Once thing I love about racing here in Australia is the history behind some of these events. Some of these races have been going on for a hundred years! For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Melbourne to Ballarat Classic Handicap, it’s a race that started in 1908. I wish I could find [...]
Aussie Ben Kirstin comes first at the US Crit Championships. Photo courtesy of Velonews – Casey B. Gibson
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m not a good sprinter. It’s one skill that I’ve always wanted more than anything and haven’t been able to acquire. This basic fact makes me watch and [...]
Photo: Shane Goss/www.licoricegallery.com
This past Saturday was my first race back after a few months off. Thankfully it wasn’t the fierce crosswinds and sheets of rain like Melbourne has been getting recently. It was sunny and a bit cold, but as my grandmother always said – “there’s no such thing as cold weather, just inappropriate [...]
Being “in the chop” is an Aussie expression that you won’t read about in the UCI rulebook. It’s one of the many nuances of bike racing that only comes with experience.
Sometimes when you’re in a race and find yourself in the final break-away bunch you might get asked “are we in the chop?” or “are [...]
You’ve probably been in a situation during a race where some sly bugger keeps stealing the wheel you were sitting comfortably behind. As this happens again and again the next thing you know you’re at the back of the bunch. If you’re not that guy moving up wheel by wheel then you’re not going to [...]
We all know that drafting is an important part of road cycling. As a cyclist moves forward he produces a turbulent wake of air behind him called vortices. The vortices create a low pressure area behind the rider and an area of wind that moves along with him. Think of how a motorboat creates 2 [...]
It seems that lately I’ve been writing about everything else under the sun except for the cycling tips that I’ve mandated to myself. What I find funny is that I’ll spend hours writing some posts and doing checks in research journals to make sure I have my facts straight, meanwhile the posts that get the [...]
This post comes from one of the smartest and best bike racers I know – Jeff Bolstad. Listen and learn… Thanks Jeff
DON’T PANIC
I wrote that in big, friendly red letters because Douglas Adams died too young, the world will forever be a darker shade of grey as a result, and I’m in no [...]
Do you ever notice that some guys get in every winning break-away and seem to have all the "luck"? Well, it’s not so much "luck" as it is knowing when and where to attack. I raced last night in some tough windy conditions and saw many futile and senseless attacks that went absolutely no [...]
There are basically 2 strategies that you can use in a criterium to win – break-away or bunch finish. The tactics you employ within each strategy is the tricky part. Here are some tips on break-away team tactics:
When there is a break-away forming, obviously it’s always good to send one rider on your team [...]
