Deest said:
Thanks Carl, the best I could find on the club websites was a Melways
reference for the starting point. I was wondering if anyone had a
course map that's all.
Have a look around, I think Sunbury have profiles of the
courses that get used in the northern combine.
Quoted message said:Also I read elswhere on this forum where a newbie broke away from his
grade and a marshall rode out to him and told him to wait for his
bunch. Seemed to defeat the purpose of racing I thought! So I was
wondering if you have to all stick together until the final lap
perhaps.
If the race is under control, which is often the case for the first
part of a lower grade race (and also the Tour de France!), then
attacks are disallowed until the control period is completed.
Be aware though, that if you are a lot (or just enough) strong
enough to solo off, that may not be in your long term
interests. There's more to winning races and enjoying
the racing than getting thrown quickly into a faster bunch. You
want to learn how to contest bunch sprints, how to read
a pack and position in it, how to race in hills, descents and
crosswinds and so on. I usually suggest to the riders that I
coach that they stay in a lower grade until they think they've
learnt as much as they can (or they get kicked up a grade
for winning too much!). You can learn a lot when you
have the energy to move around in a bunch and pay attention,
and make a few mistakes. As you go up the grades it gets
harder and more strategic, and the price of making tactical
errors is greater.
Quoted message said:With regard to not drafting other grades how do you know what grade a
rider or a bunch of riders is in? Or do you just remeber the bunch you
started with
Usually you'll know! Often the different grades have different
coloured numbers, and will (usually, but not always) be going
significantly faster.
