ROAD RACING
Road Racing is not for the fainthearted. It requires a good degree of fitness
and bike handling skills merely to compete at entry level, but once bitten most
participants are hooked by the exhilaration of riding in a bunch at speed.
The key skill required in road racing of any kind, from a local evening criterium to the Tour de France, is the ability to share a limited space of road with other cyclist in a close-packed group that may vary in size from two to two hundred in the bunch, or in cycling terms, the peloton.
Spalding C C does host a town centre road race on the first Bank Holiday weekend in May. More details on the events page of this web site. Lincolnshire also host a Wednesday night road race league. These events are handicapped, so are ideal for getting started in road racing. Details about these events will be posted on this web site when they are made available.
TIPS ON ROAD RACING
Learning to maintain your cool with other riders around you is important.
Shelter, when one rider shelters behind another they use 25% less energy.
When cornering, follow the line of the other riders, taking a different line can be dangerous.
Brake before the corner - it's better to go in a little too slowly, than lose momentum and control by braking as you turn.
Turn the handlebars as little as possible - try to turn by leaning into the corner.
If you can't pedal through the corner, hold the inside pedal up and the outside pedal down.
Keep your head up !
When Climbing - try to maintain a constant pace, use a lower gear than you would if you were on your own.
Always start the climb in the first third of the bunch.
If the bunch splits over the top of a climb, stay with the riders at the front at all costs. What looks like a tiny gap on a hill can quickly become a large one.
Look ahead - change down gears before you need to if the gradient increases.