Dropping out in races..how to stop doing it

JAPANic

A few thoughts from a beginner...

I've been in 5 races now, and got dropped in 3 of them.
The 3 I got dropped in, were the ones that I didn't warm up in properly.

1)
It is very hard to stick with a surging peloton if you're not warmed up.

2)
Knowing the course inside out helps too. Knowing where you get tired, and resting as best as possible before hitting the hard bits. ie. drafting as much as possible before the tough sections and then drafting some more.

3)
Finding somebody to follow who rides like you do to follow. Same leg spin speed, body build (bigger if possible). Keeping your eye on other riders in the pack who you can leap frog with.

4)
The race is won in the last second. Save every ounce of energy till you are the 1st person to cross the line.

The laziest person can win a race....

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wilier girl

Great reply EoinC. I will remember that when my legs are screaming, the bunch has long gone and I want to stop. Quitters are not winners. Just crossing that line sometimes IS winning

Gonzo21

Ahh, so that would explain the woman in a bikini on Cipo's stem; I always wondered about that!

If you want to train yourslef then those days when the end of a training ride is going really badly (headwinds, bonked, large climb ahead) is the closest you will get. Just keep on pulling in the right HR zones on them and you will learn to override your 'I can't be arsed anymore' attitude!

The current training that I am doing to improve my pain threshold is to find the biggest, nastiest hill around (11% for a mile here in Bath), stand up and chase busses up the hill. It hurts like hell, but the fact that the bus stops 3-4 times up the hill (and it is usually containing several very nice looking uni girls!) begins to make me forget the pain.

Oh and one last point, If things are going badly I try to visualise the car behind me (or spectators or a circuit) as being talent scouts. They don't care ow badly you are feeling, if you aren't performing then they lose interest in you.

So far, most of this lot has worked for me, unfortunately I think I may have cracked my frame from powering up that hill repeatedly

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Blackie

All great replies and an important subject. Particularly agree with EoinC.

I raced today in a crit; like a prat only warmed up for 5min and so found myself blown out after 10min of racing into savage winds with legs completely full of lactic acid. Quit. Very angry with myself-had been placing earlier in bunch sprints. So...warmed up for an hour and rode the next race, a tougher race which included elites. Couldn't hold the pace for long, but used it as a good training session - am focussing on a stage race in a few weeks. Stronger rides than me quit. Morale of the story..., guess you got to respect yourself and do your best.

EoinC

You're on track there, Blackie. Stage races offer more chances for attrition (and more chances of recovery). If you stay until the end, you WILL see stronger riders pull out along the way. Without being a rocket, you can find yourself well up in the placings simply because other better-placed riders DNF'd (usually with some dummy-spitting and whines about how the whole world has conspired against them).
In a stage race, you have the opportunity to recover from the times when you are down. If you get dropped, just start riding your own race. The next day you get to start again and a 50th place is a better starting point than watching the newly-elevated 50th place from the sidelines after a DNF.
Later in life when you look back at the races you rode, the 50th place will be a happier memory than the DNF. A C-Grader getting last place finishes higher than an A-Grader who has pulled out.

Remember to have fun.

Eoin

Cryder

I used to tend to get into too much trouble too early. I would get all worked up to be a hammerhead and spend all my quarters before the real moves were handed out...

Just a tip: Listen to calming music before the race to help you get focused. Avoid distractions and chit chat until you get it dialed. Try and predict where your trouble spots will be, and anticipate the appropriate action. Also, write down what your goal is before the race. A little accountability goes a long way to creating measurable results.

When the hammer does drop, try to resist the urge to just let go. Relize that it is a decision. If you demand of yourself to make that decision after you have made it through the last possilbe crunch, chances are you will be more then happy to keep going. If the decision is made for you, you wont have to wrestle with the guilt of not doing well because you did all you could with what you had.

Ultimately, you get out what you put in. Some of the best riders I have ever raced against were so tough not because of brilliant riding, but because they had a great batting average and a never say die outlook.

- n -

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EoinC

That's one to watch out for. Unless it's a flat-out short race, give yourself time to settle in. If someone else wants to bust a gut from the start, let them. Once you've settled in, you can take note of what's happening around you and, when you're ready, take control of the situation. 10 minutes of riding at max at the start is going to play against you further down the road - and probably at a time when you can least afford it.
Until you are at a level where you can ride off the front, use the energy-saving benefits of riding in the bunch to knock the miles out.
Eoin C

wardie2000

Reply to Gonzo 21,

I noticed it said you live in bath. which is the hill that you use?
is it the A46?

