[ire]

I know this question will depend on the course, but when do people typically kick for the sprint? 300m? I race Pro XC, but I'm only a cat 4 on the road (I never race).

I want to get up to cat. 2 so I can race with my team, so I'm going to have to start racing road a lot. A lot of the road race finishes are flat around here, so I need to work on my tactics, any help is appreciated.

 

[MtnbikeMike]

Attack mf'er attack!

In all seriousness, 200-300 meters may be a good start, but just like training, it's gonna depend on a few variables and there is no set standard. It may be as short as 100m.

Try to see how long you can sprint before you begin to slow down; you obviously don't want to kick and then fade before the line. Another thing is your positioning; if you find yourself on the front(playing cat and mouse), you don't want to sprint before anyone else because you'll just be effectively leading them out. If you're further back, you can use another rider's draft to get a hair more momentum then him and come around right before the line.

How big is the field coming into the finish? You're talking road races, right? Or crits?

 

[ire]

I'm talking about road racing. The field sizes are around 60 at the start, but get whittled down as the race progresses. I want to maximize my effectiveness and get my upgrade in the fewest races possible. I have teammates who in one season made the jump from 4 to 3 and then to 2. We have a weekly series about an hour from my house where there are a lot of points up for grabs (intermediate sprints, as well as finish).

In the 4s people tend to attack constantly, even at the end. My plan was to sit in, wait till the end and follow someone else out. I figured 500m was to soon to start to kick, and that it should be closer to line. One thing that will be an issue for me is sprinting in the drops....I never practice and I'm going to need to work on it. Should be fun, then I'll actually be a "roadie" not just a cross racer that trains on the road bike

 

[Heidi]

200-300 will be about right. Mark Cavendish actually has a little article in the new Velonews if you care to check that out.

 

[ire]

200-300 will be about right. Mark Cavendish actually has a little article in the new Velonews if you care to check that out.

Can you scan it? I searched the website and I couldn't find it

 

[Heidi]

maybe tonight - it's at home

 

[maddog17]

200-300 is the norm. but there are some things to take into consideration and that'll be a race by race thing since racing doesn't have a set pace. i would practice the 2-300 distance and depending on the race, the vibe and how you feel, sometimes going earlier could work for you. one race i went with about 400 to go and surprised everyone for the win. i pretty much threw up once i got across the line, very slight uphill but still a killer from that distance. if anyone here from the Boston area has raced at Wells Ave, i pretty much attacked just after coming out that last corner to the finish.

 

[sanjuro]

I think if you really want to upgrade quick, attack a lap before.

Everyone in the low categories sit in the pack for the sprint (which was my specialty). If you attack a lap before, everyone will look at each other waiting for the other guy to chase.

I think strategy works the best when the speed slows down in the last laps. If the pace is high towards the finish, you will probably waste your energy going early.

 

[ire]

I think if you really want to upgrade quick, attack a lap before.

Everyone in the low categories sit in the pack for the sprint (which was my specialty). If you attack a lap before, everyone will look at each other waiting for the other guy to chase.

I think strategy works the best when the speed slows down in the last laps. If the pace is high towards the finish, you will probably waste your energy going early.

Oddly enough, around here the people attack non stop from the start. Its that way in the 3/4/5s. The pace tends to be pretty high because of the flurry of attacks. I've tried winning this way, and I always end up doing all of the work....and we'll get caught to boot. I'm going to try sitting in for the sprint.

 

[MtnbikeMike]

Oddly enough, around here the people attack non stop from the start. Its that way in the 3/4/5s. The pace tends to be pretty high because of the flurry of attacks. I've tried winning this way, and I always end up doing all of the work....and we'll get caught to boot. I'm going to try sitting in for the sprint.

If you can attack and hold it long enough so the first few chasers tire, you'll be golden; there are usually just a few guys who do any chasing, and when they do it's usually a real hard pull to show the other 5's how big their balls are(at least down here in socal). It'll never get organized.

On the subject of attacking, attack when it's hurts, and before everyone sits up. If a break is being chased down, the guys pulling are blowing their load and are getting ready to sit up. Just before they do, ATTACK. If you attack before they sit up, you'll have the speed as well as their draft to pick up a little more. And mentally it'll hurt them too, because they were just about to get some rest(or so they thought).

Barring all of this. Try to position yourself a few guys back then sprint your ass off for 200-300m.

Depending on how hard your kick is, whether you can hold off guys who are in your slipstream, or need to use someone else's then come around them at the last second.

As a Pro XC racer, you should expect to blow through the 4's and 3's.

 

[sanjuro]

Oddly enough, around here the people attack non stop from the start. Its that way in the 3/4/5s. The pace tends to be pretty high because of the flurry of attacks. I've tried winning this way, and I always end up doing all of the work....and we'll get caught to boot. I'm going to try sitting in for the sprint.

I think the other trick is to mark the hammerheads, and sit on their wheel for the final sprint.

I usually target whoever takes the first prime. A smart rider will take the first prime, and rest for the finish.

I do have one funny story though: I knew a girl was a top adventure racer, but she told me she did horribly in crits. She was as strong as a horse, but she knew nothing about strategy.

She would get to the front of the pack a couple of laps before the finish and hammer until everyone sprinted past her at the end. She never figured out she just towed everyone to the line!