Winning Endurance Mountain Bike Races

The proper preparation for winning endurance mountain bike races is a multifaceted endeavor. Did ya catch that? I mean, Do you want to win a 12 or 24 hour mountain bike race this season? Well listen up. There are a lot of things to consider, so the best approach is to break it down into parts to make sure you have your bases covered, or at least your saddle.

I will discuss the five key elements that a racer should focus on to win endurance mountain bike races. These include the physical demands of the bike trail. What type of mountain bike to race. What kind of gear is needed. The mental state of mind a ride should have. And finally, what the racer should eat before, during and after the race.

Physical training is the one thing that most people would concentrate on before entering an endurance race, but what are the finer points of physical training? This isn’t a fun ride in the BMX park with your buddies. You will be asking your body to perform for an extended period of time. To prepare for this, good riders, will spend ample time on their road bikes. They are focusing on spinning. This is keeping a constant pace in regards to your pedal stroke and concentrating on pulling up on your pedals with the same force as when pushing down. Rode riding will allow you to focus on your heart rate as well. Many riders train and race with a heart rate monitor. Training with this technology, you will be able to increase endurance much faster than in the past. Racing with this technology you will be able to maintain a heart rate zone that your body can endure all the way to the finish line.

Riding the right bike may seem a bit silly to discuss, but is an important factor in an endurance mountain biking race. The racer, you, needs to be familiar with the race course. Bike weight can play a big role in the energy need to win the race. If the race course is mainly logging roads, double track and the like then a hard tail or even a single speed bike will perform great cutting down on unnecessary. If the race course has several rock gardens and technical sections than some riders will choose a dual suspension cross country bike.

Having and, more importantly, organizing the right gear for the race may be the deciding factor in a close race. If you know that your laps are taking one or two hours a piece then you can separate your gear into bags and label them according to time of day or lap number. This means fresh clothes (long sleeve for early and late day laps and cooler clothes for mid-day laps,) Put your bike light in the gear bag for nighttime laps along with clear lenses and maybe some chamois grease or Bengay. These bags are also where you can put lap specific foods.

I think mental preparation is where many athletes fail in any given sport. Be prepared to pep yourself up throughout the day. This is going to be a long day. There will be times when you feel down or even think about quitting. This is a good time to remember that mountain biking is fun. You are here because you like it. Put some pink streamers on your handlebars. Say, thank you, to someone cheering you on. I promise you will get more energy back than you spent saying it. If something bad does arise (i.e. equipment malfunction, big wreck) just relax. You will be much better able to solve it with a clear head. Remember: you will be here all day.

Lastly, the food you take in before, during, and after your race will dramatically affect your performance. Athletes should always maintain a balanced diet. Take in consideration the weather when planning your race diet. If it will be extremely hot on race day think about extra salt and potassium. I will sometimes add salt to my sports drink and force myself to eat an extra banana. DO NOT try anything for the first time the day of a race. You will be stressing your body out enough just racing. You do not want to start a lap take a suck of drink and find out that your stomach can’t handle an extra teaspoon of salt in a quart of sports drink.

There is much more to an endurance mountain bike race than hoping on a bike and pedaling fast. You have to pedal fast for a long time. The best way to be the best you can be on race day is to be prepared. Prepared with the right training, the right bike the right gear, the right food, and the right frame of mind. For the all the gear, click here. The rest is totally up to you. Good luck.