Originally Posted by
topflightpro
Someone once told me if you're not moving up in the group, you're moving backward. In my experience, that has pretty much always proven true. So, if you want to hold a position near the front, you really need to be constantly working to move up in the field.
+1 Every rider who comes up the far side of the field and slots in somewhere ahead of you has just pushed you back a rider.
This is the head game of racing. You have to keep you eyes open for opportunities to move up. Sometimes my gut said "move up" Sometimes I did it and had good races (and once, I felt a nudge on my rear tire a minute after the move. My club vets said that rider was a crash waiting to happen and not my fault at all. Without that little internal nudge, I''d have been part of the pile-up. And another race I didn't listen, the break went away on that long hill (my home territory) and I missed an excellent chance to qualify for the Nationals. All I had to do was be there.
Ben