Race Smart, Race SISU: Coaching Tips for the 2025/26 SISU Racing Club Championships
The third edition of the SISU Racing Club Championships is almost here, and New York is ready to bite back. With Zwift’s refreshed New York roads as the backdrop, this year’s championships demand more than raw watts - they reward preparation, specific skills, and smart racing. From a flat-out time trial to a punchy crit, a grinding climb, and a long, road race, every rider type has a moment to shine.
Here’s a stage-by-stage breakdown of the routes and the coaching insights that will help you turn fitness into results.
February Tune Up: 3 Training Focuses for March Peak
With the championships in March, February is about sharpening not smashing yourself.
1. Discipline-Specific Intensity
One TT style workout per week (10–15 min steady efforts at race power).
One VO₂ / anaerobic session for crit readiness (30–90 sec repeats).
One sweet spot or threshold climb simulation.
2. Fatigue-Resistance Training
Long endurance ride with race-pace efforts late in the session.
Practice fuelling exactly as you will on race day.
3. Race Craft & Recovery
Jump into shorter races to sharpen positioning and pack skills.
Prioritise sleep and easy days fitness gains come from recovery, not just watts.
Individual Time Trial
Toefield Tornado | 10.3 km | Flat
TUESDAY, 3 MARCH
The championships open with a pure test of pacing and mental focus. Toefield Tornado is flat and fast - perfect for diesel engines, but ruthless if you go out too hard.
Coaching tips & race approach
Pacing is everything: Aim for a controlled start at 95–98% of target power for the first 2–3 minutes, then settle into your planned effort. Overcooking the first half is the fastest way to lose time.
Cadence discipline: Hold a steady cadence you can sustain under pressure. Small fluctuations in power add up over 10 km.
Ride the course, not the clock: Break the effort into thirds - build, hold, then empty the tank in the final minutes.
Winning mindset: calm, methodical, relentless.
Criterium
Avon Flyer | 8 laps | 28.3 km
TUESDAY, 10 MARCH
This is where the championships explode into life. Avon Flyer is fast, aggressive, and tactical, with First Across the Line (FAL) points at the end of laps 2, 5, and 6, plus big points on offer at the finish.
Coaching tips & race approach
Positioning beats power: Stay in the top 10–15 wheels without surfing the front. You want options, not wind.
Choose your moments: You don’t need every FAL - target one or two that suit your strengths, then race smart to the finish.
Sprint economy: Short, sharp accelerations > long drags. If you sprint for FAL points, recover fast and slot back in.
Winning mindset: alert, aggressive, and adaptable. This race rewards riders who think two laps ahead.
Climb
Stay Put Pursuit | 31.8 km | 416 m elevation
TUESDAY, 17 MARCH
The climber’s stage and a GC shaker. Stay Put Pursuit is all about sustained power and patience, with elevation that slowly grinds riders down rather than delivering one decisive blow.
Coaching tips & race approach
Ride your numbers: Stay just below threshold early. The riders who blow are the ones who chase too soon.
Smooth over savage: Keep cadence steady and avoid surging unless you’re responding to a genuine GC threat.
Mental chunking: Break the climb into segments and focus only on the next target wheel.
Winning mindset: controlled suffering. This is where resilience beats bravado.
Road Race
Fuhgeddaboudit | 79 km | 838 m elevation
SATURDAY, 28 MARCH
The grand finale. Long, selective, and tactical, Fuhgeddaboudit is a true endurance test that rewards riders who can still race hard with accumulated fatigue.
Coaching tips & race approach
Fuel early, fuel often: This race is lost faster through under fuelling than lack of fitness. Fuelling tips by Andrea.
Stay calm in the chaos: Let others chase early moves. The decisive moments usually come late.
Race for your goal: GC contenders ride defensively; stage hunters look for late moves or reduced sprints.
Winning mindset: patient confidence. Survive first—then race to win.
