1st XC race, help me set some goals

If you are unsure you can always go with the “bottle-rocket” tactic. Come out fast, blow up quick and come down hard, or you can just have fun and race YOUR race. If it’s your first time racing in awhile just settle in and keep consistent lap times. For the final lap push it harder to see how your body handles it.

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Below is my first XC race 2 years ago. Actually it was my first bike race ever and at age 40 with 6 weeks of riding. My plan was to start off moderately and then just race my race that felt hard but doable. I ended up 9th out of about 20 racers. I learned a ton about racing in just one race.

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Sure, I did a race recently, and targeted the start. I wanted to see if I could get a fast start and stay with the lead group, and then see how long? It was a blast and I buried myself. But, I gained valuable experience and was happy. No disappointment in the final placing.

Other goals:

  • work on passing, start moderate and try to find the best ways to pass.
  • work on technically clean, keep a constant effort and maintain speed through technical aspects. Not sure how to measure this one.
  • Save yourself for the last lap and see how fast you can go compared to your first lap at the end.
  • do 10 minute surges over unders and see if you can maintain this through the race.
    -Tons of goals you can have to keep it fun, when the podium is an unrealistic goal.

BTW, I would bet that my fitness was as good as most fo the field. I know that my inexperience was the reason I couldn’t keep up. And there is only one way to get experience.

I like the sound of that, i’m racing again in 2 weeks so if i can forget the “go as hard as you can from the gun” mentality then i will give this a go.

It’s your race, but you probably could’ve gained some more experience by finishing. I’d be totally pissed off with myself afterwards if I was unable to resolve a basic tire pressure problem.
That’s me though and I understand it’s entirely personal psychologically.

IME CO2 should be on hand along with tire plugs at a minimum. I’ve burped a front wheel several times and have had punctures that won’t seal. If you practice fixing these problems you can get the repairs down to seconds instead of minutes.
Easily quick enough to get back into the mix.

Best of luck in your next race. I have my 1st race this season on Saturday and can’t wait.

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Perfect! Sound like the right goal in this case. Let us know how you do.