It helps to understand that there are two main forces working against a cyclist: air resistance
(drag) and gravity. Drag is a determining factor on the flats, but gravity dominates on climbs. So
understanding that...
In article <
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(Telford) wrote:
> I've been watching race for quite some time but still don't understand parts of what's really
> happening or what's the announcer is saying. Can you explain some of them? I don't really race,
> dont' even ride that much, thus the lack of understanding.
>
> 1) a pursuit group of say, 5, riders, chasing the leader. the announcer says "but no one is
> cooperating" Question: what's meant by cooperating, what would I see happening on TV if they
> were indeed cooperating.
... You would see "cooperating" riders sharing the task of riding at the front. Drag is reduced
considerably (<20%) for anyone behind the lead rider, and going slower is, obviously, easier than
going faster. In your hypothetical group of 5 riders working together, you would often see two lines
of riders, with three riders in one line going a little faster than the two riders in the other
line. Once the front rider in the fast line is clear, he will move to the slow line and drift to the
back of the fast line: he gets a little rest since he is going a bit slower now. To get onto the
fast line, he pushes a little harder momentarily to match speeds, but then he's in the slip stream,
and it's easy street until he gets back to the front. Then he takes the wind again until he is
clear, and switches lines again. This is called a rotating pace line.
Sometimes a few riders are considerably stronger than other riders, and they might take longer
pulls. Something else you might see is a rider who always stays off the back; he might be winded, or
he might have no interest in seeing the break succeed. For instance, a sprinter's team might want a
man in the break to give some indication of how strong the break is and how much effort will be
needed to pull it back.
Team time trials also use pace lines, but the tactic is different because of the nature of the race:
you're trying to go as fast as possible, as a team, over a considerably shorter distance than a
typical stage. The oxen of the team do a lot more pulling in a TTT than the climbers.
Another factor to consider in these breakaways is good old-fashioned advertising. The cameras are on
the lead group, and being in that group gets your sponsor airtime.
> 2) a rider from a team "leads out" his team-mate (the main rider of his team) towards the final
> sprint and drops out to the side when he's all out of energy. Why do the main rider need to be
> led out towards the final sprint?
... This is really just a tactic to minimize aerodynamic drag on the main sprinter while at the same
time building speed for the sprint. The great sprinters have incredible power over short distances
(100-300 meters, depending on the sprinter). If you've been watching the Giro, you've seen that
different sprinters have slightly different tactics: some have more power and can maintain speed
longer, while some have a higher top end and can call up huge reserves in the last 50 m to nip an
opponent at the line. Cipo, for instance, has that great leadout team because he has enough power
over a longer sprint distance that its hard for "faster" sprinters to get past him once he's up to
speed, but he's the best leadout the "faster" guys have, so they fight for his wheel.
> 3) a small group of riders, why is it the front rider is said to be "doing all the work" is it
> that difficult to be in front.
... Once again, it's all about aerodynamics and the huge advantage one has in the draft of another
rider. It really is that difficult to be in front, for me anyway! This is also why a rider who
chooses to plow a lonely furrow almost always gets swept up by the pack; he's doing a lot more work
than any single rider in the peloton.
> 4) if for e.g., Heras is taking Armstrong up a climb, is it more mental help that he is providing
> or is there some physical advantage of following somebody.
... Climbing though is different. As speeds slow down, aerodynamics play less and less of a roll,
and on steep climbs, drafting doesn't give much of an edge. What is very helpful though is to have
someone set a pace for you to get a good rhythm, or tempo, going. If you can't maintain the tempo,
you get dropped, but if you hit it, a rider like Armstrong can assess how he feels, how the riders
around him look, and decide whether or not to attack to splinter the group. If you are near your
limit climbing a mountain and someone attacks strongly, it can be pretty demoralizing, so there is
definitely a mental game being played on mountain stages.
> 5) "rider A and his mates decides to drop rider B" how is this drop accomplished (other than just
> sprinting away, is there something else"?
... Various ways, but sprinting away is certainly an option. Some tactics can be used such as
forcing rider B to front for an extended time, or forcing him to set the tempo on a climb and
attacking from behind. If rider A and rider B are well matched, once rider B has A's wheel, A
won't drop him.
> 6) if someone is right in the middle of a big peleton and needs to go somewhere (anywhere for
> whatever purpose) how do they get out of there?
... Touch wheels, swerve viciously out of the peloton, flip head over heels when you get to the
shoulder, land in a ditch full of water, and crawl out unscathed. But seriously, you either
communicate with the riders around you, or you take advantage to the gaps and openings that come and
go in a peloton to get where you want to be. If you really want to move up, you are more likely to
succeed on the edge of the peloton, but that's also where the risks (road hazards, curbs, ditches,
etc.) are greatest.
> I think I will enjoy watching the race even more if I understood some of these things. Thank you.
there are always small gaps that you have to fill to move out from the middle.
