During some of the races that I do we’ll have motorcyclist refs. They’re really cool. A lot more personal than having a ref in a car and safer. Also, a cyclist can relate more to a motorcycle. A good description of what these guys and ladies do can be found here in the first 9 pages.
Basically, here is what they do for most of the races that I’m in, “For safety, the motorcycle marshal provides advanced warning to the public that a bicycle race is approaching. The motorcycle marshal can also provide warnings of hazards that exist before the bicycle race encounters them. The motorcycle marshal is instrumental in assuring the safety of the event”.
Got to hand it to those moto refs. Yesterday, during the race, they ride into oncoming traffic making sure the vehicles stop for our protection which is very dangerous for them. Most people in cars don’t understand the dangers of a bike race. Even though we aren’t allowed to cross the yellow line, if an wreck should happen like one did yesterday, bikes and people get thrown all across the road. I’ll also say traffic was very polite yesterday.
Some of the guys made some comments about all the honking going on, the refs will honk when we cross the yellow line, but there just doing it for our safety. In general, a guy that crosses the yellow line will go back fairly quickly but when he doesn’t the ref will honk. Most of the times the ref will just honk but if you try their patience they will come up and warm you. The next time you’re relegated to the back. Occasionally, if you’re a consistent rule breaker you get disqualified. Their actually really patient with us for the most part.
More power to you.
Marc
Posted by Marc Walter as power, Racing at 10:11 AM MST
SAINT FRANCIS TULSA TOUGH ANNOUNCES STRAVA SEGMENT COMPETITION
The social fitness company will allow for additional contests and awards among participants
Organizers of the Saint Francis Tulsa Tough and Strava announced an additional opportunity for competition during the event. Using GPS technology, racers and riders can opt to compete for additional prizes (and glory).
Adding to the competitive excitement Saint Francis Tulsa Tough dishes out, racers and riders will be able to use GPS technology to track their performance on Strava. Strava will offer awards and prizes to participants who outperform their competition on various segments of the course.
“The cutting-edge technology Strava brings to the table enables us to take our races and GranFondos to the next level,” said Malcolm McCollam, Saint Francis Tulsa Tough race director. “Besides just the races, Strava will offer a way for our GranFondo riders to get in on the action and competition without racing in the criteriums.”
Focused on the needs of avid cyclists and runners, Strava lets anyone track runs and rides via iPhone, Android or dedicated GPS devices to analyze and quantify performance and compete against friends.
“We’re excited to be able to introduce Strava to this talented pool of athletes,” said Nicole Marcoe, Strava’s event manager. “The great thing about incorporating a Strava Challenge is that riders can compete on those individual segments at any time. In bike racing, if you miss the break or experience a mechanical, it’s likely that you’re not going to have a great finish. With Strava you can showcase your effort no matter where you are in the pack.”
Anyone can have a free account now on Strava.com but when you sign up to ride or race at Saint Francis Tulsa Tough, you will receive a free premium subscription upgrade to Strava through the end of June. Once registered, participants can complete their profiles and begin recording data from their workouts as tracked by GPS devices including iPhone, Garmin and Android. As a THANK YOU from Saint Francis Tulsa Tough and Strava, following the event, you will have an opportunity to continue your premium subscription at a great Tulsa Tough price. So register and start riding! As they say, “If it’s not on Strava, it didn’t happen!”
Participants are encouraged to bring their GPS device to the criteriums and GranFondos, where they will record their results on various segments of the course to determine who outperforms in their field. Awards and prizes will be presented by Strava at the end of the event.
Newswise — Philadelphia, Pa. November 23, 2011 – While pedaling power is important in bicycle motocross BMX racing—especially at the start of the race—other skills have a greater impact on performance on the difficult tracks encountered in higher-level competitions, according to a study in the November issue of The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, official research journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association NSCA. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
The Twin Bing Classic is one of the toughest early season races around. The climate and the course, every year, definitely make this a classic tough race. Thanks to Bill Fieges the rest of Sioux City Velo. They put on a very organized event.
