A friend of mine noticed on a recent race report that I had mentioned setting up a teammate to attack. He was wanting to know what went into this. I told him that it was pretty straight forward. Then I thought about all the different ways there are to attack. So rather then give away what type of attack was used in that particular race I thought I would post a few of my favorites.

Before I list my favorites you might or should be asking your self why should I attack in a race. Even better why shouldn’t I attack in a race. An attack is when a rider with or with out help will suddenly sprint away from the group he or she is with. These attacks are done primarily to peel off weaker racers, or those not paying attention and to possibly just possibly get away and stay away for a win. I have witnessed larger and more organized teams put one attack out after another to wear down an entire peleton with two or more riders in reserve so that they are but guaranteed a win at the sprint.

When one team attacks its inevitable that one of four things are going to occur.

1. Another team or team’s will respond to join in the attack to create a break or to reel in the rider by slowly over time settling the pace down to where the main group (peleton) can catch them.
2. The peleton will let the attacker go knowing they don’t have the legs to go for a break away and wait for them to come back to the peleton.
3. The attacker(s) attack for purely psychological reasons. This is done in an effort to show superiority or to break down weaker riders. What new riders don’t understand is that very few attacks lead to much and the pace will settle down. Instead they go all out on every attack and wonder why they are off the back heaving. Been there done that.
4. The attack is successful either because the peleton is to tired/weak to catch the break or do not believe it will stick. This is when the break away artist must have Time Trialing strengths to stay away.

Here are some of my favorite Attack tactics:

Attack when it hurts

If you have been keeping up with the main group or the break away group then the likely hood that you are the only one hurting is probably pretty narrow. This is a great time to attack. More than likely everyone will require the same amount of time to recover. You won’t see this happen much in amateur ranks but Pros are known to attack right after attacking! The element of surprise plays a big roll in attacking successfully.

Lead out an attack

Often when teams are well organized and bunch together at the front of the peleton this is where one rider can jump off the front hopefully only with one teammate in tow and sling shot them out further and faster than if they were doing it all by them selves. Teams that are smart won’t allow this to happen by simply not allowing to many teams to organize at the front of the peleton. There is also the threat of this happening off the back or the middle of the peleton but it can be tricky to execute due to road constraints or team communication. You know, the guy who yells out what everyone is doing.

False attack/Lazy attack

Not really sure this one counts as an attack but it can still serve to wear out other riders. When a rider finds themselves rested and drifting to the front and the pace slows down to the point of frustration especially on a down hill section go off the front at speed faster than the peleton. They may or may not try to bring you back if you have legs attack again and begin your time trial.

Surges and more surges

Surges aren’t really attacks but I thought I would mention them because they serve some of the same purposes. Primarily weakining riders and limiting field sizes. Surging needs to be done from the front of the peleton and it needs to be done with out telegraphing it. To do it you just want 2-3 revolutions of your spin to be a bit more powerful then the last 2-3 revolutions. DO NOT do this more than a few times, you can wear your self out. What happens is that this effort is magnified ten fold in a large peleton and has an accordion effect to those in the last third of the peleton. This accordion effect requires those in the back to work much harder than those on the front to hang on. In lower category races this happens in most road races with out actually trying!

Attacking in out of corners

The tactic of attacking corners is very effective psychologically in Road Races but especially Criteriums. When approaching a corner sprint away from the front into the corner then sprint again out of the corner. The goal is to get threw as many corners as you to where the peleton can no longer see you (Out of sight out of mind). To be truly effective using this tactic you need to have a teammate/supporter not racing call out the time splits so you know if you are working to hard or not hard enough. You will know if your attack is leading to a successful break away when you time splits hold or the announcers tells you that you are about to lap the field.

Thanks to my teammates of Main Street Velo for offering up shots from various races this spring!

OK here it is the last of the recon articles. I have given you several pointers on what you need to do to ensure a successful attempt at winning your next road racing event.

This article is going to be a check list! Something you can copy, print or share with your fellow racers. If you feel that I have missed something or you have different experiences by all means tell us about it and leave comments.

