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Group riding in a break

Imagine that you are in an equally-matched group of 10 riders who have made a successful escape from the main field.

You are on the fifth lap of an 11-lap race, after breaking free from the bunch two laps earlier. Everyone in the break has taken the same view… that the priority at this stage is to build as big a lead as possible because the bunch behind contains all the big hitters and your lead is under 2mins. Wonderfully, everyone is keen to contribute.

What follows is an analysis of what happens in the group.

The group rotates, like a never-ending chain. Your contribution starts when you move into position at the back of the working line where each rider is sheltering in the slipstream of the rider in front.

One by one, riders will peel off the front of the working line after doing their bit on the front. Sustaining the line's forward speed is extra hard at the very front where you face greater air resistance. In order to then recover, a rider will then pull over and ease back on the pedals.

While riders come off the front of the working line, one by one, other riders who have recovered join again at the back, also one by one. So numbers in the line stay the same.

Once in the working line, you find yourself part of a process known as coming through. You simply hold your position directly behind the same rider and without doing anything else you effectively move forward, getting one step nearer the front every time a lead rider pulls over.

Soon, the rider in front of you becomes the leader. It will be your turn on the front next.

When she pulls across to one side it is your turn to make the pace. How long you stay on the front depends on what format of riding the group has adopted.

The basic system is to do a fairly minimum number of pedal-turns before pulling over. The standard recommendation is 30 pedal revs. So you'd be at the front for 20 seconds.

You have a judgement to make. When you think you have done your share of the work on the front of the working line, you need to pull to one side and join the other riders in the recovery line. It's like taking your foot off the throttle: you start going backwards, relative to the riders alongside you in the working line. They will be just a shoulder-width away.

You don't stay at the front of the recovery line for long. As the next rider follows your routine, you will find her back wheel moving across in front of you. Be wary as this rider is changing direction and is blind as to the consequences behind her. It is you who has to take any steps to avoid collision.

One by one, riders come through in the working line and you slowly move backwards until you are the second-to-last rider in the recovery line.

It is good to have a mental note of the relative position of all the riders in the group. Two are particularly important - the one who was directly in front of you when you were in the working line and the person who was in front of her.

While in the recovery line you should get any incidental actions out of the way… taking a drink, adjusting your glasses etc…. as you next need start concentrating on getting yourself across into the working line.

When the person who was two-ahead when you were both in the working line draws level with you, an unseen action will be happening behind your back. It is time for that rider behind to move across. If all goes well, you will soon see her front wheel appear out of the corner of your eye, confirming that she is out of your way and you can contemplate your own move across.

Transferring yourself from the back of the recovery line involves a change of direction, relative to the other riders in the group, and it calls for an acceleration. This can be the hardest phase in the rotation process.

Good judgement is needed: delay too long in the recovery line and you find yourself having to close a gap in order to get back on but move too soon and you may find your front wheel dangerously close to the rear wheel of the rider you are about to follow. Bad judgement could cause an accident (too close) or the need for sudden braking (leaving to you too far adrift)… and the battle to avoid being off the back can be very energy absorbing/non-productive.

And that's all there is too it. You've just learnt how to do through-and-off.

I'll write something further about tactics in an imperfect world later but for a start it's best to know how to do it right.

The forward speed of the working line is the same as the speed of the group you are riding in. Joint effort like this typically adds 4-8mph to the fastest speed that any one rider could sustain on their own.

On a calm day with no wind at all, riders will work in a straight line. Your body is the biggest source of air resistance, not your bike. When there is a cross wind, shelter your body as much as possible. When riding to one side of the rider ahead, the formation is called an echelon and it runs across the road at 45º.

Once you are behind another rider you will benefit from slip-steaming. Those dealing in theory calculate that you require 25% less effort when you are the rider behind rather than the rider in front.

The effort of your leg muscles (measured in watts) at each stage of the through-and-off sequence looks something like this:

The closer you are to the rider in front, the better the bonus from slip-streaming, but for improved safety, riders are advised to position their front wheel a couple of inches to one side of the wheel they are following so there is a bit more time/scope for reaction should a mishap occur.

January 2004 - John Leitch