Don't... start too fast
Don't... start too fast
It’s easy to get excited at the start of a sportive. Anticipation builds as you wait in the start pen, ready to clip in and tackle an event which you may have had circled on the calendar for weeks or months.
But don’t get caught up in the heat of the moment and start too fast, even if it’s tempting to follow other riders. Chances are you’ve got a long way to ride and by jumping the gun you could pay the price later – the key is to start slow and finish fast.
Instead, consider how fast you comfortably want to ride in advance of the event and hook up with a rider – or a group of riders – at a pace you’re happy with. It’s far more rewarding to finish with a flourish and overtake riders who had earlier overtaken you.