Strategy on Qualifying for Tournament

roundsquare1 said:

I will be entering a 6 week Sprint Tourney and was interesting in knowing what the best way to go into this would be?

Sprint Tournaments begin with 200 meter time trials to qualify. The total number of riders will dictate how deep we go into the qualifying times

Should I go max effort or hold back to perhaps get a lower position but ensuring that I qualify?

This is the first time I've done this and would love any and all advice.

I'am not aware of any sprinters that would attempt to qualify with anything other than their best effort.

6002 said:

I'am not aware of any sprinters that would attempt to qualify with anything other than their best effort.

alright then. that's the suggestion that I needed.

dont even comtemplate anything less than 100%!!!!!!!!!!!

if you just worry about qualifying and not giving everything then you'll end up in the bottom half of the draw and come up against faster riders in the next rounds, they have the confidence of knowing that they qualified above you even if you might be a faster sprinter.

also if possible watch every match race, that way you can see the styles of the riders you'll be up against. you'll be able to work out if different riders prefer to lead out or come from behind, whether they prefer long or short sprints and whether they are physically rough (every sprinter is but to what degree)

good luck and remember to leave everything on the track, dont hold back!!!! post your results so we can see how you went

when eddy ruled said:

dont even comtemplate anything less than 100%!!!!!!!!!!!

if you just worry about qualifying and not giving everything then you'll end up in the bottom half of the draw and come up against faster riders in the next rounds, they have the confidence of knowing that they qualified above you even if you might be a faster sprinter.

also if possible watch every match race, that way you can see the styles of the riders you'll be up against. you'll be able to work out if different riders prefer to lead out or come from behind, whether they prefer long or short sprints and whether they are physically rough (every sprinter is but to what degree)

good luck and remember to leave everything on the track, dont hold back!!!! post your results so we can see how you went

Thanks! This is exactly the advice I was looking for. I have/had no idea how it's set up. I thought the slower race against the slower and by saving a little be able to get a feel for the competition.

After reading the suggestions, I realize that it's a silly way of thinking of it.

I plan on laying the hammer down at every attempt.

Thanks again for the tips.

I'll post results in a few weeks.

roundsquare1 said:

alright then. that's the suggestion that I needed.

I agree with 6002, you have to qualify in the best time possible to get the easiest first round. This is because the fastest qualifier faces the slowest, the second fastest faces the second slowest etc.

Although, if you are facing a slower qualifying rider in the first round, it pays not to be complacent. In the Victorian Championships for Elite men this year, the fastest qualifier was knocked out in the first round when he underestimated his supposed slower opponent.

in the women's pursuit at the commonwealths katie mactier broke the games record in her qualifying ride, however in the gold medal ride she won in a time that was 5 seconds slower!
so she went all out in quali and then just survived in the final

velodrome.co.nr said:

in the women's pursuit at the commonwealths katie mactier broke the games record in her qualifying ride, however in the gold medal ride she won in a time that was 5 seconds slower!
so she went all out in quali and then just survived in the final

The fastest times are almost always during qualifying. In the later rounds people are more fatigued, and a person only needs to be an inch faster than their opponent so a time as fast as possible is secondary.

velodrome.co.nr said:

in the women's pursuit at the commonwealths katie mactier broke the games record in her qualifying ride, however in the gold medal ride she won in a time that was 5 seconds slower!
so she went all out in quali and then just survived in the final

Practically everyone else takes the same approach, as it is rare that you have the luxury of holding back in qualifying knowing that you'll still make the ride-off for 1-2 (or 3-4).

What was different about the Commonwealth Games is that the riders only had a few hours to recover before the medal rounds...now that had to have hurt!