Road Racing

What Is Road Racing?


Road Racing generally takes place on tarmacked surfaces, although the type of surface can vary a lot. All events classed as road racing require you to use a road bike with drop handlebars - this means that hybrid bikes with flat bars, or bikes with TT style aero bars are not allowed. Road racing can be split into two types of events - Criteriums and Road Races.

Criteriums


For riders new to the sport the first type of event you are most likely to ride is a criterium on a closed road circuit. These events can be held at a variety of different venues including airfields, motor racing circuits, purpose built cycling circuits and less commonly on public roads which have been closed for a cycle race to take place. Youth riders (under 17) are only permitted to race on closed road circuits.

Road Races


‘Road races’ are events similar to the Tour de France or Paris-Roubaix you may have seen on Television which take place on the public roads. In addition to the competing riders, the race will be accompanied by race vehicles for officials and first aid. Motorcycle Marshals are there to ensure fair and safe competition for the riders.

What's good about it?


  • Road racing is arguably the glamorous bit of cycle racing- it doesn't involve you getting covered in mud (CX, MTB) or starting out from a layby at 7am on a Sunday morning (TT) or riding a kid's bike (BMX).

  • There are tactics and teamwork involved, which make road racing pretty exciting. It also means that the strongest rider doesn't always win.

  • A road bike that fits and is well serviced is all you really need, an expensive bike isn’t.

  • Races are categorised on broad ability levels. More successful riders race against their peers in higher categories, not against novices. This also means that races are designed to best suit the ability of the riders taking part; everyone has a better chance of an enjoyable race. If Chris Froome shows up on holiday, you'll not be racing against him.

What's not so great?


  • You'll need to be happy riding quickly and very close to other riders. Although it's easy to exaggerate this, the reality is that you will often find yourself inches from other riders at high speeds. For this reason it is strongly recommended that you spend some time riding with other riders as part of a group before attempting a race.

  • Crashes occur. You can minimise this by riding in a predictable way and being aware of the riders around you, but you can't really make allowances for another rider's erratic line choices or sudden braking.

  • It can be a bit aggro. Riders who don't like something you are doing or think it is unsafe will tell you, often quite forcefully.

  • If you fall off the back of the bunch, it's probably an early finish. Only a very strong rider will be able to regain the pack if they get separated. Everyone who has done a crit or road event has experienced this at some point.

First race: Do

  • Check your bike is in good working order before the race.

  • Turn up with plenty of time. Car parking isn’t always easy, so aim to arrive at least an hour before the start. You'll often be unable to warm up on the course itself, so a (portable) turbo trainer or rollers is ideal.

  • Ride predictably in a bunch. In your first race at least, try to follow the wheel of the person in front of you - don't overlap them; if you use your brakes to avoid this, do it smoothly and gradually.

  • Thank marshals and race organisers

First race: Don't

  • Don’t crash. If you can avoid it, don't do it. It's easy to get carried away, but if you lose control, it's very likely that other people will also suffer.

  • Don’t get despondent. For your first race, your order of priorities should be pretty achievable: 1) Did you finish? Great. 2) Did you finish with the bunch? Even better. 3) Did you do a turn on the front? Outstanding.

  • Don’t worry too much about what other people are riding. Although you will likely see some very expensive bikes and flash kit, it’s your fitness and ability, not the size of your wallet that makes the difference.


Anything else?


To avoid paying for a day license, you'll need to have a British Cycling race license. The cheapest way of doing this is with a Silver Membership. Even if you don't decide to make a habit of spending your time starting at the backside of other lycra wearers while doing 30mph, your membership brings a host of other benefits.

Tactics


There are lots of videos and web pages that can help with tactics once you've got past your first race. Two key things to remember are:


  • Riding behind another rider (in their slipstream) saves a great deal of effort.

  • Generally riding further from the front means you have to work harder as you are slowing down for corners while the riders at the front are accelerating away from the corner.


So what does this look like in practice?


  1. If you're the 4th rider from the front, well done. Keep doing only what you need to do to be 4th rider from the front.

  2. If you're not the 4th rider, you should be trying to get to be the 4th rider from the front.

  3. Any time you're more than 40cm from the rider in front, you should be 'full gas' to get back within 40cm.

  4. There is always more than one way to win a race, but to win you must cross the line first.


There is a lot you can learn from articles, videos and more experienced riders about how to race but ultimately the best way to learn more is to give it a go and have fun.

For more information about how to get into Road Racing check out the British Cycling website

If you have any questions about road or circuit racing email CSSH