This year was no different. The weather was cool, windy and changing throughout the day. The wind was from a westerly direction for the whole day. Switching from south west to west and then north west. Even the temps varied through out the day. At one time, the sun came out and the tailwind section got rather warm. That didn’t last long as the sun disappeared and the west to north west wind began picking up.
As for the race, the pace started off rather tame. Starting into a west wind will do that and 68 miles in front of you. There were a few accelerations in the first section of headwinds. I was hanging in the out in the pack being vigilant to teammates attacks. Knowing that the crosswind section was coming up I wanted to make sure I was around teammates. This is a classic strategy to blow up a field. Get an echelon of a team, stretching across the road and not letting others into your working group, and soon the field is split. What happened next was very unexpected. I followed the wheel of Clark Priebe of Trek the other strong team, to the front, and soon we we’re off the front. This was nota full blown attack but more of a roll off the front. There was another guy up the road, we caught him, and started rotating. Nobody else was rotating through. Right before the crosswind section, I looked back, and was amazed the pack wasn’t there. Clark and I up the pace while the other guy didn’t want to rotate through. Now we had a tailwind through the rolling part of the course. We dropped the guy not rotating through, he was breathing fairly hard, trying to gain some minutes. Clark was taking to strong of pulls for me up some hills. I knew we still had 50-60 miles to go. This was not the tempo I thought I could last. Knowing I had a strong team behind and so did Clark I backed off. The group did make some gains on me and at one point I thought I was going to get caught. This is the point where you just keep going hopefully letting the guys chasing wear themselves thin so a teammate can attack. I was hoping it was Trek since they were the big team.
As I topped the major climb of the course, a one mile ascent, I figured the group would be on my tail. When I turned around on the descent they weren’t there. Soon Jerome Rewerts, of team Zealous, bridged up. I was not sure how many teammates he had. I just rolled through with him. The official did come up and told us we had 2 minutes on the pack and a minute to bridge to Clark. This was the only time he did. Afterwards, I assumed if we were not getting splits, during the race, then we must be well ahead of the group. Soon after we picked up Clark the pace picked up. After we gained some momentum, back in the tailwind section, I knew the teams must be covering and not letting the group pick up the pace. Now it was just a matter of settling in and maintaining the nutrition/hydration to avoid cramps.
The next time up the major hill, we dropped Clark. I had noticed he was faltering a bit on the hills on the tailwind section. Jerome and I waited to the bottum of the decent, it’s good sportsmanship to wait a bit for a guy whose been helping, but no Clark. We decided to proceed.
The headwind section it’s just maintaining a smooth rhythm. Rotating through at tempo to threshold. Once we got that tailwind it was time to just roll it over the tops trying not to push the power. The wind helped. This was the last lap and either we start attacking each other or sprint it out.
The major hill finish was up next. The wind was picking up. With 1k to go Jerome took the lead. It was really slow going with the wind and the grade of the hill. He took the white line and leeward side to pass. I was struggling. With 300 meters I put it in one gear harder, got up out of the saddle, and bogged down. Immediately I let up a little to get into that easier spinning gear. A wheel length gap opened and Jerome saw that, shifted into a bigger gear and beat me by 2 bike lengths.
As we waited for the finish of the group, it was great to see my teammates finish Kevin Limpach, Jared Berger, and Chris Spence finish 4,5, respectively. Team Kaos, a very cohesive bunch of guys to race with. The Specialized bike equipment from JoyRide Bicycles is top notch along with all the sponsorship investment that goes into making this team work.
Part 1 of a three part series dealing with road and mountain bike racing strategies
Summarization of strategies taken from the USCF Level 2 coaching manual
Bike racing season is in full swing. I thought I would post some useful information for those new to the sport. Even if you have years of experience racing you will find this useful information. It’s always good to review your tactics and strategies.
Bike racing involves technical skills, specific racing skills and tactics to be successful. The strongest rider does not win based solely on strength but also must rely on a sound strategy. The outsider might observe a race as highly disorganized but in reality there is a well thought out plan that is happening.
