Final week race prep — How I peaked for a national MTB podium

Final week race prep — after a successful trip to Newcastleton, where I raced the MTB Marathon National Champs and finished 3rd, here’s how I got the most out of my performance in the final seven days.

Quick race‑week summary

There isn’t much you can do in the last week to magically improve fitness. What you can do is influence how you feel on race day: reduce fatigue, sharpen skills, nail the nutrition, and get your head in the right place. My week was light, specific, and focused on feeling good on the bike rather than chasing numbers.

Training — what I actually did

Leading into the event my training had been a bit inconsistent, but I’d put in some good quality in the final few weeks. As part of my final week race prep I prioritised rest and skills over intensity. The final week was all about doing what felt right while following a rough plan that has worked for me before.

Monday — full rest. After a fairly big weekend on the bike I needed to clear fatigue.

Tuesday — recovery ride. A very gentle spin to keep the legs turning and blood flowing.

Wednesday — proper MTB ride (≈2 hours). Local trails, a natural mix of efforts and some deliberate skills practice. Off‑road, I find skills work in the final week gives more bang for your buck than chasing physiological gains.

Thursday — rest. Kept the legs fresh.

Friday — travel + sighting lap. I drove to the venue and did a steady sighting lap (~1h50). This was useful to check how the course had changed since last year and to start building confidence on the lines.

Saturday — another lap with mates. I rode the course again with two friends who were racing. Riding together helped with line choices on technical sections and gave a little race‑specific rehearsal without pushing hard.

Why skills over intensity

In MTB marathon and technical events, a few smart line choices and a confident body position can save far more time (and fatigue) than a last‑minute interval session. I used the week to practise flow, recon the course, and make small adjustments to my setup and tyre pressures.

Pre‑race nutrition

72 hours out: For final week race prep I started to increase carbs to top up glycogen stores — more pasta, rice, bread, and smaller gaps between meals.

Why rice? I prefer rice before a big event — it’s low in fibre and easy on the gut, so I can eat more carbs without risking GI trouble.

The night before: I had a chilli with rice. I made sure to eat plenty of the rice.

Race morning: The race was a 10:00am start, so my final big meal was about 3 hours beforehand — a large bowl of rice with jam. I aimed for roughly 3 g carbs per kg bodyweight for that meal, then sipped a carbohydrate drink up to the start.

Caffeine timing: I took a caffeine gel about 50 minutes before the gun — caffeine tends to peak around 45–60 minutes, so that hit right as the race started to ramp. For general guidance on caffeine timing see British Cycling or ISSN resources.

Supplements and race‑day buffering

In the weeks prior I’d been taking beta‑alanine daily (a loading period) to help with intramuscular buffering and delay fatigue in high‑intensity efforts. See PubMed for reviews on beta‑alanine if you want the science behind the strategy.

On race day I also used a sodium bicarbonate protocol — totalling 21 g spread over 1½ hours starting about 3 hours out, finishing ~1½ hours before the start. This is another blood pH buffering strategy to help push time‑to‑exhaustion. Important note: both beta‑alanine and bicarbonate can cause GI issues for some people — always test them in training first. More on bicarbonate protocols can be found via PubMed Central.

Mental preparation

A few weeks before the marathon I’d had a difficult race at national XCO champs where I underperformed. For Newcastleton I deliberately didn’t put pressure on myself for a result — I just wanted to show up relaxed and ready to race hard. After the disappointment at XCO I had no heavy expectations about fitness, which actually made it easier to stay calm and focused.

Final checklist I ran through

• Recon the course and practise lines on technical sections.
• Keep sessions short and purposeful: flow > fatigue.
• Carb up 72 hours out and choose low‑fibre options (rice, pasta, white bread).
• Test any supplements well before race day.
• Get sleep, stay off screens the night before where possible, and visualise clean, confident laps.

If you want the week‑by‑week plan I used in the preceding months, or a simple checklist to follow the week before your next race, see our CyclingLAB coaching or explore more articles on the blog: Explore our blog.

Conclusion — what actually mattered

The last week didn’t change my engine — but it changed how I used it. That’s my final week race prep in a nutshell — reduce fatigue, sharpen skills, and race freely. A few deliberate choices (rest, skills work, targeted carb top‑up, tested supplements, and a calm headspace) put me in a position to race freely and make the most of the fitness I had.

I came away from Newcastleton with a podium and, more importantly, the satisfaction that I’d controlled the controllables. If you want help with preparing for your next event drop me an email or Book a consultation to go over any questions you might have.