Inspired By The Tour de France? Here's How To Do Your First Bike Race With GTN

Curious about starting bike racing? Si explains all you need to know to get started in cycle racing with the help of GTN presenter and ex-professional triathlete Fraser Cartmell, who had never done a bike race before.
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Leave us a comment below!

[@mithral999]

You should really do a "can roadies survive a triathlon".

[@8paolo96]

the answer is just No

[@tkm8751]

A few of them, such as Laurent Jalabert who completed Iron Man Kona (World Championships). However he trained for this a lot so the average roadie wouldn't survive a triathlon. I am a former swimmer and now a triathlete and competitions are hard AF

[@Zuroslav]

I don't think I could swim 1,5km in one go across a lake, 40km ride is a cake and 10km run is doable but the swimming part would be too hard for me

[@helmutkok7833]

@@8paolo96 Udo Bolts did Kona 3 mounths after completing the Tour. 10:02 is a pretty good time don't you think?

[@realalbertan]

I'd like to see them attempt to do a swim race, maybe a 200 Fly or 400 IM 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@robertlight2370]

I’ve done a few crit races, but today was my first ever road race - run by Cycling Queensland. Men’s Masters D grade, and I didn’t come last! Woo hoo!!

[@puccipuu1797]

Well done

[@gcn]

Yes Robert, nice one!

[@adamgriss2025]

Congrats, Robert. As a MAMIS (middle-aged man in spandex) myself, my modest goals are not to come last and when riding a closed circuit, not to get lapped (too many times!)

[@snubcactus]

"Just brought this" pulls out a canyon bike

[@Rainaman-]

Oh, this? Thats my back up Canyon bike...

[@Maxwaehrens]

This made me tear up a little. My new Canyon bike was delayed by 1.5 months.

[@allyw7405]

Maxwaehrens now you know why 😆

[@MR0806]

@@Maxwaehrens Do not despair, mine came a month earlier than they initially told me.

[@tuyup1139]

Is canyon good bike? I'm new sorry I thought the Italian.. pinarelllo biachii were best campinello? I forgot if thats bike but i remeber its a fat guy

[@StevenSugref]

Brilliant video, well done Fraser! Looking forward to part 2 where Simom races in his first triathlon 😉

[@matejkavc]

Hell yeah, that would be epic :D

[@mintheman7]

Life guards better be ready for that one...

[@benblackham6356]

Can we have 3 GCN presenters do a leg each in a 70.3 against Fraser

[@maxho2264]

Triathletes are freakishly fit

[@Wurrah]

I think we all need to see Si do an olympic triathlon. :)

[@Sieg.Art2023]

More of GCN presenters joining actual races and maybe add there parameters as well like speed,power,heartrate etc.. great content as usual 👍💚

[@gcn]

Cheers Sieg!

[@nikhoward]

Nice one guys. Now, Frashier get Si to do a tri!

[@samuelmundula2216]

There's a few KZbin channels that do race analysis that have helped me gain a Cat 1-2 (USA) perspective while just being a Cat 4. Definitely worth spending some time watching these analyses

[@gcn]

Nice one!

[@joshp7059]

GTN represent! Fantastic video. As a triathlete, I must admit that I would love to do a bike race so this video gave me a lot of food for thought. Loved the comments section of this video too. Nothing better than a little bit of good natured GCN/GTN banter!

[@chinter]

Si - I noticed how you were kind of sandbagging at the front to help make the breakaway stick. Nice one

[@gangaxaxa6846]

That's what I thought as well

[@coops8000]

Tactics work haha

[@wserda]

best video ever, loved hearing the tactics and Si is always the best.

[@labestianegra6373]

This Cumberbatch guy is a jack-of-all-trades. Didn´t know that besides acting he´s so deep into cycling.

[@richardt.rogers2730]

Made me very happy to see a National Trust sticker at 3:35. I knew I liked these GC(T)N folks

[@nickw6175]

I bet he is only a member for the free car parking !

[@tomgalbraith4807]

Thank you for making this, had my first race today and this really helped (I was an excited nervous wreck!). I imagined Si next to me telling me what to do and it worked out pretty well as I managed to come 2nd. Never raced anything before and what an awesome feeling it is, can't wait for the next one. Cheers guys 👍🏼

[@matutetute9290]

nice mate🎉

[@davidbotterill5001]

Really enjoyed this video. Reminded me of my first races not all that long ago. Nerve wracking, exciting fun.

