For the third BCRT (Body Concepts Race Team) Skills Clinic we talked about race strategies. First, a quick run-down of what we covered so the rest of the blog –hopefully- makes sense so here are the concepts we covered:
Attacking - This is where you will see a rider breakaway from the peloton, charging out ahead to get separation from all the other racers and is done for a few reasons such as creating a gap to the peloton, wearing out chasing riders so that your team can "rest", or to attempt a solo breakaway.
Blocking - This is NOT where you cut people off and spread yourself across the road so that no one can pass. This is where you are intentionally and, if you are sly, slow the pace of a group without them knowing what you are doing. If you are in the peloton, you might do this to make it difficult for the peloton to catch attacking riders if your team is represented in the attack.
Bridging - Other riders have attacked and created a breakaway, but your team is not represented in the breakaway. You will want to get a teammate up there or get the peloton to pick up the pace to reel in the breakaway group. Work with your team or riders from other teams to close the gap. Just be wary of who you are looking to for help. If the person you are asking for help has a team member in the breakaway, that person may not be motivated to help you and will probably block you instead.
Lead-outs - The race is coming to an end and, if you are lucky, you have some teammates with you and can organize a high speed paceline to get the sprinter of your team close enough to the finish that the sprinter can take over at the end and get the victory.
Okay, now that we have covered that stuff we can get to the blow by blow of the practical applications of these concepts during last Saturday’s clinic. For this clinic we had two different finish lines: one was a downhill finish and the other was an uphill finish. I can't remember the exact numbers but things worked out that we were able to divide up into three teams with about 5-6 riders per team. They were:
Cat 5 Men - This is the beginner team (where you will find me)
Cat 4 or lower
Women - all categories
We did four races. Before each race we would come up with our race plan. That involved deciding who our sprinter was going to be and which riders would help the sprinter finish. We also designated riders that would cover attacks and lead attacks as well.
Let the games begin!
From the first "Go", talking about the plans and actually getting to implement them are two different things entirely. Just because we had our plans all worked out in our heads didn’t mean that was how the action would actually go down.
With the first race I was assigned to cover the attacks, which was difficult because everyone was unsure of what they were doing. Some people took off hard while others were watching to see what other riders were going to do leaving me to wonder, “Is that a break in front of me or did they just take off harder than everyone else?” As the ride progressed I started figuring things out and I managed to bridge up to a break and stuck with them until the end.
On the second race I was the lead rider for the paceline that would deliver the sprinter. As everyone took off it was difficult to figure out what pace I should be setting. Our course is so short that every attack has a chance of going all the way. As we got started everyone began to separate out and it was difficult to tell if I should sit still and let the other riders cover the attacks or if I needed to pick up the pace to get our designated sprinter into position. Everything was going okay until we moved to implement that part of our plan that involved starting our paceline. I was supposed to take off at an easy pace to make sure the line stayed together. However, I was pumped! I took off hard and lost the rest of the line :( Still, we recovered and got our sprinter in position at the end. We didn't win but I still felt good that we executed the strategy and I learned that one of my personal lessons was controlling the rush of racing and not losing my head to the excitement.
On the third race we were on the attack. If the first attack didn't work I was to position myself so that I would be in the group that caught the attack and would instantly launch another attack. As the first attack was caught, I launched and managed to get great separation. I am on my own and now I am in time trial mode until I am caught or until I finish. One problem, getting the separation cost a lot of energy and before I could recover from the first surge, I was faced with an incline (not that big, but anything is big when you are tired and riding all out). After completing the climb I was beat; I wasn't caught yet but I didn't have a lot to continue the pace. I slowed my pace a little to try and get some recovery so that I could do another burst. This is where I made a mistake; I was focused forward, not on when I was going to get caught. I didn't see the two riders catch me until they were already past and I was too tired to get the momentum going to catch their rear wheels. If I had seen them coming I might have been able to build up enough speed before they passed to catch a wheel.
For the fourth race I was going to lead the paceline at the end again however the execution didn't go as well. I ended up finishing second but that isn't where the lead-out person should be! We didn't do a good job communicating and the paceline fell apart. As we approached the uphill finish the rest of the riders in my paceline weren't passing me and I couldn't take the time to look to see where they were, so I rode as hard as I could to the finish. More lessons learned for next time.
I did regret that I didn't get the chance to be the sprinter, but I realize that I will get my chance. I learned so much in one day with attacking and covering the attacks being my favorite part of the clinic. It was a blast getting out there and mixing it up and now I can't wait for the race action to start.
I've got to cut this short, I need to go register for a race!
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