Racing 101

A bike race is a whole lot more than just a bunch of riders going really fast. If you want to know what's going on, you need to understand basic racing strategy.

The key to bike racing is to conserve energy, using it only when you have to. You'll have the best chance of winning if you're the rider with the most energy at the end of the race.

Think of it like having a book of matches. There are only so many matches in the pack. Every time you make a hard effort during the race, you've burned a match. If you have too many hard efforts, you're matches will be gone and you'll have nothing left at the end.

So, what burns a match? Two things: air drag and gravity.

Big Air

Cyclists have a love/hate relationship with this stuff. Sure, it's fun to breath air. But it's a lot of work to ride THROUGH this stuff. In fact, up to 90% of the work you do when you're riding a bike is used to get through the air. You can't live with it and you can't live without it.

One way to reduce air drag is to ride behind another cyclist. The rider at the front is doing a lot of work while the one behind is sitting in his slipstream, enjoying the sunshine and watching the birdies. It takes only 75% as much effort to ride in second position and only 60% to ride in the middle of a group. This is a really important thing to understand if you're going to watch racing at the Festival.

You can also reduce air drag with a fancy shmancy bike. These bikes are often designed with super computers using data from wind tunnel tests. Check out the wheels on the elite riders at the Festival and you'll see some pretty strange designs.

Gravity Is Not Your Friend!

Anyone who's ridden up a hill knows that gravity works against you. And gravity isn't fair. The bigger you are, the harder it is on you. A small rider going up a hill is burning much less energy than a big 'un because s/he weights less.

Gravity will be a factor at all three races in the Nature Valley Grand Prix, but will be particularly brutal at the Stillwater Criterium. Plan to spend some time on Chillcote Hill, the climb up to the finish line. In the words of pro racer Steve Tilford:

"I raced in Stillwater a way long time ago and it was about the hardest criterium I've ever done. Much harder than Snake Alley in Burlington , Iowa. Are you using a course that climbs up that cliff from the river? I'm all for it being hard. Let me know. I'll train accordingly."

Expect to see Steve and other pro riders suffering on this hill as they grind up at VERY slow speeds.

How to Win

Cross the line first. Simple, huh? If you're with the first group to get to the finish, you'd better beat the others in that group. More on that later.

So why not just ride away from the group and get to the finish alone? No problem! Just suspend the laws of physics...

When you're riding fast by yourself, most of your energy is getting used to break through the air. You'll do a lot less work if you're riding in someone's slipstream, which racers call "drafting." Race cars do this, and so do bike riders.

A rider alone can't share the work with anyone, so s/he's going to get very tired. The group that's chasing that solo rider can take turns doing the work and go a lot faster. It takes a VERY strong rider to stay away alone to the finish.

Breaking Away

So, what's a guy to do? They can improve their odds by forming a small group that gets away from the pack. If you only have to sprint against 5 guys, you're sure to get a good place. And a better chance of winning. This small group is called a "breakaway."

But the pack won't just let you ride away. THEY all want to win, too.

So you have to "attack." You have to catch the other riders by surprise by sprinting away from them. If you're lucky, a few other riders will come with you while the pack is napping, and you'll have your breakaway.

Or NOT Breaking Away...

Other riders are good at winning a finishing sprint from a pack of 100. These guys want the whole group to stay together.

A sprinter's teammates will work to make sure that no one gets away from the group. All the while, the team's sprinter rides in the group, conserving energy for the finish. Racers call this guy a "wheel sucker." (Note: the author is not a sprinter, as you may have guessed.)

How do the wheel sucker's . . . er, I mean the SPRINTER'S . . . teammates try to keep the group together? Well, the sprinter's team can try three tactics:

They could go to the front of the main group and chase the breakaway.

Or, they could get a team member into the breakaway and mess it up. That weasel can disrupt the breakaway by preventing the others in that group from smoothly trading turns at the front.

Or s/he could just sit in the group, refusing to take a turn. The other riders have to choose between continuing to work hard to stay away (in which case the weasel will win the sprint) or just giving up and maybe trying again later.

Lots of psychology in a bike race!

Primes

Wanna' spice things up during a long race? Throw in a prime! (pronounced "preem," for no good reason).

A prime is an intermediate sprint during the race for some sort of prize. Sometimes cash. Sometimes a cool wheel. Sometimes a loaf of bread. Bike racers will sprint for just about anything. Just like a dog will chase just about any car.

The announcer rings the bell as the pack comes through the start/finish area to let them know that a prime is coming up. On the next lap, the first rider over the line wins the prize.

"Crowd primes" are a special favorite with the riders. Fans pass the hat to collect money and the riders nearly kill themselves to compete for it. Money from the fans is particularly sweet.

The Finish

Remember when I told you that the first rider across the line wins? The strategy starts a whole lot sooner than that. At least a couple of miles earlier, and often more.

Position is everything. You need to be near the front so that you can win that mad dash for the line. But you don't want to be AT the front, because then you'll be too tired to sprint at the finish.

If you've got a good team, they'll work for you. They'll go to the front and hammer like crazy, while you sit in their draft just a few riders back. They'll be too tired to sprint. But that's YOUR job, not theirs. And they'll deliver you to that finishing straight in good shape and in a good position.

Going into the last stretch, you may have one or two teammates who will rocket away with you in their slipstream. This is called a "leadout." At the last moment, you'll slingshot around them and hit warp speed. Top racers will hit 40 mph or more in the sprint.

Sound easy? Well, everyone else's team is trying to do the same thing.

Which is why we call it "racing!"

Content used with permission from the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival.