Last Minute Argus Tips

Here are some last minute Argus Cycle Tour tips to ensure a great ride on Sunday!

Before the Race

During hours before a competition you need to feel focused and prepared. The final meal should be eaten three to four hours prior to your event, for digestion. If it’s an early morning race you may choose a smaller carbohydrate meal one to two hours pre-event and pay more attention to carbohydrate intake during the event.
- Megan Pentz-Kluyts, Bicycling’s Sports Nutritionist

Hydrate before racing to top off fluid stores. Lots of people like to hydrate leading up to a race with a sports drink for an easily emptied and absorbed source of carbohydrate, fluid and sodium.
- Pentz-Kluyts

Get everything ready the night before. Mix your drinks, pack your nutrition, check your bike, pump the tyres. Lay your kit and gear out. Once everything is laid out, it is easy to spot anything you might have forgotten and it’s quick and easy to get ready the next morning.
Kirsten Curtis, Bicycling Online Editor and 9-time Cycle Tour finisher

Keep your bottles in the freezer the night before. Stick a post-it note onto the fridge to remind you! They will remain cold for a good few hours into the race.
- Curtis

There are three things you must not forget on race day: Pin your race number to your back, have a good breakfast and stretch. Stretching before the race prepares your muscles for stresses and strains of the road ahead. Breakfast is equally important. Many people complain of gastro on race day. In reality, it is rarely some mysterious bug doing the rounds but rather because nervous riders often down a few energy drinks or take high-energy supplements instead of having breakfast!
- Dr Basil Bonner, Cycle tour race doctor

On the Starting Line

Eat a banana. The humble banana remains a pleasant and cheap option, complete with its own biodegradable wrapper. It is easily digested and a great way to top up glycogen levels with that long wait in the chute before the race. The riper a banana, the quicker it is digested and converted to muscle fuel.
- Pentz-Kluyts

Go to the loo. It's probably just nerves but get it over with before the start of the race.

During the Race

It’s likely your ride will be smooth sailing but, just in case, carry gear to fix at least two flats, a minitool, cellphone, ID and cash.
- James Van Heerden, 12-time Cycle Tour finisher

Don’t go hard at the beginning of the Cycle Tour, it’s a long ride and a lot of riders get excited and push too hard at the beginning only to be close to burnout later on in the ride. Find a comfortable pace and maintain it throughout, saving energy for the big climbs later on.
- Malcolm Lange, SA cycling legend with over 400 race wins.

Divide the ride into three, more or less equal, distances. The first segment should feel easy, just spinning along, the second should work your muscles. If you have any jam left, show it in the last third. Nothing screams ‘rookie’ like jumping away on the first climb only to bonk and need to be babysat to the finish.
- Nick Davids, 7-time Cycle Tour finisher

Ride light gears going up the hills. This ensures that you’re pedaling easier and not taking strain going uphill, while also keeping your legs turning at a constant cadence.
- Malcolm Lange, SA cycling legend with over 400 race wins.

When going down hill you don’t ever look behind you. If you are nervous sit to the side of the bunch and lightly feather your breaks to control not overlapping on the wheel in front of you.
- Andrew Mclean, former pro and top vets rider

Aim to drink about one bottle per hour. Don’t worry so much about what you mix with the water; the water is what’s most important.
- Mike Green, 7-time Cycle Tour finisher

Eat a bite or two of food every 15 minutes – consistency over the day is crucial.
If you’re out beyond three hours, plan a stop to refill bottles and have a snack.
- Albert Johnson, 4-time Cycle Tour finisher

It’s important to eat and drink consistently during the race, but it’s even more important to do so without taking your eyes off the road. Keep food bars in the most reachable, outside part of your jersey pocket and open the wrapper before you ride for easy access.
- Alex Stieda, former pro and the first North American to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France

Unless you are a racing snake, try and ride just to the right of the white line. You will be able to pass the slower riders without too much frustration, yet still allowing the faster riders to pass to the right of you. (Remember, you can only do this if a race has complete road closure, which the Cycle Tour does.)
- Curtis

The Cycle Tour is the largest-timed cycling event in the world, so don’t expect empty roads! There will be pushing and shoving in the bunch, and there will be congestion from slower riders and unfortunately there will be accidents. Ride extremely vigilantly, don’t let your ego or quest for a sub-3 get in the way of a safe and incident-free ride.
- Curtis

The Cycle Tour goes by so quickly that it all seems like blur. If you aren’t a top rider going for a category win, go out there and have fun. Don’t be afraid to stop at the refreshment points or chat to those around you. It all makes the experience more fulfilling.
- Dave Bellairs, Cycle Tour director and 15-time Cycle Tour finisher.

After the race

Grab something to eat and drink as soon as possible, and wear your medal with pride!