Coach's Tips for... Jefferson Cup

[ed: Here's another article by BJ Basham, part of the series called "Coach's Tips for... ", in which BJ will give you all the inside track on how to race a specific event. BJ knows all these races, and he probably also knows most of the racers hellbent on beating you at them. If you like BJ's contributions, let him know in the Comments section below. You can even ask him questions in the comments, which he'll answer there as well.

Note: This article was first published in 2007 and is re-published here for new readers, new racers, and those of us who forgot a little something during the off-season.]

Coach's Tips for... Jefferson Cup
by BJ Basham
USA Cycling Level II Certified Coach

The Jefferson Cup Road Race, the sign that the new racing season has arrived.

This race is held on a classic loop road couse with plenty of ups and downs and one longer steeper climb to keep you honest.

The roads are usually slow (rough) which can make it a job to even sit in on some sections, and the hills are not long but enough to chew you up if you do not ride smartly.

There are really no races where a good warm-up is not important.  Until you are doing 100 mile races with a flat roll out for the first hour, plan on getting to the race early enough to get in a warm-up. Your warm-up does not need to be as long or intense as you would do for a criterium, but it still needs to be enough to get your aerobic energy system primed and working. Since this is one of the first important races of the season, expect things to start out hot right from the gun.

In the race, where you sit in the field will have a big affect on how well you will be able to respond when the hammer goes down and how much gas you will have in your tank as the race goes on. On a rolling course, the riders in the front half of the field will be able to roll down the hills and carry their momentum on the climbs. The further back in the field you go, the more you will find yourself braking and having to re-accelerate, sometime even on the up-hill, which will kill you.

Mentally it may seem easier to sit in the back, but physically, you will be working much harder than the riders up front.  In the back you do not have to work to defend your position as much, but you will be coasting, braking and re-accelerating much more which means you will be burning up your fuel just sitting in the field.

For any race over an hour, you will want to have food in your pockets or some kind of fuel in your bottles. Use what you always use; race day is no time to experiment.

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BJ Basham is a USA Cycling Level II Certified Coach with Peaks Coaching Group. He lives in Faifax, VA and competes in most of the same races you do. To learn more about his coaching practice and philosophy, just email him.