The Law of Averages – #30 Things learned in 30 years of cycling No. 11

If you want to win a race, if you want to ride a 160k sportive or if you just want to improve your cycling, then the Law of Averages is for you. It is more important than your FTP or your max heart rate. It is more important than your weight, shape or size. In a nutshell it is the most important thing that you can do.

So, what is the law of averages? In a nutshell, it means that the more you do something, anything, the more chance of success you will have. Whether that be racing a bike, selling shoes or trying to reduce your golf handicap, the more you do something the better your chances of success.

Last year, World Champion Peter Sagan won 14 races, but he raced 73 times. During his career as a professional cyclist Sean Kelly won 193 races. He did not accomplish that by sitting at home watching TV. He went and competed in as many races as possible from the beginning of the season right to the end and by doing so he won more than any of his contemporaries and there are only 3 other riders above him in the history of the sport.

If you want to get from A4 to A3 you must ride every race possible. If you want to go from A3 to A2 you must ride every race possible. If you want to go from A2 to A1 you must ride every race possible. It is OK for Chris Froome to pick and choose how often he races, but only one person who reads this might be Chris Froome. Speaking of whom. He didn’t go from pudgy to puny by sitting inside watching TV either.

The more you race the fitter you will get, the more experienced you will become, the more tactically astute you will be. And then you will win races. A €1500 power meter will not win you a race but knowing which wheel to follow, where to position yourself in the wind, where to attack and where to launch your sprint will. All things that you only get from experience.

If you want to ride the 160k in the Sean Kelly Tour you must get out there on your bike and train. No special diet, no gym workout or no meditating inside a small tent on a beach at 5am in the morning is going to get you through 160 kilometres of very challenging terrain without having the time spent out there on your bike.

Both on and off the bike, pretty much anything that you really set your mind upon is possible, but only if you get out there and put in the work day after day and week after week will you reach that target that you are aiming for.

Now, stop reading this and go do something.

Barry

www.thecyclingblog.com