Dmitry Bogatyrenko: the psychology of a racer, bike fit and why Ilya does racing
Title of the issue: "BUS VS CYCLIST BOGATYR"
Dmitry Bogatyrenko is a former Novgorodian, now a Petersburger: he runs a YouTube channel, does bike fit, studies sports psychology and has been racing gravel races for many years. The conversation turned out to be friendly and in both directions: first Ilya asks Dmitry about the pressure at the start, coaches and equipment, then Dmitry asks Ilya about why he has been organizing races in Novgorod for almost ten years.
Guest
An amateur racer from St. Petersburg hails from Novgorod, a cycling blogger on YouTube, a biker and a psychologist, he races mainly on a gravel.
Another issue with this guest
Useful from the issue
- Do not abandon the bike for the whole winter
Running, ice hole and gym are not a substitute for skating. Even one or two bike workouts a week would keep Dmitry fit and fit.
- The pressure on yourself eats up the race
High expectations narrow attention: the rider forgets to eat and drink and burns out. A realistic assessment of your strength and the level of your rivals is part of the preparation.
- Give the plan to the coach if you are anxious
If doubts about the effectiveness of your training interfere, transfer responsibility for the plan to the coach, and leave the execution to yourself.
- Make an agreement with the trainer about the communication channel
Find out in advance where the coach reads reports and comments — in Intervals, in messenger or somewhere else. Otherwise, the feedback is lost.
- Landing depends on health
The healthier and more symmetrical the body, the easier it is to choose a fit. Body problems bike fit does not cancel, but manifests.
- A big wheel on gravel is faster
Larger diameter wheels roll over small bumps more easily; on a gravel comb of 26 or 27.5 inches, they noticeably slow down.
- Psychologist or psychiatrist
If you need medication — to a psychiatrist, if you need personal therapy — to a psychologist. The name of the specialty has almost no effect on the quality of work.
Gravel calendar and RGS rating
They start with La Strada Off—Road: Dmitry was on three, but he only reached one normally - I don't really want to race in the fall. They are discussing the first Russian gravel championship announced in the Sverdlovsk region: Dmitry is glad that major starts appear not only in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novgorod.
About the gravel series rating, Dmitry supports the idea of not taking all races into account: it should be possible to skip one. He himself missed one race, because he could not go to Moscow twice during the season, and got off on the Tsar Grader.
The descent on the Tsar and sports psychology
Dmitry sees the reason for the descent in his head: inflated ambitions and demands on himself, the feeling that results are expected from him as in a strong 2023, although the level of the field has grown a lot since then. Stress started in the race, attention narrowed, he stopped eating and drinking, was angry that he was riding hard, and burned out.
He is a psychologist, already has a specialization in sports medicine and in 2026 plans to take a specialization in sports psychology to work with athletes. Years of personal therapy have made his life calmer and more enjoyable, but his racing form, he admits, has sunk: sport requires a tough attitude towards himself.
Dmitry explains the difference: a psychologist works with non—drug therapy, a psychiatrist - when medication is needed, and a psychotherapist can formally be called basically a doctor with separate training. His advice is not to dwell on the name of the specialty: it almost does not affect the quality of therapy.
Winter Bug, Coaches and Intervals
Previously, Dmitry finished the season in the fall every year and started in March, so by the end of the season he was running into the same 300 and a little watts, about 4 watts /kg, and was tired so much that he turned off the bike. Last winter he removed the bike altogether: running, ice hole, gym. When he returned, he couldn't even get on his bike properly — and it was because of this that he got deeply into the bike fit.
In order not to drown in anxiety about whether he was training effectively, he gave the plan to the coach: first he worked with one coach, then a season with Anatoly Solodov, and when the money ran out, he offered co—host Egor to practice coaching on him. About the quality of a popular coach with a large number of students, he says that most cases are typical for an experienced specialist, and the amount of attention depends on the chosen tariff.
Funny episode: Dmitry complained that the coach does not respond to comments under training, but it turned out that he wrote them where the coach does not see them.
Bike fit, wheels and BMX-the past
The main conclusion of the year in bike fit: the healthier a person is, the easier it is to plant him. A bicycle is an extension of the body, and if you are crooked, you will sit crookedly on a bicycle.
For 2026, Dmitry has a bunch of gravel and more road bikes, he wants to test 700c wheels with an inner rim width of 32 mm and try 27.5 inches. Ilya asks why no one drives at 27.5 — Dmitry explains: the bigger the wheel, the easier it rolls over small bumps, and on the gravel "washboard" the small wheel slows down. He checked it out on Fury Road, where he drove an old MTB with 26-inch wheels and stuck into every hole.
He still had a hernia from BMX — earned, ironically, not in jumps, but when he was carrying clay on the construction of trampolines. But there was bike control, a reduced threshold of fear and the ability to fall, grouping, and not face into concrete. Therefore, on gravel, he can afford a little more risk.
Comments, categories and inclusivity
Dmitry admits that he has not overgrown his skin yet: any negative review hurts, and it's easy to think up bad things for people on the Internet. Ilya says that after a wave of insults under his videos about buses, he was allowed in, and he just stopped reading the comments.
Dmitry signed up for the Tsar Grader in a strong category: it's better to go beyond your strength than to win a weak group. Ilya says that the formal rules of distribution by category (by watts per kilogram, by clusters at other races) have yet to be prescribed, and that the gravel series as a whole lacks division by forces: with hundreds of participants, there are only a few winners. Dmitry, as a participant, appreciates the idea of inclusivity, but admits that he himself would not like to do such work.
Why is Ilya doing races in Novgorod
Dmitry is already asking questions here. Ilya remembers that his first race through Novgorod was held in October 2016, so in October 2026 you can celebrate the decade, although he himself has never been a racer and has not even watched the big tours. Road races are now almost all in Moscow, and Ilya hopes that by 2027 they will appear in the Novgorod region. Dmitry shosse is afraid: there is too little depending on yourself, and on the Garden Ring he survived, only keeping slightly to the left of the pack.
Ilya likes the process itself in the organization: to come up with a route, see how hundreds of people drove along it, and hear their stories. He does it in Novgorod, because there are friends here and the infrastructure built for life. Preparation goes on all year — in fact, this is marketing, and the most stressful week is the last one before the start. He is worried that with the race reaching the official level, not everything depends on him, and approvals can disrupt the start.
In the end — donations: Dmitry says that subscribers helped him to collect a machine, a bicycle and wheels, and he once sold his fix through a ticket lottery. Vitya Lopad receives the baton of the next issue at Ilya's suggestion.
Timestamps
- 00:00Acquaintance and La Strada Off-Road
- 04:33The geography of the races and the gravel championship
- 06:23Gravel Series rating
- 07:47The descent on the Tsar and the pressure on themselves
- 09:51Sports psychology
- 11:10Psychologist and psychotherapist
- 17:17Bicycles and wheels for 2026
- 19:45A year in Bike fit
- 23:28Coaches and feedback
- 29:05Petersburg or Novgorod
- 31:18What gave BMX
- 33:49Comments and public
- 38:10Categories and inclusiveness of races
- 41:09Novgorod and the organization of races
- 48:37Shosseinik, wishes and donations
Mentioned in this episode
Tsar Grader · La Strada Offroad · Fury Road · Shulz Gravel Weekend · Gravel Instinct · Pokrova · Garden Ring · Borent · Intervals.icu