{"id":913035,"date":"2026-09-28T16:58:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T16:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/913035\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T16:58:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T16:58:12","slug":"century-ride-pacing-tips-inspired-by-team-usas-worlds-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/913035\/","title":{"rendered":"Century Ride Pacing Tips Inspired by Team USA\u2019s Worlds Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated4 min read<\/p>\n

There were a little over 30 kilometers to go in the 2026 Road Racing World Championship when Brandon McNulty put in his attack. As he rolled away from the group<\/a> it was apparent there was little interest in anyone digging in for a counterattack\u2014the end of a decades-long drought for an American to be in the rainbow jersey<\/a> at the end of this race was slowly coming to fruition.<\/p>\n

The American team had deployed brilliant team tactics to get McNulty into this position. Other riders, some of them favorites to win like Remco Evenepoel and Mathieu van der Poel<\/a>, were putting out raw power throughout the race. But McNulty and the rest of the American squad prioritized team strategy, appropriate pacing, and hard efforts when needed, to get an American back on the top of the podium at Worlds.<\/p>\n

While most of us aren\u2019t creating a gap on our weekly ride with riders like Evenepoel and van der Poel, there is something we can learn from Team USA\u2019s strategy. Knowing when to dig deep and put in an effort and when to conserve energy can be key to you feeling good on a long ride.<\/p>\n

As a trainer, coach, and group rider, I\u2019ve seen so many people blow up because of poor pacing throughout a ride. Here we\u2019re going to go through pacing strategies for your next long ride so you can finish like McNulty.<\/p>\n

Get Bicycling’s Guide to How to Master the Century <\/a><\/p>\n

Pace from the start<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to let excitement get the better of you in those opening miles of a long ride and jump on the gas as soon as the pedals start turning. But take a page out of McNulty\u2019s book from Worlds\u2014if you\u2019re with a group, take a turn sitting in the wheels for the opening stretch. Take your turn at the front, but you don\u2019t need to counter every attack that you see go off the front of the group\u2014and definitely don\u2019t burn all your matches trying to put in a dig on every climb.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of pacing long rides is to make sure you\u2019re not surging on every hill,\u201d says Dan Chabanov, test editor at Bicycling and an experienced bike racer.<\/p>\n

Focus on keeping your power<\/a> and\/or heart rate<\/a> firmly in a comfortable zone 1 or 2<\/a>, especially as you warm up<\/a> for the first 30 to 60 minutes. (Don\u2019t have a monitor? Use the talk test\u2014even if you\u2019re riding solo, keep checking that you can comfortably speak in full sentences.) \u201cIf you’re in a race (or group ride), staring at your power meter is a great way to get dropped,\u201d Chabanov notes. It\u2019s important to know where you\u2019re at so you don\u2019t burn matches too early, but learn to feel out where your body is so you aren\u2019t staring at your bike computer for the whole ride.<\/p>\n

Focus on consistency<\/p>\n

Newer cyclists<\/a> may want to focus on holding a certain speed<\/a> on a ride like this, but your better pacing strategy is to focus on keeping your power, heart rate, or perceived exertion (how you feel) consistent throughout the day. Ideally, most of your time should be spent in zone 2<\/a>, dipping into zone 1 and zone 3<\/a> occasionally\u2014and this is true whether you\u2019re focusing on power or heart rate zones.<\/p>\n

When Chabanov and I were talking about the race, he started talking about McNulty\u2019s last lap. \u201cHe [McNulty] clearly rode slower on the Mount Royal climb by quite a bit. The chase closed about 40 seconds on him. But he had to leave enough in the tank to pedal the last 10 km instead of trying to nuke the climb,\u201d says Chabanov.<\/p>\n

Part of the key with pacing is knowing where you\u2019re at in the route and having a plan to spread your effort accordingly. If you\u2019re basing your effort on your perceived exertion, come back to the talk test. If you\u2019re struggling to string together a sentence without gasping for breath, you\u2019re going too hard. You should always be able to get at least a full sentence out without trouble.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to fuel<\/p>\n

Perhaps most importantly to the mental side: eat and drink! Spencer notes that often, we think of food as fuel for our physical bodies, but our brains need it just as much. \u201cOur mood, focus, and concentration are greatly impacted by what we put in our bodies,\u201d she adds. \u201cAn underfueled athlete is not just a slow athlete, they are also a grumpy athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, your pace is in large part dictated by your fueling, and unfortunately, if you wait until hour three to start eating and drinking<\/a>, you\u2019re likely too late and you\u2019ll be feeling the bonk. Eat and drink early and often, says Frank Overton of FasCat Coaching<\/a>. \u201cRemember to eat and drink every 30 minutes, starting at the first 30 minutes into the ride,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Ideally, stick to foods and beverages you know work well for you\u2014test them on shorter rides first! No one wants to interrupt their century ride<\/a> at mile 70 with a sprint for the nearest public restroom. (You can pick favorite snacks here: Cookies are absolutely acceptable sources of fuel, says Overton. In a century, snacks should feel fun!)<\/p>\n

Stay Present<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last few miles, don\u2019t get lost focusing on the finish line,\u201d says Spencer. \u201cKeep your attention to the here and now. When you cross that finish line, embrace the joy and celebrate your accomplishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is also a safety issue: In skiing, they have the curse of the \u201clast run,\u201d where inevitably, it ends not so pleasantly. Don\u2019t let your \u201clast mile\u201d be the one where you steer into a ditch!<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Jason Griffin is Bicycling’s Senior Health and Fitness Editor, bringing more than a decade of fitness experience and years in the cycling industry to every story. A former personal trainer and bike shop manager, he’s lined up for crits, tackled enduros, but prefers getting lost on multi-day bikepacking adventures. Lately though, his toughest balancing act has been fitting trainer rides between family life and the next adventure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Lettermark\"<\/p>\n

Molly writes about cycling, nutrition and training with an emphasis on bringing more women into sport. She’s the author of nine books including the Shred Girls series and is the founder of Strong Girl Publishing<\/a>. She co-hosts The Consummate Athlete Podcast<\/a> and spends most of her free time biking and running on trails, occasionally joined by her mini-dachshund.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"4 min read There were a little over 30 kilometers to go in the 2026 Road Racing World…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":913036,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,258154,635,39643,6747,82],"class_list":["post-913035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cupdate","tag-cycling","tag-focus","tag-service","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/913035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=913035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/913035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/913036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=913035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=913035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=913035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}