Preseason Track Racing

This week we are happy to share some insights from our bicycle track racing friend Hyun who shares details about how weather, gear set-up, overall conditioning and data can all be determining factors not only in preseason track racing, but also in how to set up for the coming regular season. In Hyun’s own words….

The first weeks of preseason track racing are always interesting because of weather,
different levels of fitness and race tactics. Typically there’s a lot of uncertainty
approaching preseason because a lot of track specific racers are wondering , ‘Have I
trained enough?’ There’s also the influx of road racers who have almost six weeks of
road racing under their belts and are sharper come race time. Additionally, there is the new
young talent that can upgrade in just a few weeks based on sheer athletic talent.

This preseason started with a downright summery night, then a cold night a week later, followed by a rainout and a frigid night of racing with intermittent sprinkles threatening to end the night.  The thing about track racing is once the track gets a sheen of moisture on it becomes too slippery to ride on, especially with the new surface from 2005.  One of the races from Saturday’s iffy looking night of racing was the elimination.  In the elimination the last rider across the line is pulled from the race.  Consequently the race is fast but also tight, and there’s a last minute surge at the line every lap to see who can get boxed out and eliminated.  Some call it ‘Devil Take the Hindmost’, and some riders like to play the devil and ride at the back, picking one rider off each lap.  That takes a certain amount of confidence in your fitness  because that means accelerating every lap.  I personally like to stay near the front but not at the front where it’s a little less hectic.

Photo above is from Steve Everist.  https://l.instagram.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2F500px.com%2Fp%2Fseeverist&e=AT1VqS1h-Ih4cCGjJhfi9SBI4sDaeMW9Ho8bGy-15dQpqCQAXkxshhDvqe2OB_KsLEKAcByUzAcDXAguuvvwrLUzlrKOc2T0HP22si5SOmRKRnV_hS-ubw

That night, I saw some mild sprinkles which spooked me and I sat up letting myself get eliminated.  It ended up being fine but I didn’t feel like it was worth the risk.

One of the things about track racing, unlike other forms of bicycling is that you have only one gear during a race and consequently you cannot shift.  Therefore you’re committed to that gear of choice for the duration of the night.  Depending on how your body reacts to warm nights verses cold nights you may choose a heavier gear or a lighter gear.  Your gear is based on a combination of chanring up front and a cog in the back.

The bigger the chainring verses the cog the more inches you travel per pedal stroke, and the heavier the gear feels.  Changing the chainring requires a 5 mm Allen tool, and changing the cog in the back requires using a chainwhip and a lockring tool.

Consequently, you’ll see almost comedic efforts by racers to change gears between their first and second races if the first race is an endurance race and the next race is a shorter sprint race.

Due to the colder temperatures Saturday night (49 degrees) , I probably wouldn’t have benefitted from a slightly lighter gear because my legs were definitely locking up.  That’s where the data from your head unit and various sensors can provide useful data from how you were performing and planning for next time.

Based on reviewing numbers from Saturday, I might change from a 100” gear to perhaps a 98” gear to get a few more RPMs in.  Overall, my general fitness feels like it has been coming around since preseason and hopefully with warmer weather some results will start trickling in.  Still lots of fun and every night is an opportunity to learn something and grow.

Thank you Hyun for providing this great insight into your training and thought process for track racing! We here at the Mountain Exp are thrilled to have our community members providing great content on a regular basis and we hope to keep adding more outdoor enthusiast communities to the fold in the coming weeks. Things in the works… we are reaching out to a mountain biking group, a cyclocross group, weekend warrior hiking community, working on insights from a golf pro at a local golf club in our area, and lastly looking to partner with a counselling service center to highlight the mental and emotional benefits of all of us getting outdoors.

Anyone can sell products online. Our goal is to build community and help support all of these great people in getting outdoors with high quality products at fair and affordable prices.
Thank you Hyun for your contribution! We look forward to following your season throughout 2024 and beyond!