Becoming a Competitive Cyclist

So you have the right bike, high performance cycling equipment, and you were wondering what it takes to become a competitive cyclist. Cycling obviously requires both physical and mental stamina. However, More importantly, as our physical strength is depleted, we must rely upon our mental strength to race hard. This type of strength usually developed over time and after we have some good racing experience under our belt. In the mean time you will need to develop other skills down the road.

Where you need to focus
If you are a novice cyclist you should concentrate on building endurance by increasing the distance of workouts and improving proper technique before building muscular strength and speed. This usually takes few months.

This endurance stage includes considerable amount of cycling which leads many athletes to believe that volume is dominant to performance in racing events.
With this in mind, many athletes make a great effort to find the time to put the desired distance. However, lifestyle restrictions, early sunsets, and traffic all contribute to reducing the amount of time we can spend on the bike. The answer and usually the next stage lie in intensity.

Bike intensity is usually the primary factor deciding between competing and merely finishing. Strength and concentration are the other factors in the determining formula for cycling speed. If you include good aerodynamic positioning, efficient pedalling, and decent technique, you will have everything needed for a fast bike split.

What If you have a running background?
If you have a running background you probably noticed that cycling requires different muscle groups, pressure points, and heart rates than running. If you are not familiar with any type of endurance training or sport that lasts an hour or more, you will discover that long distance, cycling is a lot less difficult on the body than then same amount of hours running.

What If you’re into triathlons?
If you’re into triathlons cycling is usually more essential than the other events as it take the majority of time during the race. Experienced cyclists have an immense lead in the age-group divisions, and even the excellent runners must be capable at cycling to have a chance to win. In addition, Cycling endurance and strength frequently carry over to the other two events.

Final words
The beauty about cycling or any competitive sport is that you can use the discipline, determination and dedication that you learn in cycling and implement it on your daily life and become the best you can, no matter how painful and hard it is.
Enjoy the ride.

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7 Responses to “Becoming a Competitive Cyclist”

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