I'm doing a semi-full season of bike racing this spring and the first was this weekend. It was my second ever(1st was about a year ago).
We get into a bunch of roadie/triathlete discussions around here and I found it interesting that, at least in my race, the triathletes were the strongest and most savvy riders there.
The only team that showed any solid team tactics was the UCSB Triathlon team. Twice they got a group of their riders towards the front and slowed the tempo and/or blocked the field while their two strong riders escaped, both times it was me and another triathlete(from the Cal Poly tri team) who were the only ones to chase and join them. They controlled the race, were prominently represented in every break, and finished in 2nd and 3rd overall.
In the end, the top 4 places were all triathletes. We all finished well clear of the field. I finished 4th after being dropped on the final climb :( I just couldn't recover after spending a half mile bridging the gap and TT'd the final 4 miles solo.
Both the UCSB tri and cycling teams were well represented in the 50 man field but the tri team destroyed the cycling team.
Ok, so one of the guys did have on a sleeveless tri-top with armwarmers(isn't that illegal?)
My girlfriend, another triathlete, finished 4th of 17 in the womens Cat 3/4 race and probably could have won if it hadn't been her 1st race and she'd had a better idea of what to expect.
Anyway, I highly recommend bike racing. Most triathletes I talk to are intimidated by the idea, but a little specific training and I think many triathletes would do fine. Plus, it's great fun.
We get into a bunch of roadie/triathlete discussions around here and I found it interesting that, at least in my race, the triathletes were the strongest and most savvy riders there.
The only team that showed any solid team tactics was the UCSB Triathlon team. Twice they got a group of their riders towards the front and slowed the tempo and/or blocked the field while their two strong riders escaped, both times it was me and another triathlete(from the Cal Poly tri team) who were the only ones to chase and join them. They controlled the race, were prominently represented in every break, and finished in 2nd and 3rd overall.
In the end, the top 4 places were all triathletes. We all finished well clear of the field. I finished 4th after being dropped on the final climb :( I just couldn't recover after spending a half mile bridging the gap and TT'd the final 4 miles solo.
Both the UCSB tri and cycling teams were well represented in the 50 man field but the tri team destroyed the cycling team.
Ok, so one of the guys did have on a sleeveless tri-top with armwarmers(isn't that illegal?)
My girlfriend, another triathlete, finished 4th of 17 in the womens Cat 3/4 race and probably could have won if it hadn't been her 1st race and she'd had a better idea of what to expect.
Anyway, I highly recommend bike racing. Most triathletes I talk to are intimidated by the idea, but a little specific training and I think many triathletes would do fine. Plus, it's great fun.