It is important to note there is a difference between tactics and strategy. Tactics are a maneuver, such as an attack out of the bunch, to achieve a separation from the attacker and his opponents. A strategy is the overall plan a rider uses to achieve the goal of the race. Race strategies employ multiple tactics to achieve the goal.
Cycling is said to be a “sport of circumstances”. For your tactics to work it depends on how you react to a given situation. Your strategy should include the following:
course profile
race distance
type of event
last kilometer to the finish
200 meters to the finish
distance to the last corner ( if applicable)
competitor (quantity and quality)
team presence
locations of feed zones ( if applicable)
weather
fitness level and teams ability to follow a strategy
The Eight Principles of Strategy
Element of surprise
Energy management
Complete execution of tactics
Adaptability to change
Risk taking
Calculating tactics
Capitalizing on your opponents weaknesses
Race your strengths
1. Element of Surprise
Create a situation in which you surprise your opponent that will eventually lead to your opponents demise. This may be sprinting or attacking from a distance that your opponent might not think you would go from. The competition might know a particular plan will be employed the timing is what will catch them off guard.
A specific tactic as dropping back from the rider(s) you plan to attack and getting a “running” start is another element of surprise. The element of speed will get you the gap and also your competition might hesitate waiting for other riders to take the initiative. Other places to surprise your opponents are at the crest of a hill, a headwind, a corner or when others are fatigued.
Anytime you can cause a rider to close a gap and waste their energy to catch back on then the attack was well planned and executed.
2. Energy Management
You should be as economical as possible at all times. Your energy resources are limited. Do this by:
using the smallest gear possible
maintain an effective plan for recovery after each effort
Make sure that all your energy expended benefits you or your teammates. One aspect I see is when a rider takes up the chase to close a gap bringing along the whole group. You should attack the group to bridge the gap or let another team do the work.
3. Complete Execution of Tactics
Many riders will not complete a tactic. Once they initiate a planned tactic they might not continue because of a lack of confidence. Use the course and conditions to execute a tactic to your advantage. For example:
if you’re a good climber attack during the most difficult part of the climb
sprinters need to be in position before the last kilometer either on a teammates wheel or a competitors for a lead out.
Focus on a successful outcome of your efforts. Do not over analyze because this can prevent you from executing your tactic by indecisiveness. Things happen quickly in a race and you must decide immediately whether to implement a tactic.
4. Adaptability to Change
Situations in bike racing constantly arise that cause your strategies to become ineffective. Adaptability is a key necessity. For example: You may make a jump early in a sprint, say 2 km out, but do not succeed. You must then be able to adapt your strategy to hopefully recover and find a wheel of a good sprinter to bring you to the line. You may want to continue your sprint, however, towing your opponent to the line in hopes of getting a good placing.
5. Risk Taking
If the tactic has less than a 50% chance of succeeding then this is a risk. If it catches your opponent off guard then it is worth a chance to take it. Even if it doesn’t succeed your opponents will be on guard for that move the next time you race them. They might let you go and this time it is a winning move.
6. Calculating Tactics
When racing look at the big picture. Will your opponent not want to chase you because you have attacked at a distance that he thinks is to far from the finish to succeed. In a sprint you may calculate, based on your knowledge of your opponent, whether opening up a small gap might be to much for your opponent to close by the finishing line.
Knowing your strengths and weaknesses, along with what your opponents know of you, is a big part of bike racing. Know how to bluff and know how to recognize a bluff.
7. Capitalize on Your Opponents Weaknesses
In this day of technology, you can discover many things about your opponent through the media and the internet. During a race can be a time to pick up on some of your opponents strengths and weaknesses.
By attacking, you may be able to tell who is suffering. Listen to your opponents breathing, bike handling, and consumption of fluids and food to learn of their race condition. Some riders are highly predictable when fatigue sets in. Open up small g
aps to make them close it down to make them expend energy. Knowing an opponent can’t sprint from a long distance might be a time to “take a flyer” hoping they are unable to close a gap.
8. Employ Advantages
Know your strengths and your teammates. Use effective tactics that take advantage of yours and your teammates strengths. Always race your strengths. Learn what tactics for what situation work the best for you and against your opponent.
