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Cycling Strategy
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Published: August 17, 2006
When the winning cyclist speeds across the finish line, fans often applaud his or her extreme fitness and sheer will to win for getting the athlete through the painful and arduous course. The heart and lungs, however, are not the only bodily requisites pushing riders to the front of the pack.
The world's best bicycle teams, called pelotons, represent efficient cyclists beating a combined time of sub-sixty per minute. What appears simply to be a group of super-fit and ultra-thin athletes on bikes racing for the finish line is also a contest of wit, timing and cycling strategy.
Cycling strategy can come in many forms to fit varying types of races. For the novice cyclist, drafting is an essential and basic technique devised to improve riding time and diminish the amount of energy exerted. A rider drafts when he or she rides inches behind another cyclist to decrease the amount of wind resistance, or drag. After separating himself from the rider in front, the drafting cyclist can maintain the desired speed and save energy. The cyclist being drafted off of is battling the wind resistance and, therefore, expending more energy, allowing the drafting cyclist to save energy while he or she opens more opportunities for attack. Many cyclists perform this simple cycling strategy without even realizing it.
Another simple cycling strategy is pacing. Competitive cyclists should determine their proper pace, or speed in which they wish to race. For example, if the later part of a course is uphill, then it would be strategic to ride at a moderate pace until the elevated section of the race. This protects energy and hydration levels. If the course is relatively flat, a cyclist may choose to ride at a faster pace and use drafting for their advantage.
Cycling strategy can become more complicated with a larger number of teams or longer course. As in any other sport, each cyclist on a team has certain responsibilities for helping their team win. For example, several riders typically act as the rabbits and pull the team's best rider. Called domestiques in the world of cycling, these riders sacrifice their energy and individual goals for the sake of the team. They surround and protect the team's best rider from unexpected opponent attacks and also retrieve food and drink. During the last stretch of the race, domestiques drop off and let the team's lead rider take over for the victory. During larger races, like the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, teams often have to make spontaneous strategic decisions, such as when to attack or when to drop off to save and restore energy.
Team directors, or coaches, may also make certain adjustments to cycling strategy during a race. For example, if a course is on flat terrain, the team director will most likely order his domestiques to protect the best sprinter on the team.
When preparing for a race, cycling strategy is as critical as the individual and physiological aspects. Pacing, drafting and the effective use of other teammates are only a few of the countless number of cycling strategies capable of improving a cyclist's and a team's performance. Though winning professional international cycling tours may be exclusive to only the premiere riders in the world, cycling strategy can be implemented by even the most novice riders.
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The world's best bicycle teams, called pelotons, represent efficient cyclists beating a combined time of sub-sixty per minute. What appears simply to be a group of super-fit and ultra-thin athletes on bikes racing for the finish line is also a contest of wit, timing and cycling strategy.
Cycling strategy can come in many forms to fit varying types of races. For the novice cyclist, drafting is an essential and basic technique devised to improve riding time and diminish the amount of energy exerted. A rider drafts when he or she rides inches behind another cyclist to decrease the amount of wind resistance, or drag. After separating himself from the rider in front, the drafting cyclist can maintain the desired speed and save energy. The cyclist being drafted off of is battling the wind resistance and, therefore, expending more energy, allowing the drafting cyclist to save energy while he or she opens more opportunities for attack. Many cyclists perform this simple cycling strategy without even realizing it.
Another simple cycling strategy is pacing. Competitive cyclists should determine their proper pace, or speed in which they wish to race. For example, if the later part of a course is uphill, then it would be strategic to ride at a moderate pace until the elevated section of the race. This protects energy and hydration levels. If the course is relatively flat, a cyclist may choose to ride at a faster pace and use drafting for their advantage.
Cycling strategy can become more complicated with a larger number of teams or longer course. As in any other sport, each cyclist on a team has certain responsibilities for helping their team win. For example, several riders typically act as the rabbits and pull the team's best rider. Called domestiques in the world of cycling, these riders sacrifice their energy and individual goals for the sake of the team. They surround and protect the team's best rider from unexpected opponent attacks and also retrieve food and drink. During the last stretch of the race, domestiques drop off and let the team's lead rider take over for the victory. During larger races, like the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, teams often have to make spontaneous strategic decisions, such as when to attack or when to drop off to save and restore energy.
Team directors, or coaches, may also make certain adjustments to cycling strategy during a race. For example, if a course is on flat terrain, the team director will most likely order his domestiques to protect the best sprinter on the team.
When preparing for a race, cycling strategy is as critical as the individual and physiological aspects. Pacing, drafting and the effective use of other teammates are only a few of the countless number of cycling strategies capable of improving a cyclist's and a team's performance. Though winning professional international cycling tours may be exclusive to only the premiere riders in the world, cycling strategy can be implemented by even the most novice riders.
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