"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - When do you sit up?

Corallary to the when do you attack thread. When do you abandon the attack and filter back in the pack?


Yesterday in the Sugar Loaf circuit race, I attacked with a little more than half the race to go. I stayed out about 1/4th of a lap. I never got more than 20 seconds clear, and I sat up. I never intended to solo the rest of the race, but I was hoping to get a couple of people to bridge. Unfortunately, when I did slow a bit, the people trying to bridge just towed the whole field up.

In hindsight I'm thinking if I would have tried to stay out longer, and made it harder to get caught, I could have improved the odds that someone sucessfully jumped clear of the group. However, I didn't want to fry myself.

So when you make a move, and its not panning out, do you commit to it, and hope for the best, or regroup and try something else?

The same thing happened to me on Saturday. I attacked hard and no one came with. I stayed out just long enough to see if anyone else would come. When it was evident it was going to be solo or nothing I sat back up and let them catch so I could regroup.

During my race everytime someone would go a bunch of guys would just start yelling to let them go so I assumed thats what was going on when I went so I didnt want to hang out there two long.

If it was just a little later in the race I would have commited even if I was by myself but it was just a little too early for me to do that. I dont know if I had the strength to go the rest of the way by myself.

Steve, I'm still trying to figure out why someone would feel the need to yell "let him go" during a race. Was it the teammates of someone who broke away? Was it people who were overcompensating for the tendency of Cat 4/5 racers to chase down every single little surge?

--Steve

Steve, I'm still trying to figure out why someone would feel the need to yell "let him go" during a race.



I hear that all the time around here. Mostly it's when someone that is known not to last takes off. Or when a non weight weenie takes a flyer on a hilly road race. Yes, in both cases that's probably said every time I take off.

I think it WAS the tendency of 4/5s to chase down everything that was causing the yelling. The odd thing though was even when one of the race favorites attacked people yelled the same thing. Im still too new to this sport to understand everything that happens though.

Steve, I'm still trying to figure out why someone would feel the need to yell "let him go" during a race. Was it the teammates of someone who broke away? Was it people who were overcompensating for the tendency of Cat 4/5 racers to chase down every single little surge?

--Steve

It's exactly that. Lower cats almost always chase futile breaks like Pavlov's dog. And they don't do it by jumping and bridging;they do it by towing the pack up.

If one strong rider breaks, and you let them hang far enough out that they have a glimmer of hope to keep working, then the pack reals them in slowly, you've eliminated one competitior.

If I'm in a race, with little or no team help, I'm often talking about what to chase and what not to. It's surprising how much you can get people to do your bidding with a little persuasion.

Great ?, I think there are a multitude of scenario specific answers depending on the when, where, how far from the finish, how you feel, what's going on in front of and behind you, etc.

I've yet to see any successful Cat 4 or Cat 5 breaks here in FL, to where they've actually won. They usually always get caught because people just won't work together. I broke off the front in the Penney Farms RR and tried to get the guy who followed me to take turns pulling... he just ignored me and kept trying to wheelsuck. I sat up and let the pack catch us. However, at Sugarloaf this weekend, there were breaks in my race. It was those who could climb Sugarloaf the fastest who managed to get in the lead group.

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I just continue to ride a tempo pace and if they catch, ok, if not then I know I still have enough left to keep going.

I sit up once I see how many riders followed me...Then I smile and say 'PSYCHE!' :D

I give it 5-10 minutes of a good hard TT effort if the elastic dosnt break by then or nobody is trying to bridge, just ride tempo and get caught.