[@b2284]

This is one of my.favorite GCN videos ever! As a casual single rider who has never been in a race or on a team,I found this video super insightful!

[@gcn]

Cheers Brian, glad to hear it.

[@sireevessireeves5072]

Road racing is a great unstructured training method for amateur triathletes as well. Definitely comes in handy when doing draft-legal short distance triathlon. Also long distance triathlons have a big ol' time trial right in the middle! While I mostly race triathlon I do love a good road race or crit!

[@ccmp23]

This was great! Any chance of a follow up with the race data from you both and some analysis of what was going on?

[@kamucho]

More of this please!! Great to see a race in action and some tactics!

[@williamlivingstone4326]

Funny this came up now ... As a triathlete I'm loving the tour de France right now and this crossed my mind!

[@jshepard5840]

Nice job Fraser! I'm imagining that other than knowing when to attack, being able to TT like he does really helped him in those last laps. And being able to draft the other rider, which you can't do in a triathlon, was beneficial as well. Chapeau!

[@gcn]

Cheers Mr S!

[@jazzechos1372]

Great job Fraser and nice work in coaching Simon!

[@jascollinscork]

OMG that was a fantastic inside to yer racing scene in England and a cool challenge for Faizer AND you Si😉 love to see more of this but also something on the open road racing like us here in Ireland 🇮🇪😃

[@francinevassell7374]

Again! Another wonderful video! Thank you for the step by step Hi from Florida, USA

[@adhst]

Great content as usual! That looked like so much fun!

[@gcn]

Cheers Laura, certainly was!

[@jen3800]

thanks for teaching me a new word Stochastic ! never heard it in my whole life! good word. Thanks for an excellent detailed program. you guys just keep getting better and better ! Chapeau!

[@gcn]

Cheers j en!

[@WheelersAtLarge]

Excellent insight, nicely done the pair of you...

[@griff9290]

Congratulations Fraser--well done! Great video guys!

[@lordad]

This is one of the coolest videos ever ;) !

[@paveroud4084]

As always great,i love videos with GTN!

[@thefucrew9865]

Congrats !!!! Keep up the great work !

[@nairon182]

Awesome video, guys! I love these ones with GTN and GCN 😀

[@jacksquat2067]

Watching this while trying to wake up before a ride... At 3:32, I panicked for just a second, like "Hey, watch the road, man!!" Then I remembered the steering wheel is on the other side over there. I'm awake now. :D

[@pauloosterhout]

Great video. This is GCN (and GTN) at it's best. Thanks.

[@bon6347]

I'm having my first ever race in a couple of days, this video inspired me to push myself.

[@edwardokaa]

I always wanted to have a crack at racing but when a cat 4 race passed me on a local climb the gulf between me and even those who had been ejected out the back was enormous.

[@Ewane]

I love Castle Combe! Great little racing circuit in the UK (not that I'd say anything else) and one that most people won't know.

[@Pratalax]

What a hero! Nicely done.

[@cambridgeecon]

Fraser! Feels like a celeb cameo! Great to see you on here!

[@peteransel2715]

Great video! Love GCN! However, I think a series of videos following someone who finished mid pack or worse in their first race, and tracking their progress over a few races would be much more beneficial to people considering racing as a beginner.

[@furyl1_neverz91]

Omg this is great for me Thank you Simon for bring up all the tips I hope there would be a Pov of this race upload

[@dalezapple2493]

I don't think they allow on board video on British cycling races...

[@craigpaterson5085]

dale zapple - correct you get relagated and points removed in BC races if you are caught with a Camera, BC are great sometimes but most of the time very annoying and confusing.

[@rkan2]

@@craigpaterson5085 Why is that? :S UCI rules do not prohibit cameras (which is why they have them in Grand Tours etc)... Phones (and radios) are banned at lower levels of course...

[@dalezapple2493]

Fraser, you crushed it! Well done lad...

[@gcn]

🙌

[@benaves9610]

I have only just starting cycling and I would like something to aim for. What sort of average speed would a cat 4 race be so I can gauge my average against a race average. Great video, very informative!

