tararogue

Hi all!

I'm from Minneapolis and started riding track last year at the outdoor velodrome we have here (which is amazing and so much fun). This will be the first year I'm racing so I've joined a team (and I'm investing in my first ever bike, which is daunting - I have a budget of about 1k, and I think I'll likely go with an All-City Thunderdome).

I'm trying to get my body ready. I'm in decent shape and have been riding my trainer consistently over the winter, but I'm ready to kick things up a notch over the past two months and kick my own ass. Spin class seems to be helpful for me in the areas I need to work on - sprints, relaxing my shoulders and keeping my form in check. But I need strength training.

Has anyone done the British Cycling 8 week programme listed on their site? Any feedback?

Any other feedback is also always appreciated. Thanks!

carleton

How much time did you get on the track last year?

You probably shouldn't look to be in your best form on day-1 of your racing season. At DLV (when I raced) we called our normal weekly racing "training races" as they were meant to be training for bigger events later in the year (even though we kept score at the training races). The "bigger events" depend on what your goal is for the season, velodrome championships, state finals, regionals, nationals, world cup, world championships, or Olympics (yes, Olympians often race in local weekly races).

So, the dates of your "big events" are when you need to be in your top form. 8 weeks of focus training comes out to being only 2 or 3 training blocks which would be right at the beginning of an annual program.

If you don't have any goals in particular, maybe work on:

- Cleaning up your diet.
- Riding a few days/week to gain fitness and train your body.
- Gym 2-3 days a week on a basic complete body program (not just legs)
- Do the above for maybe 5 days/week with 2 days of rest somewhere.
- On the track, race as much as you can. Even races that you don't like. You are in it for experience, not trying to win everything. Learn from your teammates. Help your teammates. They should be able to teach you.

Also, have a look at this thread, if you haven't already: https://www.bikeforums.net/track-cyc...ack-racer.html

Lastly, asking for a specific training program via a message board is problematic for several reasons.

queerpunk

Welcome to the sport! The NSC track is filled with good people, a great community. It's a great place to learn and develop. I just left Minneapolis this past summer - racing at the NSC was my favorite part of living there for 6 years.

A few thoughts about your post: You may have 8 weeks until the start of the season, but you have another 12 weeks to train during the season. People tend to get stronger throughout the season as they get more races in their legs and develop. Think about the season as a long period during which to learn, improve, get faster, and learn lessons that you can apply next offseason.

You say you need strength training - how do you know? You might not. While a lot of track racers lift weights and train in the gym (it can be helpful to overcome weaknesses or limitations), it's not a necessary component of starting out.

You'll make the biggest gains by riding, racing, and working on hard efforts. Monday Night structured training at the NSC is a good opportunity to do hard, track-specific training.

tararogue

hey! I appreciate the helpful feedback! But this comment feels a little unnecessarily snide. This is a forum. I was looking for input and "feedback," not for an A to Z training regimen, just sharing ideas. Thanks!

tararogue

This is all immensely helpful. Thank you! Very good point about getting stronger as the season goes on. I've never done anything like this before and that provides some clarity.

My upper body could use some strengthening. My arms are spindly things that could just use a bit more strength. For now I'm strengthening up there around 1-2 days a week.

Sorry to hear you're leaving town! You're not going to Wisconsin, by any chance, are you?

carleton

Maybe it's not

My comment wasn't meant to be snide.

I've been on this forum for (jesus) over 11 years and just about every track season a new racer* asks for a training program.

*we were all newbies once. I did. I asked about training programs on Fixed Gear Fever when it was around.

Your post is asking about a training program to get you ready for the start of the season. You asked for reviews of the British Cycling program.

My last sentence falls squarely in your "any other feedback?" category. Maybe I was a little early with it. But, I'm sure you are wondering, "What should I do to train?" And asking a cycling forum how to be a better bike racer is like asking a soccer forum how to be a better soccer player. It's a big question with lots of answers and if you try to do what all of the people who answer say, you'll spin in circles (although track racing is all about spinning in circles...get it? Spinning cranks in a circular velodrome )

queerpunk

Nope, I moved to Philadelphia and now race at the T-Town Velodrome an hour or so north of there. But I left my heart in the NSC infield.

