Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Road Cycling
Reload this Page >

Attacking as a team

Notices
Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Attacking as a team

Old 11-26-14, 11:26 AM
  #1  
r2c11v
Newbie
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Attacking as a team

This is my noobie question.

I am relatively new to cycling and been watching a lot of professional racing on youtube and noticed that outside of sprint stages, I've never seen a team attack together. Why wouldn't a team work together to break away? They would all be motivated to work together. I always see the big teams leading the peloton anyways, so they are already doing most of the work.
r2c11v is offline  
Old 11-26-14, 11:30 AM
  #2  
canam73
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Haunchyville
Posts: 6,407
Mentioned: 9 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 13 Post(s)
Liked 10 Times in 6 Posts
Originally Posted by r2c11v
This is my noobie question.

I am relatively new to cycling and been watching a lot of professional racing on youtube and noticed that outside of sprint stages, I've never seen a team attack together. Why wouldn't a team work together to break away? They would all be motivated to work together. I always see the big teams leading the peloton anyways, so they are already doing most of the work.
To easy to follow. As soon as the other teams see that coming together they will all work together to shut it down. That is why it can sometimes take 100k before a break forms. The peloton will bring back any mix that appears to powerful, especially if it is predominately one team.

On a sprint, a team only needs to dominate for a short period, and rarely actually gets a gap, just a few riders that get whittled down to a single lead out.
canam73 is offline  
Old 11-26-14, 11:39 AM
  #3  
Bradleykd
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Georgetown, KY
Posts: 782

Bikes: '12 Felt Z85, '22 Canyon Neuron, '23 Lynskey Pro 29

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 76 Post(s)
Liked 14 Times in 7 Posts
Yup. It is very seldom that a break-away wins. It is usually one guy who feels strong and will make a jump and a few guys from other teams will stay on his wheel so that if the peloton does not catch back up, their team has a man in the break. Usually it is smaller teams that don't have much shot at winning that send a rider on a break away so that they get some tv time and attention. It's mostly advertising for their title sponsor. Break aways on mountain stages are different, they usually form from the strongest climbers that drop everyone else on the climb. If there are low cat climbs all the way to the finish, a lot of times these breaks can go for the finish because the peloton loses most of it's advantage on major climbs.
Bradleykd is offline  
Old 11-26-14, 11:49 AM
  #4  
Leinster
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: location location
Posts: 3,033

Bikes: MBK Super Mirage 1991, CAAD10, Yuba Mundo Lux, and a Cannondale Criterium Single Speed

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 343 Post(s)
Liked 292 Times in 205 Posts
It happens once in a while. Virtually the whole Saxo-Tinkoff team got off the front in stage 13 of the Tour in 2013 and it was the only time Contador was able to put time into Froome that year. Go to 2.09.00 on this clip; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrMTYEYacOQ
Leinster is offline  
Old 11-26-14, 12:19 PM
  #5  
r2c11v
Newbie
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Leinster
It happens once in a while. Virtually the whole Saxo-Tinkoff team got off the front in stage 13 of the Tour in 2013 and it was the only time Contador was able to put time into Froome that year. Go to 2.09.00 on this clip; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrMTYEYacOQ
Yeah that was a nice move in a crosswind.
r2c11v is offline  
Old 11-26-14, 12:26 PM
  #6  
Kaminokaze
Senior Member
 
Kaminokaze's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: SF East Bay
Posts: 261

Bikes: Cevelo R5, Spyder Bike, Fuji Rubaix Pro,Gary Fisher Sugar

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 51 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Leinster
It happens once in a while. Virtually the whole Saxo-Tinkoff team got off the front in stage 13 of the Tour in 2013 and it was the only time Contador was able to put time into Froome that year. Go to 2.09.00 on this clip; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrMTYEYacOQ

Yes Classic Cross Wind move bring the team forward and caught SKY napping. Full Speed Ahead Captain
Kaminokaze is offline  
Old 11-26-14, 12:54 PM
  #7  
beatlebee 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: ?
Posts: 2,300

Bikes: i may have bike(s)

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 46 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Typical tactic is when a teammate goes for a break, the other teammates sit on the front of the peloton riding a "false tempo" pace meaning they basically are acting to slow the peloton down. If someone from another team doesn't like this, they have to come around and do the work to catch the break.
beatlebee is offline  
Old 11-26-14, 01:06 PM
  #8  
r2c11v
Newbie
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Thanks for all the replies. Its been bugging me, so I appreciate everyone's input. It's given me a better understanding of team strategy and why its rare to see a team break away.
r2c11v is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
MinnMan
Professional Cycling For the Fans
13
08-01-18 01:17 AM
_ForceD_
Professional Cycling For the Fans
1
07-28-18 08:30 AM
buddy
Professional Cycling For the Fans
25
06-20-15 12:57 AM
Ken Brown
Professional Cycling For the Fans
9
07-21-12 09:10 PM
indybiker01
Professional Cycling For the Fans
16
07-27-10 01:33 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.