Originally Posted by
Scummer
It's all about threshold power. When I ride with the Sat/Sun group and we are plugging along at 20-21mph with no wind, I probably put out about 200-220W while drafting. (Yes, I'm fat and overweight) But once we ratchet up the speed to 24-26mph, I'm putting out about 250W in a draft. Now my threshold is roughly 250W, so I can hold 200W all day long, but once I hit 250W, I can say for sure that in about 30-40 minutes I will blow up. So taking pulls at 20mph and recovering in the back is much easier than taking pulls at 24-26mph way into anaerobic power at 350W+ and trying to recover at 250W.
Now it gets even better when our cat1 beast shows up and he takes loooong pulls at 27-30mph. That's when the real suffering begins and even the smallest loss of draft means hopelessly off the back.
I'm a slow and fat cat4 pro racer, so I'm naturally slow.
We are probably about the same strength and perfectly stated. Its just about levels. Bob spoke eloquently about technique, but bottom line, if you don't have the goods, you ain't gonna stay up. If you are going to ride in a pace line you are going to have to pull. Pulling is a lot different than riding in a draft. A decent recreational cyclist pulling at 25-27 and then recovering to 250 watts for a draft is a good test. OP...you might not be there yet. Lots of ways to get stronger....ride more, intervals and drop weight...work on bike position etc. Find those B level rides...they may even test you. You will know when you are ready for the next step.
We are all humbled at some point...or most of us...like when that Cat 1 shows up and even he will get dropped by a pro
