The only thing I would say against that strategy is that once the slingshotter passes, they would need to be moving much faster for the passed athlete to be able to maintain their speed and drop out of the draft zone, then the passed athlete would have to surge to get back in the draft zone of the front athlete to become the slingshotter. Or the passed athlete slows down to get out fo the draft zone before picking back up which would render it pointless? Either way, seems like a lot of surging to me on both ends which I wouldn’t think would work very well. //
You just described a normal cycling pace line, and they seem to work quite well for a group going faster, than a solo person would otherwise. Keep in mind that it is not all about speeding up each time, but the trailing rider resting while dropping back(in the draft by the way too). It is those moments of rest that allow for a faster pace once you are going to the front. When you can ride/rest, ride/rest, then the overall speed can be just a bit faster, even with huge distances vs sitting on wheels. It is about the rest involved…
I’m no cycling expert but I don’t think a paceline requires riders to drop back 6 bike lengths before getting back in line/to the front.
**I’m no cycling expert but I don’t think a paceline requires riders to drop back 6 bike lengths before getting back in line/to the front. **
It’s ok you’re not a cycling expert, doesnt mean you cannot understand the dynamics of groups riding together. If you read my last sentence again, it indicates that even in this dynamic, you can get some of the same benefits of a true cycling pace line. And in some cases where the pace line is 20 guys long, you would drop back even further than 6 bike lengths obviously. But now we are moving into double pace line territory, which is another discussion…
**I’m no cycling expert but I don’t think a paceline requires riders to drop back 6 bike lengths before getting back in line/to the front. **
It’s ok you’re not a cycling expert, doesnt mean you cannot understand the dynamics of groups riding together. If you read my last sentence again, it indicates that even in this dynamic, you can get some of the same benefits of a true cycling pace line. And in some cases where the pace line is 20 guys long, you would drop back even further than 6 bike lengths obviously. But now we are moving into double pace line territory, which is another discussion…
Right, but when you drop back in line in any size cycling pace-line, you are immediately behind someone when you fall back in line, saving energy. I guess what I am saying is that if were talking about two guys who are of similar speed trying to use this legal sling-shot strategy to leap frog each other over and over again, that having to yo-yo with 6 bike lengths between them before the next pass happens, it seems to me like it would require either one athlete to slow down to let their partner pass, or for the passed athlete to push hard to make the pass. Either situation doesn’t seem very efficient to me. Perhaps I am just missing something here? I know one still gets a small draft advantage even with 6 bike lengths, but it isn’t the 30-40% you get when you’re right on their wheel.