jerseyjunkie
03-22-06, 11:37 AM
So, I did my first race last weekend, a cat 5 crit.
It was slower than I anticipated (21.5 mph ave), and the sprint was faster than I anticipated (I was struggling to hang onto the group at the end).
Anyway, here's the question: is there any way to stay in the middle of the pack where you just get sucked along for most of the race? I found that when I was in the middle of the pack cruising, people would inevitably sprint around the side of the pack, so that I ended up in the back, and would have to sprint around the side myself if I wanted to stay in the front of the pack. One time, when in the middle, I tried to stay up front by latching onto a new wheel, and some guy barked at me "that's my wheel!!" I ended up drifting back.
Is the pro peloton constantly shifting around like this too? Is there a way to stay up front in the middle without pissing people off?
It was slower than I anticipated (21.5 mph ave), and the sprint was faster than I anticipated (I was struggling to hang onto the group at the end).
Anyway, here's the question: is there any way to stay in the middle of the pack where you just get sucked along for most of the race? I found that when I was in the middle of the pack cruising, people would inevitably sprint around the side of the pack, so that I ended up in the back, and would have to sprint around the side myself if I wanted to stay in the front of the pack. One time, when in the middle, I tried to stay up front by latching onto a new wheel, and some guy barked at me "that's my wheel!!" I ended up drifting back.
Is the pro peloton constantly shifting around like this too? Is there a way to stay up front in the middle without pissing people off?