In the Bunch

Cycling news, results, live streams, events, reviews & forum

  • Home
  • News
    • Road
    • Mountain bike
    • Gravel
    • Track
    • International
    • Features
    • Triathlon
    • Race reports
    • Blogs
    • Reviews
    • Featured event news
    • Partner content
  • Results
    • SA Results
    • International results
  • Streaming
  • Photos
  • Events
    • Categories
    • Locations
    • Add your Race
  • Find
    • MTB Trails
    • Cycle Shops
    • Add listing
  • Forum
    • View forum
    • Register
    • Login
  • Contact
    • About
  • Sign in
    • Reset password

Defining and defying saddle sores

May 23, 2017, 3:55 pm By In the Bunch

Stage events such as the PwC Great Zuurberg Trek can take their toll on the body. When it comes to saddle sores, the age-old adage that “prevention is better than cure” is something all cyclists should abide by. Before lining up for the three-day mountain bike race, professional cyclist Chris Wolhuter offered his advice on how to prevent a painful backside.

Chris Wolhuter at the 2016 PwC Great Zuurberg Trek. Photo: Warren Elsom

Depending on who you ask, there are a number of ways one could define a saddle sore.

Most simply, a saddle sore is an irritation of the skin that is in direct contact with the chamois of your cycling shorts and indirect contact with your saddle.

A saddle sore can also be an irritation of the skin or as a result of a boil or ingrown hair.

The long and the short of it is that it doesn’t matter how you define a saddle sore – they can be very painful.

These are my top tips to help prevent these painful sores:

1. Invest in a good pair of cycling shorts

Make sure to purchase a good quality, well fitting pair of shorts. Don’t be shy to splash out a little.

In order to reduce movement between shorts and your skin, rather get bib shorts as these are designed to hold the chamois in place better.

2. Don’t save your new shorts for race day

Make sure to wash new shorts at least once before wearing them as this will help the fabrics settle.

It is also a good idea to wear them on a couple of shorter training rides to help break them in.

3. Hygiene first

Hygiene is very important so it is important to wash your hands before applying chamois cream.

A second handy hygiene tip it to always avoid double dipping.

READ |  DPD Laser and Great Zuurberg Collection poised for the long haul

Once you’ve completed your race or training session it is important to get out of your kit and cleaned up as soon as possible.

4. Train, train and train some more

All of this advice is completely useless if your body isn’t used to spending hours in the saddle.

You need to make time to hit the trails because if you don’t your backside will be one of the first places you feel the effects.

Gradually building up your time in the saddle will ensure that your body becomes used to spending hours on the bike.

5. Look at your bike

If none of this seems to help, it may be that a new saddle and/or bike setup are required.

Exposure for your race: If you would like In the Bunch to promote your event through a series of articles, click here to ask us about our new PR product. See examples.

Next story
Previous story

MORE RELATED ARTICLES

No related photos.

FEATURED EVENT NEWS

DPD Laser and Great Zuurberg Collection poised for the long haul

Radisson Blu a home away from home for cycle tour riders

Herald Cycle Tour on a drive to give back

PARTNER CONTENT

First Ascent Cycling

It’s not about the destination, it’s about the Journey

Jan Frodeno

2021 Canyon Speedmax Disc: For next-level triathlon performance

Mathieu van der Poel

New Canyon Aeroad better in every way

The Giant Group launched the 2021 Giant TCR earlier this week.

Watch: Giant launches all-new TCR

LATEST REVIEWS

Review: Luck MTB cycling shoes

Luck’s Ator

Review: Luck road cycling shoes

Westfalia BC 75 bike rack

Review: Westfalia bike rack

Copyright © 2010 - 2022 · Developed and managed by Full Stop Communications · Privacy Policy

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT