Top Ten Race Day Tips

In our experience, there are usually just as many flat tires and mechanical problems on race morning, before the race even begins, as there are during the race. Many of these could quite easily be avoided. Here are some tips to help ensure that your day will be as free from mechanical problems as possible.

2. So make it as easy for yourself as possible. Top your tires up the day before. The same way you have, many times before during your training season. Park it in the bike lot. Check to make sure the tires still feel hard the next morning and leave them alone. Don’t pay any attention to everyone else running around with a pump in their hands, stressed about getting that extra 2 psi in their tires.

Now there is an exception to this: tubular tires – some tubulars tend to leak air at a much faster rate than a clincher tire will. So topping up just before the race is a good idea, if your tire feels a bit soft. Just be careful not to let your nerves get the best of you whilst pumping the tire. We always see damaged or destroyed valve stems on race morning due to some over zealousness.

3. Learn how to repair a flat tire correctly – and practice it until you are very comfortable with the process. In our experience almost all the tires that blow whilst parked in the bike lot are due to the tube and tire being incorrectly installed. Also, before replacing a blown tube, ensure that you take the time to find the source of the flat tire, so that you won’t have to repeat the procedure down the road before finding that little thorn. I know this sounds obvious, but it gets neglected or forgotten all the time.

4. We recommend replacing your tires a few days before the race, only if necessary. Many people replace them the day before. The problem is that the installation is quite often done incorrectly. If the tube gets pinched, any problems will usually arise within the first 24 hours – especially shortly after pumping the tires to full pressure. Make sure that you have had a chance to ride the bike at least once or twice after installation. Just inspect them carefully after each ride for cuts and debris.

5. If you have aero wheels that require extra long valve stems, we recommend always carrying a valve extender in your emergency parts kit. That way if, if you run out of your spare tubes, and someone gives you a tube with a regular length stem, it will get you going.

6. Be well equipped with at least 2 spare tubes, tire levers, and a pump. Some glueless patches are a good idea too, just in case. For racers with tubulars ensure that your spare(s) are pre-stretched and pre-glued. For those of you who take the risk of only carrying Co2 cartridges, in place of a pump, ensure that you are very comfortable with using them.

7. Race wheels: The best piece of advice I have about using race wheels is to make sure you’ve had the chance to use them several times during some point of the training season. Also, you need to know how to change a flat tire on those particular wheels. For instance, the spare tubes you’ve been carrying all season long may be good for your training wheels, but may not have a long enough stem for those aero wheels. Or they may require tubulars. Or they may be way more difficult to change a flat tire on than the wheels you’re used to. So if you have an offer to borrow someone’s race wheels at the last moment, and you’re unfamiliar with everything about them, stick with your training wheels. They’ve been good to you all year long – and on race day, there’s a lot to be said for piece of mind.

8. Don’t get too hung up on exact tire pressure. Recent studies have suggested that maximum pressure will not necessarily make for faster tires. It’s been suggested that slightly less than max pressure will help keep better contact with the road surface and produce less vibration. It will also give a more comfortable ride and reduce rider fatigue – which will be of benefit when it comes to the run.

9. Have your bike tuned up or, at least checked before the race with enough time to take it for a few rides before the race. That way, if the bike requires new parts, things like new cables have had a chance to stretch in and be re-adjusted before the race. If you have traveled with your bike in a box, be sure and take it for a good test ride or have it checked to ensure that things like your derailleur, drop-outs or wheels have not been compromised in shipping.

10. On the race course, be careful if you like to ride close to the very outside edge of the road. This is where road debris like glass, staples and tacks tends to collect as well as the nasty thorns (known locally as puncture vine) that come from plants that often grow along the highway.