Why I think its good to start racing early, even if you arent likely to win

Firstly, I have some bad news for you, you are probably not going to win the Tour de France. I only found this out recently and I was pretty shocked I must say, I thought I was a dead cert for getting the yellow jersey on one of the mountain top finishes next year.

Seriously though, is there any point entering races when you aren't going to win?

I think so, and here is why.

Sage advice would tell us to train and train and not enter any races until we are really ready to do so, because we might suck, and it might make us feel bad.

I have another theory that worked for me and may work for you, please remember that I am not an expert and don't know what I am talking about half the time, - so take this advice with a grain of common sense.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, here is my two cents on why I think its good to have a go at a race early. Note that - this doesnt apply if you aren't safe in a bunch. If you aren't safe (ie you get scared and wobbly when someone pairs up close next to you or you cant hold a wheel within a wheel length, then you really probably arent ready and should practice that, in training, A LOT).

Even if you are riding slowly on the Sudnay or Friday training rides, you should always practice being a good, steady, communicative bunch.

Once you are pretty comfortable in a bunch, I have found for me that there are SO many new skills involved with getting to and through your first race, that its worth starting to practice them early.

I have made a list of some of these new skills below, and as you'll see, there is quite a bit to get your head around. Hence your goal for your first race should just be to experience all of these things. Maybe your second race goal will be to finish the course if you DNF'd the first  time.

Maybe your third race goal will be to stay with the bunch for two minutes longer than you did last time, or when you feel you are about to drop off - just try and do two more turns through the pacecline. Maybe you'll practice gatekeeping before giving up.

Setting realistic goals is SUPER important to staying positive and seeing your own progress. You cant expect to win at your first race (although the turn out for womens grades is generally pretty low so you can often bank on a top ten finish for smaller races), but all of the skills below are worth mastering and celebrating as you master them.

But my point is we rarely get the chance to practice all of these skills in training, so - to get good at racing, at some point you'll have to start racing.

New Race Skills

- getting over the first race hurdle

- having a well serviced bike and remembering to lube it/check tyre pressure the night before

- choosing kit to wear in a race

- being nervous, and dealing with it

- turning up

- registering

- remembering your licence

- pining your number on correctly (believe it or not there is a wrong way) 

- having nutrition

- warming up

- getting to the start line

- starting in a race start 

- going lactic

- trying to hold the bunch for 3 minutes

- dealing with people you don't know in the bunch*

- getting dropped
- having a good old cry if it all goes horribly wrong, and still finding something to learn from it

- finishing the race

- eating the right food immediately post race so you dont bonk, and so your body can refuel (not doing this hurts you a lot more than you realise)

- stretching and recovering properly

- having a beer
- making a list of all the new things that happened and how you went with them
- turning up to your next race, even if you didn't win this one.

These are all new skills and they are worth practicing early.

The more you get comfortable with them, the better you'll do as your fitness increases, particularly because being less nervous leads to better performance.

Imagine if you've mastered all of the above, over say a period of months, and during that time your fitness also increases. What this means is that within six months of training, that includes races, you'll suddenly find yourself not only fit enough to be competitive in your grade, but you'll have a world of confidence and feel like a bit of an old hand, instead of totally petrified.

Plus, having a few bad races makes you really appreciate the good ones, and more able to take it in your stride when things go wrong.

So enter a race soon, get dropped, get past the 'it's my first ever race' hurdle. There is really only one way to practice racing, and thats to race.

On one of the above I have some extra thoughts.

Dealing with people you don't know in the bunch*

We are super lucky in that within Valkyrie, we have a great bunch of sensible girls, all practicing good bunch skills and riding together.

Occasionally we also ride with the Vmaxx boys or other Vikings who are all super supportive and really really nice to us and look after us.

This is not racing.

Sooner or later, you are going to find yourself in a bunch where any number of these kinds of things (and more) might happen - and the first step to dealing with them is being prepared:

Things that will happen at some point

- lots of really loud shouting

- totally disorganised bunches

- one person telling everyone what to do and it's not what you planned before the race or think should happen

- people riding unsafely / half wheeling

- people surging, dropping too many off the bunch on hills so that the bunch goes from 8 people to 2 people in a matter of kms (and loses the value of a bigger bunch draft)

- people not pulling their turns

- people gatekeeping who don't communicate to the riders rolling through

- people yelling at you

- people telling you to do things you haven't done before/ arent cmfortable with (eg echelons, pacelines)

- people in the bunch who don't know where they are going and are likely to go the wrong way (like me)

- people bump into each other (shoulders touch, wheels touch)

- someone falls off their bike

Ways to be prepared:

- practice communicating in your training bunches, make sure you use your 'outdoor voice'

- get used to feeling like you have the authority to speak up if a bunch isnt working well and you think it could do better (note, there is no Scout Badge for this, you just start doing it one day, so practice it in training). Or if you'd prefer - I hereby give you all the authority to tell a bunch what to do.

- use your skills practice to learn about riding safely, practice more hands on shoulders, shoulders touching etc

- always remember the don't look back rule. If you hear someone crash behind you in the bunch, keep pedalling forward, wait till its safe before stopping. Don't slam the brakes on and look back - thats a classic way to get yourself to fall off too.

- stand up for yourself, if someone is telling you to do something thats uncomfortable for you, Say So!

You have every right to speak up in the bunch.

What you'll get out of practicing standing up for yourself in this way, under pressure, when your blood is pumping, is a kind of resilience that translates through to the rest of your life.