It’s that time of year when thoughts turn to next year’s riding, whether it’s entering and planning for the summer sportive or choosing to embark on a season of time trialling or road racing.

Whatever your goals are next year, you’ll no doubt be planning to put long steady miles in on the bike over the following months. And it’s highly likely that many of us will want to lose a few pounds before the summer rolls around.

The lighter you can be of course means you will ride faster. If only loosing weight was as easy as putting it on though. The latest book from Velopress, ‘Racing Weight, How to Get Lean for Peak Performance’ could just have the answers.

Written by Matt Fitzgerald Racing Weight offers a safe and healthy 5-step plan to help you get leaner and lighter for competition. Chapters cover aspects such as improving the quality of your diet, managing your appetite and timing important nutrients.

Fitzgerald grounds his approach with practical examples of good nutrition, featuring personal food journals from elite athletes competing in six different sports and a selection of 21 recipes from professional triathlete and dietician Pip Taylor.

Available at all good bookshops or direct from www.cordee.co.uk priced £13.95.