[Closed] 2017 XC Racing Thread

Yay! MTB back from the shop today. Trying to find a race that doesn't clash with my Crit racing so looking for something on Sunday 04th June?

West Dreyton @ Black Park perhaps?

Anything else within 1hr ish of Newbury??

I nearly raced there once but my hub was fubar'd when I took the bike out of the car. What's it like?

Awesome news XC WC is back this weekend, would love to ride the Nove Mesto course - looks so much fun (in the dry!)

Womens race on RBTV now.
Jenny R out due to recent loss of family members 🙁

Great course, dissapointing race - may as well be a time trial. If anyone's thinking of watching it on catch-up, i'd say probably don't bother.

Well I enjoyed it.

Me too. Picked up a few tips for my race tomorrow.

What happened to Neff? Must have missed that part?!

Me too. Picked up a few tips for my race tomorrow.

ride at 400w NP?

Ha ha no. I noticed how Langvad turned a strong constant cadence/carried momentum over the rooty singletrack section with a real "fixed gaze" forward.

In my race tomorrow i have similar bit of singletrack which is about 2% and gets a bit wearing after a few laps. Rather than approaching with a sigh as usual, i shall attack it Langvad style 🙂

Annie Last got 10th 😀

@Kryton, just wait till you see Kulhavy ride that section tomorrow - beast!

Good luck to all you racing at the Eastern/South Eastern regional champs today. A great chance to get a big haul of Bc points and the course looks awesome!

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😀

[img][url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4203/34802137375_06ccb56707_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4203/34802137375_06ccb56707_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/V2m3Xi ]The Flying Swissman[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/martinddd/ ]martinddd[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Putting the power down like a locomotive !

Just seen this. Commanding performance from Nino.

Me, well a few interlopers from the Regional champs joined our round and moved everyone down five places. difficult to judge my performance therefore. So:

30th of 40 vets vs 28th last year, feels poor
Power 135 va 165w last year, feels poor
12.5kmph vs 16.2 mph last year, feels poor
HR 75% Tempo 25% Threshold vs 2016 the other way around - feels poor
Finished on the leaders lap this year but not last year, feels better.

I'm wondering if the HR thing means I'm overtrained.

Funnily enough that Facebook memories thing told me it was three years ago today I started my midlife crisis and decided to race bikes again. At that race I was horribly lapped by lots of people so was keen to not suffer the same fate today! Actually had a really good race at round three of the Welsh at Aberystwyth. Great, hilly course. First time this year I've turned up at a race not sleep deprived and was pretty motivated, enough that I actually warmed up properly. Despite missing my cleat at the start I was second into the singletrack out of the arena and moved up into first for about 1/4 of a lap until I got confused about where we were going ad lost a place. Tight racing in the first lap and was fourth going into lap two but my hr had been over 180 the entire lap so was mildly concerned I was pushing too hard. Stuck on thirds wheel for the second lap before loosing touch and then someone came by me putting me in 5th. Properly blew up on the 5th lap but thankfully held my place (very small field so only a couple behind anyway) to finish 5th. Really pleased with how it went, even though I blew up was feeling good for the first three and don't think I'd have gained a place by pacing to finish stronger.

30th of 40 vets vs 28th last year, feels poor
Power 135 va 165w last year, feels poor
12.5kmph vs 16.2 mph last year, feels poor
HR 75% Tempo 25% Threshold vs 2016 the other way around - feels poor
Finished on the leaders lap this year but not last year, feels better.

I'm wondering if the HR thing means I'm overtrained.

Is that versus Carver Barracks last year or last year's regional champs? Because it definitely wasn't a course that'd give high a average power. Likewise with average HR, there were too many tight corners to be redlined all the way.

Anyone else find they struggle to sleep after racing 😕 🙁

I raced Midlands champs yesterday at Dudmaston. Course was quite damp and very slippery first thing but quickly dried out for my race at 14:30, it was still damp but very tacky by then. Probably one of if not the most fun courses all ridden on purpose built trails. Short sharp climbs and long twisty descents.

I raced Sport category again. I had a good start and held on to 3/4th for the first lap before dropping a few more places towards the end. I was 6th heading down the final descent towards the finish line but dropped my chain!!! Lost another position sorting that out and finished 7th out of 44. Pleased I managed to stay upright for the whole race when a lot of people didn't!

Oh also met Iain from off here. Nice to meet you fella. How did your son get on?

Another great performance buddy, you must be really pleased ?

