Soooo, I am doing my first closed road race this weekend. It’s 45 mins +2 laps. What the Geoff should I do for hydration/nutrition?? Should I just neck a bottle of High 5 4:1 before the race and maybe a gel? or should I carry a bottle? I haven’t a blimming clue TBH. I just entered it as it seemed like a good idea at the time 🙂

Cheers

Where is it?
Anything under an hour doesn’t require liquids.

I’d take a bottle personally, even if only half full, unless it’s a crit you should have plenty of chances to drink and it’s not going to slow you down.

Agreed, nothing worse than feeling thirsty.

Sounds like a crit – I’d take a bottle but as above it’ll be psycological more than anything.

Main thing: make sure you’re generally well rested/fed/hydrated before the race.

Haven’t raced road myself yet, but from what I’ve been told by club mates who race is that at this stage of the season it is incredibly fast. Much more so than at the start of the season.

I wouldn’t put a bottle on the bike for anything less than an hour crit or cross .. just be well hydrated when you start.. it’ll be over before you could realise you are thirsty and need a drink.

I did my first crit earlier this year (30mins and 5 laps). I was working so hard that despite carrying a bottle of water with me, i didn’t manage to get more than a mouthful in….from that, plus doing a 10 TT where I didn’t take any water with me, I concluded that (if properly hydrated / fed beforehand) I can survive under an hour with thirst/dry mouth (but i don’t particularly like it). That said, I ran out of water with 20km still to go in my road race on Sunday which wasn’t nice at all.

The one thing I did feel I was missing was an instant energy boost as (at the time) I wasn’t used to a hard effort late on in the day. I think for next year, I’ll have a coffee before it, or an energy gel.

Oh, and expect it to be really fast – i noticed a huge difference in speed from early in the season to the weekends race 😯

I wouldn’t put a bottle on the bike for anything less than an hour crit or cross .. just be well hydrated when you start.. it’ll be over before you could realise you are thirsty and need a drink.

Surely it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it?

Put at least half bottle of plain water on your bike. You might not need it, but it’s there if you do and it won’t slow you down.

Nothing worse than swallowing a fly or something and no water.

Plus you can pour it over yourself if you’re too hot.
You can theatrically throw it to the floor in an act.
You can throw it.
You can give it to a fan! 😉

Good luck in your race.

SB

Surely it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it?

<– this

For crits I have a half bottle of something sweet like flat coke, very rarely finish it but even a few gulps can feel refreshing.

I did my first crit recently (doing it again tonight) and I think I fuelled just right. I ate 2hrs before the event, drank 80g solution of PSP22 in the hour before the race/during warm-up and had half a bottle with a High5 tablet in it for the race.

What some have said is right, you don’t *need* fluid onboard for the race, but it’s nice to have and if you use an electrolite, you’ll recover better.

The most important advice I can give is to not think of it as a 45 minute event, think of it as 1.5hrs starting 45mins before the bell.

45mins will give you ample time for a good warmup – do 20mins gentle spinning then 3min race-pace sprints with 3-5mins recoveries in between.

And finally, NOTHING will prepare you for the pace of crits at this time of year! Sorry pal, but they’re **** brutal!!!

Good luck!

I don’t bother with fluids for crits, I tend to find the adrenaline and hussle and bustle keep me more than engaged. Well hydrated and a viper boost bar 20 mins before set me up. If you are unsure just take a bottle with some fluid in it.

I’m in the you probably won’t need it camp, but a half filled 500ml bottle won’t hurt. Though TBH I’ve only managed to drink during a crit when I’ve gone out the back.
Erm what else? I’ve been watching my club members racing their first Crits on Thursday nights and they’re all finishing in the main bunch, even got two points in one race.
Usuall patern is, two riders go off on lap two, then fade and die. Race forms into an orderly bunch staying together for most of the race. Then an on form 3rd cat or two makes a successful break to take the win.
Fitness, finesse and knowing what to expect seems to get you through the day.
Regards aPs comment we both race cross and bottles are not even allowed on course.

Edit, they might be a bit faster this time of year, but as it seems to be raining everywhere that’ll level the playing field a bit.

BTW you haven’t said where?

oldgit – re bottles in cross, that’s not entirely true – you aren’t allow to have a bottle handed up, but if you go into the pits to change bikes you can take a bottle with the replacement bike.

you aren’t allow to have a bottle handed up

just to be a pedant, you are if it is hot enough, 25degrees IRC

Cheers guys.

It’s at Barkston Heath. I will keep a bottle on the bike, as I sweat like a sweaty thing.

pedant back atcha 😛

5.1.038 A rider may only take the pit lane to change his bicycle or a wheel.
In the event of warm weather conditions (above 20 °C) the commissaires’ panel may decide to allow feeding in the pit lane. Under those conditions, feeding is not allowed during the first 2 and the last 2 laps.
(text modified on 1.09.04; 1.07.10)

How did you get on in the race Monkeychild?