- Pro cycling and bike racing in general,
have a few hidden unknowns.
Here are some of the bare truths
of bike racing.
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The races are easy.
Of course not the entire race,
but there are many kilometers raced each year
at the bike racing equivalent of walking pace.
This does not apply to all races fortunately,
but many races throughout a pro calendar,
will have hours and hours,
of just turning the pedals,
at exertion that really is not dissimilar
to going for a walk.
How you then feel,
when the racing kicks of properly,
after this period is crucial.
You should never let yourself go to sleep completely.
The odd thought was,
"Why would you race before the live cameras came out?"
This is a tradition that is slowly transforming,
as the years go on.
Races are now raced,
from much further out from the finish,
then they were before,
and the base tempo throughout the race,
is nowadays much higher,
than it ever has been as well.
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The hotels are not at all glamorous.
Sure, the UAE tour really isn't bad,
in fact, most would say it's amazing,
but this simply is not the case
for the majority of bike races.
Bike races in France, traditionally reserve the worst hotels
you can imagine,
and often, they will even put an entire race,
into an agriculture college,
just to keep costs down.
Once upon a time,
we stayed in a police academy in South Korea.
It was far from glamorous,
but we did have electric toilet seats.
Don't get those everywhere.
You can hardly blame an
organization for doing this,
but coming to a freezing cold
or actually even worse,
is a boiling hot, shared accommodation.
This just adds to the fatigue of a bike race,
and you can completely forget the wifi ever working.
Some of the world's greatest bike races,
finish in the dullest of locations.
The reason for this is often,
the gradient of the road,
or the availability of good parking nearby.
Hundreds and hundreds of vehicles,
crammed into a tiny space around a bike race.
So being romantic about the finish line location,
just isn't always possible.
In fact, I bet if you ask most pros
to describe their favorite finishing location,
they would describe something
from a much smaller event,
than that they are now accustomed to riding.
Organizers do do a fantastic job
of dressing up the finishing area,
wiTH billboards, barriers, gantries and the like,
but strip all of that back,
and the finishing line,
to some of the world's biggest bike races,
is nothing more than a white line,
across some gray asphalt,
next to an industrial estate.
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Cycling is an unequivocally a team sport.
To many outsiders, this is simply baffling,
but picture a football field,
where all of the players,
just try to score goals,
and didn't support each other in doing so.
Every rider has their own strengths.
Some don't like the pressure of performing,
and they would prefer to play
a back up roll to their team mates,
and some riders, such as the sprinters,
they simply couldn't win,
without the support of a team around them.
Teamwork in cycling, is all about saving energy,
protecting others from the wind resistance,
supporting the sustenance,
and aiding positioning within the bunch.
They also really motivate each other,
and can really help one another progress,
and push their limit within the sport.
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Winning is the best feeling
that you can imagine.
It is unrivaled.
Nothing on Earth can compete with it.
You spend months and months,
if not years training,
and dreaming of the moment,
that you can cross the finish line first.
Hundreds and hundreds of hours of suffering,
are behind every single win you see,
in the world of professional cycling,
and that is part of what makes the emotion of winning,
just so great.
No matter how successful a rider is,
across the duration of an entire career,
they will win far fewer races than they don't.
This is a simple fact,
and it certainly adds to the occasion,
when it does happen.
That moment of pure celebration,
hasn't dawned on you, that you've won.
There is nothing like it.
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If you think that the bunch of a bike race looks big,
consider the car park at the finish.
Keep in mind, that there could be
two to three times the
amount of staff behind the scenes,
and it is not uncommon for support teams,
to completely outnumber the riders.
Riders need mechanics,
drivers, fornears, coaches, doctors,
the rolling caravan behind
a professional cycling team is huge.
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Crowds, and in particular,
children screaming on the side of the road,
can genuinely be louder than a nightclub.
The atmosphere around the world's biggest races,
is truly spectacular,
but nothing quite prepares you,
for the first time you experience the roar,
of a crowd, alongside the road.
It can leave you with your ears ringing
long past the end of the stage,
and it truly gives you a buzz,
that you've never experienced before.
This is one of the greatest things about cycling.
The fans are within touching distance of you
most of the time.
All you need to do,
is turn up to your favorite race,
choose a spot to cheer your favorite riders on.
Probably not best to actually touch them.
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Crashing doesn't hurt,
for about 15 seconds,
and then it is pure agony.
Depending on how much skin you may
or may not have lost.
If you are suffering severe gravel rash,
then a good scrubbing with a brush
is going to be needed,
and then come the bandages.
These are cumbersome,
they're limiting to movement,
but they will help your wounds heal.
Some riders do sometimes try
to get out of that dressing,
but this rarely ends well.
The pain of having the sheet pulled of the next day,
can be truly excruciating.
Instead, flexible moist bandages,
are applied to help the wounds heal,
from the inside out.
After a couple of weeks,
you tear them off,
and all is good.
Fans can have unrivaled access,
to their favorite riders.
We touched on this before,
but unlike most sports.
The world outside the sport,
is a traveling circus,
that will crash land and explode into life,
at any start or finish town across the world.
Not all races start and finish
in the same locations each season,
meaning that there is an unrivaled chance,
for different communities,
to interact with the world of procycling,
and better yet,
fans, spectators and the public in general,
can get up close enough,
to talk to the riders pre and post race.
It's access to some of the world's
greatest sporting stars,
that you simply don't get,
in most other sports.
If you are new to cycling,
and you've learnt a few
unexpected truths recently,
let us know what they were in the comments below.
Why don't you check out
some of our how to videos over here,
but make sure you subscribe over there
before you do.