions about their training plans, ensure that they know the differences between coaching masters athletes and junior athletes. 

•   Junior females, learn about the female athlete triad. If you are a female racer, you need to know about this. A great place to start is femaleathletetriad.org. If you are working with a coach, this is something you need to make sure they are aware of as well.

•   Enjoy your success, and always strive to get better. Don't assume your success as a junior racer will automatically lead to success as you grow and progress. Differences in development create situations where there are imbalanced race fields. Junior racers each mature at different rates, so someone who may be underdeveloped this season, could have a growth spurt and be the most developed in the field next season.

•   Work skills and the fundamentals more than you think you need to. Skills can keep you and other racers safe. Skills can keep you out of trouble. Skills will help you win. No matter the discipline you race, having well rounded skills can pay dividends and get you out of a tricky situation. It can mean the difference between touching wheels and riding away, and touching wheels and causing a pile up in the peleton.

•   HAVE FUN!!! I can't say that enough, HAVE FUN!!!

Racing bikes is fun and rewarding. It will keep you in great shape, it teaches you lessons that you can apply to your everyday life, and it helps you develop into a responsible adult. However, if taken too seriously, too early, it can be a recipe for burn out. Using these tips will help you get the most out of your time on the bike, and add enjoyment to your training and racing.  

Preparing for the Main Event

Preparing for the Main Event

By PCG Elite Coach Jordan Whiley

Whether it's a national or state championship race, a multi-day epic ride, a grand fondo, or your first century, preparing to peak for your “A race” is a multi-faceted process that can last from 6 months to several years. Here are a five tips that can help you achieve peak performance on that big day!

Know Your Enemy

When I use the word “enemy,” I don't mean just your competition. Your enemy is anything that is an obstacle to you achieving your best, so consider every potential enemy and learn what you can. Pre-ride the course, or at least examine the profile and/or learn about the course from someone who has ridden it. Where could the race be won or lost? What will it take to succeed? Consider the weather and temperature conditions for the event and how that may impact what you wear, eat, and drink. Finally, learn about yourself. Are you your own worst enemy? What choices or mindsets need to be addressed and changed so that you can be at your best?

Set Goals, Objectives, & Benchmarks

Once your obstacles have been identified, you can set up goals, objectives, and benchmarks. Your goals are the general things you want to achieve, but they should be specific and measurable. For example, you might have a goal to “improve watts per kilogram at FTP.” Objectives represent specific accomplishments that help you reach a goal, and typically have completion dates. Using a previous example, you might set up two objectives that help improve w/kg - “lose 5kg by May” and “increase FTP by 20 watts.” Finally, benchmarks are how you measure your progress with your objectives, e.g. weekly weigh-ins and periodic FTP testing.

Specify Your Training

Training plans are essentially the “lessons and activities” you will do to achieve the objectives you have set. Working backwards from your event, plan the training and recovery you will do based on the specific demands of the event. Keep in mind that training isn't just workouts – it includes all aspects of preparing for the event, like strengthening mental skills, managing nutrition, acclimatizing to heat/altitude, or practicing taking a bottle at 25 mph, to name just a few. A good coach or nutritionist can help immensely with this process, since there are so many aspects of preparation to consider.

Include “Fatigue Weeks”

A recent article in Velonews discussed the concept of getting in a fully fatiguing week of training as preparation for an event. This is nothing new - I recall Hunter telling me 10 years ago, when we first met at a PCG training camp, that I would be flying 4 weeks after the camp – and he was right! These “fatigue weeks” consist of about 6-9 days of heavy volume and/or intensity, with a total TSS that is around 120-150% of normal weekly training. I recommend two of these before the main event. The first is 8 weeks prior, consisting primarily of high volume tempo riding, followed by a recovery week and two normal training weeks. The second happens at 4 weeks to go, and includes both volume and intensity. This is followed by a normal training week, and then a 2-week taper.

Taper, Taper, Taper

Based on a review of the available research on tapering[1]1, a 2-week exponential taper has been shown to be the most effective for achieving peak performance. An exponential taper is a progressive decrease in training volume from 100% to 40% over the course of the 2 weeks. While volume is decreased, workout frequency and intensity are maintained. Managing the taper can be one of the most psychologically challenging aspects of your preparation, but it is also one of the most important! Avoid giving in to either the fear that you are de-training or the desire to ride harder or longer because you feel so fresh.

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[1]     Bosquet, L., Montpetit, J., Arvisais, D., Mujika, I. Effects of tapering on performance: A meta-analysis. Med Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol 39, No. 8, pp. 1358-1365, 2007.

Crit Racing Tips 102 - Beyond the Basics

Crit Racing Tips 102 (Beyond the Basics)

By PCG Master Coach BJBasham

The Peaks Coaching Group are the leaders in training and racing with power, but even if you have tons of power, if you use it wastefully, you likely won’t get the results you hope for. When it comes to racing criteriums and circuit races, where you have to react quickly, and mistakes can mean the end of your day, being smart with where you use your matches can mean the difference between being in the race, and just fighting to survive.

I wanted to write an article about Criterium racing, and give some tips, but looking around, most of the tips like “get in a good warmup,” “line up early,” “stay up front,” etc. have pretty much been covered.

So I thought about the advice I give my riders beyond the basics

That’s a lot of sprints

Back in the 90s, I went to a race, and a friend of mine and I were sitting in the parking lot before the race. He gave me some great advice which now seems really logical and intuitive. In a race with 4 corners, and 20 laps, that can mean 80 sprints, not counting the sprint to the finish or primes etc.

That’s a lot of sprints.

I watch riders at every event stomping their way out of corners over and over again, until they just can’t do it anymore. But the most successful riders ride their bike like they would drive their car, shifting down going into turns, and then spinning up through the gears as the speed comes back up so they could save more of their matches for trying to win the race.  

The key to saving your matches in a race is to avoid the big peaks in power, and that includes not making huge acceleration out of the corners. Positioning plays a big part in this, but even if you are sitting right up in the top 10 all day, you can still be wasteful or inefficient with how you ride.  

This can take some thought and practice. Looking at the course before the race and even doing a couple of hot laps taking the turns at speed is a useful part of any warmup. But also doing workouts where you practice accelerating quickly on a lighter gear and working your way through the gears as your speed builds, can help you to know not just what it feels like, but might also might highlight parts of the equation such as leg speed, your gearing choices, or even how brake/shift levers are positioned, that might need to be improved or adjusted.

Race your strengths (if you are not a sprinter, don’t wait for the sprint)

Criteriums tend to be thought of as events tailor made for sprinters, but we have all seen crits won in other ways like a late race attack or even a jump from the gun. I once knew a rider who was not a good sprinter at all, but he got many of his upgrade points in criteriums. His trick was to lead out every finishing sprint so that he was at the front and the sprinters would have to get past him if they wanted to win. He knew that there was no way, with his power, he would be able to come around a good sprinter at full speed, but if he led out the sprint, he was likely to at least hold on to a top 10 spot at the finish if not actually win the race.

The point is that any rider can try to win a criterium with tactics that fit their specific strengths and weaknesses. A strong time trial rider might want to go for a long break away. An all-arounder might try to reduce the group that they have to fight it out with at the finish by launching attacks late in the race when the field starts to get tired. Even a strong sprinter might want to approach the finish of a specific race differently based on who they are racing against. Maybe a late attack in the final kilometer that catches faster sprinters off guard.

At your next crit, if you are not chomping at the bit for a bunch sprint, think about how you can go for the win in a way that suits you. If you are not a sprinter, don’t wait for the sprint.