STP

It's great to learn about all the team tactics and strategies from these threads, but what if you're unattached? Certainly there's the "be first and win," strategy, but if you're riding alone in a field of 50 or more and you're CAT 4 or CAT 5, what should you be doing?

Do you try to look for commonality with other unattached riders before or during the race? Do you just set personal goals and ride like hell? Do you mooch good air during the race hoping to have something for the end? Being unattached in cyclocross or mountain biking racing isn't such a big deal for me because everyone else is encountering the same obstacles and there aren't as many team tactics going on.

What's your advise for the "unattached?"

timster

Pretty much, yeah.

Teamwork isn't really relevant/needed for cat 4/5 races.

Racer Ex 

Attack. Don't chase down breaks, bridge up instead. If you don't crawl away from the race you didn't try hard enough. If you don't beat your friends easily in those city limit sign sprints, don't even think about sitting in for the sprint.

topflightpro

I'd suggest sitting in and letting the teams do the work, then sprinting for the finish. That is how I won my race a few weeks ago when I was the only person from my team in the field.

That said, I've only been in one 4/5 race that actually had team tactics working - it was last week and it was only because my team was smart enough to work together despite being outnumbered by two other teams who did not seem to want to work together or did not know how to work together.

There were about 35 guys in the field and there were two teams with at least four riders. My team had three guys out there, but each of us is working toward our 3 upgrades, so we are a bit more experienced that many of the 4s and 5s in the field.

One of my teammates attacked several times early in the race, but nothing stuck. Then my other teammate attacked with another guy and they were able to build a good half lap lead. At that point, I basically took third wheel in the field and stayed there. Every time the guys in front of me would tire and pull off, I would sit up. I told several people flat out - "I have a guy in the break. I'm not doing any work." I was racing for third place.

My guy took second - he doesn't have much of a sprint, but he's a hell of a TT'er.

bostongarden

I wouldn't sweat it or over think it. Think about a race objective and stay focused on that.

jwible

This needs to be repeated, and it doesn't just apply to unattached riders.

merlinextraligh

If you're not successful in getting in a break, and are contesting the field sprint, look around for the team with a sprinter that they are trying to set up, and use their leadout as your leadout.

Admittedly in most 4/5 races there's not going to a be a true leadout train, but you can often spot a situation where one or two teamates are working to set up their sprinter friend. Use them to your benefit.

Also, attacking on the final lap one or two turns early can work in a 4/5 race. Because you often don't have teams with guys designated to keep the pace up, the pace will drop in the final lap with everyone trying to setup for the sprint.

If you can attack just before a turn, you can go through faster than the group, and because you're one unattached rider, you may not get an immediate, or well organized, response.

shovelhd

It's no different than when you're attached and don't have any or many teammates in the race. Ride your own race. Have a strategy and try to execute it. Know the teams and players and develop your sense for when something is about to happen. Most importantly, like RacerEx said, know what you are capable of and what you are not, and assume that any efforts on your part are going to be solo. For example, if you know you have one 90 second effort in your legs, don't go chasing a break that's 30 seconds up without help.

rbart4506

Yup!

I couldn't sprint my way out of a paper bag, so the last 500m of the race rolls along my goal is to stay upright...I stay out of the way of those that have business contesting for the sprint...

mattm

If they aren't winning the city limit sprints, you think they can attack and stay away from the field?

(I realize you're saying if you're not a sprinter, don't sprint - but just because you aren't a sprinter, it doesn't mean you can attack and stay away..)

If by chance you are (or might be) a sprinter, stay out of the wind the whole time, and wait for that final sprint to take the win.

Team tactics seem to mean less in crits, and even less in 4/5 crits. I wouldn't worry too much about being alone, most everyone will feel the same way.

waterrockets 

If a rider can't sprint and can't attack, then it's time to reassess strengths and limiters. You should be able to do one of those better than the other. I have no hope of ever staying away on a solo attack, but I attack all the time. I've won races because of solo attacks when the right people bridge up to me.

When I really started figuring out how to win races back in 2008, I still thought I was a sprinter, but couldn't win sprints (I still can't, in spite of my good sprint power). I started attacking, bridging, and hitting the kilo finishes. All of these are so much more aggressive than how I'd raced in the past. Previously, I thought it was silly to attack because I suck at TTs, but I wasn't winning with the sit-in-and-sprint strategy, so I tried it. It worked.

shovelhd

Right, but you're attached to one of the strongest, if not THE strongest, Master's teams in Texas. Riders are going to bridge up to you because you are a marked man. They know you have the horsepower to stay away with help, you'll get help, and you're not a pure sprinter. I'd bridge to you in a heartbeat. This is not the case with the OP, which is why I emphasized knowing what you can do and what you can't, and to assume you'll be solo for a bit. If he's bridging, then he should make the effort within his capabilities.

