General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Making the switch from Tri to Road Racing Rss Feed  
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2014-10-09 9:58 AM

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194
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, North Carolina
Subject: Making the switch from Tri to Road Racing
Hey Guys,

I've spent the last two years doing Tri's with a fair amount of success, but since I moved to a new area and there is not a good pool where I can consistently swim, I have considered making the switch to bike races. What are your thoughts on making the transition in the off season and is there anything I should watch out for? Would I change my training much (obviously groups rides will be more beneficial for road races as opposed to tri's).

Any Input would be great!


2014-10-09 12:58 PM
in reply to: triathlonpal07

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The Woodlands, TX
Subject: RE: Making the switch from Tri to Road Racing
USAC races are a VERY different type of experience than triathlon bike legs. Do some searches here and over on slowtwitch, as there are a lot of older threads on this same topic that provide a lot of good information on making this transition.

Some skills don't matter at all for triathlon, but are critical for successful cycling races. Group rides are important, but you'll benefit much more from participating in your local hammerfest then you will from social rides. Fast cornering, quick recovery from anerobic efforts, knowing where to position yourself and how to read the pack are all things you have to develop. For me, it took about a season and a half of occasional racing to make the transition. There are lots of books and training plans geared toward cyclists.....I'm sure you can use the off-season to develop the physical side......but I don't think there's much of a substitue for the actual race experience to hone and develop your racing skills.
2014-10-09 2:32 PM
in reply to: g_shotts

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194
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, North Carolina
Subject: RE: Making the switch from Tri to Road Racing
That's good info to hear! I knew it was a lot different and that the Bike leg of a Tri was more like a TT (I've actually done some of those) but I guess the best thing to do is to just do it! There are a few Crit Series here in the Winston area as well as the Winstons-Salem Cycling Classic so I should have a good many opportunities to cut my teeth.
2014-10-10 8:47 AM
in reply to: triathlonpal07

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over a barrier
Subject: RE: Making the switch from Tri to Road Racing
I would look for a Weekly Crit series that is held during the week. They are usually low key but great for learning to dive into corners with guys on either side of you. If you get dropped, you can usually just jump back in...no scoring / prizes etc.

2014-10-10 9:12 PM
in reply to: #5058248

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194
100252525
, North Carolina
Subject: RE: Making the switch from Tri to Road Racing
There is one near me... Nor quite weekly, but about twice a month from March-September... Sponsored by a local shop... I think I'll have to jump on that next season... So apart from the tactics etc that I'll only learn from racing, what race specific physical skills should I look to develop in the off season?
2014-10-13 4:45 PM
in reply to: triathlonpal07

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Subject: RE: Making the switch from Tri to Road Racing
If you didn't read it already, MonkeyClaw gives a great response in the "school me on road racing" thread, it's a "sticky" so it stays at the top, under Announcements.

Briefly;

1. Don't bring a tri bike to a practice crit if you have a road bike. In general they make group riders nervous, especially if you get down into aero; you need to be on the brakes ready to tap them in the pack, or you could cause a pile up.

2. When you go to a practice crit, ask lots of questions. We had a bad problem with crashes this year and it seemed like people just dropped in and started riding (not that I'm all that experienced, but asked a lot of questions). Some guys (and women) have a problem admitting they don't know everything.

3. You may find riding in a pack to be uncomfortable at first. You will be inches behind the cyclist in front, inches to the right, left, and you may have someone inches off your rear wheel. Imagine if someone taps a wheel, drops a water bottle, or veers in any direction.

4. Don't half-wheel. That means overlapping your front wheel with the persons rear wheel in front of you. If you're overlapping, and they swerve to miss something (dropped water bottle, swerving to miss another accident) they'll take you out as well when their wheel hits your front wheel.

5. "Hold your line" I heard that yelled a bunch of times in my first race, pretty sure it means to keep the same line through a turn as the person in front. There's a big temptation to turn inside the bike in front, taking a shorter distance and passing them. Big potential for mayhem there. Though I've asked some people and gotten different answers on what that means.



