Originally Posted by
StopDiegoStop
Like what I said, I will try out attacking in my next race and see how it goes. I then should have a gauge on my skills and at least know when to stop or if I can go on til I get caught by the pack.
First thing I'll find out if I can separate from the group, that's why I asked the question about when's the best time to attack that can help you to be successful.
I guess the beauty of being a Cat 5 is you can learn, experiment and discover yourself. I always make it point to have a goal in my races. Of course my number one goal is to win races but in my 1st race, my goal is to not crash, cause a crash and not be DFL. 2nd race was to try out moving in and out of the pack and place better. Next is attacking and making it to the top 10, podium perhaps.
Just try it. Not that I'm highly experienced racer... cat 4 who only gets in maybe 5 real races and 8 or so practice crits a year...
That said, my first win was a semi-suicide attack from roughly 1000m out. Granted the situation was good; we were coming into the final 500m, I was not well positioned so was moving up in the draft around 8th wheel, and a car got in the way and we got waved off to do another lap. The top 4 guys had already started to windup their sprints. As we all crossed the "finish" line sucking wind to do ANOTHER last lap, I decided to attack as hard as I could. There was about 4 seconds of hesitation, and that was enough to keep from getting caught...
Granted I took the advice I'd heard from this forum many times... I attacked like my life depended on it, ripped the pedals off the bike, and DID NOT LOOK BACK (well, not for 30 seconds or so... I glanced as I turned into the last corner to see if anyone was closing).