[NCNCA] Early Bird Crits - Week #4

[Larry Nolan]

Hi there.  In regards to the "threaded paceline" I want to reiterate what Shawn said... this is an exercise (a fun one at that) so new racers should understand that moving through the pack in a race can be a whole different experience than they had in the exercise.  Meaning, some riders will be comfortable with your moving up and possibly bouncing off their hips, elbows and shoulders while others could freak out.  Please use this new found skill accordingly.Back to the exercise, as Shawn demonstrated in his drawings, the closeness of the riders is key.  Let's work to get to that point by relaxing, communicating and protecting our front wheel, just as we have been doing in the last three weeks.  Everyone can ride between two riders that are five feet apart, so as we get more comfortable as a group, let's keep the speed down, close the gap between riders on the outside (XX), and thread that pace line.
 
Quick observations on last weeks racing (Jan. 21):  
1) an ambulance free day!  That was a relief as I take these crashes as a reflection of our being able to get through to the new riders (the 1/2/3/Pro crashes are beyond our control ;-).  
2) we are still seeing 4's and 5's not looking far enough up the road as is evidenced by the "accordion effect" where riders are jumping out of corners to catch back up to the group.  Three tips on this point: one- if you want to lessen the # of intervals you do in an event you might want to ride further up in the pack, two- if you are in the 2nd half of the pack its helpful to look through the turn (you can still see the riders in front of you in your peripheral vision) to see what the front of the pack is doing.  If they are single file that could be good news as the riders in you could move up more quickly to avoid getting gapped (creating more space for you) and if the front of the field is wedged across the road that could be good news too as you don't need to panic and do another interval. And, lastly, if you are not looking further up the road you could have a tough time in future races as Fremont is not a technical course.
3) even if you don't plan to work to catch a break or contest the sprint you should know when groups of riders are off the front.  Train to be observant.
4) one of the reasons we don't see a lot of breakaways in 4's and 5's racing at the Early Birds (not including the two triathletes that soloed off the front of the 5's) is that riders will do efforts at the front for no apparent reason.  Yes, these are training races and there are varied motivations but it is wise to be at the front for a reason.  January is the perfect time of year to practice breaking away, to develop a sense of good timing, gauge energy output and gain breakaway coordination and skills, especially if you have not yet developed your sprint.
 
See ya Sunday,  
 
Larry Nolan, AMD-Discovery Channel Masters and Junior Cycling Teams/ USA Cycling level 2 coach/ co-lead at the Early Bird Crits
 



Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:34:27 -0800From: spmehaffey at yahoo.comSubject: Early Bird Crits - Week #4To: ncnca at ncnca.orgCC: teamnolan at hotmail.com






Below is what we will practice on Sunday.  
 
Keep in mind that the threaded paceline is strictly a bike-handling drill and not meant as a race tactic.  Aggressively moving up inside the pack during a race is not recommended.
 
*****
 
Week #4 – Working with Other Riders
 
Discussion Items: A brief review of the topics already covered stressing steady, predictable riding and safe bike handling and conservation of energy plus being cooperative with your competitors. New Topics - Moving up in the pack and organizing a chase group to rejoin the field after getting dropped. 
 
Warm-up: Warm up in groups of 15 w/ 3 mentors each, ride double pace line for 2 laps w/exchanges every 20 seconds.  Review the best line through the corners, riding over bots dots, and pulling off on the outside vs. the inside of a turn.
 
Practice: Execute the threaded (three) paceline drill - the two outside lines slide back and the center row moves forward.  Riders should alternate moving over to the right or left side of the pack once they reach the front.  Emphasize the need to keep all three lines tight and close together to make this drill effective.  If this is confusing don't worry, we’ll demonstrate it before we do it.
 
For the second half of the mentoring session, select 3-6 riders to fall off the back of the group staggered 75-100 meters apart, have them group up quickly and chase back on (upon contact, chasing riders should split up and mix into the field and not sit up at the back). Send another group of riders off the back and repeat the drill. 
 
 
Here are the details involving the three pacelines - the two outside lines slide back and the center row moves forward.  A rider that starts in the right line rotates to the center line once he or she gets to the back.  The riders at the back alternate moving to the center line - one from the right, then one from the left.  When a rider reaches the front, he or she moves over to the OPPOSITE line than where they started from.  In other words, if he or she stared from the right line, then he or she would pull off to the left then begin drifting back. 
 
This drill brings together all the skills these riders have been working on:
holding a line, not overlapping wheels, staying together and in formation through a turn, and pulling through smoothly.  Most people get a kick out of it; I know I did the first time Larry Nolan showed it to me.  If this is confusing don't worry, I diagramed it below and we'll go over it on Sunday.
 
 Three Paceline Diagram:
 
 
 start -
 
  XX    XX
  XX    XX 
  XX    XX
  L2    R2
  L1    R1
 
 
 rotation begins -
 
  XX    XX
  XX    XX 
  XX    XX
  L2    R2
  L1 R1
 
 
  XX    XX
  XX    XX 
  XX    XX
  L2 R1 R2
     L1
 
 
  XX    XX
  XX R1 XX
  XX L1 XX
  L2 R2 
 
 
 R1 now completes cycle and pulls off to left line -
 
  R1   
  XX L1 XX
  XX R2 XX
  XX L2 XX
 
 
 And so on... -
   
  R1    L1
  XX R2 XX
  XX L2 XX
  XX XX
 
 
Note this formation remains intact around the entire course.  Clear as mud?  Then I'll see ya on Sunday.


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