4ucycling

Professional cyclists are lucky to have a team soigneur. A soigneur is the person in their team who is in charge of food preparation, laundry, massage and other important tasks. Massage is really important for cyclists because it prepares them for a hectic and stressful activity and it also helps them cool down, recover and heal from the said activity. However, if you're a cyclist and you don't have a soigneur, it doesn't mean that you can't get a massage or perform a massage on yourself. Here are some massage tips that you can do on your own: Warm Up: The first thing that you need to do is do a couple of warm up massage strokes. So you need to sit on a towel. Another option is to sit on the edge of a chair or a bed. Loosen the upper leg muscles by quickly stroking them in an up and down motion. It's just like brushing crumbs off of your hands. Afterwhich, proceed to massaging your lower legs. This action will help loosen your calf, your hamstrings and your quadr...

While training the cyclists, one should keep in mind that they must not go after how much distance they cover every week, it is around 400-600 k/m per week is enough. The time should not be wasted on spending extra kilometers which are of no use. For your on satisfaction, you can go to any limit of the extra kilometers but you will not achieve anything extraordinary. Registering in the cyclists training sessions with a calculated number of kilometers and a proper schedule must be followed. It includes various races along with the period of recovery and the divided training sessions. Endurance is very necessary part of any training however in cycling it must be kept in mind that having a session of anaerobic is more necessary than endurance. There is another training given to how to take a break and get recharged while cycling and still win the race. Anaerobic sessions are given more significance in the training and it requires a high level of attention during the training. It m...

As with any sport, to be the best possible, a cyclist has to know the best foods to eat. It may seem like an obvious fact, but the food a cyclist eats should go down easy and stay down. Variety and moderation are two words to remember when racing or touring. Moderation means there are no good foods or bad foods, but rather healthy foods and not-so-healthy foods. Variety is important because nutrients are distributed in many foods. No one super-food contains everything you need. A cyclist will burn more calories than a sedentary person, but that doesn't mean the cyclist has a license to eat anything they want. The correct eating plan will give you energy for an entire race or tour. A diet of low fat and high carbohydrates will provide the needed energy. While a high carb diet is normally taboo for a normal dieter, they are not evil as many are taught to believe. Carbohydrates are actually the body's preferred source of energy. Good sources of carbohydrates are fruits, vegeta...

Dutch cyclist Monique van der Vorst is one very fortunate cyclist. At the age of 13 she was an extremely sporty child, who enjoyed playing hockey and tennis. Unfortunately, when she had to go into hospital for a routine operation on her ankle, she sustained considerable nerve damage to her left leg. This became paralysed from the hip down, ending all her dreams of becoming an accomplished athlete. Undeterred, Monique learnt to master 'hand cycling', operating a specially modified bicycle where the wheels are powered from a crouching position by spinning the pedals by hand. She then went on to compete both nationally and internationally. Kitted in Holland's traditional orange, she won six European titles and three World Championship titles. Tragedy overtook Monique once again that same year, when she was struck by a car. This time the damage was far more severe than her earlier leg injury. Her spinal cord was affected, leaving her paralysed from the waist down. Where les...

The usual approach to train for endurance riding is lots of long rides. On paper this makes sense but in practice it isn't the most effective way to train. A targeted approaching building all facets of cycling fitness will improve your endurance cycling fitness faster than a diet of long steady rides. Learn how to put the pieces together and see your performance increase. There are many fitness factors that let you do well at endurance events. You need high threshold power, good recovery ability, aerobic endurance, muscular endurance, core strength and upper body muscular endurance. If any of these areas are weak you will find your performance drops quickly in the later miles of a long event. Long rides do need to be part of your training program but not the foundation. I advocate a periodized approach that builds functional threshold power and speed with a progression to longer rides as the season progresses. Speed is the hardest thing to build so we spend a far amount of time o...

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...

Organising your Century Bike Ride Training is reasonably straight forward if you plan well. The amount of time you'll need to train prior to completing a Century will depend on your level of cycling ability. I'm going to assume you are fairly new to endurance riding and find an hour or two cycling reasonably comfortable, but about your current limit. If that's you then I recommend starting your training about 3 to 4 months in advance of the big day. If you're a total beginner then I suggest adding another couple of months to the front of the following plan to get yourself to the level of being able to ride 1 to 2 hours comfortably. Plan a few long rides: 25; 50; and 75 miles. You don't want to do the same routes all the time as they'll get monotonous however comparing your first and latest times over the same route will be the easiest way to see how you've improved over time. Also try to pick routes which are similar to the Century ride in terms of numbe...

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...

