I sprint every Wednesday in my weekly group ride. We sprint for City Limit signs. Also, the group leader (sometimes that's me) has pre-planned sprints of anywhere between a quarter of a mile to maybe 2 miles. They are stretches of road that are known in advance to be low traffic, safe, and usually end in a hill. The understanding is that if the sprint ends at a stop sign or a traffic light, then the finish line is the "Stop Ahead" sign. That way nobody goes full gas into an intersection.

The group leader also hands out awards, usually Sport Beans or some other packaged energy treat, announcing at the beginning of the sprint how many awards there will be - this is based on how many riders are in the group that day. Wo we get to a particular place and the leader will shout "First Three to the Stop Sign", and we take off.
Oh yeah, City Limit winners get Sport Beans too. Sometimes winning those is a matter of power. Sometimes it's a matter of knowing where the signs are. All is fair in our community.

On a typical Wednesday, there are 2-4 called sprint segments and a variable number of City Limit signs

Occasionally I win some sport beans, but usually there are younger and stronger riders and I lose badly. I try my best anyway. I get my heart rate up high, I get a burst of adrenaline, and it's exciting. On the longer sprints, there are some race dynamics. So even when I lose, I win.

Last Wednesday, we had a sprint segment on a hill that was unfamiliar to almost all of us. The call was "First two to the top!" About a half mile, averaging about 4%, but with some steeper sections. About a half a dozen of us hit the gas at the bottom of the hill. (The other half-dozen didn't try. That's cool and there is no judgement. Also, we regroup at the end of the sprint.). After a short time, the youngest and strongest fellow in the group that day attacked, getting some separation. I knew that I had to get on his wheel, otherwise, it would be all over, because I would not otherwise shake the other 4 and a couple of them have better final sprint power than me. I managed to get on his wheel and together we had significant separation from the others. Then, HE SLOWED DOWN. Tactics. He knew that the others would catch us if we stayed at his slow pace and he knew I did not want that. This happened about 1/3 of the way into the climb. So I passed him and pulled him up the next 1/3 of the climb, and this way, we stayed away from the others. Then, he powered past me and I held his wheel for a while, but could not stay there. He finished first, I was about 8 second behind him, and the strongest of the chasing group was about 10 seconds behind me. I got my HR up to 176 BPM. I loved it.