Inferno Race One

Having travelled to London and back this week, I was never going to be fresh for this race. Having caught an upper respiratory tract infection this week meant I was feeling terrible. I had gotten over the first few days of it and no longer had the full body aches, or painful lymphs so thought I would see how I felt.

After one lap it was clear to me that racing was going to do me no good at all, so I returned the ridley to it's stable and retired to fulfill pit duties for my WRB fellows - TR, Meg, Winner, Deefa, Nick, and EP.

It was actually great experience to watch an enduro from the other side. Riders would come in with instructions for the next lap - and forget them by the time they rolled back around. As the race wore on it was interesting to see how the mind gets foggy. It was good to understand how checking lap times and providing feedback, monitoring drinking and eating, and generally kicking them out of the tent and onto another lap helped these guys achieve their best. As an enduro racer it certainly helped me understand what I need to tell my support crew prior to the race - in terms of what is effective and what is expected.

My opinion is that as a rider you get to a point where you need your support crew to kick in and make the basic decisions for you. What to eat, what to drink. Don't give me a choice, because my brain does not work. Or if you do - make it a limited one (i.e. one of two). Know roughly how much carbohydrate your riders need each lap, and tell them in simple terms. ' this lap you must eat this, and drink this by the time you are back'. Don't let them go out again until they have.
It is also important to listen and watch and make sure you get an idea of how the rider is feeling and what they might need. Know when to swap electrolyte for water, when to let them into flat coke. Know when to let them stop for 5 minutes and get to know when you can push them. Know the results for your riders so they know if they can stop, or if they need another lap. Tell them they are doing great. In short you need your support crew to be your brain later in the race.

Also know some basic first aid for when this happens....
Bad luck TR. This happens to everyone at some point. It is always nice when someone has a camera to capture it! Although it might feel like a lost opportunity, I think if you review race goals around fuelling to a plan you will realise you learned some skills. Next race plan we can add 'not crashing' as a goal. This will be well timed as I think they are moving Race 2 back to last years course!