Some things from my "getting led out" days:
- I wrapped some tape around my fork just above the dropouts - orange or pink or some bright color. My leadout guy would look down to see if my forks were there. If not he'd ease and try and find me.

- the Sprinter is the director. The Leadout guy does what the Sprinter says. Once the Sprinter is on the Leadout's wheel, the Sprinter dictates what happens. If the Sprinter sees a surge coming up the left side, he should yell "LEFT!". And the leadout guy starts to move left (not cut across the road but look and start moving in anticipation of either sitting on the surge or closing the door on the surge).

- the Sprinter should have a bailout call, i.e. when he loses the wheel. "STOP" or "MIKE" something like that works.

- Sprinters are usually not as strong as their leadout men. I've been close to dropped by my leadout guys. I'd have to tell them to "EASE" at times. But then when it's 400-500 meters to go, I have to tell them to "GO GO GO" and really crank the pace.

- the Sprinter should also have a "keep going" call. Just because you have a leadout doesn't mean you have to have the Sprinter on the Leadout's wheel. This is especially true in the Cat 3-5 as a leadout can get swamped if it's not fast enough. A slower leadout (i.e. only first 6 or 8 are single file - typically under 35-37 mph) means the sprinter may have to sit 3-4 back in order to get protection as the front 6 or 8 guys are eating a lot of wind even on other racers' wheels. In this case the sprinter should have another call "GO GO GO" or something like that. Don't use the same words in different calls - "Mike, Stop" and "Mike, Go" can sound the same to a oxygen-bankrupted brain.

- all this is great planning and all that but you have to practice this in the heat of the moment. You can rehearse having sex all you want - but there's nothing like having sex for the first time to wake you up to the realities of what is involved. Leadouts can be practiced in theory but there are only two places you can really work on them - on competitive group rides and in races. Competitive group rides means there are other sprinters (and possibly leadout men) who want to beat you and your sprinter to the line - so they'll use your leadout, take the sprinter off your wheel, box him in, etc etc etc just like a race.

- the Leadout should anticipate sprinting to an imaginary line before the finish, probably 150 meters before it. If the Leadout is slower than an all out sprint, everyone can sit on and benefit. If the leadout is very fast, i.e. 37-40 mph in a Cat 3 race, the leadout will have eliminated all but one or two rivals. That's the whole point of a leadout - reducing the odds. A talented and smart sprinter will still be able to beat you but it'll be tough to lose to a more generic sprinter if you lead your sprinter out well. A 32-35 mph leadout is an invitation to the sprinters 10-15 back to come smash your sprinter into a tiny pulp as they pulverize him with their 11 tooth cogs.

- the Leadout rider has to be a good sprinter to know where to go, what to do. It's no good leading your sprinter up the left side if the wind is there. It's also no good to go too early or to get boxed in. Finally the Leadout needs to know how to get through gaps that the Sprinter can but perhaps no one else can.

good luck on your next leadout/sprint
cdr