"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Just invited to race with team; need some education!

Are there any publications and / or books that show or speak about team tactics, do's and dont's, bi-laws, unwritten rules, etc.... Just some in depth information on this would help me. I've been cycling for 7 years but have wanted to start competing recently and have proved myself enough to get an invite. Im already 34 but I feel 21; I've never been in better shape in my life and I've been in the military for 6 years a long time ago. I'm not totally ignorant about group rides; I just want to know what to expect when racing. Thanks for all your input.

Everyone else, feel free to correct...but this is a soapbox issue for me.

If you have lots of group ride experience, disregard.

I'm a girl, women, by nature and nuture are vocal, men aren't. The usual MO of racing team rides is to let the noob learn by osmosis, unless you really screw up no one will say anything, but everyone will be giving you a wide berth. Everyone would saved a lot of trouble if guys would say "hey man, this is how we do things" or, "hey, this is my first ride, how does this group flow?"

To complicate matters, every group is different, and even within the group there are a lot of variables and unwritten rules. Some teams do a standard paceline, some do an eschalon (aka rotating line), they may change it up if there's wind, they may be super lax if certain people aren't there to crack the whip. Most groups have a sprint or two, all of a sudden they'll be off, no warning and no idea where the end is.

I'll get off my soap box now...

There is a book, Race Tactics For Cyclists, by Thomas Prehn (Velo Press, of course) that has some good info. The first couple chapters are really basic, but it's good stuff if you're going to race this season.

Are there any publications and / or books that show or speak about team tactics, do's and dont's, bi-laws, unwritten rules, etc.... Just some in depth information on this would help me. I've been cycling for 7 years but have wanted to start competing recently and have proved myself enough to get an invite. Im already 34 but I feel 21; I've never been in better shape in my life and I've been in the military for 6 years a long time ago. I'm not totally ignorant about group rides; I just want to know what to expect when racing. Thanks for all your input.You've been in the military, so you're familiar with the chain-of-command, nothing's really different here. Every team is different, so I'll just make some generalizations. If this is a pro-am team, there's going to be a hierarchy and pecking-order, all the way from who rides behind whom, to who has to drive to races vs. getting a full-ticket limo-ride, who gets the first pass from the best masseuse, the order in which sponsorship goodies are passed out, etc. It's the context of the structure of the team that you want to pick up, the actual content as far as the official rules & bylaws are insignificant, learn them, but pay attention to the pecking-order.

Riding with the team, in a group and in the pack has a TONNE of unwritten rules. Best to do as many group rides as possible. Be observant and resourceful, watch them from the back of the pack, see how the riders move around. While there are technical patterns to pack-dynamics like riding a double-paceline, taking pulls at the front smoothly, how to pull off, how to get back on the tail, echelons, lead-outs, etc., there's still room for interpretation and variations. You'll see that riders will move around differently depending upon where they are in the hierarchy and pecking-order.

In the actual races, where you are located in the pack makes a big difference. Again, the hierarchy comes into play and depending on how high-up or low you are, you'll be riding the race differently. There's way too much info to post here, a 4" thick tome would just begin to scratch the surface. The best way to get up to speed is to find a supportive mentor on the team. Pick their brain and ask them lots of questions... discretely.. ;)

Something I've learned: Don't get suckered into pulling into a headwind (unless its for a team leader/mate) until you get the base of a large hill, and drop off. Either recognize the hill and pull off early, or try to make it most or all the way up the hill. Otherwise, you will be dropped like a bad habit.

How I learned: one of my best friends and I went for a group ride with the local racers. He and I were taking our turns as we should, but then he said "well, lets see how this is gonna be today." He upped the pace and took a longer than usual pull. The ride leader told us to take a right and looming ahead of us was the largest hill in the area. My friend kept pulling to the base. He got dropped HARD. He's a decent climber, too, but that wasn't going to save him that day. The thing is, where we were riding was very familiar to us, so he should have known what was looming. I'll admit, I was one of the guys who hammered up the hill. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Lesson: Don't try to impress anyone by taking long pulls, in group rides or races. Do your fair share and head to the back. Also, know the local topography. Scout race courses out the day before by car, or if the loop (assumption) is small enough, ride a nice slow lap, then another faster one, taking corners at near race speed. Knowing the course is half of the mental battle, in addition to making or bridging to a break, etc.

Everyone else, feel free to correct...but this is a soapbox issue for me.

If you have lots of group ride experience, disregard.

I'm a girl, women, by nature and nuture are vocal, men aren't. The usual MO of racing team rides is to let the noob learn by osmosis, unless you really screw up no one will say anything, but everyone will be giving you a wide berth. Everyone would saved a lot of trouble if guys would say "hey man, this is how we do things" or, "hey, this is my first ride, how does this group flow?"