If you're just setting foot into the fascinating sport of road cycling, you may hear the phrase 'cadence cycling training' and not get what it means. It's just rider lingo meaning how often the pedal turns completely in sixty seconds. You'll also see it referred to as RPM or revolutions per minute. That's an area where people new to cycling fail to understand the importance. Your cadence is the energy unleashed. It's that smooth stroke that some grasp the power of and it makes them winners. Some of the professional cyclists and those who've been riding for years-can keep a cadence going of 100 rpm without any strain at all. Beginners usually start out below 70 rpm. How fast you can pedal and how long you can withstand the strain will actually depend on how well you're conditioned physically. Obviously, you don't want to jump on the bike if you're a beginner and pedal hard and nonstop. That's a sure way to injure those leg muscles. ...

Bicycle racing can be a tough sport. It is common knowledge that the longer bike races are very physically demanding, but even if you race over the shorter distances you will still be faced with the strains on the body from training. For this reason the mental aspect of cycling is very important, as focus and willpower become valuable weapons in the racers armoury. Cycling is one sport where physical ability will only get you so far, which keeps the playing field fairly even and allows the most dedicated riders to climb the ranks in the racing world. So what are the weapons that a cyclist can use to forge their way to the top? Patience - Possibly the greatest skill a cyclist can develop. In most other sports, athletes can achieve success at a very young age. How often do we see school children winning tennis grand-slam titles, 14 year old swimmers taking home Olympic gold medals, teenage football and basketball players becoming instant stars. Cycling is not like this, and it often ta...

Each race has characteristics that are better suited for a certain type of athlete. That's something important to keep in mind when planning your race season. Performing well in a race always brings a personal satisfaction. You see all the dedication is paying off and you get excited to keep up with the hard work, which eventually (after YEARS of consistent training) brings you to your fullest potential as an athlete. At the same time, when a race does not go as planned you feel frustration when you don't understand why the event did not go according to plan, particularly as you have been so dedicated and disciplined with your training. What many athletes do not realize is that each race has characteristics that are better suited for a certain type of athlete. A typical example is a hilly bike course, which generates an advantage for athletes with a greater ratio of power to weight (i.e. light and relatively strong athletes) and for those athletes with highly developed down...

There are many types of cycling disciplines that can be found these days. From cycling for fitness and health to competitive cycling races, there are many choices to consider. This makes the decision to choose the correct one a bit daunting! One of the most popular choices for competitive racers is BMX racing. The BMX bike (or Bicycle Motocross) is also a name that refers to a popular bicycle in itself that is used by many people for casual purposes. BMX racing is an off-road racing competition and is also considered a form of motocross racing. These races are essentially sprints on race tracks that are single laps and purpose built for these competitions. The dirt tracks are usually serpentine-like with big banked corners. Such corners help the BMX racers maintain their racing speed which is crucial to successfully completing the race. A variety of rollers and jumps are incorporated in these courses to test the various skills and agility of the competitors. Official BMX racing is ...

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...

Unlike the name Bicycle Day suggests, it was not the bike that is celebrated as a cherished all-around means of transportation on 19 April. It rather is a particular historical event that is the reason for this festivity – the unforgettable bicycle trip by the Swiss scientist Albert Hofmann. We’ll tell you what happened that day in1943 and where you can celebrate this day! It was not just for Albert Hofmann that his bicycle trip would become a special event. His “trip” was legendary. Bicycle Day namely commemorates the first time that the scientist intentionally took a 250 microgram dose of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). He had only discovered the drug by chance three days before. This amount of white crystalline substance was indeed far smaller than a grain of pepper, but it had a tremendous impact. Less than an hour later, Hofmann began to feel strange and noticed sudden and intense changes in his perception. He decided to pedal home from his laboratory. His bike ride accompanied...

An overview of the most important bike fairs and conferences 2017 in Europe as well as the rest of the world January: Velofollies, 20.01. – 22.01.2016, Kortrijk (Belgium) February: Winter Cycling Congress, 08.02. – 10.02.17, Montréal (Canada) Fiets en Wandelbeurs Amsterdam, 11.02. – 12.02.17, Amsterdam (Netherlands) Fahrrad Essen, 16.02. – 19.02.17, Essen (Germany) The London Bike Show, 16.02. – 19.02.17, London (United Kingdom) European Cycle Logistics Conference, 20.03. – 21.03.17, Vienna (Austria) f.r.e.e. Die Reise- und Freizeitmesse, 22.02. – 26.02.17, München (Germany) March: Berliner Fahrradschau, 03.03. – 05.03.17, Berlin (Germany) ITB Berlin, 08.03. – 12.03.17, Berlin (Germany) DRAUSSEN, 11.03. – 12.03.17, Bremen (Germany) bike aktiv 2017, 17.03. – 19.03.17, Freiburg (Germany) Intertraffic Amsterdam, 20.03. – 23.03.17, Amsterdam (Netherlands) Taipei Cylce Show, 22.03. – 25.03.17, Taipei (Taiwan) April: VELO Berlin, 01.04. – 02.04.17, Berlin (Germany) Urban Bike Festival 20...