[@superparano666]

Solid video! More race videos would be nice!

[@ca5ualm3dia]

i never wanted to not be a racer so much in my life watching this !!!

[@TheWaxChainFanClub]

Brilliant! Well.done, lads.

[@brannmacfinnchad9056]

Great video, and answered some questions I had.

[@RoyAH.]

That was fun, thanks blokes!

[@douglaspate9314]

That was AWESOME!! LEGEND!!! 2 happy presenters. I love it!!

[@Mark-lh3sq]

Would love to see Si in a duathlon! That would be awesome

[@ryanedge1996]

I'm not sure the commentary matched my recollection of that race, but good vid none the less :)

[@muchirigateri]

serious sock-length violations in the peloton!! 😂😂

[@robbchastain3036]

They should all be wearing GCN socks, just to be sure and colorful.

[@Indygoflow1]

Great episode!!

[@robbchastain3036]

And in the next exciting episode of Try My Sport, Fraser gets his buddy Si to sign up for an event in Kona.

[@rachaelholmes6015]

I've never done a crit but I LOVE time trials - and I do triathlons.... although I suspect I'm a swimmer and cyclist over being a triathlete...

[@narutoqweavatar]

In my first bike race I was off the back the entire time. I joined up with 2 other riders and we started working together to catch up to the peloton. In my first turn on the front, I put in a huge acceleration. One of the course marshals shouted at me "put the hammer down!" I ended up going so hard that I dropped the the 3rd rider in our group. 😂😂😂

[@davelabo8001]

Great job Fraser!

[@Philatlondon1]

Shame there weren't any corners to really answer the question. But a great effort and just shows how much better pro level endurance athletes are than the average weekend warrior.

[@heytreacle]

What this video really needed was Frasier carelessly spraying WD40 all over his chain (and chainstays, and tyres, and mechs, and disc brake rotors. And garage floor).

[@DJILLEE]

I wanna see a series of this following his journey (if he wants to continue).

[@markankone9362]

11:00 A triatlhete with long distance experience. Fraser always +10

[@tokenspirit3684]

Woah! terrific.....I want to do it.....afraid to state my age, but am tempted!

[@ianstewart8301]

Great feature and fun too!

[@gcn]

Cheers Ian!

[@pgl058]

I only ever did one race, on an old steel bike that was 20yrs old at the time, similar thing my friend who talked me into it was in a higher grade and clued me in on all the the tactics... he forgot to tell me what to do if you cross the finish line first and there's no one to follow. :-D

[@gangaxaxa6846]

Great video and I liked that you didn't take away the win from the guys who race in this league

[@markankone9362]

GTN and GCN 😍

[@maxirons709]

Hey GCN. This was a really great video. There are many of us who are roadies but new to racing. More videos on the finer details of amateur road racing would be enormously appreciated. Its fairly intimidating and its not helped by the endless 'cat 4' jokes. Anyways. Awesome video and awesome channel. Can't imagine the amount of people you've helped over the years!

[@gcn]

Aww, thanks Max, love hearing your feedback. :)

[@dylanperkins5212]

yes absolutly agree, its very daunting to say the least

[@zxczxczxc987]

this is brilliant

[@arronbird3603]

This is a quality video, you’ve earned a sub from me

[@gcn]

Yippee, welcome!

[@onii-san3851]

Now come and guide me to second place. Such an entertaining race!

[@syakiryaqzan7258]

I love more and more colabration between channel. And maybe next collabration between gcn,gcnitalia,gcnjapan,gcnitalia to race in taiwan kom

[@gcn]

Cheers Ahmad!

[@peterjohn548]

Fair play to that man

[@wadewitbooi163]

Well done Frasier! I'd be chuffed if I was the man who dropped him on the home straight 😁 Great content guys

[@hams510]

Great video! That was kind of Si not to just take off and crush everyone like he knows he could.

[@maite6715]

You should do this video with a olympic distance pro triathlete, they are used to group cycling jn the race and attacks and stuff

[@Rainaman-]

Yeah

[@MrTommyP1]

Olympic/ITU triathletes have better pack experience than Ironman triathletes, but the bike leg of an ITU race is nothing like a crit.

[@sdxpt2014]

So I personally have a hybrid bike but I really want to do a criterium, should I?

