Own Your Race

When visualizing your bike race, which can be as simple as thinking about parts of the course, what you’ll expect at parts, and defining features of the event, let’s make sure that you’re thinking about the race in a way that works for you.  FOR YOU.

In any race, there’s going to be parts that are harder than others, especially in mass start events. It is during those parts where the race is decided.  And I imagine you’re thinking about watts, speed, w/kg, and other things like that. That’s understandable, but in your category, you already belong. So does everyone else in your race. Certainly, some people are stronger than others, but nobody in your race, who is supposed to be in your race (Pro races aside), is going to be able to do something that the whole field can’t handle. That doesn’t mean that your field will do something about it, but there isn’t anyone in a category, who is supposed to be in that category, who will have the ability to just ride a whole field off of their wheel.

What often happens is that there’s a crosswind or hill or something where the effort to be involved goes up, and the minds of many go to thinking about how hard it is.  These folks start thinking about how they are suffering.  They’re thinking about how they might get dropped.  They’re negotiating with themselves that they’ll train better going forward.  They’re thinking that everyone else is fine, while they’re starting to go backwards.

THAT'S MINDSET.

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Nobody who is supposed to be in your category is going to do something impossible for your category. If you are feeling like a situation is impossible, other people are too.  But there are some people who understand that this difficulty is only temporary, and that if it is difficult, it means there’s an opportunity, not that something is inherently wrong.

Every time up a hill, there's someone less (or less of someone) to deal with at the end.  That crosswind is making the people who like to sit in get gapped and work even harder. In fact, during crosswinds, there’s rarely a second echelon in regular category racing, because so many people want to sit in!  When the field is strung out, those in front are essentially gaining a gap on those in the back half of the field. When it is strung out, people are trying to close gaps by going even faster than the group is already going that caused the gap in the first place! These are opportunities!

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When your mind goes to thinking about how hard it is, you are literally deciding if it is going to be you or someone else that is in difficulty.  When it is hard, it is hard for everyone.  It comes down to who is willing to accept, expect, and leverage it.

Don't let the race happen to you.

You aren't a victim of your race.
Make your race happen.

-Christian & Noah Williams