Is that versus Carver Barracks last year

Yes. The only difference is I think last year was a bit more dusty?

How much faster/slower were your times and how much faster/slower were others from last year who also raced this year ?

Everyone other than the leaders who equalled there last year 6 laps time with this year 5 laps time was about 5 mins slower around the race. I was 9'mins slower but a lap up on last year.

I can see 3 riders in front me yesterday of whom i know are faster who weren't in last years race, and as mentioned i wasnt lapped this year. Maybe those are positives.

TBH fella, i'm not seeing many positives... I think it's clear you need to come up with PLan B i'm afraid. For whatever reason, it doesn't seem to be working for you at the moment

Kryton- I think it's almost impossible to make an objective comparison on two events a whole season apart.
And believe me I've tried 😀

You can only race who shows up for a start. And lap times are like Strava segments- wind, ground conditions and other variables can create fast days and slow ones.
And then there's Lady Luck....

It's why consistent and objective testing is an important part of any training program- if you've improved, you'll know it regardless of your race results and gain confidence from it.

You need to stop looking to the result for your motivation and enjoy the process more.

There's also the elephant in the room of focus- if you spread your objectives too thinly, they will all suffer. You need more respect for the results you are trying to achieve.
Put them on a pedestal mentally and give them the chance they deserve with a really dedicated taper.

For me it was once getting a podium in fun Cat 😀 And then that progressed to a top 5 in Open.
Some guys on here would scoff at that I'm sure but relative to my fitness at the time, it was a big deal to me!

Racing is almost too easy and too addictive I think. Online entry and loads of choice locally means you can pin a number on far too much for our own good!
By racing too often, you are consigning yourself to a lower average performance and slower rate of improvement than if you train properly imo.

Thanks Crosshair. My FTP has been down this year, but my club road performances appear to be stronger. Its been suggested elswhere i complete next Sundays Marathon then take 2 weeks off the bike before my next MSG race June 18. It would mean skipping Beastway, but i guess i might have to. I have of course signed myself up for 17 races a 12hr and 4 Marathons, maybe a bit much in retrospect (the 12 isnt serious).

I have of course signed myself up for 17 races a 12hr and 4 Marathons, maybe a bit much in retrospect (the 12 isnt serious).

But the 12hr will take two weeks to recover from properly and will do nothing for XCO performance mid way through a season.

@jimbob, well done. Always fancied racing Dudmaston as its not miles form Wales but seems like it alwasy clashes with a welsh rnd.

@weeksy, brutal assesment 😆

I know Ferrals, but on all racing threads i don't like people to not know where they are with my answers. We're all eager to do better, improve, gain speed, places, etc. But the simple fact is, sometimes is takes someone from the outside looking in to help keep things in perspective.
I like the guy, but from what he writes, his performances are worse than he wants them to be, it's pretty much that simple. Only he, and others with more knowledge than me can answer the WHY of this, i can't answer that. But if your times, placings, results, speeds etc are all slower... then i'm sad to say, you're going slower. You can sit and say "well the ......" or "maybe if....." but slower is slower and slower in a racing context is basically worse.

From my own perspective i'm really looking forward to doing a race sometime soon, i've got this trip coming up and then thinking maybe the weekend after on about the 17th/18th will be the plan as i'm then on other duties after that with my boys Birthday then the White roads 100miler and the SDW double, that then takes me to my holidays and i won't be able to race till Sept then... So i'm going to find something that weekend i hope and get a race in. I really enjoyed the last one.
I'm lucky in the context that even finishing for me is a bonus, so my actual results don't affect me 🙂

Kryton, just remember that one of the biggest factors that makes training successful is consistency. I've had my best results, not after my typical early season cycle of smashing it on a >900tss week then getting ill/bored/depressed for a week and wanting to give up, but after several months of plugging away.
So keep at it.

But also keep in mind that we do this stupid brutal sport for fun, so keep it fun!

The difficulty with racing is (in my book) being fit is only 1/3 of the puzzle, another third is technical ability/racecraft and another 1/3 is being well prepared going into it on the day.

This year I've neglected all three but in particular neglected the preparation (due to baby). Last week I really made an effort to taper, do openers the day before, turn up with time to do a decent practise, have some food, a rest and prep bike before warming up. Unsurprisingly the differnece was night and day, couldnt believe I was in touch with the pointy end for the first few laps (even though small field the guys in front were fast, the guy who's wheel i was on for the first few laps was 9th at the national in Wasing when i was more or less last).