To complicate matters, every group is different, and even within the group there are a lot of variables and unwritten rules. Some teams do a standard paceline, some do an eschalon (aka rotating line), they may change it up if there's wind, they may be super lax if certain people aren't there to crack the whip. Most groups have a sprint or two, all of a sudden they'll be off, no warning and no idea where the end is.

I'll get off my soap box now...

There is a book, Race Tactics For Cyclists, by Thomas Prehn (Velo Press, of course) that has some good info. The first couple chapters are really basic, but it's good stuff if you're going to race this season.


Very well said.

I am also a very vocal person and I have had my fair share of times even with a group I rode with many times where no one would be vocal at all, all I can say is that equals BIG problems (think crashing). I have riden with my fair share of females and like myself they are indeed vocal (a littel much at times, but hey we are ALLOWED to be that way!

Sometimes asking these rules will help alot. Many times if the club is not an elite 1/2 group it is basically academic and the pecking order is not really important... everyone helps everyone else... That said I have given a wheel to a more senior person on the team and sommeone has done that same for me in a race.

Try and fit in, some people are not always fited for some people and vice versa!

Mandy

If your team isn't too big, you may not ever wind up actually racing with them, only training. There are a couple of other Cat5's on my team, but they're mainly mountain bikers so I was alone in all the races I did. Training with em is loads of fun though. You'll discover the joys of fighting it out for team KOM honors and town line sprints, participating in very organized very high speed pace lines, and getting yelled at by your captain when you don't warm up or echelon right :p . It's totally worth it. You'll learn as you go.

Personally, I think the best part of being on a team is the backyard BBQs, happy-hours at the pubs, camping-trips, hot-tub and kegger parties!!! :)

hot-tub??????? ;) :o
dunno about that 1....LOL

As for publications:
Tom Prehn has a book on the topic of race tactics/strategies.
Rene Wenzel has a book called "Bike Racing 101". It's decent, but it has some holes in it. He leaves a lot out.
Neither one of those books really addresses the "soft stuff" (bi-laws, dos and don'ts, unwrittens.) They concentrate mostly on tactics.

I am aware that VeloPress is currently considering a book that covers it all, but that won't be out any time soon ... Next fall at the earliest... if at all.

Most of this information is picked up along the way. In fact, most of it is on this Forum in one form or another.

Are there any publications and / or books that show or speak about team tactics, do's and dont's, bi-laws, unwritten rules, etc.... Just some in depth information on this would help me. I've been cycling for 7 years but have wanted to start competing recently and have proved myself enough to get an invite. Im already 34 but I feel 21; I've never been in better shape in my life and I've been in the military for 6 years a long time ago. I'm not totally ignorant about group rides; I just want to know what to expect when racing. Thanks for all your input.

Try the late Dr. Edmond Burke's "Serious Cycling". A ton of info in there. Dr. Burke was the physiologist for USA Cycling before his passing. I've never seen a cycling book so packed with needed info from positioning and fitting to training to diet...and Chapter 13 is dedicated to Strategies and Tactics, with a portion devoted to riding in groups.
Forward by Cris Carmichael.
Probably obtained on Amazon...

If you were invited, then they should be willing to help you, as that helps them. By not helping you, you cannot help them get better. I am guessing you probably know a few people, already. Hopefully they want to do well, but don't take themselves too seriously. That makes if fun, and if it's fun you all will perform better. If things are too tense, everybody's too stressed out to race well.

Try the late Dr. Edmond Burke's "Serious Cycling". A ton of info in there. Dr. Burke was the physiologist for USA Cycling before his passing. I've never seen a cycling book so packed with needed info from positioning and fitting to training to diet...and Chapter 13 is dedicated to Strategies and Tactics, with a portion devoted to riding in groups.
Forward by Cris Carmichael.
Probably obtained on Amazon...

If you were invited, then they should be willing to help you, as that helps them. By not helping you, you cannot help them get better. I am guessing you probably know a few people, already. Hopefully they want to do well, but don't take themselves too seriously. That makes if fun, and if it's fun you all will perform better. If things are too tense, everybody's too stressed out to race well.


Excellent book. I own it.

Also,


some do an eschalon (aka rotating line)

They are actually two different things.

Lesson: Don't try to impress anyone by taking long pulls, in group rides or races.
I get irritated by people taking long pulls. For god's sake, when are you going to move over?

I get irritated by people taking long pulls. For god's sake, when are you going to move over?

Amen. On a training race last summer I attacked at the top of a decent climb and managed to get away with one other guy. We kept the pace high and were making great progress, but he was staying out front WAY too long. On one pull, I had to remind him 3 times to pull off when he gets tired. I was basically yelling by the end. Sure enough, we turned a corner onto 2 miles of rollers and he popped like a cork. We were 15 miles from the finish and I wasn't about to try it solo. I sat up too and we got swallowed. Too bad too as the gap was a good 45 seconds.

The lesson ... milk the newbie thing and let other do the work until you get the flow. In addition, ask for the game plan at the beginning of the race. If you know your part, you'll be more likely to succeed.

Mark