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!

It’s that time of the year where the US start to warm up and the readers of The Coached Cyclist are interested in racing tactics. So with the two in mind I thought I would share my experiences with dealing with heat as a cyclist.

I have used several practical tactics for dealing with the stresses of training and racing in the heat. No magic or complicated sweat evaporation formulas. Just good old common sense approaches to managing heat load.

Let’s break the discussion down to three phases: Pre-Ride, In Ride and Post Ride.

• Pre-Ride heat preparations
  • Stay hydrated
    Drinking plenty of water is the key to doing well during a hot day of training or racing. I will drink the equivalent of 8-12 glasses of water during the work day prior to stepping outdoors for a ride. I also drink 2-3 cups of coffee on top of that and yes once in a while I will have a soft drink (Nasty Habit). To add to even more fluid consumption during the day remember that you may take in as much as 20% of you needed fluids through foods. If you feel hungry reach for the water before you reach for more food! Also make sure you weigh in before heading out, more on this in a bit.
  • Eat properly for the heat
    Do not be surprised if you eat a bunch of food just before you go out to do intervals or hammer in a group ride that you get sick. Meals throughout the day should be small and consumed every 2 hours. The closer you get to your training/race the less “heavy” he foods need to be. I will not eat up to 3 hours before training or racing. Eating 2 hours before training/racing is the absolute minimum amount of time that I know my stomach will empty before I begin a physically demanding effort. I will stick to denser carbs in the morning during a training week and migrate my way into proteins and simple carbs the sooner I get to my time to train. If I am preparing for a priority race I will follow a carb loading regimen the week of the race.
  • Stay Cool
    I know this sounds kind of silly but it’s important to understand that you need to take your rest before a hard effort seriously. If it’s hot outside you need to stay cool. When outside seek shade before the race or training when waiting on others. I will even minimize a warm up when the weather becomes hotter and more humid than usual.
  • Step out for a bit
    On a day I know it’s going to be blazing hot I might take 10-15 minutes and step outside during the work day to see what the weather is like. I like to believe that doing this telegraphs a message to my body – “Hey it’s hot out and you’re going to have to work through it.” Exposing yourself to the heat 5-10 minutes a day with an increase of 5 additional minutes every other day will help you acclimate to the heat. Riding in the winter when its cold also seems to help me better prepare for the hot summers.

• In ride heat mitigation
  • Drink before you need to
    If its blazing hot and you have been on your bike for a while and you are thirsty you are in trouble. I drink every 2-5 minutes when training and racing. I have even heard of athletes who set timer’s on their watches to beep every 5 minutes to warn them they should be drinking. If you remember one thing from this article remember this Drink Before You Need To! If you are thirsty and its hot you have done something wrong and could face mild to severe heat illness before you can get you and your bike home.
  • Drink appropriately
    If I am going out for a ride or race that lasts less than an hour (Excluding Criteriums) I will only bring water along. When I bring water or my sports drink on a hot day I will ice down my drinks. Some athletes I know have also frozen there bottles in advance of riding. The only problem doing this is if it takes too long for the bottles to begin melting to meet the demands of drinking every few minutes. When I start ramping up mileage for training or just getting in a long ride at the end of the season I will take a Camel Back Hydration pack and cram it full of ice and top it off with water. I will also do the same with extra sports bottles and stuff them in my Jersey pockets. It’s a bit chilly at first but I have noticed that my fitness will carry me further during a long ride. It has been proven over and over again that keeping the body’s core temperature above normal levels will degrade performance over time and will lead to heat illnesses. While you’re watching the next stage of your favorite stage race do not be surprised to see the pros wearing cooling vests between warm ups and race starts.
  • Drink your meal
    When the temp soars I will not eat solid food on the bike. Just the thought of it makes my stomach turn. Instead I turn to gels or the new solid gels. What I am talking about are the new in ride nutrition items that are like gummies that have the same ingredients as a liquid gel. I have also been known from time to time to take a banana with me when it’s hot. I have also been known to increase the calories I take in by adding more to sports drink mix to my sports bottles. The key is to make your in ride nutrition easy to handle and easy to digest.
  • Train and race when and where it’s cooler
    Pick times of the day when the temps are much more civilized. Same goes for your races or cycling events. If you are out for a training ride and must ride in the heat plan routes that keep you in the shade of trees and near stores where you can stop and get a drink. If you find yourself out on new roads and running out of fluids check out a church. Many churches will have water taps that you can use to fill a bottle. Word of caution when doing this: If the church is older the water may not have been used in a while so its a wise move to let the water run for a minute or more before putting it in your bottle. If you do this at the same church on a regular basis make sure to donate a little money to the church at the end of the season or you may find they have removed the handle! When the weather has just gotten too hot to race in pack up your bike and head north to cooler weather. You might be surprised at how well you do in different surroundings. I know from past experience what I may think is a manageable temperature others maybe melting

• Post ride cooling down
  • Time to drink some more
    As soon as the ride is over you need to replenish carbs ASAP. It is widely agreed that the first 30 minutes after training and racing is the optimal window to start replenishing your glycogen stores. I know several athletes who swear by drinking Chocolate Milk after training and I am one of them. I must admit that once the weather hits 90F the last thing I want to drink is milk! I have been known to drink a Coke instead but only after races and extreme hammer fests with teammates.
  • Have you drunk enough
    Remember when I suggested that you weigh in before heading out to ride. Weigh in after your ride and compare your before and after weight. Unless you burned more than 3000 calories in your ride your weight loss can mostly be attributed to fluid loss. Do not think for a second that you can just gulp down 4 glasses of water to bring you fluid levels up. It took you X number of hours and minutes to lose it so it will take you X number of hours and minutes longer to replace it. if I was out for 3-4 hours I will fill a glass with water and take a sip every five minutes and continue to do so for up to the time I rode and even up to an additional hour to replace lost fluids.
  • Get cleaned up fast
    If you’re on a training ride or happen to have a team bus with a shower I strongly recommend you get a shower as soon as you get off the bike. Just remember that this should not be a hot shower as it will continue to raise your body’s core temperature and will cause you to sweat longer. Instead start off with a warm shower and decrease the temperature incrementally over 5-10 minutes. I will take focus the cold water on my legs to get the effect of taking an ice plunge. I just started to do this recently and have noticed that my recovery has really improved by doing so. I have also taken the same type of shower later in the day when it’s hot outside to allow my body to better regulate my body temp before going to bed. This has also helped with my restlessness with summer sleeping.

Well there you have it, “Tactics for dealing with heat in training and racing”. If you have other experiences or suggestions on dealing with heat that have helped you share them in the comments section. If you have questions about training, racing and event preparation give me Rob Grissom a call at Positive Performance Coaching (502) 509-7624.
Stay cool and stay smart when racing and training in the heat. Good luck.

Well gang I am closing the poll earlier than this Friday as I am taking tomorrow off to get some much needed chores finished at the home stead. Thanks to everyone who took time to vote. Thank you very much!

The poll results indicate that I will be writing articles in the following order:

• Racing Tactics
• Training for Strength
• Nutrition
• Bike Upgrades
• Training for the Hills
• Training for Speed

I will write on one or more of these topics a week for the next few weeks. I will also be moving The Coached Cyclist over to its new home where I will be opening up shop as a coach. While my articles are full of pointers, tips and suggestions as a coach I can help you 1 on 1 dial in any of the above concerns.

Interested in coaching? Give me a shout at: (502) 509-7624

Rob Grissom

Positive Performance Coaching