Zachary M.

Darnell
UWRT 1103-037
October 22, 2014

Its All in the Preparation:

Preparation Strategies of Cyclists
Introduction/Background
Lance Armstrong, the first name most Americans think when they hear anything about
the sport of cycling. They dont think about the fact that he won the most Tour de France
titles, but that he was caught for using performance enhancing drugs (also known as doping).
There was a whole decade that about every year there was another doping scandal and another
one of the top cyclists were on the news, being suspended from the sport for doping. This is the
perception that many people around the world have about cycling, that it is a sport where
cheating is a common practice and where no one races honestly. There is some truth to the
public opinion, but it is not the whole truth, the tides are beginning to turn. The recent events of
cycling have opened the door for many younger cleaner cyclist who are against doping.
Hopefully that trend will continue and doping can be completely removed from the sport, but
that hope has been going on for decades.
Doping has gone on in the sport of cycling for more than 50 years, and professional
cycling has only been around for about 100 years. So it is safe to say, that doping has been part
of cycling for about as long as most cyclists can remember. Although it wasnt outlawed when it
started, rules were soon made to prevent it from happening. This didnt stop riders from doping,
it just required them to hide their doping from the authorities. Riders said that the Tour de

France was so hard that they felt they had to dope just to finish. This was the mindset of a
majority of the riders in the peloton. It went on among riders from all nations, backgrounds and
ages. It was said about the early 2000s, that everyone was doping and that if a rider did not
dope then he would never compete at a high level. This fact that most of the riders were doping
led many of the new riders to dope also, not to get an edge on the competition, but just to level
the playing field. Then, the tests for drugs got better, so the riders had to get better at hiding it.
Testing used to only occur at races but now professional racers have to be tested at regular
intervals throughout the year, whether they are competing in races or not. This process of testing
and riders trying to beat tests has been going on since the tests started but for once, the tests may
be catching up.
There are also other strategies that dont involve cheating. Different training practices
are used by individual riders and also by teams to best prepare their riders for a race. Riders also
have nutrition and other methods to prepare themselves mentally and physically for races.
Professional riders have hired nutritionists and coaches to help them eat correctly and train in the
best way. Amateurs may at best have teammates that can pass some knowledge and experience
on, but they have to do most of it for themselves, while also having a full time job. They use a
combination of these things throughout the season to be in the best shape for their objectives.
Which for the professionals could be the Tour de France, but for the amateurs could be a local
race that they like. My interest in this comes from my personal experience in cycling and the
strategies of preparing for races. I would like to show how preparation strategies are used at an
amateur level.
Literature Review

Most of the time, when cycling is in the media, it has something to do with a doping
scandal. Whether it be a new one coming up or discussion of something that happened with
Lance Armstrong, it seems that the public image of cycling is being harmed one way or another.
People dont want to see riders who have been aided by artificial means, they want to see normal
people like them achieve these amazing feats. (Goldman 2012) In the most famous bicycle race,
the Tour de France, doping has had a major influence on the race for many years. Better testing
and policies are being developed as a way to catch more riders for doping and therefore keep
riders from doping, but there are still many riders that dope. (Keaten 2014) Riders dope for
many different reasons. Some dope because they feel like they have to in order to be good
enough to keep their jobs. Others just want to get the last edge that they need to be a top tier
rider, or to win the race that they want to, and they will do whatever they can to get to where
they want to be. Whatever their reason for doping, the practice appears to be slowly working its
way out of the sport. (Aschwanden 2009) Doping has significantly decreased the amount of
sponsors and the overall outlook on the sport of cycling. Several sponsors have left teams after
riders on the teams were suspended for doping. Many teams have ceased to exist because they
could not find enough sponsors to keep their team alive, not solely because of doping, but doping
is a major factor in this. (Farrand 2007) Doping has been and still might be a common practice
in professional cycling, even though the governing organizations of cycling are trying to
eliminate it from the sport.
There are also other ways that riders prepare for their races. One of the ways that they
prepare is by utilizing training routines. Their routines, just before a race, train the rider in a
specific area that will help them the most in the race. Also, further in advance, riders train in
their specialization to improve that or in their weaknesses if they are looking to become a better