From Krytons posts I get the feeling he doesnt take the prepartion seriously and I wonder if this affects results

edit as i missed this:

But also keep in mind that we do this stupid brutal sport for fun, so keep it fun!

Mixed bag for me yesterday doing the 2nd round of the [url= http://www.xcup.se/ ]X-cup[/url] in Sweden.

Got caught in heavy traffic at the start because I was too nice and that slowed up my first lap, into the 2nd lap and was passing well heading to the front but then clipped a tree and went over the bars, lucky nothing broke (me or the bike), straightened the bars & saddle and back on but dropped about 6 positions.

Into the 3rd lap and was on a mission, finally could ride flat out, over took loads to finish with the leaders in sight but needed another half lap to take them.

Finished a little frustrated because of how things had gone, but seeing the results I calmed down and should be happy finishing 6th in start 2 group (117 starters) , 47th overall (363 riders incl. Elite).

So I know my engine is in good shape and I prepared well, just need to be more assertive from the start and don’t crash 😆

While Nino's win was impressive it was a course that suits him. Absalon did a great ride to get 3rd on a course that he's never gone well on.

But forget those 2, the ride of the day was by Mathieu van der Poel, going from 90th on the grid to finish 8th, with some faster laps than Nino thrown in as well.

But forget those 2, the ride of the day was by Mathieu van der Poel, going from 90th on the grid to finish 8th, with some faster laps than Nino thrown in as well.

That did seem very impressive. Sadly it also appears he's racing CX at the next meeting instead due to higher prize money etc.

He's racing road. He is a cx'er predominanyl at the moment but I think is going to the road full time soon?

Taken from PB comments:

MVDP had faster laps than Nino on 3 laps. Lap 3,5 and 6.

Then for 2 laps he was 5th and 6th fastest respectively but he lost bulk time on starting laps. Coming across the line in 90th after the start loop. Then moving up to 74th -> 51st -> 33rd -> 25th -> 12th -> 8th.

He on average overtook 13 people per lap.

Impressive!

Last week I really made an effort to taper, do openers the day before, turn up with time to do a decent practise, have some food, a rest and prep bike before warming up.

Ferrels, i do this. I take my own food to events so its a known entity. Maybe not enough rest perhaps - how much rest should one have before a Regional A XCO? In this case, i race last wednesday for an hour, nothing thursday, nothing friday, did a small ring only very easy 25k road with 3 random sprints Saturday as an opener, raced 2pm Sunday, after a lap plus off lap sprints as warmup as per usual just before the start. I also pre rode the course at 9am before my kids coaching / race.

Im probably just not that good 😀

Im probably just not that good

This. You're a middle-aged man with little talent who doesn't train much.
Just like a lot of people! The difference being that they accept all this and get the pleasure from racing for 20th or 30th or 40th, rather than fretting about it.

Ride for fun and forget the rest.

How much rest before a regional race? None. It's a regional race, there's no real glory from winning, they're training races for bigger events.

How much rest before a regional race? None. It's a regional race, there's no real glory from winning,

unless you are rubbish like me, I'd die of shock if I won a regional race (well I won one once but there were only 5 of us in sprt as the fast guys were racing open for the champs). Not sure disparaging peoples regional efforts is fair, we can only race to our own ability.

@Kryton, I think you are actually faster and better than me, but my approach is to race every 3-4 weeks so it fits into a (quasi) training schedule, i.e rest week is taper week. So last week i did south twin on TR on Tues, I rode for an hour mtb before work thursday, easy spin with 4 three mintue hill intervals where i kep HR around 170-175 (my max HR is 188), openers Sat was 45 minutes with 1 5 minute @160, 1 three minute @170 and then 4 45sec stand start sprints.

I'm not "training" at all though so hard weeks are just riding te bike lots not targetted training. Actual training will start in July to build up for cx

re. pre race warm up, I've gone off doing a practise lap as a warm up, do a sighting lap early then cleam bike if necessary, then warm up on road outside venue or on fireorad onsite if feasible, then try and mimic a TR type warm up for 20 minutes half hour before race start giving 10 mins to change water bottles, grab gels and get to start line.

THis is mine from Sunday:
[IMG] [/IMG]

Here's a question for you all - food.

In the last month I have become obsessed about food to the extent I think about it all the time. I try and eat 3 square meals a day and if I do snack it's only fruit (apples, oranges, kiwi fruit not bananas).

