andre nickatina

This is for all the self-professed sprinters out there: yes, I'm looking at you, carpediemracing et al. The people who crave nothing more than being in the top 10 on the last lap of a crit for the chaos and excitement of a mass sprint.

What are your plans? What are you focusing on?

I'm going to start lifting weights again January for at least a good 10 weeks, tapering off legs before a few road races but continuing with arms/core through. Squats/leg presses/lunges are my bread and butter for legs, and maybe step ups or power cleans this year too. Going to do the early season road races to test out my fitness and see if I can scrounge any top 10's/upgrade points. Then take a break in racing before crit/track season starts getting good, and focus on the intervals/sprint training with some LT/VO2 work thrown in as well.

One of my favorite intervals is for the points race on the track but works fine on the road for crits too - it's basically back-to-back sprints with incomplete recovery between - so on a track, that would translate to 4 laps of moderate pace followed by 1 of 90-100% effort sprint, then 4 more laps of moderate pace and repeat the sprint, for whatever total you want to do before having a full recovery spin then repeating the set. On the road, that'd mean 1 200m after riding a kilometer. This will teach you to HTFU and recover faster between chasing a guy down in a crit, or sprint for a prime lap with gas left for the final sprint.

carpediemracing 

heh. Since I'm listed by name I'll reply

For 2010 I want to race lighter, more aero, on a bike that fits better. The speed follows.

Race lighter: I've been dieting, even through the various holidays, and am 20 lbs lighter than my "best" racing weight (since 2002 or so), 30 to 45 lbs lighter than my "haven't been training too hard" weight. This will help deal with any elevation changes in a race, and there are very few flat races in NY/CT/MA.

More aero: I want to have a better position on the bike. I've ordered a custom frame that I hope will let me stretch out a bit more. When I look down, not only is the hub not obscured (a kinda mythical fit measure but a relatively high correlation one), I can see the whole hub and the brake pad mounting bolts. My new frame should be 5 cm longer (+3 cm top tube, +2 cm due to steeper angle), 1.5-2.0 cm shorter headtube (9.5 cm vs 11.5).

I'm also looking to go to deeper wheels, 60mm or so (vs 46s).

I have a fantasy that when I get my frame I'll buy an aero seat post. Not major, I know, but I look in the mirror when I ride the trainer and it just seems ridiculous to have that big fat post in the air (and I've moved from a 31.6 to a 27.2 for partially that reason).

Fit: See above. To state it in a "wtf?" kind of way, I've ordered a 40 cm c-t, 56.5 cm tt, 75.5 deg seat tube frameset. I am dying to ride the thing. Yesterday, after 2 hours on the bike, I ended up on the drops, trying to get low, trying to stretch out my back. When I get tired, that's what I do - I want a flat back (i.e. as flat as possible), stretched out, and that's for comfort. It feels uncomfortable to try and hold my body up.

As far as training... I don't think I've broken 1000 watts since some ride outside a month or so ago (I'll go and do some big jumps here in FL though). I generally ride about 150-180 watts avg.

Slight lifting for upper body, mainly to maintain muscle around the shoulder area to protect the delicate bones there. No leg lifting, can't deal with it (knees hurt quickly).

I should point out that right now I'm on 175s to optimize my power for Bethel's finishing hill.

At end of Jan I'll be in SoCal for my second training camp, I'll be riding harder, longer, and be working on my jump and sprint. I should have the frame when I get to SoCal, first day will be spent building up and testing the bike.

At end of Feb I want to repeat my SoCal type training, but I don't know where it'll happen. It may happen in my basement, in SoCal, in FL, I have no idea. Looking for a warm weather home base, if anyone is offering

After the Bethel Spring Series ends April 18, I'll be putting 170s back on my bike in prep for track racing in May. Then I'll work on leg speed (rollers) and see how it goes at the track.

cdr

CrimsonKarter21

Nevermind. Damn new laptop took me to the wrong post.

WR3K

just out of curiosity op, do you have a job, or are you a student? what do you do.

i want to have as much free time as you

Brian Ratliff

We don't have many crits in Oregon. I'm working on getting to the finish. Lose weight and increase power at threshold.

caloso

I'm not really a sprinter but I'd like to be one. I'm going to try and lose those final 5 pounds, do lots more intervals (tabatas and 1 min on/off), and experiment with some plyometrics like box drills.

gsteinb

Threshold work. My next sprint will be at the end of my first race.

andre nickatina

College student currently on winter break. I also work part-time (~20 hours a week) during the school year.

I get lots of riding hours in on the weekends with group rides, then try to arrange my class schedule so I can ride a lot in the morning on a few weekdays, have class in the afternoon and work in the evenings.

andre nickatina

Huh? Summer time is crit season in Oregon...

I guess if you stay in just Portland metro area, you can do 2-4 a month but if you also do the weekly track series', PIR and/or Tabor series, that's more than plenty.