Shuke

This.

Racer Ex 

Why not? I can. That's how I won a lot of my races. I can also sprint OK, but mostly I sprint OK because I try to make sure the field is beat down pretty good beforehand.

If you aren't a sprinter sitting in and waiting for the sprint is dumb, unless you want a mediocre workout and no chance of winning (this being directed at the OP who is asking for strategic tips and not how to merely hang on). This is, of course, excluding the once in a blue moon crashfest where the top 15 guys crash themselves out and 16th place rolls across with one of those WTF expressions.

Barring that, you've got a better chance burning whatever match(es) you have taking a flyer or getting in a break. If nothing else you'll get a better workout, a better sense of what you can or can't do, and the pride in knowing that you raced your bike and didn't sit around picking your nose for 17th.

So if you aren't a sprinter, be creative. Attack. Bridge. Talk to one or two other guys and take a group flyer. Figure out the best places on the course to get separation. Put on your thinking cap.

If you are a sprinter, sit in and pass the doughnuts.

Exactly.

And the best way to find out those capabilities is to give it a go.

4/5 yes. But P1/2 ? Masters open? Team tactics are huge. And P/1 NRC type stuff? That's ALL that matters.

TheBand

Realize that in a Cat 4 and Cat 5 that realistically as an unattached rider you have a lot more in common with the majority of the field than you do with the 10 or so that are actually truly working as a team

shovelhd

They don't even have to be on the same team. If you're not pulling your weight in the break, rest assured, upper echelon riders know how to dispose of you in short order. Even if you were, when it comes down to the end, everyone is trying to blow everyone else off the back. That said, RacerEx is right on. The higher up the class you move, the better the riders and the stronger the tactics.

As he says, give it a go. Group rides and training races are great for this. So are indoor workouts. The trainer is unforgiving.

Voodoo76

On the flip side of this I've known some riders who turned out to be pretty good sprinters once they gave themselves a chance (myself included). Take even a good sprinter and have him attack, bridge, lead out and odds are he gets buried in a field sprint. So from that time foreword he's gonna assume he can't sprint.

One of the great freedoms of riding unattached is you can try playing out a few different strategies w/o your "buddies" getting pissed at you. You don't owe anybody anything

Go to training races and try on a few different styles, see what gets you consistently in the top 10.

Brian Ratliff

Lots of good advice. My 2 cents is to use the 4/5 races as a playground and experiment with different ways to win. Take some fliers and put your head down and just turn the cranks, even if you are solo. See how long you can hold off the field. Do some bridging to groups that look strong. Play around in the field sprint and see if you can hold your own.

I didn't really know I was a sprinter until I won some races as one. I didn't know I had the horsepower to break away (and stay away) solo until I did it a couple times. Use these races to stretch your abilities and discover what kind of racer you are. And hey, nobody said you have to win a race one way. If you are a sprinter who has the horses to break away in certain conditions, more power to ya.

caloso

Yes.

STP

Thanks for all the good responses. I like that there's a lot of consensus in the group. It's reassuring. I've got a race each day this weekend. I'll post back up Monday what the outcome of my experience and experimentation is.

Voodoo76

Like this statement. A lot of riders just drift through races, not even aware of hundreds of little decisions they are making.

STP

I put up an 8th and 6th place showing this weekend and learned a lot. Thanks for all the responses. They were good and, generally, spot on. The was an observation and awareness weekend; a time to keep my head up and watch all that happened. End of the month will give me six more crit opportunities. I posted in the Race Report thread for those interested.

Again, thanks.

simp77

8th and 6th, very nice!

captnfantastic

I'm a 4 and I mess around all the time in my crits. I just try everything I can. See how a field reacts. I break away, take long pulls, sit in. My results vary but ive won on sprint finishes and solo breakaways. It doesnt happen often but I enjoy interesting racing much more than super calculated racing. Its good to learn how a charging field reacts at different times in a race under different circumstances. I will save the super tactics and full race sit-in-wait-for-sprint-finish for when if ever I become a 2.