Breakfast - bagel, porridge too if training
Lunch - large salad or carb rich if I'm training
Afternoon - bagel and marmite if training later
Supper - large meal, granola and yoghurt

Energy expenditure for training is about 6,000-10,000 calories a week.

I can't remember being this obsessed about food before. 6 foot and 75kgs. Not trying to lose weight just keep about the same.

Nice to meet jimbob yesterday at the Midlands Championships, shame about my race though! Had another disappointing second lap where I lost 4 places after a decent start and then had a good last lap. Finished 9th in the end in Grand Vet.
My lad finished 7th in Youth which he was pleased with.
The big result for us was my team mate Marc's son who won the under 8's race! He now has a cup with 'Midlands XCO Champion, under 8' on it. Looks like he is taking after his dad who won the vet's National titles for XCO and XCM twice.

Really nice venue at Dudmaston and well organised as ever.

Energy expenditure for training is about 6,000-10,000 calories a week.

I have become obsessed about food

Quite normal imo, when you are burning that many extra calories eating becomes a full time job.

How much rest before a regional race? None. It's a regional race, there's no real glory from winning, they're training races for bigger events

Not for many/some though, they're the peak/pinacle of expectations, so in race speak they're many peoples A races. Hell, getting into the level to even race at that field would be plenty for many racers.

Good point weeksey, people forget that you can only really get into good shape for maybe four races in a season and even then, one or two of them will be compromised. I had that problem yesterday, I knew my numbers were not great (too much fatigue, not enough form) but I also know they will be better for the next National event which is a bigger target for me.
Anyone racing really needs to plan their season and ensure their training blocks and rest periods combine to the events they want to target, whichever events they are, some people will target regional races and use Nationals as training or vice versa, if your target is your local FNSS then work to that and enjoy the moment when you legs feel great 'cause you numbers are good!
The main thing is to know what combination of fitness/form/fatigue or ATL/CTL/TSB works for you. I'm in my second year of racing and it's been a hell of a learning curve to understand a little about what works for me, I've taken the leap of employing a coach (at 52 I don't have that many years to muck around trying to teach myself!) and I have a very strong team backing me up which I am hugely grateful for.

So, I think what I'm saying in this ramble is; choose your events and plan properly otherwise you may be disappointed - it's bloomin' competitive out there in all categories!

See that's where I'm lucky,

If I'm under trained or over trained or even perfectly trained, at my level it's the difference between say 28th and 35th at southern xc. So for me it's all just about thrashing round and enjoying the courses, the actual result barely registers.

Gorrick, if I can get top 25% in fun I've won!

Weeksy-
Yeah but you've only just started 'training' after 7 years of mincing around 😆

I wouldn't have to go back many months to find a quote saying that riding for you is basically sniffing flowers and posing your bike against gates on the top of the downs 😀
And that Strava is evil and racing on Zwift isn't real 😆

So we expect to see your results increase exponentially from Autumn onwards 🙂

Tis a fair point in that context, but my place in the real world is still way way down the pecking order, when i raced fairly recently at Southern XC that was me at what is my all-time peak. I'm possibly slightly quicker today, possibly slightly slower... but either way, it's marginal. Based upon that race, i doubt my positions would change dramtically week on week, month on month unless something else happens, either loss of weight or continuted fitness.
I've not done an FTP test, but my Strava/Zwift associated power is 296w so i'm in a decent place power wise, but i'm still lumping about 10-20kg too much to get to a decent level.

The thing i'm not doing still to keep in spirit with myself is 'training' outdoors, my outdoors riding is the the smelling the flowers, stopping for cake type rides, although i do go on occasion strava KOM hunting on the odd segment just for a laugh, but outdoors is still kept purely for pleasure and social.

I will get out racing again once we've done the longer endurance rides though as i really enjoyed the Southern XC race.

I wasn't going to, but I'm running out of ways to avoid doing this lab report, so here's a little review of my weekend.

Eastern regional champs - Carver Barracks:
Made a last minute decision to race after remembering that regional champs carry double points, so spent most of Saturday throwing the bike together into some semblance of a functional race machine (replaced two spokes on the front wheel, then spent an hour getting it as straight as I could with 3 seized spoke nipples, fitted my new gripshift 😀 ,spent many minutes fishing for cables in the frame, and bled both brakes so they actually worked slightly).
Left later than planned, so had a fun 2 hours getting caught in traffic and swearing to myself, then very nearly ran out of fuel before getting to the race. Only just made it to the line after my practice lap, so wasn't in the best frame of mind for racing.

