It's always tough to try and rally people to pull, espec when the break is pretty far away. It can be risky but, next time, just attack. Doesn't have to be full gas necessarily, but enough to get people excited and moving again.
@@norcalfullraces Word. Glad you guys made the trip up to Baker City. It's truly one of the best stage races we have in the country, but has been struggling with numbers since Covid. Hoping these videos will help bring new life to it's reg numbers.
You could certainly attack to encourage others to get moving again, but that really just depends on what other teams are there and if they have people in the break. If there isn't much cooperation with the group, then it'll just swing back and forth from being fast and then being slow, so you won't close the gap by that much. I think your best option would be to drive a steady pace trading hard pulls with your teammates -- except your protected rider -- to help bring the break back from 3-4 minutes to about 90sec-2min. Once the gap is closed a bit, your protected teammate can then attack to try and jump across to the break without bringing that many people with him.
Great video! All of you did awesome You guys killing it!! And Han Solo Marking his territory! ohh and nice bike!! love the Scott!!!!! and its the only toilet paper brand i use!!!
In your situation where there's an early break up the road, it really depends on the size and motivation of your team. With only a couple teammates, you could try to rally your team and others who aren't represented up the road. As others have noted, the field will likely not want to contribute to the chase. Instead, decide in advance if you're going to cover the moves and assign teammates (or yourself) who will cover moves. If your team has decided that you won't cover the early moves, you're along for the ride with the group and need to wait it out.
If all the big teams (say 5+ riders) have riders in a break if 7, you're pretty much screwed. They won't work and if you guys can get a few solo riders to help you bring it back, you'll get a grateful thumbs up as those same big teams counter attack you the moment you make contact. Try to win the sprint for 8th :) b) If the big teams are NOT represented in the break but they are NOT pulling through either they don't care about the result or they know something you don't. Maybe the composition of the break is bad. Maybe they have a plan to start reeling them in with 30K to go etc. No harm in chatting with them to see what the plan is. Naturally, they don't have to tell you but it can't hurt.
You can only do what you can do. My last Gran Fondo the whole Peloton was ripping. 30 guys and I was averaging 380 in the pack. Not sustainable for me so I just had to let it go and settle into the group I could roll with. We caught a number of those that tried to hang because they BLEW up.
When you don’t really know the course, stay hydrated, take in calories, and save the effort for the climb. For sprinters in a hilly road stage, riding support for your climbers is a legit team strategy. A teammate got 6th and 11th for you was… top 20% ish? Which is totally respectable. I jumped into a race once, didn’t know the first thing about it other than there was a climb on the circuit. A break went early and no one seemed concerned, but I went to the front and kept it at a respectable distance. It seemed like around every corner the road turned up, and I kept thinking “oh *this* must be the climb. This isn’t so bad…” but it wasn’t, and then we came around another corner, the road turned up, and it turns out that was the bottom of the actual climb, and some guy came flying past me like a rocket, I was toast, and then the whole peloton went flying after him, and I spent the rest of the race off the back all by myself. I got to the top of the climb and there was a race photographer there and all I thought was “oh please don’t take pictures of me suffering.’ So 11th? It could have been worse. 😎
Right now, im saving up for a steel frame, 8 speed modern road bike (i have a 6 speed, steel frame vintage road bike right now, but i cant train well with it because its really used up) so i can train myself to hopefully join a club and mabye be a part of a race. Videos like these boost my excitement and motivation to put in money each time i can to buy the bike. If there's anything you guys wanna advise me about, please do comment below, because im still a bit lost on what im getting. Thanks!
It is easier said than done but be patient and don't panic. So there's a break, let others bring them back. First empty other peoples plate so you have something left to unleash your sprint of 1600+ Watt!
With a break up the road, no teammates up the road, 3 teammates in the chase group and no-one willing to chase things down I'd try getting the 3 of you running a paceline out front and either hope that you can drop the bunch, encourage the bunch to contribute or else catch the break without any 1 of the 3 of you being spent.
tough spot. Try to find another small team or unattached rider that looks comfortable and interested... (two committed riders might be bale to bridge the gap.) You both must make an immediate gap because the big team guys will want to cover your attack. Don't drag anyone else along.
