Dmitry Razgulyaev: racing, cycling blog and Chinese carbon fiber without embellishments

Guest

Useful from the issue

1. The main command rule is not to interfere with your own

   There are usually no complicated tactics in an amateur race, but the basic rule always works: do not close your partner and do not chase your own.

2. Check your category in the protocol

   An error in the date of birth when registering with one rider can move the podium for another. Check the categories immediately, not after the award.

3. Prepare the saddle for ultradistance

   Fifteen hundred kilometers on a bare carbon saddle turned into weeks of skin healing. For a multi-day trip without support, a saddle and a change of shorts are critical.

4. A long trip eats up speed

   After a multi-day race, endurance remains, and high-speed work disappears. Before the race after the ultra, it takes time for her to return.

5. There is no universal tire

   Highway, gravel and MTB require different rubber, and even on gravel, the best choice depends on the highway. Light tires pay for the weight of puncture resistance.

6. Check the switching reliability

   The failure of budget electronics cost Dmitry a group on the Tsar Grader. Before the main start, it is worth working out the switching and the scheme of the buttons under load.

7. To organizers: it is profitable to call bloggers

   A slot or a discount to a blogger is a cheap promotion of the race for the next year. You can select according to the level of the channel and the rider.

8. Selection rules — in advance

   If there is a selection for the race, its conditions should be published long in advance: otherwise people do not have time to pass the qualifying starts and plan a vacation.

Amateur teams and tactics

Dmitry started racing in 2020 with the Kamikaze team, where its founder — a former professional with experience in the Italian team — taught technique and tactics for free: riding in contact, a guide, how not to hold on to a technical one. It is this coach that Dmitry suggests calling the next guest of the podcast. Since 2023, he has been playing for HBFS, where Dmitry Shevarov invited him, and Tolya trains him — for free, in exchange for advertising, with a plan in Intervals.

The main rule of HBFS is not to interfere with your own. There are almost no full-fledged team tactics at amateur races: against strong professionals, even five well-coordinated amateurs will do a little. At the championship of amateur clubs on the circuit, he rode alone, everyone sat on his wheel, and in the general standings he lacked one position. But at the grandfondo in Dubna, he enjoyed working for the group without looking back at his finish.

From the unpleasant stories of the season, he recalls the multi-day race "Russia", where women started together with men: he stood up for a familiar racer, whose rival was being driven on a wheel and pushed by male assistants. After his video, the organizers separated men and women on the last day, and she won the general.

Federal races: where strong, where not

Dmitry sets the multi-day "Russia" and amateur championships from the cycling Federation as an example of the organization: the race is free (the deposit was only for the chip), professional judges, escort vehicles, overlaps and a properly arranged finish line. For comparison, he recalls a commercial race where the finish line stood ten meters after a closed turn on the descent.

The weak point is information. The selection for the amateur championship of Russia was announced in a matter of weeks, and the stage was set from Thursday to Saturday, which is why many workers could not come, and the field had to be taken by professionals. If the selection rules had been known in advance, Dmitry would have gone to the right races for his money.

From the reverse examples — "Three Mountains": due to the incorrect year of birth of the opponent, Dmitry ended up without a podium in his age group and does not want to go there anymore. He has one wish for the gravel championship of Russia in Yekaterinburg — a prize fund, as at the 2024 MTB amateur championship: this adds sports excitement and somehow pays for a long trip.

Blogger and race slot

Dmitry has been asking the organizers to call bloggers for a long time: tens of thousands of people see the video from the race, and many then write that they will go next year. But the organizers want a measurable conversion, and it cannot be calculated. One series has changed the ambassador's program, and it's expensive to pay for each start; it's easier to agree on MTB races. At the same time, he admits that there are a lot of bloggers with cameras, so it's worth considering the level of the channel and the rider.

He collected the video from the Tsar Grader overnight: two hours of cutting, voice acting late at night without a second take, a bright teaser. The video has gained about 70 thousand views and brought hundreds of subscribers. Dmitry honestly says that it is unlikely to be possible to repeat such a takeoff: the spring hype around the race, the help of a fellow blogger and the most interesting events in the pack came together.

About money — no illusions. A regular video collects 15-20 thousand views, affiliate links have to be officially labeled and paid taxes, YouTube monetization on its figures gives almost nothing, and subscriber support goes to equipment like a new action camera. For all this — work in shifts of more than a day, a child, training and installation — time is taken mainly from sleep.

From the sea to home and ultradistance

One of his most discussed stories is a trip from the Black Sea to home in about four days without support, about one and a half thousand kilometers. Someone in the comments did not even believe that he was driving without a car. Dmitry admits that he was poorly prepared: he rode all the way on a bare carbon saddle, the skin healed for several weeks, and the high—speed work was gone - at the next race he barely gave out 200 watts of average.

Conclusion for himself: multi-day trips without support are no longer interesting to him. He wants long, but one—day or two-day trips - to go fast, for example, 400 km per light day.

Gravel series, Galich and criteria

Dmitry praises the organizers of the race in Galich: registration, food outlets with gels and flasks, major sponsors. But the route came out more for MTB — swamps, fords and little gravel; in his opinion, it had to be made up with the right people and driven in advance. For the gravel series rating, he supports the rule of four races out of five in the standings.

He also misses the criteria: short circuit races are better for the viewer, and they give him a chance to leave at the expense of technology in corners. Such races do not pay off on entry fees, so for a short track, criteria or cross-country on motocross tracks, sponsors and shows are needed, just like at a horse race.

Rubber, Wheeltop and Chinese Frames

On the highway, his choice is the Continental GP5000, which he has been driving since 2019. On gravel — Schwalbe Thunder Burt 2.1 in front, if the gap allows, for heavy racing — MTB-rubber like Fast Trak 2.2. On MTB, he trusts Maxxis; light tires with a thin frame swallow roots well, but hold punctures worse. There is no universal rubber, personal experience is needed.

He scolds the Wheeltop group set: the switching failed more than once, and on the Tsar Grader the chain was driven to the biggest star, he dropped out of the group for 50 seconds and spent his strength chasing, which left him seventh. Subscribers helped him buy a budget bike with this set.

For the Chinese carbon gravel pit, Dmitry calls Winspace G3 with a gap under 50 mm in terms of price and quality, slightly cheaper than Elves with the possibility of custom painting, more expensive — Seka with the largest gap. On the Elves frame, according to his calculations, it is possible to assemble a bicycle even with electronics for about 200 thousand rubles; he posted his assembly options in the telegram channel.

Timestamps

1. 00:00Introduction and the next guest
2. 06:28Amateur team tactics
3. 12:11Moscow party and assistance to racers
4. 18:38Stage race "Russia" and federal races
5. 29:55Selection for the amateur championship
6. 40:39Gravel Championship and slots for bloggers
7. 48:49How to combine work, family and blog
8. 56:57From the Black Sea to home
9. 1:02:39Criteria and Galich
10. 1:09:58Gravel Series and La Strada
11. 1:22:40How much does a bike blog bring
12. 1:29:41Rubber for highway, gravel and MTB
13. 1:33:50Wheeltop and failure on the Tsar
14. 1:37:49Chinese Carbon gravel Diggers
15. 1:44:22The Blitz

Mentioned in this episode

Tsar Grader · HBFS · Cycling Race · Granfondo · Three Mountains · La Strada Offroad · Continental GP5000 · Schwalbe Thunder Burt · Maxxis · Wheeltop · Winspace · Elves