Helpfully, I got off the line quickly and led the field down the first straight, before realising I didn't want to be stuck out in the wind so slowed up a bit. This backfired when half the field came past, so ended up pulling some sketchy cornering round the tarmac hairpins to get back into the top 5. I found myself in second by the time we got into the singletrack, so sat in and tried to save as much energy as possible, easier said than done on possibly the twistiest course in the world! Gradually the group got smaller, mostly from people getting tangled up in backmarkers then not getting back on, until it was just me and Rich Jones up front. We took turns to stay out front, while both trying to sneakily drop the other out of every corner! I really enjoyed the open straights out on the airfield for some reason too, it's not every day you get to legitimately use the MTB-aero-position of holding onto the fork crown!
Midway round the 4th lap Richard had gotten the better of me through the singletrack, and I just couldn't bring the gap down no matter how hard I tried, so settled in for a last lap of damage limitation and cramp. Ended up 53 seconds down, and a good 2.5 minutes clear of 3rd, so pretty happy with that!
Come podium time, I found out that technically Rich is from the central region, so as fastest eastern rider I was champion! Like being head of the Swiss navy...

TL;DR: unprepared, hard tactical race, finished second elite, MTB champion of the flattest part of the UK!

That sounds like a marvellous achievement! Congratulations

Wow! Well done you! That's great stuff.

Can someone explain MTB points, rankings and events please? Or just post a good link....

Well done Padkinson! Must be a great feeling.

We shall now call you Champkinson

Info re points https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/search/article/mtbst_National-MTB-Ranking-Points-Explained

question: how many gels do you normally go through in a race? I tend to have one 10 minutes before start and then a gel every lap apart from the last lap when i figure it wont actually get into my system before I finsih. However I wonder if that is too many to be optimum. Was lapping in 15-18 minutes on Sunday and felt maybe that I'd over indulged

question: how many gels do you normally go through in a race?

I'm a bit of a cynic on Gels and drinks etc....

Partly because i had an epic disaster with Gels the one time i tried them on SDW.... it wasn't nice...

But, do they really have an affect ?

But, do they really have an affect ?

Yes they work, but they aren't special voodoo magic, just sugar in a format that's convenient. Much like energy drink, coca-cola etc.
The point of them is you can take them easily even when working hard, whereas you cant chew an energy bar whilst HR is red-lined.

How long are you racing for, what type of gel are you using (1 zipvit gel = 3 high5 gels for example), and do you have energy drink in bottle?

High 5 zero electrolyte in bottle and high 5 gels (non caffeine)

Congratulations Padkinson!

Gels in a xc race? - none. Sometimes some carb juice in a bottle, sometimes just water. 1 Banana 20-30mins before though. I'm not sure xc is long enough for me at 4 laps for gels to make a difference. But then I'm not at the level of some of you lot either, so maybe I don't expend as much energy.

High 5 zero electrolyte in bottle and high 5 gels (non caffeine)

If it were me, i'd have one gel after my warmup and probably just use 2:1 in the bottle.
Going gels/zero route, I wouldn't exceed high5's recommendation of 3 per hour. The gels aren't a 2:1 formula iirc, so you wont be able to digest any more than that. Guess that adds up to one after laps 2 and 4.

yeah i think i overdid them on sunday, was feeling a bit funny mid race.

@yak, having the carb drink gives me cramp for some reason.

Depends on the race but for long events (3+ hours) I eat a small high carb slow burn pasta meal 2 hours before the race. A banana 30mins before followed by a High5 gel 15 mins before start. Short races circ 1 hour I skip the pasta.

During the race I run with High5 Energy Source mix in bottles, 750ml per hour. Sometime one with Caffeine just after half way. Combined with High5 gels, 3 per hour.

I have struggled the last few years with cramp over longer races and with the above plan I've managed to pretty much remove this, it worked spot on for the last marathon race two weeks ago.

But I guess you need to know your body also and plan accordingly. I know some riders who can't stomach gels at all.

Light meal >2 hours before the race for me, then nothing except caffeine and possibly half a banana, until a gel 5-10 minutes before the start. I'll usually have 1 or 2 gels during the race, depending on length, and whether there's actually anywhere on the course I can have one. My main carb source will be high5 drink though - typically 750ml in a normal XC race.

Grade 2 quad strain and a chest infection at the same time, could be six-ten weeks out of all cycling.