If it is that is a nasty drag!

Chris

stone61cm

If you quit once, you will always have the option in your mind.

You must get into the mindset that no matter how crap lousy you're doing, no matter how far ahead the leaders are, no matter if the race is goddamn over, you cannot quit. If you quit, you will always look back on that day and get pissed. If you finish, you'll look back with a sense of pride knowing that you finished, that you told your brain to shut the hell up and you did what needed to be done.

This is not a sport of wants, it's a sport of doings. If you do what you want to do, you'll pull out more often than not. In this sport, you do what you have to do, you do what you must do, you mash those fukin pedals for as long as you can, and when you feel like you can't go any farther, you fukin win the race.

Take this any way you want it. I haven't yet had my first cycling race, but I have run cross country for many years. I started out where i'd walk here and there but one day I looked back and got seriously pissed at myself. Since then, I've never stopped or coasted in any race I've done.

You have to learn to love the pain and use it. When that rush of lactic acid hits your calves and quads, use it. Get angry. Get so furious that you forget about quitting.

Like I said, quit and you'll never forgive yourself.

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nedflanders

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Nicko71
[B]I've got into a bit of a habit of dropping out in big races. I race well quite often, but sometimes I just seem to lose concentration or something.

Something might tick me off during a race, ie someone backing me off, or something that goes against me, and I seem to all of a sudden think - stuff it I've had enough. This happens even when I know my legs can do it. For some reason my mind just gives up.

How do other people remain focsued in races, and shut down those urges to stop?

I was gutted today, I did what was a pretty lame pull out!!

It was especially annoying because the bunch really slowed only minutes after I pulled out.

How can I make my legs over-ride the power of my mind??

Its easy, stop being a pussy b/c if you are bike racing is not for you. Thats pretty much the whole point.

Gonzo21

No, Bathwick!
I found this about it somewhere:
'There is a continuous gradient between 8% and 10% for nearly 2km up Bathwick Hill.'
Only thing is that one of the signposts says 11% so I'm not sure but hey!

And today I remembered this thread as I was racing and stood no chance of winning so with three laps to go I carried on riding and held off a bunch behind me!

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wardie2000

Bathwick then, thats 'near' bath?

i may have to ride down there sometime to check out this hill.

it could be very good for some training.

thanks

JAPANic

I often get dropped early in our Sunday 12km sprint back home after a 30 minute slow warm-up ride....of also 12km....

The leaders just break away early (first 2 kms) and my thighs feel like exploding before I get my wind and I just slow up and lose them.

The last 2 weeks I've gone straight to the lead and tried to stay there at my pace. I don't want the faster guys to get in front of me until my legs are ready. When I feel like I'm doing too much pulling I let a few of them get in front of me.....

I've been able to stick with them till the 10km mark now.....

Learning how to control the other riders may also be a good way of sticking with the groups. Knowing when to pull away a bit to make them feel like you are in better shape than them, not letting them see your face unless you can fake a little 'this is easy'.....

One of the other guys who is faster than me pulled up beside me on Sunday and he was panting like he was about to die.....

I felt fine, but he beat me home in the sprint....

Possibly his panting was to make me think I was going to beat him easily..... as he soon pulled away from me & I couldn't get him back.....

What I want to do though is have my legs ready from the start....is there a way of trining them to sprint from the start and not feel like they are exploding?

I'll just have to train like that more often I guess....

Another thing I've been doing once a week on the roller is warming up for 15 minutes then holding 40kms an hour for first 5 minutes, then cooling down....I add 1 minute each week to the 40km speed (up to 9 now) and hopefully my body will be expecting to go harder by an extra minute and start building up extra energy for the extra work I keep throwing in there.... this is on top of slow rides, long rides & interval training on the other days.....

No hills near me and I think working out in the hills is the only thing that is going to make me a contender..... Will have to move....

roundsquare1

I have a similar situation but it's a bit different.

I usually have the mental ability, but my legs or lungs don't respond.

I have been racing 3 years now, this past off season finally got a proper base. I have been working on speed work and high end endurance.

I race mostly crits and I find the ones that are all sprint out of the corner slow, sprint, slow, prime, sprint, slow sprint, usually cooks me and I have a hard time being there at the end.

Last week I felt fried before I even started, never found my groove but suffered through it until I was a drooling mess.

I started doing some much harder riding, with some interval training.

I have a few races coming up and would like NOT to have my ass handed to me again.

Larry