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OTHER CYCLING : Coaching Advice : Paddy Doran Last Updated: 19 Jul 2021 - 7:26:24 PM

PREPARATION FOR THE 2005 FBD INSURANCE RAS
By PADDY DORAN
21 Dec 2004,

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The RÁS - One of the biggest challenges for Irish cyclists

First of all we must congratulate Dermot Dignam and his team for securing the future of the FBD Insurance Ras with the recent announcement of the Title sponsor and wish them all the best for the future.

The Ras is most likely going to be the biggest challenge that most Irish club riders take on in their cycling career and it is a race that every ambitious road rider should have as a major goal.

SERIOUS CHALLENGE:

However it is also a very serious challenge to take on and preparation for the race should be treated with respect. Before you begin to prepare for an event it is essential that you know exactly what it is that you are preparing for. The next three months preparation are crucial to any rider who want s to be in good shape for the Ras.

WHAT DEMANDS DOES THE RAS PLACE ON A RIDER?

Whats it going to take to compete well, or even to survive the rigors of the Ras. I enclose a table below of a record of each stage of a part time riders (Colm Brackens) 2003 Ras showing the minimum and maximum Stage distance - Time - Speed - Heart rate, and cadence he had to endure or produce during each stage.

ANALYSIS OF ONE RIDERS 2003 RAS STAGES:


As you can see by the above table, you will have to be able to cover long distances with intermittent speeds varying from Circa 30 KPH up to 70 + KPH and still remain in the group. This will be over terrain, which varies from flat to very hilly and mountainous, and the weather could be hot - warm - cool - cold - windy or even all of them on the one day.

You should be able to ride in a sheltered position in the main group or breakaway groups to conserve energy, regardless of the wind conditions.

Your immune system must remain strong during the event so that you remain free from colds etc.

Riders climb Mount Leinster during the 7th stage of the Ras

CAN A PART TIME RIDER COMPETE FOR HONOURS IN THE RAS?

YES without a doubt, I have personally coached a number of part time riders over the years that have won the overall prize, worn the yellow jersey, won a fair number of stages and had high overall places. These would all have been very determined disciplined riders who lead a sporting lifestyle and were smart trainers.

So if a rider has some talent and is very smart and disciplined in their training and lifestyle, and can race well tactically, they can certainly get a high overall placing or stage wins or places. Paddy Moriarty and Paul Griffin have proved this on a number of occasions during the last few years even against world-class riders.

However it is getting harder to win the overall prize for a part time rider as the full time riders, particularly riders who are riding international level stage races before the RAS are more likely to have greater consistency and recovery from stage to stage as a result of their greater endurance levels.

WHAT AGE SHOULD YOU BE AND WHAT LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE DO YOU NEED?

It takes time and miles to develop the physical maturity and build up the endurance with good mileage to ride the Ras and recover well afterwards.

Depending on your ability you should have a minimum of two years riding as a senior rider. Some riders might not be ready for it until they have even more years of racing in their legs. This means riding and performing reasonably well in category one races, at the very least in the year that you intend to ride the Ras.

Dave McCann's attack on the descent off Mt. Leinster which put him in Yellow

SO HOW ARE YOU GOING TO PREPARE?

How you train is going to have the biggest influence on all of the above factors!

- Plan your training really well, according to the route. Will it be mainly flat or hilly?

- Training should be based around your work / study

- Plan to have your best performance of the year at the Ras

- Be very disciplined and lead a sporting lifestyle

- Vary your training to address the information in the table above.

SO HOW SHOULD YOU TRAIN?

The table above tells you exactly how to train.

You need to improve your basic endurance and your ability to ride at high speeds for periods of time.

You must be able to ride at different cadences with varying power outputs according to the terrain and speed of the race, as well as being skilful at getting shelter in groups and looking after yourself in regard to nutrition. So you must prepare accordingly.

GENERAL TRAINING ADVICE:

Treat your self to a physiological and sports medicine / blood tests to get the base information which will help you to train efficiently and also to be sure that you are in good shape and ready to train.

It is most important to go to the specialists, who are very knowledgeable in these areas and who can also refer athletes to other specialist areas of sports medicine if required.

WHERE?

- Trinity College Dept of Anatomy

- UCC dept of Physiology

- NCTC University of Limerick

I have some experience of the three institutes above and I know that experts in physiology who have a lot of experience with competitive cyclists staff them.

I know that the institutes below also carry out physiological testing, but I am not sure how many cyclists use them but I am sure they will be also very competent at what they do.

- DCU

- Tralee IT

- Jordan Town or Queens University

TRAINING ORGANIZATION:

- Get an accredited coach involved in planning your training

- Follow a training plan

- Organise a well-disciplined training group

- Be progressive when increasing your training loads

- Be sure to get a good balance between training work / study and rest

- Increase your training according to your current fitness level

TIME MANAGEMENT:

Work out what time you can give to training on a weekly and daily basis.

Plan training around your work and other commitments. For example if you know that some days in work / college will be busier or easier than others plan your training accordingly.

Can you (safely) use some of your commuting time for training? For example can you use your bike to commute work / study and go training directly from work / study. This can save you a lot of time every week and changes commuting to a hugely beneficial fitness activity.

TRAINING:

Have a specific purpose to each training session

Over the next few months, work on progressively increasing your endurance with good mileage. You certainly need to be able to cycle for up to five hours by the end of March at the latest and preferably even to be able to put a number of these long days together.

If you cannot get out on the bike because of darkness and / or dangerous roads maintain and increase your midweek training with other Aerobic activities and the turbo trainer

If the road conditions stops you going out on the bike on some weekend days also use jogging and a turbo trainer to maintain the training loads.

Gradually and very progressively introduce some more intensive efforts as your fitness improves. Bearing in mind what you are working towards and keeping the table of speed, cadence etc in mind. This is going to be very demanding as you are trying to simulate race conditions.

Balance your training and recovery, rest and nutrition to keep your immune system strong.

I believe a rider who works or studies should only train a maximum of five days.

The final winners podium for the 2004 Ras

TECHNIQUE:

For the part time rider good technique and smart tactics can minimise some of the differences in physical fitness between themselves and some of the full - time riders.

For example getting optimum shelter in groups can save you lots of energy and get you through each stage as well as possible. Throughout the week of the Ras this will help you recover a little better day by day, and by the end of the week this could mean the difference of being placed in a stage or the overall or even finishing the race.

So work on getting good shelter in groups throughout the next few months. Be conscious of which direction the wind is coming from and become adept at changing the formation of your group accordingly so that everyone is getting maximum shelter from the wind. Eventually you should be doing this at or near race speed. .

Remember when practicing technique, every one in the group should know what it is that you are trying to achieve. You always must stay within the rules of the road and ride safely when doing technique training.

WHEN SHOULD YOU BEGIN?

About six weeks ago! - Early November

'The future depends on what we do in the present'
Mahatma Gandhi

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Paddy Doran can be contacted at paddydoran@hotmail.com

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Information for next years FBD Insurance Ras is already up on the new event website www.fbdinsuranceras.com


Paddy Doran
Latest Headlines
Paddy Doran — R.I.P.
How to Recover and Get Major Benefits from the Ras
PEAKING FOR THE EASTER STAGE RACES
SAFE RACING
Deliberate Practice The Flanagan Brothers s Super Session

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