Gotcha about the arms. Yup, some upper body and core strength can really help cycling. I know some people who swear by planks.

As for your original question - I don't know the 8-week BC program, but I recall browsing it and thinking it looked decent. If you're new to bike racing, the things that have the greatest effect are regularity and intensity. So, it almost doesn't matter what the training plan is - as long as it has you riding regularly and going hard sometimes, you'll see gains. In fact, you might see *great* gains. Beginners are those that make the greatest leaps. It's later, when you start to plateau, that training plans get really in-depth and complicated and hit-or-miss.

tararogue

Ha! I get it.

Right on, dude. I totally get what you're saying. I guess I was asking a forum as opposed to an "expert" because I wanted feedback from people with various experiences, interest levels and backgrounds. I am totally okay with lots of answers, so I guess I wasn't looking to do what everyone suggested, but rather looking to dig in more on my own with any information or suggestions that were shared with me.

I am still absolutely petrified to race - cycling has always been my only sporting passion, and team sports and I have always made me feel quite inadequate. So, I'm just looking to educate myself with different perspectives to explore.

Oh, but to answer your question - I've only been riding for about 1 season. And that was leisurely, on my own, following an introductory clinic. I'll be retaking that clinic in May with my new team. I just feel like I have so much to learn, it can be a little overwhelming.

Thank you for this thoughtful response!

carleton

At this point, fitness will likely not be your limiting factor. Experience will be.

Your races in the beginner ranks will be won and lost by 10, 20, or 30s. Not 1s or less like in the higher ranks.

Usually, the guy/girl with the most (relative) experience wins.

Chances are, you are gonna do the silly things like we all did:

- Go out too hard too early...and die trying.
- Chase everyone that tries to break away...and die trying.
- Do the final sprint too early...and die trying.
- Follow the wrong wheel...and die trying.
- (see a pattern here?)

But that's OK. We all did it.

Your goal isn't to win races (winning is a bonus). Your goal is to get time in the saddle on the track and to gain the comfort that you are aware that you are lacking. It will come. You get the willies now when your ride at 22mph with someone on either side of you. In a few weeks, you'll be rolling at +30mph, full-gas and be totally comfortable.

In order to prepare, you can do basic fitness training so you don't get so gassed so early. Basically, build aerobic and anaerobic capacity that gets your heart rate up really high. Basically, interval training with proper recovery in-between.

Maybe get a heart rate monitor.

In my first season of racing where I raced everything, I noticed that my HR was pegged in every race.

1 minute heart rate recovery is a good training metric.

carleton

Further, I think monitoring one's HR is especially beneficial for new racers. Many don't know what it feels like to "burn a match" and what the consequences are. Your HR will let you know when a match got burned.

Then you have to recover on the bike and prepare to burn another one.

Your HR will tell this story.

Power can, too. But, power meters just show more detail. They show precisely how you burned the match. Your HR is about 10s behind the match being burned.

You can see your HR with any form of training (gym, running, treadmill, trainer, bike, etc...)

A lot of the training I got from really good coaches was around HR, not power meters (even though I owned a power meter).

Divebrian

Didn't think it was snide, just pointing out that there are many, many different variables. For instance, you started in the velodrome last year, but what previous bike experience do you have? Were/are you a Cat 3 or better roadie or expert level mountain biker? Do you do group rides currently? You said you had spindly arms, so starting a weight training program may not be the best for you right now. Remember, you can't do it all at once. By the way, you never mentioned what kind of racing you will be doing, endurance vs sprint has a totally different approach for seasoned racers. For beginners, quality bike time is one of the best things you can do....group rides at a higher tempo, solo rides with lots of jumps and flying 250's, 500's and kilos.

