Race preparation rides

[Herbsman]

I've read that the day before a race, a short, fast ride should be done with some hard 30sec-1min efforts. But should there be much resistance? i.e. should I do these on my rollers, which allow me to ride at a really high cadence with barely any resistance, or should I do them on the turbo trainer which has variable resistance?

[JohnBarleycorn]

There are many schools of thought on this.......

I have done the following, over the years......

Two hour gentle ride

Day off

Two days off

30 minutes at 140bpm

15 minutes hard, 5 minutes easy, then 3x3 minutes at race pace, eyeballs out, with three minutes recovery !

30 minutes with a few random sprints

And the result ?

If you have great form, then any of those will produce good results. If you are struggling with form or fitness, then the easier the better, the day before a race. You need to experiment, to see what works for you. Also, the length of the race will make a difference. And is the event part of a training plan, or are you tapering for a good performance ?

As far as your plan is concerned, you would need to have enough resistance to get your heart up to a good speed. I would say a high resistance, as the idea is to open the lungs up and stimulate the muscles. So make it tough !

[fredrikw]

Did this year's first MTB marathon yesterday, and the days leading up to this included the following:
Mon: rest
Tue: 1 hour easy ride
Wed: Hard 9 minute intervals at race intensity on technical terrain
Thu: 2x20 threshold intervals
Fri: 1 hour easy ride
Sat: 2x20 threshold intervals
Sun: Race

Worked fine and my legs were smoking hot on the race

I'd say that how you prepare for a race has a lot to do with your fitness level and how you're used to train. Resting too much before a race is probably not a good idea, sure you'll feel rested but perhaps not at the top of your game.

[bob_summers]

Good to see you back Fredrik

[fredrikw]

I never left.

[bob_summers]

Ah you were lurking then

[Herbsman]

This whole race prep ride thing is a worldwide ploy to tire out inexperienced racers before the event. Shame on you all.

[DanielS]

If you have great form, then any of those will produce good results. If you are struggling with form or fitness, then the easier the better, the day before a race. You need to experiment, to see what works for you.

I agree with this.

Its true about the good form quote - when I was in really good form about 18 months ago, I did a hard 100km ride on a Saturday, and on the Sunday morning I had my best race performance ever - I took off solo from the gun and stayed away for the duration of a 40 minute crit! No way I could do anything like that now... I'd be lucky to last 1 minute!

Herbsman - I would say your rollers are fine, with some short hard efforts and mostly just spinning the legs out. There is no set formula. I think it is better to do at least something, rather than a total day off.