MDcatV

this is what every sprinter I know is doing. I can think of a couple who didnt do this previously, then when they did, they improved to new levels that they never thought possible. A friend of mine who is now a 1 went from a sprint or nothing to a guy who initiates and drives breaks then still has a 1400W sprint at the end of a crit by focusing on threshold development, i.e. working on getting to the finish.

fordfasterr

CDR, a little imagery of the flat back idea in progress.. I found it to be quite helpful overall.

sprint_1.jpgup_a_baby_hill.jpglazy_legs.jpgsprint_throw_1.jpgff_2009_up_front.jpgff_finale_1.jpgff_finale_5.jpg

caloso

I did one of the PIR races last summer while we were up in PDX visiting family. Pristine pavement, good hard safe racing. I'd do that every Monday night if I lived up there.

Brian Ratliff

Safe? Hardly. There are more crashes at PIR than all other race venues combined. The master's are marginally safer, but still, a lot of guys who don't have any business being at the front of the sprint think they have a chance merely because it's wide and easy to move up. Combine that with the fact that there aren't a lot of people or teams willing or able to lead out the final mile to keep things strung out means that there are a lot of guys trying to hide behind one another - a lot of pace changes and shucking and jiving to keep out of the wind.

Great place for a good sprinter to race if you have a team willing to consistently lead you out. If your team is strong enough, it's like taking candy from a baby. Makes the race safer for everyone else too.

caloso

Oh. I guess it's a matter of perspective then. Maybe I should have said safe compared to a NorCal downtown crit.

ridethecliche

This is exactly what I was trying to do pre injury. Bring up my threshold as much as possible so I would have the strength to finish hard and try and get into the break before the finish instead of hanging on for dear life and hoping it came down to the sprint.

Even if your sprint doesn't improve, if your threshold gets higher and higher, not only can you be a bigger player, but you can also arrive at the sprint fresh. This is a huge benefit.

fly:yes/land:no

compare steegmans and cav. cav is so much more aero.

Brian Ratliff

In the Portland area, there are about four crits all season, and only two really good ones (Circ du Cycling and Twilight Crit). You can go over to Bend or down to southern Oregon and pick up a weekly series, but these are pretty low key events and not worth the travel.

PIR is a training race; racing there is fun, and it's fun to win, but it's hardly a goal to focus on. Tabor is not really a sprinter's race per se, since you really are racing up and down a hill, even if the slope isn't very steep; more of a power climb.

Road races are where it's at in Oregon. Don't do those and you aren't really racing. Winning one King's Valley or a road stage at the Cascade Classic is worth a whole month of winning the PIR Tuesday Worlds.

fordfasterr

wow, great vids thanks !

carpediemracing 

Thanks Imagery is always a good thing. For me, over the last 15 years, I've been reversing a pretty flat back position. I gained weight, started sitting more upright. Now I'm working on getting back to that position.

I read an article in the Brit-turned-US bike magazine (forget the name) where they analyze Cav's position. I thought it was pretty interesting, and I realized that I sprinted in a similar position (and got criticized for being "too low" when I sprinted for my first ever place).

cdr

andre nickatina

In the beginning of June I do the Twilight crit series in Eugene and then focus on track, weekly series stuff and weekend races. You're right - a win at Cascade is definitely worth more than a win in any weekly series or any early spring road race really, but we're not all stage racers. I wouldn't really say not racing road means you're not racing though. There's so many damn race venues in OR, from DH and XC to weekly hill climb TT's and big-money downtown crits to stage races and the 6 day at Alpenrose that there's something for everyone, really.

By the way, not sure if I've met you or not; you do have my friend's blog/quote in your sig though.

grolby

I'm beginning to accept that "sprinters" is a category that probably includes me. So my plans are to do what most people seem to be doing and focus on threshold. I need to make the most of limited training time, so that'll probably mean lots of SST-type riding on the trainer this winter. Interval work will probably be focused on 2x20s and similar. Sprint work is a 'maybe.' Aside from the reasons already given to focus on threshold, I'm light enough that I'll be able to climb well once I'm fit, which will hopefully allow me to race well in some moderate road races; those that are selective enough to neutralize the bigger, more powerful sprinters, but not so selective that the climbers/time trialists can neutralize me. We will see; I'm focusing on crits this season and probably won't have the endurance for long road races.

Brian Ratliff

You're right, there is something for everyone. I actually wish there were more crits in the Portland area. In theory, I should be pretty good at them, but at least last year, I had trouble hanging with the Cat 3's in the crits - I think it is mainly pack positioning and my inability to corner.

ridethecliche

Your posts are starting to fit a template haha.

slim_77

^that video of Cav and Gert: CAv has his head so low, it is nearly even with the bars (well, a few inches above it). From down there he gets a much more clear view of who's behind him in that shot..or not, in his case.

For me, threshold, weights, position/stretching, spinning more efficiently and most importantly-->learning when to get up and go.

edit: In the gym, I'm working on being a stronger person-->core, shoulders, neck, back, and legs mostly. I realized I want a faster recovery when I crash (as I did Dec 7). I'm working on the legs, but I don't expect any real benefit...but I can always hope.

dmotoguy

I've been in the gym for the last two months, working out the entire body. I really dedicate myself to the squat, I alternate weeks of the dreaded 20rep squat and weeks of heavier/low rep sets.