I plan to do some crit 4/5 & road racing starting next spring after having a good first year of riding and learning. Got out for a few group rides, but will continue and am pretty sure I have a team that I'll be joining and can help.
So here here's my question:
Are most of you Cat 4 / 5 riders putting out hard training rides between 19 - 21 mph and getting 4 - 5mph of aid from the pack? Are your hard training rides faster or slower than that?
Just trying to get a rough estimate on the speed of a larger bubble.
In the small group rides I have done, the ability to ride at a pace 3 - 4 miles per hour faster seemed quite easy while tucked in. What is it like when you are amongst a much larger group?
I'm not looking for an exact answer or a calculator, just an estimate. Such as, I don't typically ride more than x MPH on my hard solo rides, but I'm able to stay with a 24 to 26mph group for Y minutes.
Any information or thoughts are well appreciated!
Dave
So here here's my question:
- Given a typical US based Cat 4 / 5 crit
- Extremely flat or rolling / 40 - 45 minutes
- Peleton averaging your typical 24 - 25 mph
- Assume a race of 40 - 50 with a pack of 20 - 30 riders in the main group.
- Assume the rider is taking his or her pulls and not just sucking wheel.
- Assume the rideris fair - good but not 100% efficient at drafting. Drafting as your average Cat 4/5 rider.
Are most of you Cat 4 / 5 riders putting out hard training rides between 19 - 21 mph and getting 4 - 5mph of aid from the pack? Are your hard training rides faster or slower than that?
Just trying to get a rough estimate on the speed of a larger bubble.
In the small group rides I have done, the ability to ride at a pace 3 - 4 miles per hour faster seemed quite easy while tucked in. What is it like when you are amongst a much larger group?
I'm not looking for an exact answer or a calculator, just an estimate. Such as, I don't typically ride more than x MPH on my hard solo rides, but I'm able to stay with a 24 to 26mph group for Y minutes.
Any information or thoughts are well appreciated!
Dave