04/08/2026
Course Pre-Ride The Key to a good off road race.
The purpose of a pre-ride is to prepare both mind and body with knowledge, while also setting the correct mental state to execute a clean, smooth race.
When my paycheck as a Mountain Bike World Cup pro was riding on good results this became a ritual before big events. As a coach I found it so surprising alot of athletes dont get out to see a full lap before racing on MTB or gravel routes.
There are many benefits—easily 20 or more—but a few key ones stand out.
A proper pre-ride builds confidence and improves efficiency on race day.
It helps you understand the terrain and the course’s natural undulations, allowing you to refine your pacing strategy. It also gives you the chance to dial in your “throttle feel” for specific features and identify tactical opportunities—places where you might attack, recover, or create separation from competitors.
Equally important is identifying potential hazards. Knowing where flats, mechanical issues, or tricky sections may occur can save your race. A pre-ride also informs decisions around race duration expectations, soil type, tire pressure, and even gearing—especially for events that take place days after your initial inspection.
My process is really simple
- Inspect and look at alternate lines passing lines and walk key features. I often session the crux features multiple times. Chill pace.
- Perfect Get lines dialed approach speed downhills quick but still just 90%
- Pace- Tempo and near race paced lap one day before 100% of race pace.
Once you have a clear mental picture of the course—especially for key races—I like to take it a step further. After dinner I’ll often illustrate the entire course and name sections, committing them to memory like studying for a test. Breaking the course into recognizable segments helps simplify decision-making under pressure!
The final step is putting that knowledge to use. On race morning, often while stretching, I’ll mentally walk through the course as slowly as possible. I visualize a clean start, hitting my lines, moving efficiently through the feed zone, and descending smooth, relaxed, and in control—all while executing my race strategy. This meditation is priming the mind for each part and allowing a more ex*****on based mind set vs decision based mental state. This allows you to just Ride once the race starts.
Of course, things rarely go exactly as planned, but the more you’ve pre-wired these scenarios, the less thinking you have to do on game day. That translates to confidence—knowing you’ve done your homework. The races I had the most laps on before the race seemed to be the once that just flowed and some became my very best performances.
In a nutshell, a pre-ride means something slightly different to everyone. Take from it what you will. Study what you need. Then distill that knowledge into something actionable.
Write your mantra on your bars before your big race. This simple act can help translate everything you learned in the pre-ride into a focused, personal ex*****on plan for race day.
IF you are looking for coaching check out www.jeremiahbishop.com for more info and send me a message with your training questions or set up a free consult.
Jeremiah Bishop: Adventurer - Cycling Coach - Consultant
