I am thinking that a few road races might help me. I am a former (beginner) mtn bike racer and now an age (aging) group triathlete.
Where would I go to quickly get up to speed on road and crit racing strategy. I would NOT be with a team. What can I expect to accomplish (as a likely cat 5).
Thanks
Good question. Man, the sublties of tactics take years to become familiar with. Two very strong sources for learning them are Eddy Borycewisz’s (sp?) book **Bicycle Road Racing **and from watching the World Cycling Productions videos and DVDs with Phil Liggett a Paul Sherwin’s commentary. You’ll have to watch HOURS of video to glean a little info, but it is worth it and I find it fascinating (then again, I have no life either). Also, talk to the local (good) cycling clubs and teams and pick their brains. Almost every area has their “Wednesday Night Ride” that can amount to race simulation and a good testing ground for race tactics. Want to see what happens if you attack 1 kilometer from the finish? Try it Wednesday night and find out. I hope that helps. Incidentally, I think a basic understanding of road race tactics is valuable to non-drafting triathletes, and very few have it. Heck, most DRAFTING (ITU) triathletes don’t even have it!
Try Smart Cycling by Arnie Baker, M.D. as well as the Handbook of Competitive Cycling by Achim Schmidt.
some interesting info is in the new book on cycling by some dutch guy at human kinetics. One pro rider managed a flat stage in the Tour de France at only 98W avg, something anyway on this forum can do.
but then it takes a lot of skills to suck the right wheel at the right time.
Too often, what you get in Cat 5 is more desire than skill…and, therefore, many “dumb crashes”. Maybe there’s not many crashes that could be categorized as a “smart crash”, but, you get the picture. IF you go the Cat 5 race route, I highly suggest you get up near the front and stay there…that’s where the better riders will be, and, hopefully, you’ll miss some of the carnage behind. This doesn’t mean to blindly follow a wild group into a hot corner at too high a speed, that happens often in Cat 5 races, too, with the resultant highly contagious outbreak of road rash. Just get up front and stay there for safety reasons.
If you are old enough, a Master’s division is a great place to race…there are some mighty smooth riders there, usually with enough panache to keep out of trouble, just be prepared to be humiliated by some unlikely-looking old geeks…some of them can fly, and some of them know how to wait for the right moment and just slip by you seemingly effortlessly. I’ll never forget the first Master’s race I watched (when I was too young), where the winner of a mass sprint actually coasted twice during the sprint…he used just enough energy to win by a wheel, and no more. I later found out he rode for a Swedish Tour de France team a decade earlier…smooth…
ms in my opinion the best thing you can do as an unattached cat 5 is to race as much as you possibly can. don’t overintellectualize tactics at the cat 5 level - in truth there are not all that many teams that actually effectively employ them at that level. still, road racing is a group thing, and you need to do it to do it, if you know what i mean. you need to try all manner different things, at different times, in different ways, with differnt guys to see what works when. i suggest you find a series of races and become a regular - or find a week long stage race someplace and go there - or something of the sort to speed up the process. here in wisconsin we have superweek, or stupidweek as it is known - something like 16 days of racing every day in the middle of july. pay your money, show up, and have at something like that and you will learn, grasshopper.
I would NOT be with a team. What can I expect to accomplish (as a likely cat 5).
As a cat. 5, I wouldn’t worry about not being on a team. Road racing is most certainly a team sport, but not really at the cat. 5 level. Everyone is so new to the sport, it’s every man for himself. I don’t think I saw any effective team tactics come into play until about cat. 3… maybe once in a while as a 4. The best thing you can do is be smart about it. Don’t waste any more energy than you have to. I don’t mean any offense to triathletes at all, but the biggest problem I see with folks going from triathlons to road racing is playing down the importance of conserving energy. Which means, unless you’re sure you have something to gain from being in the wind, don’t do it! But don’t be in the back either. It’s more dangerous, and the yo-yo effect will force you to do way more work jumping out of corners than you’d have to do in the first 1/4 of the pack. And most of all, have fun! It is an awesome sport!
RoadBikeReview has a great discussion group related specifically to racing (though a lot of racing questions get posted and answered on the “general” area). Well worth checking out.
http://forums.consumerreview.com/crforum?14@118.0094aDeRrFR.2@.ee7b566
Here’s a thread related to just what you’re asking:
http://forums.consumerreview.com/crforum?viewall@118.0094aDeRrFR.3@.efc539c
The most important thing to do is develop your road racing skills through training with a road team on club rides. Ride in group training rides a few times a week for a month before you venture out onto a race course. You need to know about pack riding techniques including both efficiency techniques like effective drafting and pack positioning, and safety techniques like avoiding wheel overlap and avoiding sudden changes in pace or direction when you are in the middle of the pack.
Once you feel safe, keep these figures in mind. I am adding them from memory so they may be off a little bit. I read them in a book called “high-performance cycling.”
Wattage expenditures for a 4-map team pursuit travelling on the track at 60KPH:
First rider: 630 watts
Second Rider: 430 watts
Third rider: 390 watts
Fourth rider: 380 watts
Average power expenditure for a “protected” Tour de France rider riding in the middle of the pack, surrounded by his teammates on a 6-hour moderately hilly course: **98 watts. **Average power expenditure for riders in the front of that same pack: I would guess over 350 watts.
What does this mean? The first rider is in the team pursuit event is putting out an incredible effort. Almost no one on this forum could put out that much power for even a few seconds of an all-out sprint. The rider in second position is putting out a good amount of power, but most of us could cruise at that output for at least a little while.
The protected TDF rider in the second example is putting out a power level that any of us could match, even for six hours. This guy is a master of efficient riding technique and is safely tucked in behind teammates.
This means you have to be crafty about spending time in the front of the pack as you will almost always be anaerobic while the guys behind you are cruising along. It also means it is worth it to learn how to effectively move around in the pack to find safe and shielded positions.
Happy riding.
-MK