19 June Wagga Handicap

Sunday 19 Jun 2011 - Wagga Wagga 56km Handicap
Hosted by Wagga Wagga Cycling Club (at Uranquinty)

Registration/Sign on at the gravel pit/car park on Oxley Bridge road, Uranquinty.
Registrations from 9am.
Race starts @ 10am.
Race Distance 56km, two loops of an out and back circuit.
Presentations at the Uranquinty Hotel.
Entry Fee $20
Race Entry
Entry is now open - you will need a licence for this one. Talk to Jane if you aren't sure about day licences.

Here's how it works for Valkyries:

We organise to car pool and drive there with time to register and ride out along the course for a bit of a warmup.

It's sensible to look at the Race Map prior to the race so you feel comfortable you can make the right turns on the course, there will be marshalls at each corner but its nice to feel prepared - that way you can tell yourself if you drop off the back its just a training ride for you.

...Although that's less relevant for this race, since its 2 loops of a 28km circuit.

When you register, we will talk to the club and make sure all our Valkyries are in Limit since we are all beginners.

Everyone warms up and then gathers for the start of the race. As we are in Limit, we will be at the front of the bunch and get going first. There is usually a countdown and people roll away - it isnt instant breakneck speed as everyone needs to clip in.

The bunch will form fairly quickly though, so your job is just to get in it/on the back of it.

Once it looks like a bunch, people will start pacelining. You'll have to watch to see if its a right lane paceline or a left lane paceline, at Coolamon it was the left whereas we often paceline on the right in Canberra bunches.

The pace will be fast, a bit faster than in training but shouldn't be breakneck - because its a handicap race all the riders in the Limit group should have a similar ability.

You'll need to communicate. When you are coming up the paceline and get near the front you'll need to talk to the rider you will move over in front of to know that its clear, and they should tell you.

Similarly, when you're at the back of the slow lane, the last rider behind you should say 'last rider' to you as they move into the paceline. That's how you know its your turn to move to the other lane again.

Don't surge on the front. Maintain a steady pace. If people surge a lot, it will eventually bust up the bunch.

If someone else is really surging (and you think they don't realise), you need to tell them not to, especially if its one of us girls.

Its quite common for us sitting on the front to feel like we don't know how they are going behind us (and don't turn your head around to look) so we assume we must be going too slow and everyone is getting cranky at us. They're not. Stay steady. Don't surge.

Surging is different to an attack when someone is really trying to get away off the front of the bunch (happens nearer the end of the race and sometimes on hills if there is another bunch close by in front they are hoping to get on to).

Stick with the bunch as long as you can. If you are struggling, remember everyone else is struggling too. The longer you stay on the better, so if its a bit hard but you reckon you can hang on another five, DO. Set yourself little goals. A good trick is try and hang on for one or two more rotations of the paceline. And then one or two more.

But do tell your teammates that you're struggling.

If you are about to drop off, its very good tactics to know if there is another teammate in the bunch with a similar ability to you who can drop off too. They need to make a choice whether they are strong enough to hang in that bunch for a good while, or only a little bit longer.

If its only a little bit longer then you are both better off dropping off the bunch together, and then riding together. You'll travel faster than if you drop off 500m apart and then spend the rest of the race riding solo. In this situation, one of you might be a bit faster than the other. The faster one will need to ride easier to avoid dropping the slightly slower one. You're both still better working together. If there are a few dropped riders, talk to them, make them work together. In this situation you should definitely be telling people to ease up a bit if they are busting up a small bunch again. They won't get anywhere by themselves.

Communicate!

Meanwhile, sometime after your limit group took off from the start, the next group gets to go. Your headstart will be in the order of minutes. It will take a while for that bunch to catch your bunch.

Now here's where the tactics start, if you're still in the Limit bunch, one option is for the Limit riders to try and jump on to the next bunch. If enough of them do, then they'll get pulled along at a faster pace for a while and if they are smart, can jump off again together and still have a bunch going.

Thats a tricky thing to do, so most likely, some people will go for it, others wont.

What's really important is that if (and when, expect to get dropped) you fall off a bunch in a race, you should pay attention to when you hear a bunch coming through.

Position is important - you'll struggle jumping on if you're climbing. But if youre on the flat or descending, when you hear them (and you will - all that communication sounds like shouting in a road race) speed up, keep left and be ready. You'll need to move over and jump on the back only when its their last rider.

You have two choices now, if you've jumped on. If its the 2nd bunch that left right after Limit, you'll be expected to rotate through the paceline. If you are really struggling though (or its a faster bunch) you can try gatekeeping for a bit.

Gatekeeping is sitting on the back of the bunch and not taking a turn through the paceline. You HAVE To communicate here, so that the last rider in front of you will know to move over and that you aren't in the paceline by calling out your wheel, over and over as they roll through.

Jumping on a bunch is very useful if you get dropped. This is because if you jump on and hang on for a bit they will sort of help you hitchhike your way up to the next few dropped riders.

You can jump off again and then you have a pair. If these people aren't your team mates you'll need to make friends. Say hello. Generally at this point neither of you are going to win, but you can both work together to achieve some goals and have a good ride.

That's kind of it for a handicap race, jump on where you can, work together when you can and make friends with other people once you're dropped together.

Expect all the shouting in the bunch, they are trying to keep it together.

Bunches will keep coming through, just like its sensible to know the course, its also sensible to know how many bunches there are in that particular race, so that as each one comes through you know how many are still to come.

The fastest group are called Scratch and once they come through (note that if they've split up a bit there might be two groups) after that there are no more bunches coming.

Thats when you have fun and enjoy the ride.

It should take a few of these races to get your head around how it all works - but doing it is the best way to practice.

If at anytime you feel unsafe, just get off the bunch safely when you are at the back - and ride it by yourself. Theres no shame in that. Similarly if something goes wrong you can DNF. Be careful about turning back, stopping where there is a marshall is a good idea.

Carry powerbars, energy in your drink bottle, and a repair kit for your tyres in case you get stuck.

Who's in?

If you're coming, please enter and then post a comment saying that you've entered.