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Road Race Training and Racing Tips

A cycling road race is one of the purest forms of head-to-head competition there is.  It's a test of strength, cunning, endurance and a little bit of luck.  It's also one of the most rewarding aspects of riding a bicycle that you can find.  But what should you do if you want to start road racing?  Do you need to buy a fancy bike and spend your life training?  Or can you just pin on a number and take your chances?

Well, you can do either.

In this episode of the Tailwind Coaching Podcast, I'll teach you what the essential components of a road race training plan are.  You'll learn what different kinds of races are and what kind of training you need to handle the physical demands of a variety of road races.  I'll even give you some road race tips to help improve your odds of landing on the podium.

Are you ready to learn how to make the most out of your road race training?  If so, click through the jump and listen for tips on dominating your next road race.

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Criterium Training and Racing Tips

Call it a criterium, a crit, or a short circuit race.  Whatever you call it, it's a tough race for sure.  It's also one of the most common races on most racing calendars.  What makes it so tough to succeed at and what training do you need to perform well in these races?

In this episode of the Tailwind Coaching Podcast, I'll tell you how to build the perfect criterium training plan.  I'll show you what specific training needs to be included in your crit training plan to help you crush the field and hit the line first.  There are also a few tips, tricks and secrets to help you make the most out of your training and races.

So if you're ready to tune up your crit fitness, click through the jump and listen for tips on dominating your next criterium.

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Pinning On A Number Again – My Return To Racing Post Injury

Most of you are aware that I spent most of the last year on the sidelines after I crashed out of an early season race.  That day started like every other race I'd ever ridden.  I arrived early, checked in at registration, got help from my teammates with pinning on a number (37 it turned out), took an Instagram photo of it to share and then went about warming up.  Fast forward to a few weeks post surgery and my season was as shattered as my collarbone.

While waiting for my fractures to heal and my strength to return, I wondered how I would go about getting back in the pack.  I spent the rest of the year training solo to regain the fitness and form I had lost during recovery.  I jumped into numerous group rides in hopes of shaking my daemons.  In reality, I was hoping to be pinning on a number again soon.

I admittedly had a very hard time with those first group rides after getting back on the bike.  I got dropped on group rides with my teammates that I used to dominate.  My fitness was fine, I just wasn't holding the wheels I needed to be.  I wasn't comfortable getting in tight with a peloton, even if it was made of my own teammates.

I had lost my mojo.  And I wasn't sure how to get it back.

I had always found it easy to move through a pack of riders.  Find an empty spot and claim it.  Use your elbows to assert your claim to your little space in the group.  Don't be afraid to put your hand on someone else's hip and let them know you're there.  These are the things I not only taught fledgling racers, but the things I did every weekend after pinning on a number.

Now I was afraid to do them all.

As the winter wore on, I sat on my trainer and wondered how I was going to get back to racing a bike, an activity which I loved dearly but was now terrified of.

Then I hatched a plan…

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Post Workout Recovery Tips

Many of us enjoy riding hard: climbing steep grades, pushing huge gears on the flats and trying to put our riding buddies into difficulty at every opportunity.  But that desire, along with unusually strong work ethic possessed my most cyclists can be a doorway to damnation: overtraining can rear its ugly head.  The key to preventing overtraining, as well as seeing marked improvement may not be your workouts, but what you do in between them.

Check out the post recovery tips after the break and learn how to get stronger and faster by resting and recovering harder.
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The Pre Race Warmup

Have you ever arrived to a ride a few minutes later than you wanted and just jumped on your bike and rolled off with the group?  Do you remember how you felt?  I'd wager that you were probably feeling stiff, awkward and it took you a long time to actually warmup to where you were comfortable and powerful on the bike.

Knowing the consequences of “rolling cold” why do coaches and friends alike have to constantly remind each other to warm up before we ride?  We all know better, and we shouldn't have to be asked the question “why should we warm up before we race (or even ride).”

It's staggering how often I hear this, and it amazes me that people still haven't accepted that they need to warm up before they hit the road in order to have a good performance.  Even more amazing is the number of people who are under warming up, or not warming up to match the effort they are preparing for.

It's time to put a stop to this; we'll explore why we warm up, what it does for our body and then see an example warm up workout.

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