[@frazergoodwin4945]

Fab - Its almost like you guys are trying REALLY hard to get me to pin a number on - even going to the extent of finding someone with the same name as me as the "newbie" :-)

[@gcn]

Haha, maybe you should try...

[@frazergoodwin4945]

@@gcn Not really done racing per se - just grand fondo's, l'étape du tour - and the TourBxl event which is more like a "fun run on wheels" - you might spot the reason why at 55yrs of age I'm a bit reticent to do more in this clip from the finish of TourBxl2018... #walkingwounded kzbin.info/www/bejne/boikq6SGf5yqe9k

[@badatmaths]

Such a good video, how do I like it more than once?

[@richardruns4cake]

Brilliant film 🎥 I’m another Triathlete that’s never done a bike race but I’m going to now

[@gcn]

Yes! Let us know how you get on.

[@richardruns4cake]

Global Cycling Network doubt Faser needs to be worried 🤣😂

[@garrettborn3117]

Why did you guys switch to bell? That kask looks so much cooler!

[@jaskepinski1096]

Love the music

[@nicholasburford9307]

Was that Si doing some one-man blocking at the front of the Peleton? 😉

[@NachosChanneluk]

i thought in UK once getting out of Cat4 you could go back, you stay at 3?

[@Philatlondon1]

I thought you couldn't drop right back to the bottom. Maybe it was a 3/4 race. And if Mr Richardson was to start racing seriously again and asked for an elite licence he would probably be given one (or at least 1st cat).

[@lebowskii98_9]

Yep, that's true. Once you move up to cat 3 you can't drop back down to 4.

[@mattparsons6487]

I thought you never go back to 4th cat once you’re 3rd cat?!

[@sayeesaran]

9:02 that sock on no. 20!

[@GPflashclass]

8:24 Did Si just sneak Daniel Lloyd a compliment? 🤔

[@gcn]

😲

[@hiddenSeeker]

haha, I first thought he gives the interview while driving himself at @ 3:36, but well, no steering wheel, its UK ^^

[@maartends6051]

Hey, i would like to compete in a race, in belgium. But i am only 15 (u17) and i don't know what paces they ride at a race, does someone know how fast they ride in the UK, i think that those speeds don't have much difference.

[@Nameunvalid]

A series of rookies to top cat would be awesome. Please gcn!

[@triathlonsteve9675]

One for GTN can Si do a triathlon, most triathletes, in my view can cycle ok.however unless you have raced draft legal, crit racing like this, with group riding, would be a challenge, and I do hear there are quite a few crashes in crits ?

[@mikefritz4610]

Like your video it is AWESOME I'm a new sub showing you some love

[@OGchickentnt]

Do you need drop handle bars? I have a road bike but I think it would be funny if I road my old steel bike

[@mrdondos9830]

What was the average speed? What is approximately the average speed in flat races of low categories?

[@Shaun742]

I looked the ride up on Strava and average speed seems to be ~27mph

[@RagingCondor]

@@Shaun742 How far was it, could you tell?

[@Shaun742]

​@@RagingCondor Weirdly Si has logged about 26 miles and Fraser 32...

[@Shaun742]

www.strava.com/activities/2556878667 www.strava.com/activities/2543704009

[@shinysixpence]

To some extent, the average speed isn’t important. You are in a bunch which pulls you along much faster than you’d expect you can manage. What’s important is the acceleration during attacks. I’m surprised this wasn’t mentioned because it’s what catches new racers out - sudden high power which triathletes never need to train for. A few sessions which include some short (15-30s) all out efforts will help you prepare.

[@araplagat_]

I crashed in my first bike race in the neutral zone and got a puncture then had to repair it and started chasing.

[@aliancemd]

This was an interesting video, just wish they gave it a better title... It was hard to find it, to watch it again.

[@kashiffiroz6667]

Wow....wish i had a domestique with so much experience at my 1st race

[@bigdazz8636]

Top video..🤩🚴🤩🚴

[@Hardcaslte]

Curious about the speeds though, this is Category 4 but it looks like you all are still cruising at like 25mph which is still pretty fast to sustain as a beginner race.

[@nstrug]

Typical cat3/4 average speeds on a flat circuit are 26-27mph for 30 miles.