my58vw

Crit practice today was fun (wow fun... ) we got to play around with team tactics because only 6 people showed up. We worked on sprinting an leadouts... once around tempo, once around with a 200m leadout sprint, each of us lead two sprints, When I say tempo I mean about 24 - 26 MPH. At the sprint the first person in the line sprints and the person behind tries to stick the wheel while the others try to pass. My first leadout I pulled the pack at 25 MPH around the first half of the course then turned it on into the wind holding about 24 MPH up front until the sprint point (slight grade into a 15 - 20 MPH wind). At the sprint point I put it into a 53-13 and pushed as hard as I could, I hit 31 MPH, no one passed me, and the guy was stuck on my wheel. The second leadout I was shot (we had been going about 45 minutes) and I only pushed to about 22 MPH before sprinting to about 28 MPH and then pulling out.

The question is are leadouts only done for the final sprints? Is the leadout person supose to stay on the sprinters wheel after the leadout or get swollowed up by the pack? The tactic seems so easy I am suprised why more teams do not try and use it.

BTW there were times that we were pushing 27 MPH in the practice and I was sticking on peoples wheels. I am so close to hanging with the pack. I am quite excited about this weekend I hope I do well...

climbo

leadout guys should be SPENT by the time they pull off and let the "sprinter" do his job. You get swallowed up very quickly, if not, you haven't lead out hard enough.

Voodoo76

A leadout is Hard Work. And it's not really about providing a draft. The task is to keep the pace high enough so that your sprinter does not have to deal with fighting for position, or guard against a surge swallowing him up.

Its not so much that you drop back, more that the sprinters launch off you.

Laggard

Some of these guys who lead out sprinters like Peta are riding at 38 mph before they drop off.

Voodoo76

34 to 36 is not unusual in a domestic Cat 2 crit, of course we havn't ridden for 6 hours! What can be amazing about the leadouts in Pro racing is the length of time the pace is high.

jbhowat

The leadout guy will often be eaten up by the pack. Especially if you were really pushing the pace. I have seen where a guy led off his sprinter and in the process broke away from the pack (yes, with like 500m to, the pack LET them go...). It was a 1-2 for that team... The sprinter pulled out and as he did he must have glanced back. He pulled out along side his leadout and patted him on the back then grabbed his brakes right before the line to give the lead-man the win.

travis200

Last year in a circuit race I did a lead out I was pulling at 32mph and once my guy went around me I was swallowed and finished 31st. You could have put a fork in my I was done. I think he placed either 1st or second.

simplyred

I need to be in a team like that...

djpluv

Don't forget to put a guy on your sprinter's wheel to keep others from sucking his wheel to the line. I've personally never had a chance to do any of this, as it's tough to work a team strategy when you're the only one from your team at most of the races ... I digress.

Anyways... you might want to checkout this book, Racing Tactics for Cyclists by Thomas Prehn. It's a decent read and covers a wide variety of tactics for different types of races.