Sprinting technique
 

Just curious what the common way to sprint is. Say you're riding along at 80-90rpm, do you drop the hammer and wind out that gear then shift while out of the saddle; or do you shift before, then mash that gear for all it's worth?

Better to shift before to give you the instant JUMP.

Usually better to sprint from a relatively low gear and wind up the cadence. But I suck at sprinting, so take that for what it's worth.

If you shift early people will now what you're up to. Better to spin out the gear you're in and then shift, then spin out and shift again.

Usually I do the set-up for a sprint well before the sprint starts (like 30 seconds beforehand). So if I'm cruising along at 80-90rpms, I'll downshift one to two gears to start the sprint at 100rpm. Then spin it up to 130-140rpms out of the saddle, then shift up while sitting down and start at around 100rpms again. This 1-shift sprint would be from 28-30mph to around 40mph. I'll be in the saddle for the 2nd half the sprint because I block less wind and can reach higher top-speeds. If the sprint starts at a slower speed, like 22-25mph, then I'll do two shifts.

I've found from doing thousands of sprint practices that lower-gears and shifting gives faster acceleration and higher top-speeds at the end. Imagine you're drag-racing your car from a stop-light. Starting out in 3rd gear will leave you at a serious disadvantage to the guy that starts out in 1st.

How much of the sprint do you spend out of the saddle?

Usually the best bet is to start easier and shift when you start to spin out... otherwise you risk burning out your legs too early by mashing the hard gear. It varies some person to person though, so practice in all sorts of gears and see what gives you the best combination of acceleration and sustainability.

Danno, I challenge you to a sprint

You got it!!

Agreed. Way too many riders think that they should be sprinting in the 53x11, and shift accordingly. Being overgeared for the sprint has cost a lot of riders a lot of wins over the years, though it's not quite as deadly a mistake as it was in the days of 5-speed freewheels and friction DT shifters... though I would also bet that it's a mistake that today's riders are far more likely to make, and keep making, than it was then.

name the time and place

Sept. 23rd Hope Ranch 1300h

You can't do it a little sooner? I'll probably be wrecked from everest challenge a week before...

Depends.

In my best sprint ever, my max cadence was 110. I hit 1387 watts at that cadence. Average for 5 sec was 1304 W and 105 cadence.

It was on an uphill though, so I only hit 33.4 mph as a max speed.

I think your sprint technique is affected by things like how far from the line you are, wind, grade, what speed you are jumping from, how many wheels are in front of you and probably several other things that only those who can actually sprint well know about.

I prefer a long drag race to the line since my 'pop' left me some time in the '90s.

If we are setting up and I am in my 15 I will drop into my 14 as I jump out of the saddle. Wind that baby up and then shift into the 13 (conditions permitting). Then I will usually sit and spin that up as high as I can.

If we start in the 14 then I'd end up in the 12.

If we start in the 13 I'm in big trouble because I don't usually have an 11. :twitchy:

If you guys are gonna do this, can you please post a video of the "SoCal Sprint Challenge" just sos we can evaluate your different sprint techniques for ourselves? :D

Do they make a trainer that allows a person to "train" how to sprint? Allows the riders to rock back and forth without tippign the trainer over and all?
The only one I can think of is the kinetic, but I dont know if the feature can keep up with a sprinting form of rocking back and forth.

I am just surprised how many of you have the legs for not one, but two upshifts during a max effort sprint. :thumb:

For something that lasts maybe 10 to 12 seconds, I'm lucky to be able to spin out one gear from ~90 rpm to ~125. To know that this many of you can actually shift and do it again reminds me once more of how genetically deficient I am for this sport. :o

i wish I knew, then I could actually win a sprint once in a while instead of getting 2nd / 3rd !

I guess everyone is different, depends what your body composition is. Not everyone is built the same, and someone like boonen will probably sprint different to cav.

I usually sit in line at about 100rpm, then drop it down 1 cog (usually a 12th if not 11th) and start to stand and jump out at around 90rpm, by the time I wind it up and am into the jump I'm going 120rpm, then I try to hold a 110-120rpm till the line. If I need to shift after I stand and jump, I would lose. If it's very far out, I end up sitting half way into it. If it's really close (approx 150m), then I stand all the way.

High cadence is your friend. I've learned this the hard way down at the track the last few years. A higher cadence allows you to accelerate far faster than mashing ever will. The plus side is that if you're not initiating the sprint, it allows you respond much more quickly than someone grinding along in a much higher gear.

to all you guys hitting the mid 30's and 40's in your sprints...how long did it take you to get up to that speed (training wise). Im 2 years into it and it seems i cant get my entry-level fuji past 28mph from a rolling casually around 14mph..

are there any youtube videos that help with sprinting technique? i dont really have a practical reason why i need to sprint faster other than the car waiting behind me when a red light turns green will be less pissed :)

If you're riding with a buddy, pick an object a little ways up the road (town limit signs are the old standard), sprint.

Rinse, repeat. It isn't rocket science. The only way to get better at something on the bike is doing it, a lot.

most sprints are really only 30-40 revolutions. pick a gear you can accelerate in, too much gear bogs you down. you might get one or two shifts in but not necessarily. use your arms to pull the handlebars toward you as you sprint. lastly, have pointy elbows.

Try start from around 20 ~ 22 mph