I have had the opportunity to pre-ride the course a few times now for
the upcoming Trek Store Canada Cup at Hardwood Hills this coming
weekend.
I have been riding, racing and watching a lot of events there over the
last 15 years. Some of the common mistakes I have seen on this course
is that athletes:
1 - Start this event far too hard - many think that there isn't much
climbing...well there is. In fact there is very similar elevation
gain per lap as many other visually hilly Canada Cup courses. The
difference at Hardwood is that the the elevation gain is broken up
into many smaller climbs. This tends to fool you into thinking that
you can go harder because you aren't staring at a mountain...but this
is where these repetitive climbs creep up on you in the later part of
the race.
2 - Too much standing - Once again due to the fact that people don't
seem to be nervous or afraid of the climbing here they tend to attack
out of the saddle more early on in the race. This is something you
want to try and avoid...you really want to be able to attack and stand
during the last 1/3 of your race...not only the first 1/3...so try and
decide if you can really maintain your first lap efforts for the
duration of your event...if not scale back accordingly.
3 - Big Gears - Many of the climbs at Hardwood can be done all in the
middle or big ring...however there are portions during these climbs
that have steep pitches during them...I think these are the places
that trick people early in the race...Remember to try and keep your
engine running on the same level of effort for as much of the course
as possible. In order to do this it may require actually shifting to
the middle or the granny for just a short portion of a climb to keep
the effort level the same for the duration of the climb.
+++++++++++++
I would like to wish everyone good luck this weekend...the course is
in really good shape. Picture yourself how you want to look on the
last lap...with good pedal stroke...posture...and putting down good
power to the pedals...and try and start your race at this pace or even
slightly below and you should have good performance at this event.
+++++++++++++
Have a great race...Steve
ps...if you race single speed just ignore me today :)