all-round rider. (Friel 2013) Some teams train together in groups and have training camps where
the teams take the riders to some exotic place and train for a week or two. Other training
practices utilize a specific location to train. It is proven that training at a high altitude soon
before a major endurance event improves performance. (Hood 2014) Training plays a major role
in a riders fitness, and, therefore, their performance at a race.
Another strategy for improving performance is through the use of nutrition habits and
planning. Nutrition is used before a race to fuel training and to shed any excess fat that would
negatively affect performance. A pre-race nutrition plan could range from as specific as a daily
food and drink specific chart to as generic as a calorie and carbohydrate goal. (Ryan 2007)
Nutrition is also very important during races, especially 3 week races, like the Tour de France.
Basically all teams, in the Tour de France, have their own team chefs that prepare food for their
riders with specific qualities in each food that will help fuel the riders, for when the riders are off
the bike. Consuming food and drink while on the bike is just as important to performance, if not
more important, than off the bike. The teams had out water and sports drink mixes throughout
the race to keep riders hydrated, as well as energy bars, energy gels, and other food items to keep
their energy high. (Bland 2014) Nutrition is a very important part of preparation strategy for
cycling, along with training. Preparation is vital to succeed in any activity, but it is especially
important in cycling.
Entering the conversation:
In the sport of cycling, most of the issues that affect professional cyclists also affect
amateur cyclists. Whether it is equipment changes, doping, or different training practices, things
that begin with the professionals usually trickle down to the amateurs. The effects of and
outlook on preparation strategies are well documented in professional cycling, but these things

have not been documented in the amateur ranks. I would like to propose a study on amateur
cyclists in the area of preparation strategies. Seeing the viewpoint of the average cyclist on
issues, such as doping and well as other strategies, would help all those involved in the sport and
also give the public a better view of the sport as a whole.
The subjects of this study should be amateur cyclists that race at least 2 times per month
(during race season). They should have been racing for at least 3 years. The sample should
consist of 100 individuals who are passionate about cycling. The data could be collected at local
races, where there would be an abundance of good candidates. These candidates would respond
to a few polls and also answer a series of interview questions. The study would consist of a
combination of poll questions and interview questions.
The interview questions that would be asked would be about the topics of the riders preparation
for the races that they compete in. Another topic would be pertaining to how they thought that
doping effected their racing and the view of the sport of cycling. There should be questions
about nutrition and training and how those things were used leading up to their races. The poll
questions should address areas in these topics with simpler answers that could be narrowed down
to a few possible answers to make results easier to tally.
Some examples of interview questions that could be used are things such as, How does your
diet change while you are preparing for a race? Another example would be, How do you think
that the presence of doping in the professional peloton has affected racing on your level? Poll
questions could be something like, What does your riding schedule look like the day before a
race? The possible answers would be, No riding, short easy ride, short moderate ride, or long
easy ride. These questions would get at the basic practices used by the individual racers to

prepare for races. These are a few examples of the types of questions that would be asked to the
participants.
The results should look at the answers of the polls as well as the answers to the interview
questions to determine what the most common practices are when it comes to preparation for
races. Also, the polls will give statistics that can easily be used to show the difference (or lack
thereof) in the opinions of the professionals and the amateurs. This study should show that there
is much diversity in the tactics cyclists use to prepare for races. The results should also show
how that doping is looked upon by the by the average cyclist. The results will reflect the
opinions of cyclists as a whole not just the limited community of professional cyclists.
Conclusion/So-What?
I hope that this study will show how that preparation strategies are used at an amateur
level. The study should show how that amateur riders view doping and how that they use tactics
for preparation that the professionals used. The study should also show how that amateur cyclist
have more difficulty in areas such as nutrition, and also that they do some training practices
differently than the professionals do.
This look into the cycling lives of amateur cyclists would give a better look at how the
majority of cyclist view things. It could help amateur cyclists look more at what the
professionals do and learn some things from them to implement in their preparation. It could also
help professionals by seeing how the amateur view and do things. The overall opinion that the
public has of cycling should not be of the professionals that get paid to compete in the sport. The
opinion should be formed based on the attitude and practices of the people that compete and
rides bikes because it is something they enjoy doing. If you want the real spirit of cycling, go

out to a race on a Tuesday night and see a hundred or so cyclists out there racing, each of them
trying to win, that is what cycling is all about.
Other areas of professional cycling compared to amateur cycling could be studied. Areas
that would be useful could be teamwork, the races themselves, organizations, and cycling clubs.
It would also be good to study amateur racers in other parts of the world, so you dont just get a
view of the American cycling. It would help to study in a place that is more passionate about
cycling as a whole than America is such as Spain, France, or Italy. Studying both sides of
cycling helps broaden the outlook of cycling and hopefully show what is to come. The future of
cycling isnt in the professionals. The future of cycling is in the hearts and minds of the average
racing cyclist.

References
Aschwanden, Christie. 2009. "To Dope or Not to Dope."
Bland, Alastair. 2014. "The Epic 2,200-Mile Tour de France is Also a Test of Epic Eating."
Darnell, Zachary. 2014. "Assignment One." Observation.
Farrand, Stephen. 2007. "Tour de France: The Race, the Sport and the Fans."
Friel, Joe. 2013. "How to properly train for a hilly race."
Goldman, Tom. 2012. "Lance Armstrong and the Business of Doping."
Hood, Andrew. 2014. "Kittel, Degenkolb search for form at altitude before Tour."
Keaten, James. 2014. "5 things to know about doping at the Tour de France."
Ryan, Moniques. 2007. "Nutrition planning for an important race."