1 Week Before the race

• Confirm with your spouse/family/parents that you indeed will be racing at X race on X day
• Pre-Register for the race (You may need to do this as soon as your race opens for pre-registration)
• See who else has registered for the race
• Check the 7 day forecast (After Registering) Road Racers RACE in all weather!
• Tune up the bike today and fix problems now!
• If this is a priority race then make it a priority to sleep, eat and train like its a priority race
• Find out which teammates are going and who may want to share a ride
• Do not eat 3 hours before going to bed

5 Days before the race

• Check race registration to see who else has registered
• Check with teammates again on who is and is not going with you
• Check weather again
• Look up the race route on Google Earth or bikely.com and look at elevations
• Make a trip out to the race course and ride the course (Preferable) or drive the course
• Make sure you will have a complete clean uniform (Kit)
• Clean bike
• What items are you taking with you the day of the race out side your normal training day?
• Get race day items gathered up in one place
• Get to bed early (9-10 hours of sleep is preferred)
• Drink up to 2 liters of water a day
• Diet should primarily consist of good carbs and lite on the protein
• Do not eat 3 hours before going to bed

3 Days before the race

• Check race registration to see who else has registered
• Check weather again
• If riding a longer road course take notice of all major elevation changes and right down the mileage when they occur
• Tape a small elevation change cue sheet to your top tube or stem where you can see it
• Clean and lube your drive train
• DO NOT MAKE ANY MECHANICAL CHANGES TO YOUR BIKE!
• Go through your race day items (Do you really have everything?)
• Get to bed early (9-10 hours of sleep is preferred)
• Drink up to 2 liters of water a day
• Diet should now be almost all good carbs
• Do not eat 3 hours before going to bed

2 Days before the race

• Check weather again
• DO NOT MAKE ANY MECHANICAL CHANGES TO YOUR BIKE!
• Go through your race day items (Do you really have everything?)
• Get to bed early (9-10 hours of sleep is preferred)
• Drink up to 2 liters of water a day
• Diet should now be almost all good carbs
• Have you started to mentally go over how you are going to race this race?
• Has your team decided who is the race leader and what roles you and your teammates will fill?
• Gather up any food stuffs and fluids you may need the day of the race
• If you are going to take a rest day this week make it today (Stay off the bike or just lightly spin)
• Do not eat 3 hours before going to bed

1 Day before the race

• Check weather again
• DO NOT MAKE ANY MECHANICAL CHANGES TO YOUR BIKE!
• Pack your race day items and put them and your bike in your vehicle. (hold off on the bike if you do not have a garage)
• Get to bed early (9-10 hours of sleep is preferred)
• Drink up to 2 liters of water a day
• Diet should now be all good carbs
• You should now have a mental visualization of how you are going to race this race?
• Do not rest today – Get out on the bike for 45 minutes – hour and ride a moderate pace and throw in 2-3 one minute efforts
• Shower and shave before going to bed
• Do not eat 3 hours before going to bed

Morning of the race

• Check weather one last time (Make sure you have packed appropriately for the weather!)
• DO NOT MAKE ANY MECHANICAL CHANGES TO YOUR BIKE!
• Pack your bike in your vehicle if you did not the night before
• Drink 2-3 cups of coffee (If you like Coffee, who doesn’t)
• Bathroom time dealing with Race Day Jitters (If you suffer like most of us)
• Start drinking your favorite sports drink
• You should eat your breakfast 3 hours before the start of the race
• Do not shave face or legs day of a race (Superstitions and sweat irritation)
• Leave your home with enough time to get to the race course with 2 hours to spare!