As far as physical skills, do more interval work. Where triathlon is dialing up the power and holding it constant (preferably) criteriums and road races are more interval based, with a lot of attacking (sprinting).

And not to scare you away, but where I've been doing triathlons for about 4 years now, and have maybe 8000 miles training and racing, in my 9th or so crit this year had a bad crash and broke my collar bone. First broken bone ever for me. I'll do more crits, only because I don't want to have my last one be a crash, but won't do as many in a season. Was in the final sprint, and someone just drifted/swerved into me, there was pretty much nothing I could do.


2014-10-14 9:31 AM
in reply to: tcj103

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over a barrier
Subject: RE: Making the switch from Tri to Road Racing
Holding your line isn't really about following the wheel in front of you (although that could be part of it), its staying in the same 'lane' throughout a turn so you're not drifting into someone else. That's how people get chopped. You can move up lots of spots during turns if you have the correct line.
2014-10-14 9:47 AM
in reply to: 0

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Greenville, SC
Subject: RE: Making the switch from Tri to Road Racing

I kind of transitioned this year, did a lot of road racing.  I'd recommend doing a lot of interval based training with 15/30/60s repeats to get your top end up there.  lots of group riding to get comfortable in a group.  you need to be able to eat/drink while going around winding roads at +30mph with riders inches from you on all sides.  you might want to find a friend and go ride in a field intentionally bumping into each other to get used to the contact and maintaining balance.  also be prepared to crash; don't race it if you can't replace it.  luckily i had no major damage to my bike this year, but i did regain consciousness in the back of an ambulance once.  invest in tegaderm before you need it. 



Edited by Clempson 2014-10-14 9:49 AM
2014-10-15 6:19 AM
in reply to: triathlonpal07

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Subject: RE: Making the switch from Tri to Road Racing
I kind of went in the opposite direction… I used to race when I was younger and then as I stopped racing, transitioned into duathlons (always been a pretty fast runner despite not really doing much training).

Bike racing is an entirely different way of riding. You will need to do lots of intervals as that's pretty much what you'll experience in a road race. It'll take you a couple of seasons of racing to figure out your strengths and how to minimize your weaknesses. In general, you want to save as much energy as possible until you really need it and then go all out. It's quite tough for a triathlete to make this switch as tri's all about steady state power, not "surge and settle". TT's are actually quite different than tri's… if you want to learn how to suffer, do TT's… You want to get over the finish line completely cross-eyed and ready to puke. If you can clip out, then you could've gone faster. :-)
2014-10-15 7:07 AM
in reply to: #5058248

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194
100252525
, North Carolina
Subject: RE: Making the switch from Tri to Road Racing
This is some great stuff! Thanks guys. Has anyone thought about starting a purely Cycling mentor group? I would totally be on board with that if we did one this next cycle if groups.
2014-10-16 2:49 PM
in reply to: triathlonpal07

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Ridgeland, Mississippi
Subject: RE: Making the switch from Tri to Road Racing

Originally posted by triathlonpal07 Hey Guys, I've spent the last two years doing Tri's with a fair amount of success, but since I moved to a new area and there is not a good pool where I can consistently swim, I have considered making the switch to bike races. What are your thoughts on making the transition in the off season and is there anything I should watch out for? Would I change my training much (obviously groups rides will be more beneficial for road races as opposed to tri's). Any Input would be great!

I just signed on with a local road team recently and will be making a similar switch in focus.  There's a lot of good info out there.  Good luck if you give it a go!



2014-10-20 3:02 PM
in reply to: triathlonpal07

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Subject: RE: Making the switch from Tri to Road Racing

Lots of good info already mentioned.  The best advice is simply to ride with guys that race.  Their training rides often simulate aspects of racing as they will attack each other at certain points and put the hammer down on the hills...road racers just can't help themselves.

As you get used to the different efforts required for road racing, don't forget to observe the tactics and strategies.  Road racing is not just about pure fitness and/or aerodynamics...it's about timing, anticipation, and being smart.  

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