Paceline Basics
Aug/12/08 09:10 Filed In:Coaching
One of the most basic race skills is forming a
paceline. You will feel the extra speed but no extra
effort, your flying!. A smoothly rotating paceline is
probably one of the most enjoyable experiences in
group riding/racing but a disfunctional paceline can
be the most frustrating experience. I written before
about what each riders reponsability is in a paceline
and now let's look at how the paceline should operate
based on the number of riders in the paceline.
Pacelines can be formed with two or more riders. The more riders involved up to a certain point the more speed that can be produced. The more riders that are involved the harder it is to make the group smooth. This is the basic conflict with pacelines. As the group becomes bigger each rider recieves more rest before their turn allowing them the option of pulling longer or faster then when in a smaller group. If pull lengths or speed are wrong then the whole paceline falls apart very quickly.
Here are some guideline to use for pull length. Time the pull when the rider before you pulls over.
- Two riders 30 seconds each
- Three riders 20 seconds each
- Four riders 15 seconds each
- Five riders 10 seconds each
- Six riders or more ride by the person who just pulled and pull over.
There are a few reasons to change pull length to maintain the integrety of the paceline and ensure that the group keeps going at a high speed.
On steep hills when the speed falls there is little or no draft. Setting a steady tempo that the whole group can stay together is more important then continuing to trade pulls. Pull longer being carefull not to get dropped going over the top of the hill when the group gains speed. This allows everyone to concentrate on staying together.
On steep downhills the draft increases. Riders in the draft are coasting if you pull the normal length. You want to keep the pulls short since recovery will be fuller because of the lower intensity when not pulling.
When approaching a corner do not change the lead right before the corner. Changing the lead before a corner makes the group two riders wide in the turn usually forcing someone in the group to have to slow down in the turn breaking the group up.
Finally realize that if the group works smoothly then the speed is faster then if one person picks up the speed and pulls longer. This very often occurs when riders who are not very experienced feel like it is "easy" so they want to do more work when it is their turn. This breaks up the rhythm since the group is no longer taking smooth turns. The person who just having pulled sitting out in the wind a little longer then normal and finally a increase in pace might be a little more then the weakest rider can handle.
So watch your pulls and go faster this week. Amos
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