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The Card Up Your Sleeve, Part 1
When to wait for the sprint
For many riders who are trying to upgrade from the category 3’s
and 4’s, there’s inevitably one skill required above all others:
field sprinting. In the middle category races, the dynamic tends to be
to such that everyone is willing to chase down attacks, but no one is
willing to counter-attack when it’s hard, or work with a break they
bridge up to. It’s a vicious cycle in that most category 3 races
end in field sprints so no one wants to attack or counter-attack for fear
of being tired for the field sprint, thus the race always ends up a field
sprint. At the same time, no one wants to let any other riders get away,
so the field will typically do just enough to chase down any attackers,
then sit up again.
If field sprinting is your skill, this isn’t much of an issue. You’ll
fly through the categories off your sprinting ability and get to the category
2’s sooner then your peers who might be as strong or stronger than
you, but don’t sprint as well. The 1/2 races then might be a shock
to your system, since there the attacks do get counter-attacked, and races
rarely end in a field sprint. Now you’ll be forced to develop the
rest of your abilities just to get back into a winning position. You can’t
sprint for the win if you don’t make it over the climb, or into the
breakaway.
What I want to focus on here are two scenarios: first is that perhaps
you are this type of sprinter, but still have the fitness or ability to
ride in the breakaway and are racing for wins regardless of the way the
race comes down. Secondarily, what if you aren’t a sprinter, but
you know the race will be a field sprint 99% of the time. How are you
going to get results in that scenario?
I have a client who fits the description of Scenario 1. He’s a category
3 master who’s only been racing seriously for a few years, but has
the talent and drive to become a category 2, and has made that his goal.
He has the luxury of relying on his field sprint for insurance, but has
found that when he puts all his eggs in that basket, it doesn’t always
pay off. Here’s his log from a recent hilly road race:
Man, am I disappointed. This is the best I've ever felt in a race. I warmed
for 5 minutes all in easy then went to the line. I told myself to sit
in and wait for the sprint. I went right to the front on the climb (which
felt easy). One guy went off after lap 1 on the top and we let him go.
He never got more than 55 seconds. Things stayed together for the next
5 laps and the time up before the finish I figured we would really pick
it up. I was around
20th on the steep part but on the second climb I was right at the front
2nd or 3rd wheel with an attack and I looked back to see the field all
single file. Everyone was breathing hard and I was feeling like I had
plenty left.
One guy slowly pulled away near the crest and I let him go. One more went
another mile later, they never got together and we were just 10 seconds
behind them. I was at the front and I started pulling aside to let someone
else pull on the flats. No joke, I couldn’t get any one of them to
come around for 2 miles. It got to the point I was braking downhill. The
2 escapees were now out of sight but we were finally moving again. We
caught one fairly quickly but the other one was gone. I sat right around
5th wheel on the run in and came up first over the rise in to the intersection.
I was 2nd or 3rd into the climb and stayed there halfway up. With 100m
to go I was dying. I lost 20 places on the last steep part. I was totally
bummed. Kicking myself for not attacking with all I had on the last time
up. Monday morning quarterbacking is easy but I think my chances are better
in a small group than a pack sprint. Next weekend will be different; I
know I'm one of the 2 or 3 strongest in the field and I'm not going to
sit on the last lap.
What my client did right here was that he stuck to his plan. He previewed
the course and the competition, considered his own abilities, and formulated
a tactical approach that he felt would yield him the best results. He
could have just as easily reacted to those attacking riders over the top
of the hill on the last lap and been the one to spark a reaction from
the field, setting himself up for getting caught with nothing left with
which to sprint.
On the other hand, what my client did wrong here was that he stuck to
his plan. Often a tactical plan is based on your best assumption of how
you expect the race to go. Alas, when you get there, you find that the
race is going nothing like you expected. Your tactics have to change on
the fly as you analyze each new situation you find yourself in. In this
case, the finish line was at the top of a very steep 400-meter climb.
Just long enough to nullify any sprinting advantage my client might have
had. At the same time, on the final lap his fitness allowed him to be
at the front over the second, shallower half of the climb where crosswinds
were also coming into play. The field was single-file and breathing hard,
yet he felt comfortable and strong enough to attack. Clearly, this was
a good opportunity, but one that ran against conventional wisdom about
how the race would finish, and contrary to the plan he had laid out for
himself.
In retrospect, I suggested that if he felt like the race was at a crisis
point, he should give himself some freedom to race. Again, if you’re
a sprinter, remember that you always have that ability as your insurance,
or final card to play. At some point, however, you have to draw the line
and give yourself a cut off where, if there's no break or you haven't
made the break, you change your tactics to focus 100% on the field sprint.
So, with 10 miles to go, or 10 laps to go in a criterium, you say, "ok,
no more racing, from here in. I'm trying to win the sprint, no matter
what place it's for or who attacks between now and then." If you’re
not committed to the sprint at that point and are still making or following
attacks, every match you light is one less you have for the sprint. It’s
important at some point to commit to one approach or the other. But that
doesn’t mean you have to pass up any good opportunities that present
themselves before that cut off point.
In the next installment, we’ll look at Scenario 2: what to do if
you’re not a sprinter, but you know the field sprint is what you’re
facing. How do you get results in that situation?
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