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Can someone explain to me the need or even the benefit of pre riding (local) race courses for weeks before the event? A lot of my mates seem to be fixated with the need/desire to pre ride winter series, summer series and D2D courses at Thetford even though they know the venue like the back of their hands... and they are not alone. Loads of peeps seem to want to do it. Now I have nothing whatever against them getting out there and riding round and round but it isn't as if the courses are going to hold any technical surprises is it?
Is this a Suffolk/Norfolk thing or does it happen all over the country?
Before I get flamed, there is no implied criticism of anyone nor am I suggesting what they are doing is wrong, stupid or any other adverse interpretation or spin that anyone might like to imagine, I am really curious. My mates say it is so they can get to know the route and therefore be prepared for it but sadly it isn't as if any of the are going to win... well one of them might but he doesn't pre ride anyway. I just don't get it.
it happens all over the country, people pre and post riding race courses, i don't understand it either, maybe it's because they can pretend they're fast, whereas in the race......
Sometimes new bits of track are built and added for races , sometimes not . I have made the mistake on my first 2 races by doing a med/full speed practice lap .... just to die on the last lap of the race.
So now if im there 1-2 hours before kick off, i'll maybe cruise half a lap with the new bit added just to get a feel for it.
At the end of the day , unless you are a superfit elite rider and are looking for lines in conjunction with the weather wet/dry/frost/puddles/worn tracks .... the extra 30sec-1min it will take us (not pre riding) for the first lap will be made up with non pre riders fresher legs in the last.
But back to your original, if they are the exact laps you ride every week then really theres no point , but if its only an occasional track ... YES it definately makes a difference if you know whats around the corner, where to carry speed and with the day condition where the slippy bits are .
Can comment on day time races but when I have done the D2D, I found it very useful. I wouldn't want to drop into some bomb hole without some prior knowledge
I can understand it within 24 hours of the race, particularly if it's a big race or an unfamiliar course, but not for weeks before, that's just odd, and rarely at venues I know really well.
We tend to do it before the Bristol Bike Fest, seems odd to just do the bikefest course out of the 50 million possible configurations of the locals trails, especially if the weather is good and there are more interesting things about to ride, but it gets you in the mood for racing and gets the whole team together for a natter from wherever we've been hiding for the past few months.
That said we do 1 maybe 2 laps, in the week just before the event.
I never bother with 24 hour events, I'm going to ride it enough anyway.
A pre lap is vital imo if you know your going to be at the front of the race. If you do not know the course, then you don't know where that wee cheeky bit that isn't usually there is going to be. That would probably mean you were in the wrong gear and made an ar*e of it. (talking form experience).
Depends what you get out of the race imo. Going for win/podium then yes pre ride is necessary. Good day out, do aswell as possble but not all that bothered, then no.
If possible the day before for a couple of laps, but I wouldn't ride it weeks in advance!
Coz they are tryhards ;-0
Can comment on day time races but when I have done the D2D, I found it very useful. I wouldn't want to drop into some bomb hole without some prior knowledge
You'd be very unlikely to- the static queue of riders normally gives me enough warning.
I don't really see the point with longer races, but if I'm there in plenty of time it makes sense, again though, only if I think there's something I need to know about.
I'd do it maybe the day before if I didn't know the venue but people are doing it weeks ahead and practicing on it. While there may be one or two new bits added in (cut through the bracken) there aren't going to be any surprises in Thetford and tbh the bombholes aren't really that tough.
How do people know the Thetford courses in advance? I niaively thought that they changed every year and were taped out as late as poss.. well at least for the series
We do it at Hit the North to sell places. Try before you buy. 🙂
Preview rides for HtN 1.5 (rev 2.0) around Christmas!
Seems strange to me riding it for weeks in advance.
If you are a front runner or expect to be then i can understand doing a sighter lap on the day as the marking of the course might not be obvious in places and so could lose you time if you take a wrong turn, lots of people at this years Brighton Big Dog were asking for better signage on parts of the course but for the majority of people i would says its a waste of energy.
In thetford you can follow the freshly strimmed tracks if you want to see where the course is going.
BTW I always try to pre-ride a lap in XC races. If you can't ride easy for 25-30 minutes before a race without imparing your performance then something is wrong.
[quoteHow do people know the Thetford courses in advance?
It is a new course every year but the way it works is that Paul has a lot of help laying out the course and knowledge seeps out that way. He also does guided rides several weeks before presumably to gauge rider's reactions to the course and then it sort of goes viral.
Given the restrictions Paul operates under, there really isn't much choice about where to ride. If the rules and regs were a little more relaxed he might be able to extend the scope of his courses but as it is.....
something's seriously wrong with me then 🙂
I am rarely in time to pre ride once I have sorted the kids out for their race, had a massive moment where me and my arch rival in the local series nearly took each other out on a loose corner after a big ring blast the other week. Great fun, and doubt pre riding would have helped to be honest. 🙂
Did another race at Lotts wood and pre rode a tricky section 3 times without issue, then muffed it up on lap 2 of the race and hit a tree...
Its not worth it at the 12/24 hour races. You do enough laps as it is and there is rarely anything technical. I never pre-ride those course and I've done OK this year with this approach.
For short course races it's worth the effort but on the day, not weeks in advance.
Having set up a couple of courses, we always make changes to the circuit the day before anyway. You always see bits and go "we should put that in" or "that's not going to hold up" so riding it weeks before probably wont give you any advantage anyway.
Often wondered this at the Mayhem - why do people ride the course on Friday / Saturday morning???
I always take the view that:
a) I'll be seeing enough of the course over the next 24 hours, and;
b) I'll be expending enough energy over the next 24 hrs not to need a "bonus lap"
I've pre ridden a course if it's been very hilly.
Thetford though?! Course profile: _________________ 😉
[i]I don't really see the point with longer races, but if I'm there in plenty of time it makes sense, again though, only if I think there's something I need to know about. [/i]
Because even long courses might have a sneeky technical section, or something else that might catch you out.
Pre-riding is fine and normal, but pre-riding courses for weeks/months before an event does seem excessive. I guess if it allows you to go into a kind of auto-pilot mode and not worry about signs/navigation then thats helpful?