If you do points races, doing a group ride at 100+ rpm and being the asshat that always accelerates off the front (jumps) can be very useful. Not so useful for a sprinter. As said before, do lots of races with the mindset that you aren't going to win.....you're just going to watch, follow wheels, learn and finish with the group. Once you do that a few times and get comfortable, you can start thinking about your race strategy and ways to win.

tararogue

Wellllll, variables vs. problematic...yeah.

I'm a road cyclist. I mostly ride solo, so all of this is new for me. I do recognize that at times I'm totally trying to boil the ocean and learn all the things, when realistically I don't know what I don't know. I'm a cat. 5. I'm a baby duck who has a lot of passion and drive, and I'm just mostly curious about everything right now. I also know any expectations will be tossed out as soon as I start riding again.

Our team plans on doing a bunch of group rides together to get used to one another's riding style and to get more acquainted with riding with others. I'm definitely not focused on winning right now - I want to learn how to ride well and ride safely.

700wheel

Take a track certification class; that will jump you to cat. 4. At my local Velodrome cert class is two days and taught by an experienced rider who gives out lots of tips to new track riders. So check out you local velodromes for cert classes. Most tracks wont let you train or race as a cat.5.

tararogue

I've already taken it and I'm taking it again with my new team in May. I guess I didn't realize that jumped you to cat. 4?

carleton

Well, if you are a road cyclist, then track racing will likely be more sprinting than you may be accustomed to. Recall that a road "sprinter" (think: Mark Cavendish) is considered to be a track "enduro".

Maybe on your road rides, monitor your cadence. Many casual roadies grind around 80-90 RPM on their rides. On the track, your optimal gearing will put your cruising cadence at around 95-100 rpm and you will sprint (e.g. final lap of a race) at 120 or more rpm.

brawlo

My 2c worth is if you're a road rider, get out on the road and race, with a preference to crit racing. Also if you ride a bit on road, you will get the most out of riding with a bunch, and adding to that, a bunch that pushes your ability and has shorter 1.5-2hr rides. The shorter road rides allow the intensity to be increased and as you get better, then the intensity should encourage quicker recovery. You can also source trainer drills to aid recovery. One I was given was: 4min easy, 2min TT (90-100rpm hold hard enough to hurt, not hard enough to cook you), 4min easy, 4x 15sec flat out with 30s recovery. Rinse and repeat as many times as you want/can.

Strength, if you've got the time and the inclination, go at it. But remember it's not a must do and you can do some very high quality strength work on the bike.

Finally, spin classes...... be wary of them as a lot of spin type classes won't actually help you on the bike. Always have it in your head what you would actually do on a bike and try not to step outside of that. Spin classes are designed to get people fit by riding a bike. They are, as a general rule, not aimed at people that actually ride bikes.

Oh yeah, and have fun!

700wheel

Check out USA Cycling rule 1E4(a) for details.

theblackbullet

There is no need to worry! The track cycling is IMO the most supportive community when it comes to racing bikes. The fact that you get to spend one night a week all summer racing with the same people really drives that home. To put a cherry on top, when I visited NSC last June, it was clear that the culture of your track is on another level when it comes to positivity.

Muddlfuc

never forget leg speed.... Rollers are you friend, they will help you practice spinning at stupidly high cadences (i will often hit 135-140+ in a race and 220 on the rollers) while not bouncing around.
As a roadie 120 is considered stupid fast.

There are two schools of thought, push a monster gear and have a slow acceleration or push an easier gear and have the jump but limit your top end speed.

In the lower grades monster gears are not required and you'll just blow your knees out.



OH and there is no match for the tactics that only experience can give.

tararogue

you've all given me some stellar advice. It's super appreciated! I actually just bought my first set of rollers. Psyched to learn how to use 'em!

queerpunk

And this is one of the reasons I love track racing. You go for a night of racing and you get to race 3 times - and you get to watch 2 or 3 other fields each race 3 times. You see a range of experience and skill and speed, and you see the races play out RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. You've got smaller fields, so the narratives are more tight, less chaotic - X has a good sprint, Y has broken away, is Z fast enough to chase? You have lots of opportunities to learn.

carleton

+1

The education happens much faster on the track as opposed to crit racing for these very reasons.

