Thread: First Mtn Bike Race

I've signed up for my first mountain bike race - a non technical hill climb in June. I'm in good shape from running, lifting, etc and I've been riding a lot the last month (spinning at the gym too). So...fitness level is good but what else do I need to think about/prepare for when racing a non technical course?

What are some good resources to learn about training methods? I have history of training for running so I'm familiar w/ the concepts of interval and tempo training. Does that cross over to biking?

Is there racing etiquette that I might not be aware of?

Any other tips or insight?

Again, feel free to direct me to any resources that would be helpful. Thanks.

Try MTBR.com; good resource for biking.

You should do some threshold workouts if you havent already...and since you are doing a hillclimb, might be a good idea to get some hill repeat workouts under your belt before the race.

will this race be a mass start or an individual time trial format?

Sounds like you might be talking about the Winter Park race?

This will be a timed start and since I'm a beginner female, I don't anticipate a ton of riders (maybe 25?) starting with me. And yes, this is the Winter Park. So I guess it's not "mass start" but it's not individual either.

My advice: don't do it. Racing sucks.




Seriously, everyone's training needs are different. As far as race day, don't show up tired....rest and stretch for a few days prior to the race. You aren't going to get any faster by hammering training rides 3 days before a race.

Also, warming up on race day is huge. HUGE. Warm up alot, and get your heart rate up into the 85-90 percent of max range before the race a few times, then recover before the gun goes off.

But I still say don't do it.

Congrats on stepping up and registering for your first race - that's the hardest part IMHO! Be careful though, once you've raced, (if you're like me that is), you'll be hooked and your summers filled with bike racing chaos.

Good luck! And don't put too much pressure on yourself, just have fun. (Like I'm one to talk, I got so pissed in my second race - first season last summer btw - that I taught a bunch of CHILDREN watching, a LARGE number of new vocabulary words....oops )

The Winter Park HC is about 40 min of brutal climbing (beginner times will probably be around an hour). This race requires no technical skills, only brute force--it's all on fire roads. 25 would be the largest women's beginner race ever--I would count on about 10 woman in the race.

Racing etiquette comes in when you have singletrack involved. For this race don't worry about it--people will be able to pass if they want, and you should be one of the last groups to go anyway. Don't let people intimidate you if they are trying to pass--you're in the race too.

Are you doing other races, or just this one? I'm not partial to HCs, and I think there are many other races that are much more fun (Tipperary Creek--another WP race is awesome). If you're doing the series, you'll learn a lot along the way, and everyone else in your race will be in the same boat. No one who has raced before will be in the beginner class. Most of the time you can move to sport pretty quickly.

As far as training goes...do you have a road bike? I would get some base miles in on that, then start throwing in anaerobic workouts. Or, if you love to mt bike, just do that. Go out and ride HARD a few days a week. Structured training sucks the fun out after awhile in my opinion.

Anyway...good luck...and have fun!