Racing & Negativity...

[BalaRoja]

This past weekend I did an omnium (crit + RR) and the weekend before was a RR. Talk about eye-opening. Each of the three races littered with negativity. Everything/everyone/anything/anyone getting chased instantly and furiously...chased back both by teams and solo riders (oddly enough). Nobody saw more than 25 feet between them & the peloton. Truth be told these were on courses w/o any real climbs or crosswinds (stuff that splits up races), so maybe self-explanatory.

Am I the only one who finds this type of racing to be a) boring snooze fest that is b) not even worth showing up for? What's the point of doing a 2-4 hour race or 1 hour crit when it looks like most/all of the other 30-40 women you are riding with want to make sure everyone stays together and then have the race decided in the last 20 seconds of "squirliness" and mayhem? Bunch finish is OK with me if it happens that way. Sheesh but not when you know it is gonna be a bunch finish 5 minutes into your four hour race.

Used to think the idea of big hill climb finishes made races predictable and less tactical where the fittest people would always win. Now I am thinking that sounds great instead of all the negativity..

[daisylubob]

Try mtb racing. Way more fun, less tension, people are more laid back. Many just want to finish the race. I LOVE IT!!!

[dianne_1234]

...you know it is gonna be a bunch finish 5 minutes into your four hour race.

I used to think this was bad, too. Then I realized ... I can tell the future! I had inside info that could help me form my best strategy.

Okay, since you know how the race will likely end, what strategies can you (and your team?) employ that are most likely to get you the result you want? ;)

[Eden]

Ummmmm - would you prefer that everyone just let the break go.....

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but I'm not sure what you are getting at. Of course people are going to chase back a break - unless of course they have a teammate in it (and sometimes even if they do, if they don't know better)

Things that will make a break stick:

If all or most of the strongest teams are represented. It can be hard for the weaker teams and people without teammates to organize quickly and efficiently and chase down a break.

If the person/people who go off the front are significantly stronger than the peleton.

If the pack misjudges the strength of the person off the front and gives them too much of a lead. And of course in a local race, and especially a cat 4 race people may have not know all the other racers well. They have no idea of the abilities of the other racers and don't want to take any chances - so they immediately chase.

Good team work - attack and counter attack often and strong and it is likely that eventually a break will stick.

Local races are not the TDF - no one has any interest in simply letting someone else control the race and win the day because they are shooting for a bigger goal - like winning a stage race. Of course someone attempting a break is going to get chased down or at least the attempt will be made because everyone wants a chance to win or for their team to win. The trick is to be in the one that break that sticks. When you are unattached it is certainly harder and more confusing - there's no one there to work for and no one to work for you.

Now if you are talking about too many folks who *only* chase down breaks and otherwise are content to sit in and sprint - yes this is frustrating *but*, the only way to change it is to do something. It is hard to do much of anything alone, and this is one reason that being on a team has advantages, but attack, attack, attack and attack until you can't any more. It may very well not work and just lead to your eventually going off the back, but at least you are doing something and working enough to get stronger while they are doing nothing. As I said it is also here where being on a team has its perks. You can all take turns attacking and eventually something will probably stick or you can turn yourself inside out for a teammate and when that person wins it still feels really good.