2 Hours before the race

• DO NOT MAKE ANY MECHANICAL CHANGES TO YOUR BIKE!
• Drink some more sports drink
• Pick up number at registration
• Dress for the race and pin your number on (Did you know its against USA Cycling rules to wrinkle your number?)
• Make sure you have enough fluids and in ride nutrition to get you through your race or to the feed zone
• Either hit the road to warm up with your teammates or set up your trainer next to theirs
• Go over racing plans one more time with your teammates

15 minutes before the race

• DO NOT MAKE ANY MECHANICAL CHANGES TO YOUR BIKE!
• Drink some more sports drink
• Breathe deeply and make your way to the start/finish line
• Make sure your helmet is fastened (USAC Officials will give you grief if its not)
• Listen closely to the race promoter and officials about course notices and rules.
• Take anything you hear about the course from a competitor with a grain of salt
• If you are so inclined say a little prayer
• Wait for the gun/whistle
• Clip in and go

After the Race

• Drink some more sports drink
• Breathe deeply and safely make your way through the course one or more times to work the “Junk” out of your legs
• Meet with teammates to compare notes
• Get changed out of uniform ASAP!
• Drink some more fluids (Coke, Carb Drink, Water)
• Make sure you have all your stuff packed and ready to go
• Go celebrate with your team and or family You Just finished a/another race!!!

Remember knowledge is power – Prepare to Race Smart

Part 1, Part 2

Wow what a great course! Other than some rough patches and a bit of road debris I really liked this course.

Got in a warm up lap with a teammate before the Masters race and then met up with everybody under the trees. This was one of the hottest races I have been in. While the entire course was covered by trees I think I remember seeing the temp at 95F. Went out with all of my teammates for another warm up lap with the rest of the 4/5s. The warm up lap was hairier than the race itself! Lots of squirrely line changes on the back half of the course through the switchbacks. I think this did quite a bit to wreck the confidence of what appeared to be a larger than normal field of unattached CAT 5s and citizens.

The race started with out incident and the pace wasn’t insane for a change. We aren’t gone for long before we climb the first hill. Several of us used the opportunity to move up the field as the hills on this course are not steep or stepped. Got in with teammates and we moved up without incident and continued through the down hill switchbacks. I quickly noticed that while we had all of the road to our selves very few were taking advantage of the inside line straight though each corner. One of our future teammates noticed as well and cut swath through the inside line. We had another mild climb and then down hill through another set of switch backs. This time I took the inside lines and cleared 8-10 riders in what felt like 30′. It was wild to move up effortlessly.

Pace picked up a bit in the final hill and the stretch through the start finish. Pace picked up again as we headed through the start finish again. This time I struggled a bit on the second time up the hill only to hear a teammate giving me grief about drifting back. Thanks Matt!  We get to the top and this time I make a conscious effort to take every tight inside line to move back to the front. I remember catching back up to teammates and thinking “I wish I could recover just a bit faster”.

Pace picks back up as soon as we hit the approach to the start finish. As we pass through again I notice we are bunched up pretty tight going into the corner leading to the climb. I decide this time to set up left when I had been able to carry more momentum in the middle. Glad I did! We had hardly begun the climb when I see a road cone get knocked over and hear a wreck unfold. Two riders went down when they ran into each other because of half wheeling. One of the guys slid a into the peleton and me and a teammate just cleared it.

I took one moment to relive a wreck I had earlier in the year and lost momentum (Damn). At this point I lost the peleton and was not happy about it. Caught another rider who fell off the pace and used him to launch myself up the road. I did this one more time and caught on with one more rider and thought we might actually catch back on when we saw the peleton clear a corner in the switchbacks. Just when we saw them the guy I was working with just gave up! We recovered a bit and we got caught by one of the guys from the wreck and I grabbed his wheel and we hit a blistering tempo to finish maybe 15-20 seconds behind the peleton.

Did I say it was hot?

Lessons learned:

• Drink alot of water before a hot race.
• Take more fluids with you on a hot race even if it is short
• Take the inside line to clear the peleton
• Drink fluids on the climb once the first 1/3 of the climb has passed
• DO NOT HALF WHEEL
• Do not slow down when trying to clear a wreck
• Take what anyone says in the peleton with a grain of salt
  • Someone one was giving bad directions that almost took riders of course
• Listen to teammates first everyone else second