{"id":825,"date":"2021-07-05T17:41:27","date_gmt":"2021-07-05T15:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/?p=825"},"modified":"2021-07-05T17:41:27","modified_gmt":"2021-07-05T15:41:27","slug":"how-to-get-into-bike-racing-skoda-dsi-academy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2021\/07\/05\/how-to-get-into-bike-racing-skoda-dsi-academy\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get into bike racing? &#8211; \u0160koda DSI Cycling Academy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\">If you want to enter your first bike race, road racing or time trialling, read the \u0160koda DSI Cycling Academy rider&#8217;s comprehensive guide on how to get involved.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Road Racing\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Introduction to road racing<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">After cycling for a few months or years you might decide to bite the bullet and throw yourself into the crazy world of road racing! You\u2019ll need to decipher exactly what kind of racing you want to do. The two main forms are Citerium and Road races. Criteriums or \u201cCrits\u201d as they\u2019re referred to are normally fast, technical and held on short circuits either in a town centre or a motor circuit whereas Road races are longer in length will normally go from point A to B and finish on a hill.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Before your first race <\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">In order to take part in these you\u2019ll need to get yourself a race licence if you want to race in the UK it has to be a British Cycling Licence either Silver or Gold. It also doesn\u2019t matter if your 25 or 65 you\u2019ll start as a Category 4 racer. The category system is pretty simple there\u2019s 5 Categories: Cat 4, Cat 3, Cat 2, Cat 1 and Elite, once you start racing, you\u2019ll accumulate points if you finish in certain positions, say 1st-10th, then over time these points will help you move into the next category.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Entering <\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Once you\u2019ve received your race licence and have decided what type of race you want to enter then get online and enter it! There will never be the right time so just enter it and have some fun. It is best not to enter racing expecting to get on the podium instead go out and enjoy it!<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Race day <\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">In order to be fresh and prepared on race-day it is best to work backwards from the day of the race for planning your training; in-terms of how many hours you\u2019re going to ride in the lead up. Think about what race fuel is going to help you on the day, then the evening before your race check out what time sign on opens and closes as these will vary depending on what time your race will start. Once you have arrived at sign on leaving your race licence at HQ, don\u2019t forget to factor in pinning numbers on (which is pretty time consuming if you\u2019re doing it yourself). If you have time a quick warmup prerace, consisting of a lap or two to scout out technical factors of the course but apart from that go enjoy racing your first race!<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Post Race <\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Take a spin back to your car to cool down but don\u2019t miss out on getting over to the village hall to grab that well deserved sandwich and coffee which will inevitably lead you to get chatting with your competition, congratulate the winner in the prize ceremony and don\u2019t forget to pick your race licence back up from sign on!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2021\/07\/CiCLE-Womens-2021-SCODA-Race-Day-1-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-extra-large wp-image-895\" src=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2021\/07\/CiCLE-Womens-2021-SCODA-Race-Day-1-1920x1280.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2021\/07\/CiCLE-Womens-2021-SCODA-Race-Day-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2021\/07\/CiCLE-Womens-2021-SCODA-Race-Day-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2021\/07\/CiCLE-Womens-2021-SCODA-Race-Day-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2021\/07\/CiCLE-Womens-2021-SCODA-Race-Day-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2021\/07\/CiCLE-Womens-2021-SCODA-Race-Day-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2021\/07\/CiCLE-Womens-2021-SCODA-Race-Day-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/18\/2021\/07\/CiCLE-Womens-2021-SCODA-Race-Day-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Time Trailing\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Introduction to time trialling<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Time trialling is an excellent way to get into competitive cycling. You\u2019ll find a mix of local club events (more casual races, usually on an evening), and open time trials (more formal races, usually on a weekend), both of which are a great way to begin your racing career. A time trial simple way to test yourself against the clock over a given distance, all you need to take part is a bicycle, a helmet and a rear light!<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Race length<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Before you enter your first race, you\u2019ll need to choose your preferred distance. Most time trials are of standard length &#8211; 10 or 25 miles, as well as longer events of 50 or 100 miles. Other events may be held on sporting courses of other, varied lengths. Being the shortest distance, a 10 is often a good one to start with and will give you a taste of just why time trialling is so popular with such a big range of riders throughout the UK cycling community.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>How to enter<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Unlike road racing, you don\u2019t need a licence to race, to be eligible for a time trial the only requirement is that you are a member of a Cycling Time Trials (CTT) affiliated club (this is for insurance purposes). A list of affiliated clubs can be found on the CTT website, if you\u2019re not yet a member then your local club would love to have you join, and it\u2019ll be a great way to meet other keen cyclists who can help to advise you on local events you might be interested in too. A list of upcoming races can be found on the CTT website. Most club events can be entered on the day, while open event entry is via the website, closing dates and entry instructions can be found on the event page.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Before your first race<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">It\u2019s a good idea to research the course so you know where you\u2019ll need to go for the start and finish, and familiarise yourself with any junctions or roundabouts within the race. If it\u2019s an open event, a start sheet will be emailed to you containing all of the information you should need to know, for club events you can contact the organising club if you\u2019re unsure and they\u2019ll be more than happy to race. The day before race day it\u2019s a good idea to check your tires, charge your rear light, and get your kit and helmet ready just to make sure you don\u2019t forget anything.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Race Day<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Double check when the race begins and aim to get to the race between 60 and 30 minutes before your start time. Once you arrive, sign on, pin your number, and turn on your rear light; you\u2019re now almost ready to race! It&#8217;s a good idea try to get a little warm up in to wake your legs up, then head to the start with around 5 minutes to spare. Wait your turn, listen to the countdown from 10, and go! Start controlled, and ease into the effort, pacing it as best you can so you can use your very last bit of energy to shout your number to the timekeeper as you cross the finish line. And that\u2019s it &#8211; well done &#8211; you\u2019ve finished your first bike race.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Post-race<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Return to the race HQ and remember to sign out &#8211; then give yourself a pat on the back, enjoy a well-earned cup of coffee and a slice of cake, and get back onto the CTT website to enter your next race! Now you\u2019ve done your first time trial you have a personal goal to chase, next time you ride the same course you can try to go a few seconds quicker!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Now that you know how to get into racing you are ready to go forth and enter your first race\u2026 good luck and let us know how you get on. We\u2019ll be cheering for you from afar!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">The \u0160koda DSI Cycling Academy<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">Find out more about the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/cycling\/skoda-dsi-cycling-academy\/\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"> \u0160koda DSI Cycling Academy<\/span><\/a> and keep up to date with all the latest<\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you want to enter your first bike race, road racing or time trialling, read the \u0160koda DSI Cycling Academy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"global-categories":[2],"class_list":["post-825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-skoda-dsi-cycling-academy","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.3 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to get into bike racing? 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