People generally fall into two categories. Ok with being passed and not ok with being passed. You can identify them pretty easy.
2025 XC MTB Season Discussion Thread (Schedule in 1st Post)
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People generally fall into two categories. Ok with being passed and not ok with being passed. You can identify them pretty easy.
Passing each racer burns 1 little match that the race leader didn’t burn. No matter how small the match, they do add up.
Hair Face
Well-Known Member
Wound up 6th, the start went pretty lousy for me and I was in heavy traffic for the first half of lap one. I went by you on one of the dirt road sections and said hey @Jeremy . Happy with my result, learned a little which was a goal and had a fun sprint finish (who would have thought I could sprint at mile 63?!?!?) with a 45 plus racer.
Oh there was. Guy went down directly in front of me coming around the bend which forced me to come to nearly a complete stop and lose a lot of ground.
Hair Face
Well-Known Member
There was at least one douche in the endurance group.
JDurk
Well-Known Member
I was towards the back of the group and carefully watching the wheels in front of me, so missed that.
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Was that the first lap as soon as it opened up a little? I think I remember hearing. These orange and blue jerseys are pretty easy to pick out.
Hair Face
Well-Known Member
I was full black long sleeve jersey with a uswe pack. And yeah I think it was on one of the first dirt roads/double track.
JDurk
Well-Known Member
How 'bout that? I'm in a lot of the early footage.
Yup that is about as flat and boring as i remember the course lol
pkovo
Well-Known Member
For those of you that race on more than a very casual level, and raced Cat 2 (2 laps) at mayhem, I am curious about what and how much you ate and drank during the race.
Asking because I historically only race on a super casual level, a couple times a year at best, usually day of decision because I am there anyway since my daughter races and I'm bad at sitting around. I usually wing it in terms of food and hydration, but I'm debating taking it a bit more seriously in the future.
At Mayhem I drank 2/3rds of a bottle with electrolyte powder, and ate 2/3 of a gel (the rest ended up on my face and glove). Second time I've ever had a gel, and first time while moving. I was less than smooth and it was probably amusing to watch if anyone saw me.
Asking because I historically only race on a super casual level, a couple times a year at best, usually day of decision because I am there anyway since my daughter races and I'm bad at sitting around. I usually wing it in terms of food and hydration, but I'm debating taking it a bit more seriously in the future.
At Mayhem I drank 2/3rds of a bottle with electrolyte powder, and ate 2/3 of a gel (the rest ended up on my face and glove). Second time I've ever had a gel, and first time while moving. I was less than smooth and it was probably amusing to watch if anyone saw me.
JDurk
Well-Known Member
Long time Cat2, that bumped up to Cat 1 and Endurance events over the last few years. For shorter events, 2hrs or less, I'll go with up to (2) 20oz bottles on the bike with some electrolyte drink mix per recommendations. Usually Hammer Heed, recently used Tailwind Endurance as that's what was at the LBS. Don't use gels anymore as I feel they're more trouble than their worth. I don't do anything different in the days before or day of nutrition or hydration wise. And definitely never try something new on race day.
Skratch Energy Chews before my warmup (38g carbs), Gu Gel on the start line (21g carbs) and 3 scoops of Tailwind in my 32oz bottle on the bike (75g carbs). 600 or so calories, 135ish carbs total. I wouldn't have minded another gel mid race either but I felt very good throughout.
In terms of racing and eating opportunities, Mayhem was on the easy side for sure. Those open gravel roads were perfect...taking in a gel on the move is quite difficult though, practicing that helps. Then again I tend to rely on drink mix mid race unless I know the course super well.
Do you have a bike computer that can give you time alerts to alert you to take in calories?
Matt_
I Get Jokes
I learned to start fueling/hydrating days in advance, because absolutely nothing helps if you go into a race slightly dehydrated (and I was horrible at drinking enough). It wasn't an issue when I was casually doing cat 2 midpack stuff and just cruising along, but once I started racing more and getting more competitive, cramps and bonking were a common occurrence on my second lap. Everyone gave me advice for what to put in my bottles, when to drink, what to eat, etc..... nothing worked.
Then I started keeping track of how much water I was drinking during the week leading up to races. I realized alternating coffee in the mornings and beer in the evenings wasn't setting me up for success 😅. Now, whether im racing or not, I try to drink plenty of water in-between the coffee and beer.... And leading into a race im even more mindful.
At Mayhem, I drank a bottle with 3 scoops of tailwind while warming up. Another bottle of water at staging. Brought a fresh bottle of water with me for the race, and didn't drink it until finishing (it helped that the weather was near perfect)
Holy hell I would be peeing all over the bike like a triathlete if I drank that much pre race.
Matt_
I Get Jokes
You might want to get that checked out 🤣
I drink a gallon a day so I'm constantly peeing. Never feel like I need to chug I suppose.
Matt_
I Get Jokes
Didn't chug. Although the race was 11:30, I was there at 8ish to get my youngest kids off at 9. From then till 11ish I had my bottle with the tailwind. And then over the course of staging (15-20min) I drank close to a bottle while chatting with people, but never force fed. Id never start a race on a heavy belly.
A few trees may have been watered in-between
(Edit: YMMV, my point wasn't what I do on race day. It's that nothing worked for me until I started focusing on the days leading up to the race. The fact I can do two laps now with almost nothing would have seemed impossible to me 6 years ago)
That timeline definitely makes more sense lol. I was imagining that in an hour span or something.
Yes I totally agree, hydration in general goes a long way.
I usually use that Formula 369 which is 50/50 maltodextrin Frutose, and salt. But Maurten 320 was on sale at the feed, so I stoked up with a seasons worth. Each packet has 80 grams of carbs or 320 calories. It's usually too expensive for me, but which on sale I grab it because for some reason (maybe in my head) it works really well. So before the 4 hour race, I had 1 bottle of Maurten 320 with 100mg caffeine added. I started the race with another identical bottle on my bike. I went through that bottle and 4 more (not all with caffeine) during the race which is a shit ton of mix. 6 bottles with 80grams / 320 calories each = 480 grams of sugar mix or about 1920 calories. This is on top of carb loading the entire day before and having a pretty big breakfast of 2 eggs and I lost count of how many pancakes with real maple syrup. It worked out pretty well for me, but that's not applicable to a Cat 2 doing 2 laps in under 90 minutes.
From everything I read, any efforts under an hour really don't need any additional sugar as long as you are fueled up the night before and morning of. When you get to the 60-90 minute times, then a bottle with a decent amount of sugar mix will help. But in my experiences, if you are not training, your body will not absorb this fuel as well, and no matter what you eat before or during, it won't work great. Training > Fueling. But the more you train the better the body uses the fuel.
So, not really an answer for @pkovo. But more advise that just a little bit of steady zone 2-3 efforts and proper fueling will help your body start to absorb and use the sugar efficiently.
From everything I read, any efforts under an hour really don't need any additional sugar as long as you are fueled up the night before and morning of. When you get to the 60-90 minute times, then a bottle with a decent amount of sugar mix will help. But in my experiences, if you are not training, your body will not absorb this fuel as well, and no matter what you eat before or during, it won't work great. Training > Fueling. But the more you train the better the body uses the fuel.
So, not really an answer for @pkovo. But more advise that just a little bit of steady zone 2-3 efforts and proper fueling will help your body start to absorb and use the sugar efficiently.
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