4ucycling

Road Racing is the most famous form of cycle racing. The idea behind a road race is very simple. A bunch of cyclists start at the same place and the first among them to cross a finish lines win. This type of race is called a mass start. There are however a ton of different formats of races that are available that are a lot more complicated then just your basic mass start. There are the races like the incredibly famous European tour races such as the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France which are stage races around a country. The biggest is the the tour de France which lasts 21days and covers 2500 miles. The only sporting events that are larger then the tour de France is the Olympics and the world cup. There are around 50 professional teams in Europe with about 1000 members who are pretty much the best in the entire world. If you are an American looking to get into road racing, our season lasts from February to October with the biggest months being May June and July. Most road r...

It is no surprise that cycling confidence plays a critical role in cycling performance.  Fostering cycling confidence is sometimes easier said than done.  Cycling can be an intimidating, and sometimes dangerous sport.   Crashes can, and will happen in bicycle racing.  How do you overcome your fear of crashing to achieve cycling success? Let's begin with with the question.  What is cycling confidence?  Cycling confidence means that you are able to ADAPT to a situation, and BELIEVE in yourself when it matters most.  Your cycling confidence allows you to exercise your personal freedom to eliminate anxiety, self-doubt, and indecision during a criterium, road race or time trial. Second, where does cycling confidence come from?  Simply put, cycling confidence comes from how you choose to PERCEIVE yourself as a bicycle racer. Let's breakdown the definition to the ABCs of Cycling Confidence.  A is for Adaptability.  B is for Believe in You...

A criterium or a crit as it is sometimes known as, is a short cycling race around a closed circuit. The circuit is usually somewhere between 1km and 5km is length and generally is closed off from other street traffic. Criterium's are usually raced as either a time duration or a number of laps of the circuit. For time duration races, a time limit is set plus an additional 1-3 laps. For example a crit stating that it is 45 mins + 3 laps, means that the racers will ride the circuit for around 45 minutes and then complete 3 more laps to determine the winner. The race referee will blow a whistle at the end of a time period and ring a bell with 1 lap to go. Because of the frequent turns and high speeds, bike handling ability is vitally important during a criterium. To successfully race and win criteriums, riders need a good balance between bicycle handling skills, explosive power to close gaps and accelerate out of corners as well as a fast final sprint. The rider must also have good...

Often dubbed the race of truth, the time trail is one of the purest disciplines in the world of cycling. Each rider against the clock, the time trail is a true test of fitness, technique and attitude. Depending upon the distance of the race, time trailing can offer something for everyone. In the UK at least, time trails are regularly held over set distances, usually 10, 25, 30, 50 and 100 miles as well as 12 and 24 hours. As roads have become a little more congested, hilly courses or less rounded distances on circuits, on quieter roads are also gaining in popularity. Many stage races also pepper the race with times trails as a means of testing riders under different conditions. While skilled sprinters may become adept at hiding in the field until the last 100 meters, the time trail offers an opportunity to riders who have both natural speed and a mindset that enjoys the prolonged effort. During races such as the Tour de France, the race is begun with a prologue time trail. The prolog...

To take cycle training classes or use a home cycling program... that is the question. Let's go over the pro's and con's of both to help you decide. CYCLING CLASSES: PROS 1) You won't be alone in your struggle to maintain your fitness through cycle workouts. 2) There will always be a trained instructor available for you to ask questions or get advice from 3) You won't have to worry about where buy or keep a stationary cycle. CYCLING CLASSES: CONS 1) Most cycle training classes are held in gyms or fitness studios, which means you'll have to deal with traveling and monthly payments. 2) If you don't like working out in public or are self conscious about your fitness level, cycling in a class setting might not be the option you'd fit best with. 3) As much as I love cycling classes, there is always the element of hygiene to be aware of. I'm not saying you have to worry tremendously, but it's good to be mindful to wipe down your seat a...

If you're trying to improve your cycling performance you've probably tried all sorts of training ideas - perhaps you've read up on the subject in a number of pro cyclist training books and have become an 'expert' in nutrition, ideal training distances and the cycling equipment you should have. However the chances are you're still not as fast as you could be. In fact you might even be seriously hindering your progress by doing the wrong type training at the wrong time. If you want to get better at something you have to do more of it. But not many of us have oodles of free time to devote to our cycling training especially if we are already training hard and as often as we dare without upsetting our other half or quitting our day jobs! The answer is to make the most of the training we're already doing. We need to train smarter not more. The changes you can make to your training can vary from very simple and easy to implement ideas, such as that listed below...

The spirit of competing has always presented itself in mankind since our prehistoric ancestors started to walk upright millions of years ago. It was much simpler then, they competed for food, shelter and territory. As in any other sports, cycling has its fair share of events, testing and pushing the limits of the cyclist to outdo and outperform each other for sake of glory and victory. Cycling competition started towards the end of the 19th Century and has been continuously growing ever since. The first recorded cycling event actually happened about 140 years ago on May 31st, 1868 held in Paris, at the 'Parc de Saint-Cloud' (famous for its beautiful gardens) which was won by a British rider named James Moore. Road cycling was also included in the first Olympic Games back in 1896. With the introduction of different designs of bicycles and cycling discipline, the sport grew even faster, such as Track, Mountain Bike and in 2008, BMX being the latest addition cycling sporting event...