There you go, no more moaning for ten weeks. Bye.

what ? how ? where did this come from ?

It was intriguing watching the different overseas teams and there approach to gels at the recent Hadleigh International, as Feed Zone Commisaire (it was really cold too) i had a good spot to observe the various techniques and approaches.

Each time the riders came through bottles with gels taped on were offered, in the elite races most riders took a gel on Lap 2, along with bottles of water, laps 3 and 4 tended to be a mix of water/energy drink, but quite a few took bottles with flat coke in, usually on the penultimate Lap, depending on race duration.

At the end of the race, we did a seep of the feed zone and cleared up what can only be described as a lot of crap, bottles gel wrappers and these weird toothpaste tube things that contained a nasty smelling black sticky goo, that no doubt came out looking the same as it went in.

I wonder if many do it because others do it or if they have actually seen improved results with it?

So I've done 8 races so far this year and have found a race day nutrition plan that works well for me.

Most of my races are at 14:30 and last up to 1hr 30 max.

So big breakfast of weetabix and grapenuts and probably a banana. Drink water

Small pasta meal about 11am. Water again

1 hour before race x1 200mg caffeine tablet plus banana. Bear in mind that caffeine takes about an hour to reach your bloodstream and become effective so taking caffeine during a race is pointless if it's a short XC race of 1hr 30min or less. The effects of caffeine last a loooooong time so I'm often still buzzing my tits off at the end of the race....

During race 1 or 2 gels depending on how I feel - no caffeine. Drink carb / isotonic mix.

Works well for me. I make sure I've eaten well the day before and drank lots of water to make sure I'm completely hydrated.

Grade 2 quad strain and a chest infection at the same time, could be six-ten weeks out of all cycling.

There you go, no more moaning for ten weeks. Bye.

With care and luck it could be 3 weeks which would be annoying but not the end of the world. I had the whole of June off last year and had to reset but raced well in August.

@jimbob, my pre race is pretty much identical, switching weetabix for porridge and loosing the caffeine, definately seems like I've been over doing gels.

I've only recently started using caffeine products. Fortunately I don't get the sideffects that some people do! Definitely helps me push harder.... average HR for last race for 1hr 20m was 188 with max of 200!

I'm paying the price now though. Went out last night to do some 5 min vo2 max intervals and was averaging 161bpm instead of what I'd expect around 190+ 😆 My legs just said no, not today thanks!

My races are generally starting about 10.30, so for me that means a decent breakfast at about 7.30, then an energy bar about an hour before the start, warm up, a pre race caffeine drink 30 mins before. A gel if possible with about 10 mins to start. During the race I may have one or two gels but it depends on the course, I can cope with a 1.5 hour race without any gels but prefer not to, I'll get though one bottle in total, either as one I carry with me or a few half filled ones that are handed up if the course is hilly and I have someone in the feed zone.

I wonder if many do it because others do it or if they have actually seen improved results with it?

You need to consider reasons why your body stops working so hard.
One is too much heat, one is not enough sugar in your muscles but the other is the central governor theory that your brain is effectively protecting you from yourself.

So not only is topping up on sugar important to maintain the level of intensity- but it also may help trick your brain into letting you go harder for longer.

http://bicyclelab.com/why-endurance-athletes-should-re-think-fatigue/

You do obviously need to consider how long it takes for the gels to have an effect but there could be a placebo effect too. When the guys at Hillingdon pop a gel with 5 laps to go, it's almost definitely too late for that to reach their muscles in time for the sprint- but mentally, it might delay the onset of fatigue symptoms or even just give them the confidence they can go harder than they thought.

This is pretty relevant to the recent discussion:> http://bicyclelab.com/why-endurance-athletes-should-re-think-fatigue/ <

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/gbcyclingteam/article/20170524-Race-guide--Great-Britain-Cycling-Team-at-the-UCI-Mountain-Bike-World-Cup-in-Albstadt-0

Signed up for SouthernXC at Crow Hill this weekend. I'm in open as its first time at a "big" event like this. Anyone else on here doing it?

need some new XC tyres, seems the best thread to ask this

whats hot?

I'm on a Rocket Ron front and Ralph rear. Seems to be the most popular choice for racing. 2.25's and 19 / 22 psi

I've been running saguaro f and r in this recent megadry dustfest. But this thunder/downpour/maybe dry/ maybe not is causing me mild tyre panic before tomorrow 😉 🙂

Going to put a Barzo on the front I think.

the new compound RoRo & RaRa available yet?