- You get more chances per week to race.
- The race groups are smaller, so you have more of a chance to be a factor in a race (either solo or as a teammate)
- You get to watch others race and see every move (and bone-headed move) and learn from it.
- Lots of chatter in the infield discussing the races going on around them.
- A good race director will see every move, not just what happens during the home stretch (as with crits, MTB, or CX racing)
- A good race director will give admonishment immediately during the race via a bullhorn or just shouting. Everyone learns from it ("#62 Hold your line and wait for them to pass over you.").
- Because of the close quarters, bike handling is emphasized and the racers benefit even with riding other genres of cycling, they aren't afraid to be in close proximity with others...even on basic group rides.

Also:

- With less gear, new racers quickly realize that having a $10,000 bike isn't necessary to do well. No need to worry about, "Do I need the latest, greatest groupo?"


Maybe these are the reasons why people believe that track racing is a good incubator for top road cyclists. The younger riders learn a lot very quickly.

It's kinda like endgame training in chess where the board is setup in a way that simulates the end stages of a match and the player(s) perform the last handful of moves. The intuition comes from the familiarity with the situation. If you are put into that situation a lot, eventually you are comfortable doing well finishing the game/race. A 5 or 10 lap scratch race is often described as being like the last few laps of a crit...without the 30 minutes of posturing beforehand.

bitingduck

I always like to describe track racing as like road or crit racing with all the long boring parts removed.

In a points race you usually get to race anywhere from 4 to 10 times for the finish! It doesn't matter if you mess one up, there will be another sprint before you know it.

Miss & Out is all about position - you have to learn to be in the right place at the right time, where the meaning of that changes with the number of people left on the track.

Training your brain is just as important as training your body - I beat many, many people who were much stronger & faster than me because I did a better job being in the right place at the right time. If you're going to mass start race, it's best to have a coach who's racing oriented rather than strength/speed/fitness oriented. The best coaches I know essentially only use drills that simulate real race situations - it keeps you from developing bad habits and lets you map your training directly into what's happening in a race.

bitingduck

It stays with you forever...

I've started doing OrangeTheory for interval training to get some high end back (it's way closer than driving to Carson) and do core/upper body stuff that I would never ever bother to do on my own, but I use the bike instead of the treadmill to spare my knees. In the "rest" times I'm around 100 rpm and during the push and all-out will be 120-150 rpm. My girlfriend also occasionally uses the bike at OT, and she's always been a masher. She thinks she's spinning when she gets it to 90 rpm .

taras0000

This is a nugget that everyone should read, remember, and repeat whenever someone asks why they should race on the track. When it comes to road and crit racing, the meat of the race can eliminate a lot of riders based on fitness, physical traits (big guys and hills), or ability/skill (technical crit courses or downhills). Track racing is the great equalizer, allowing everyone to experience and improve their game when the hammer goes down. If your fitness is lacking, and you get dropped in a road race, the only thing you see is the sag wagon. In a track race, most race directors will allow you to get lapped twice as long as you aren't disrupting the race, which lets you gain a lot of experience when it comes to the later stages of a race.

As far as new racers, lower classes will often limit gearing, often allowing those with less experience to race along those with more fitness. Imagine someone with a couple years experience of riding wanting to learn to race. How long do you think they will stick with it or progress if they never see or participate in any real racing? If they are only stuck racing amongst other news, who may or may not know what they are doing? A newbie with some track skill and experience can hang in a road race well beyond what their fitness will allow strictly because they are smarter at riding in a pack.

If every new roadie got into track cycling, I think they would enjoy the whole of the road/crit/track experience much more.

Again, these are all things to remember and "pay forward" when you answer about the track. These are all very good nuggets of info