- Think ahead to the Maratona.
You're fit, focused, and primed to hit the Dolomites.
- But wait.
Is there anything more that you could do,
to make things even better?
You know those marginal gains or handy little tips,
that could make all the difference on the day.
- Yes!
We've got five Maratona hacks.
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To protect your value mobile phone, your cards,
and your money, it's a good idea to put them
in a resealable sandwich bag.
Which you can then stow in your back pocket
to protect them from sweat and rain.
Or, a handy little phone case just like this.
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Early morning in the Dolomites, sat on the start line.
Can be a little bit of a chilly affair.
And perhaps even chillier, if it happens to be raining.
So really good idea, although you might look just
a little bit weird, is to cut some holes in the bin liner,
pop it over you to keep you warm and dry.
And then you can dispose
of it before you head off on your ride.
What are you wearing that for?
'Cause we were supposed
to meet 15 minutes ago and you're late again.
Are you warm though?
- I'm (bleep) boiling
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Now the Maratona may not be a race.
But that doesn't mean that you can't benefit
from some good tactics on the day.
- You're certainly right Dan.
Now regardless of the distance of Maratonial riding,
it's a good idea to start things off
at a really easy steady pace.
In fact, slightly easier
than the pace that you'd normally ride at.
- Yeah, so ease yourself in for the first hour or so.
And after that point, you can begin
to lift your tempo ever so slightly.
And in the final third of your event,
you can lift it even more if you're still feeling good.
Now it's far better to do it this way
than the other way around, because if you start too hard
at the Maratona, and you start to suffer,
there really is no hiding place.
- Now another great little cheeky tactic, is to sit
in as many wheels, or on as many wheels as you can.
Now admittedly, there's not many flat sections
on the Maratona.
But, at every opportunity if you sit in the wheels,
these occasions will accumulate
and save yourself plenty of energy.
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- The Maratona is an event
which is completely closed to traffic.
And it's also very well marshalled and sign posted.
So it's fair to say, you are probably not going to get lost.
- Yeah, so by planning your route what me mean is,
is knowing when the climbs are coming up
and how long they are.
And where the feed stations are.
And that way you'll have a far better idea of how
to plan your pacing strategy, and also how much food
and drink to carry or not carry up those long climbs.
- Yeah, 'cause after all there's no point in carrying half
a kilo of excess fluid in a bottle on your bike,
if you know that at the top
of that climb there's a feed zone.
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- It's also a really good idea to take a couple
of spare zip ties to make sure your frame number
isn't dangling, flapping, and generally getting in the way.
- And along similar lines, it's also a good idea
to take some spare safety pins with you.
That way you can put your number on your jersey,
so it fits nice and snug.
'Cause you'd be surprised at just how much energy you
can save over the course of six hours, by pinning it
on nicely, versus having it act as a windbreaker.
- Or a sail.
- Or a parachute.
Now if you are a rider who's done multiple sportives
or Gran Fondos over many years, and you've
got your own hacks which could help our viewers,
then we'd leave to hear from you.
You can leave those in the comments section just down below.
- Yeah and while you're at it, if you haven't already,
you can subscribe to the channel.
It's absolutely free.
Please make sure you tell your mates as well.
- Yeah once you've done that, we've got a couple more videos
which we think that you might be interested in right now.
The first being, how to pin your numbers on like a pro.
- For keep it aero, or for our top 10 bike hacks,
you can click just down here.
And don't forget to like and share.