Road racing / crit racing unwritten rules

[Dr Teeth and The Electric Mayhem]

Hi
I am a MTB XC racer at heart (not very good and finish last though) but I also enjoy watching road racing on YouTube. A few things that I don't really understand though, is there seems a lot of rules and unwritten rules, etiquette that go on that doesn't seem to happen in XC MTB (perhaps it does at the pointy end).
Could someone run me through those and why they are important? I have watched a few clips where they aren't followed and it seems to cause friction, why don't the riders just go hell for leather, why is there rotation?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67_u_roqViI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQVVg98fdfs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpVKGPKhT6U

I don't seem to see this in MTB at the races I go to, or the clips from those races, so just wondered why it happens on the road.
Don't want to start any MTB v road debate, just genuinely curious.

[Soloman Dodd]

Aerodynamics.
The lead rider is expending more energy than the following riders, so rotate till near the end.

[speedking31]

But if your team's sprinter is in the pack, don't rotate so that the lead group is disrupted and s/he can catch up for the finish.

[Dr Teeth and The Electric Mayhem]

So basically the pack have to take it in turns to lead the race and drag the others around? Do they have to do that, what’s to stop someone being a wheel sucker right till the end then sprints past?

[Ladders]

Dr Teeth and The Electric Mayhem said:

So basically the pack have to take it in turns to lead the race and drag the others around? Do they have to do that, what s to stop someone being a wheel sucker right till the end then sprints past?

No, no one has to take it in turns.

It’s a balance of being near the front of the bunch so you can move with any breaks that may occur and not left behind. Plus the further back you are the more you suffer from the concertina effect when you enter corners, which can mean your sprinting to keep up with the rest of the bunch.

IMO the best place to sit is in the top 10 of the bunch. Try to do as little on the front as you can get away with.

You also need to find out what kind of rider you are. Sprinter? Breakaway specialist etc. this will also determine where your best in the bunch and how you ride.

[JEA1K]

Dr Teeth and The Electric Mayhem said:

So basically the pack have to take it in turns to lead the race and drag the others around? Do they have to do that, what s to stop someone being a wheel sucker right till the end then sprints past?

No one 'has to do anything' Its never just as simple as that ... what if that pack is made up of 4 riders from the same team and 1 rider from another team? Why should the 1 rider do any work when the team of 4 will be trying to win it with one of their riders and will do all they can to work over the solo rider. There are so many variables which creates a dynamic situation to be in.

Yes, there are many that hold on until the end and do zero work ... I've seen plenty of riders win in this way ... call it lazy, call it clever but they've got the win. Riders who don't work in the break when they have no reason not to, often get abuse from the rest of the break ... frustration can cause the break to slow up ... or attack the rider not contributing ... the latter being satisfying to the rest of the break of course.

[Dannbodge]

There's a great old saying in racing.

"Do as much as the person doing the least".

But it all depends on the team priorities and goals/your goals etc.

[Castrol for a knave]

Dr Teeth and The Electric Mayhem said:

So basically the pack have to take it in turns to lead the race and drag the others around? Do they have to do that, what s to stop someone being a wheel sucker right till the end then sprints past?

You can, google Steve Cummings - he perfected the art form of floating around in the group, limiting his energy until he needed to wind it up, then jumped on another's lead out train(s).

Perfectly acceptable to do that - if you have a team that's not set up for sprinting or intermediate stages, then settling yourself in the pack and being opportunistic is fair game.

As others have said, the trick is to make sure you are in the top third, too far back and you are having manage a delayed reaction to what is happening up front, and expending too much energy trying to close gaps and get back on.

In an amateur race, it tends to be very small groups and mostly, everyman for himself, though in a handicapped race, with staggered starts, riders will work together to stay away from the scratch group released 5 minutes or so later. It is not unusual to form an alliance across a few clubs to work together and try and keep your best rider in one piece, ready for the line. However, since it is mostly about getting British Cycling points to get up a category, it's very much a free for all.

At the semi-pro and pro level, then team orders apply. You'll also find that in a team of say 8, only 1 or 2 will be in with a shout in any given stage, so hill climb specialists will put in the early efforts on the front, then fade to the back - they are never going to be contention. then the rouleurs come into play = these are more mixed, heavier set and will grind out the middle to end part of the race with the sprinter and his/her dedicated riders setting up in the latter kilometres for the inevitable st fight to the line

All this takes ages of practice, tight lines with riders going hard then peeling off and the sprinters powering to the front, gearing up for their moment of glory


only for Cummings to jump off a random wheel and come steaming past

[mattvanders]

Roading is a team sport won buy an individual is the best way to describe it… but add to the mix side quests (stag wins or climb wins) for some fun.

Every rider will have their job even if it’s not to be the winner at the end of the day. In Bradley Wigan’s biography he descusses all this and how the winning he gets is still disturbed out to all. You use and help other teams rides up to the point that you don’t need them or there is some else to jump on the back of for their areo benefits. This is where time trials racing (like dh mountain biking race) is just the best rider that wins.

[_Rodders_]

Dr Teeth and The Electric Mayhem said:

So basically the pack have to take it in turns to lead the race and drag the others around? Do they have to do that, what s to stop someone being a wheel sucker right till the end then sprints past?

Nothing at all.

That's what I used to do in Army races because I had a good sprint in me.

It's a good tactical battle.

[Dr Teeth and The Electric Mayhem]

Ah ok, that all makes a bit more sense, thanks all. It all seemed a bit complicated to a simple MTB XC racer who just goes hell for leather from the off with no strategy whatsoever, who then wonders why he is blowing out of his behind a lap later!
Although I was to told ‘jump on’ in the last race to hunt down the next pack so that was fun.
So it’s not just the fitness and ability, it seems quite strategic as well, bit like chess?

[okgo]

Dr Teeth and The Electric Mayhem said:

Ah ok, that all makes a bit more sense, thanks all. It all seemed a bit complicated to a simple MTB XC racer who just goes hell for leather from the off with no strategy whatsoever, who then wonders why he is blowing out of his behind a lap later!
Although I was to told jump on in the last race to hunt down the next pack so that was fun.
So it s not just the fitness and ability, it seems quite strategic as well, bit like chess?

It really does depend on the race, the level, the circuit etc. There are many crit circuits where the riding looks much more like a mountain bike race in that the nature of the circuit encourages near constant attacks and is often won from a breakaway (Crystal Palace is like this for any London riders). Then there are circuits that are a lot more benign and it takes time for the right composition of breakaway to form because the circuit isn't hard enough to whittle down the pack - Hillingdon is more like this.

Road racing is different altogether as the races are often at least twice as long if not 3 or 4 times longer than a crit. Conserving energy for the right moment much more important here than a 45 minute crit. In all races you'll get to know the riders to watch/follow where possible. I've done maybe 100 races or so on the road/crits and there is usually only ever 10 or so people in each race who are capable of winning it, you get to know those riders.

But generally speaking because the speeds in road are so much greater than MTB the draft is much more valuable, so some of the thoughts above on position and how much to do are totally right.