6 top tips for your first sportive

The key to having a good sportive is in the preparation. Not only in training for the event, but also what you do on the day. From the spares you pack, to your pacing strategy, even what you wear and what you eat - we've got a few tips that will help you get the best out of yourself on the day.

Bike set-up

If you’re new to cycling or are building up your mileage, you should expect to be a little achy – it will take a period of time for your body to adapt to the new strains and positions that riding demands. However, you shouldn’t be in pain or picking up cycling injuries while riding your bike. Either is a sure sign that something is wrong.

There are a number of easy ways you can tweak the fit of your bike and making sure your saddle and handlebars are set up correctly will give you a much more comfortable and efficient ride and avoid picking up an injury.

Getting your saddle height right is possibly the most important aspect of road bike positioning and is the first adjustment for building a new position. As a general rule of thumb, your knee should have a slight bend in it when you’re at the bottom of the pedal stroke. As a starting point, you can achieve this by setting a saddle height that, with your heel on the pedal and pedalling backwards slowly, your knee just barely locks out at the point of maximum extension. If you have to reach, it’s too high. If you don’t quite lock out your knee, it’s too low.

Well-positioned handlebars are crucial for your comfort and important for control of your steering and brakes. A good position to start is with your handlebars at the same height as your saddle. For a more ‘head up’ riding position that’s easier on your back and gives confidence in traffic, you can raise the bars a little.

Bike maintenance

You want to make sure your equipment is on point for event day, your bike needs to be in tip top condition. This is the big day you’ve been training for so you don’t want to ruin it by having a mechanical 5 miles in. If you’re mechanically minded you can check the bike yourself but if not, your local bike shop will happily check it over for you.

You want to make sure your brake pads aren’t worn down, your chain is lubed, the tyres aren’t getting too thin and you have them pumped up to the right level, and your gears are indexed or if required, you have your di2 charged up because, believe me, you don’t want to be mid-ride with no gears and a hilly ride home.

Carry spares

Spare inner tubes on a sportive are absolutely essential but very easy to forget. If you do get a puncture there is often a mechanical support vehicle trailing the route but you don’t want to be waiting on the side of the road for them to come past. A saddle pack is ideal for carrying spare tubes, tyre levers and a multitool. If you haven’t changed a tyre before it would be a great idea to get a bit of practice in before your big event.

Fuel right

The night before you want a high-carb/low-fat meal. Good examples are: pasta with grilled salmon/chicken or the traditional pre-ride favourite spaghetti bolognese. In the morning you want to try to ensure you have your pre-event breakfast 2-3 hours before to allow enough time to digest it before you set off. Opt for something that’s light on the stomach and high in carbohydrate. Good examples are: Porridge, scrambled egg on toast or cereal with semi skimmed milk.

On the ride you want to ensure you are carrying enough water so you can drink whenever you get thirsty and enough provisions to eat little and often - stick to what you’re used to, be that energy bars, flapjack, bananas, sweets - don’t use the big event as your test bed for trying out new exotic gels.

Pace yourself

Don’t get carried away starting your ride in a big group and wanting to go at a pace that’s too much for you. You don’t want to get drawn into riding hard on climbs or riding at a pace with a group that’s way outside of your comfort zone, especially if you are tackling a distance you are either not used to or have never done before. Take it steady and build up to the back end of the sportive if you’re feeling fresh.

Clothing

Clothing is really important, it has the potential to make or break your ride. Depending on the weather, a packable rain jacket, a gilet or a set of arm warmers can go in the back pocket or a top tube bag to give you the versatility of layering up or down and maintaining an optimum temperature to enjoy your ride.