Joined
·
3,744 Posts
Hello all,
This season I'm getting more serious about endurance racing. I've trained a lot in the past months and now the racing season has started, with 2 races down. I'm not extremely competitive, I want to finish first and do it in the fastest time I can achieve. The results of others doesn't matter to me as long as I give it all I can and see improvements over time.
So in this neverending desire to get better, I'm always on the lookout for my main weakness so I can work on them and get better. In the first 2 races this season I noticed that I lose a substantial amount of time on flats and downhills on fire/dirt roads. In technical sections/singletrack I stand my ground alright with people riding doubles even though I'm on a HT.
At first I was under the impression that many riders ride hardpack/slick tires in these events so I posted a couple of weeks ago about front tire suggestion to replace my worn out FireXCPro in order to lower RR. Most people agreed that it might not be the culprit, although it might help somewhat. They recommended trying to get more aero. I gave it a go this past weekend and I still get passed on dirt road DH. The new tire is on the way, but I'm not so sure it's the main factor slowing me down here.
So I'm wondering what kind of workouts people are doing to improve on those aspects. I would tend to think that muscular endurance is the way to go but I'm not so sure. Since it's my first racing season, maybe it's mental too (fear of bonking later on is holding me back...). Anyways, I'm looking for any insight and experiences from others to "inspire" me.
I'll also add that I'm a pretty good climber, often catching up with others on climbs but overall I cannot compensate for the lost ground on flat/DH. There's a missing arrow in my quiver...
Thanks and sorry for the long post.
P.S. FWIW, we're talking about 60+ km races up to 8H solo (and possibly more next season).
This season I'm getting more serious about endurance racing. I've trained a lot in the past months and now the racing season has started, with 2 races down. I'm not extremely competitive, I want to finish first and do it in the fastest time I can achieve. The results of others doesn't matter to me as long as I give it all I can and see improvements over time.
So in this neverending desire to get better, I'm always on the lookout for my main weakness so I can work on them and get better. In the first 2 races this season I noticed that I lose a substantial amount of time on flats and downhills on fire/dirt roads. In technical sections/singletrack I stand my ground alright with people riding doubles even though I'm on a HT.
At first I was under the impression that many riders ride hardpack/slick tires in these events so I posted a couple of weeks ago about front tire suggestion to replace my worn out FireXCPro in order to lower RR. Most people agreed that it might not be the culprit, although it might help somewhat. They recommended trying to get more aero. I gave it a go this past weekend and I still get passed on dirt road DH. The new tire is on the way, but I'm not so sure it's the main factor slowing me down here.
So I'm wondering what kind of workouts people are doing to improve on those aspects. I would tend to think that muscular endurance is the way to go but I'm not so sure. Since it's my first racing season, maybe it's mental too (fear of bonking later on is holding me back...). Anyways, I'm looking for any insight and experiences from others to "inspire" me.
I'll also add that I'm a pretty good climber, often catching up with others on climbs but overall I cannot compensate for the lost ground on flat/DH. There's a missing arrow in my quiver...
Thanks and sorry for the long post.
P.S. FWIW, we're talking about 60+ km races up to 8H solo (and possibly more next season).
