Originally Posted by dpr
I am fairly new to the sport and I have'nt competed in racing at any level (unless beating red lights counts?). I must say I am really surprised at the duration pulling you guys are talking about. I had always thought that if taking turns took place, that it would be for more like 5 minutes before a switch. Just an observation really. Why so rapid? How does one negotiate co-operation in an competitive event any way?
With a big group, the less time you spend at the front, the faster you will go.
Once you get 5-7 riders together, you can do whats called a circular paceline. Two lines, in one line the riders are moving up, in the next they are falling back. The guy that gets to the front moves over immediately as soon as he clears the wheel of the person he just passed. You are only at the front, actually pulling into the wind 5, maybe ten seconds. Everybody is sitting in protected form the wind except the guy in front. By having a fresh pair of legs every few seconds, the pack goes the fastest, with the least amount of fatigue.
In any race, if a group wants to go fast, they will always do this. Theres no cheating because everyone switches so fast.