I did my first bike race a week ago. 6 laps (55kms total) with points on each lap. I was a newbie but known as a triathlete so i was put in C grade (we had a, b, c, d and e grades) After listening to the wisdoms of ST, despite being a small field of only 9, i made sure to stay reasonably close to the front, do my share when required, but dont cook myself pulling the train for extended periods. The first lap i sprinted a tad early and was nailed on the line by a freakin tire length. The other laps i took 2nd, 2nd, 4th (boxed in), 2nd and 1st. I took out the overall win and was super chuffed. I felt i was the strongest sprinter there but couldnt get my timing right.
However im not sure if im leaving speed on the table on the sprints to the line as well. In true tri fashion, i sit and hammer. It didnt feel right to get out of my seat. Is there a right way or wrong way for sprinting? Should i learn to sprint with my ass up in the air? The front end on my roadie only got a bit twitchy on my very first sprint- felt like mr bean with the speed wobbles, but the rest of the event i was planted on the front end better and felt ok as time went on. Does anyone else ‘sit to sprint’?
Watch the finish of the TdF stage today and you have your answer
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thats what i figured - cav etc all sprinting out of the saddle…i guess its a skill to practice
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Out of the saddle. Only Freds and track monsters sprint in the saddle.
Always out of the saddle. And in the drops unless you’re Giuseppe Saronni.
I know I have it somewhere, but couldn’t find quickly a paper related to seated vs standing power output.
I think it may have been written for climbing but the conclusion should apply to sprinting.
It said that you can generate more high end power if standing.
Sub threshold climbing should be done seated.
Keep in mind that when in the drops with an aggressive road bike position, you not talking about a big difference in aero with you butt just 1" higher and 3-4" further forward just off the seat.
Out of the saddle. Only Freds and track monsters sprint in the saddle.
good thing im a track monster 
well it seems i will have to practice this a bit perhaps. I dont know, throwing the hammer down while seated felt comfortable and powerful, but i guess thats what happens when you only do tri’s on the flats.
It depends on how long the sprint is and how much gas you have left in the tank.
If it takes place from a ways out, you will likely start out of the saddle and end in the saddle. You can only stand and sprint for so long before your legs turn to jello and you make more power sitting down.
If you have been going on breaks, spending a lot of time at the front, etc. you may not have the legs to get out of the saddle for more than a second or two due to expending so much energy during the race … so you just keep it in the saddle and give it everything you have. I know I’ve had races where at the end I attempted to sprint out of the saddle, made about 3 pedal strokes and knew that wasn’t going to work, so … in the saddle it was!
If you sit in, draft, wheel suck, do everything to save energy … you will have more to stand and sprint at the end of the race.
As a triathlete migrating to bike racing, you may be stronger right now…and more stable…sprinting from a seated position. However, as already indicated, you will find more power in a standing position, but take the time to train your sprint while standing to get used to it and gain better explosive power. Bar to bar in a crit sprint is not a great time to determine if your sprint technique is solid. Climbing out of the saddle has a rhythm to it. Sprinting is much more violent. As for sprint workouts, there are dozens of places to check workouts, but in general, you should work on form sprints, starting sprints, and decline sprints. These will all help your sprint form and also your standing sprint power. Finally, in a points race format, sprinting from the saddle may not be a bad thing. You need to recover quickly from lap to lap, which is a bit easier from a seated sprint position. Once your form is solid, maybe save the standing spirnt efforts for the big point lap and the end.
wise advice thanks wookie and jim
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Seated going into the sprint in a gear that feels just a tad to big. Then at about 200 meters from the finish, stand to accelerate to top speed. When you get it totally wrung out, with about 30-50 meters to go, sit down again and try to get that last few rpm’s out of your legs. Then just through your bike about 2 meters from the line.
Easy game - sit, stand, sit, throw. Go out and practice. It’s as much timing as technique, and personal. I was a long sprinter - not good relative acceleration but good top end speed, so I to hope or keep the pace faster and start my sprint earlier so top speed would be hit earlier and longer. I learned this through track racing, you’ll never know it from triathlon since you don’t ever accelerate to top speed or top rpm.
Don’t ever pull the group more than 30 seconds or less, unless you can split the group by it on a hill or technical section. Pulling the group to catch a breakaway is a waste, but is what a triathlete will probably feel “noble” and comfortable doing. Find another triathlete to do that for you!
Standing on the pedals can get very tiring and will burn a rider out; but used sparingly and at the right time, will save energy in the long run.
For example, when riding a series of short steep hills, it is often in the interest of the rider to use the speed and momentum of the previous descent to carry them half way up the next climb. Without shifting down, it’s best to get out of the saddle and put in a super human effort (as shown) to keep the momentum over the crest of the next hill, knowing that even if the effort incurs a brief stay of exhaustion, recovery is destined on the upcoming descent.
Photo: theFiXFiXFiX
OK, that doesn’t address *sprinting *though. does it?
Sorry
Depends on the distance. If I want to gap people and then make a run for it, I will go out of the saddle for the jump and then sit and go full aero.
Closer to the finish, I will be out of the saddle the whole time.
My problem is that I’m not comfortable with shifting in the middle of the sprint. Sometimes I find I want the next gear, but with the motion I’m doing on the front end, I don’t want to take a finger off. I need sprint buttons!
I’ve not seen this rigorously proven one way or the other, and it might depend on how much 5 second power you have to give in the sprint.
Some practice with a power meter and timing yourself over a fixed distance might be a good way to figure it out for yourself.