Bobby Lex

+1.

All this 'interval' advice is o.k. as far as it goes, but if you don't learn to corner well, and if you don't know where to be in the pack and how to get there, all the intervals in the world won't help you. (You'll just last a few more laps before the inevitable "drop".)

Bob

Hipcycler

Difference between intervals and sprints?

DrPete 

Intervals can be done at various levels of power for varying lengths of time. A sprint is all-out, absolutely as hard as you can go. We're talking 15 seconds here. Just like at the finish of a race or in an attack.

San Rensho 

As you approach a corner, try to avoid braking to carry as much speed as possible into the corner. If it starts to slow down right before the corner, instead of staying behind someone and braking, go around him and stay off the brakes.

Also, stay in the saddle and start to pedal as soon as you can on the corner exit(watch out for pedal strikes). This will get you easily 3-5 more turns on the cranks than you would if you just coast through the corner, straighten the bike and then get out of the saddle to hammer to catch up.

DannoXYZ 

Yeah, sitting on the outside edge of the pack entering a corner is an easy way to keep momentum up and not slow down. Depending upon the size and openness of the corner, you might actually lose ground to the guys on the inside. But at least you didn't have to slow down.

Also the cornering technique of leaning the body more and keeping the bike upright really helps you pedal all the way around the corner. There have been times I've passed 15-20 guys by keeping up my speed and pedaling around them on the outside as they jamming on the brakes and diving into the corners and coasting.

DrPete 

Just be careful when there's a 90-degree turn in one direction and the road curves in the other direction immediately after the turn... I almost feasted on some dirt taking that fast outside line.

obra3

remember to stay aware of folks around you especially if you change your line going into a curve. also in curves, remember that when guys go down, they go inside --> out. and... not a good idea to dive to the inside on a curve at the last minute. you'll probably be pinched and have to brake hard- and piss off a whole bunch of other riders. i've seen a pro/1/2 guy at a state championships cut to the inside- somewhere he shouldn't have been and caused a major pileup. bikes 5 feet in the air.

carpediemracing 

I've seen a lot of racers start and watched more than a few of them develop into much better racers than myself. The primary reason they got dropped when new to racing was lack of speed. Think of it this way - what is your current top speed? 31 mph? What happens when the field goes 30 mph? You end up going at something like 97% of your top speed - in effect, you're sprinting. What if you raise your top speed to 40 mph? Now you'll loaf along at 75% of your top speed at 30 mph. The key is to raise your top speed.

I gave some tips to an aspiring Cat 5 racer who was having problems hanging with the pack. In 5 or 6 weeks he was contesting the field sprints and he won a race shortly thereafter.

I've since expanded my tips and have this post to share them with whoever is interested. They resemble intervals but with only one goal in mind - raising your top speed. No concern with distance or length of time or anything. You accelerate till you can't go any faster and then you sit up.

Hope this helps,
cdr

DannoXYZ 

EXACTLY! You want to train much harder than you'll ever race. Then a race will feel like a stroll in the park. That means sprints & intervals.

2Tired2Shift

We all have our role in the big cosmic picture. From the Demotivational Series:

hiromian

Draft is better a little back in the pack with two riders side by side and you're following that. Drafting up front is less sheltered. I think.

Like others say, the accordian effect can drain you. Timeing your coasting up to the corner can help here but nothing compares to the smoothnes of being in the top five.