24-hour mountain bike racing is competitive! To win, every team member must ride as fast as they can on every lap. To do this you must carefully care-take your body between laps in order to start the next lap replenished and able put down a fast time. For example at the 24-hours of Moab a rider on a team of four looking to win, will have a rest period of three to four hours between laps.

This is what you must get done between laps to stay fast for 24 hours:

Cool Down Five minutes of easy spinning after your lap.

Eat Immediately eat a light meal or a recovery drink such as Endurox R4 to replenish muscle glycogen.

Wash and Change If no showers are available use baby wipes.

Prepare Equipment for Next Lap Check bike over, mount lights if needed, fill water bottles, wipe off and lube chain.

Stretch or Massage A light flushing massage or gentle stretching is very beneficial at this point to help wind down and digest your meal.

Rest Sleep is unlikely but lying down for some quiet time is important.

Get Ready To Go Again Put on a fresh set of riding clothes for each lap. Eat an energy gel and drink some water immediately prior to warming up. Do a ten minute warm-up gradually building to one minute at race pace. Start the next lap at a moderate pace and build to fast over five minutes.