There’s a lot more to road racing than simply getting out there and going as fast as you can. All teams in the professional peloton go into races with a clear pre-race strategy. This means it’s not good enough simply being or having the strongest rider – you need to get your tactics right too.
From choosing the right riders for the course, to having a plan for every scenario in the race, the right preparation and good cycling race tactics gives you the best chance of success.
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Of course, even the best-laid plans can unravel if bad luck intervenes as it did for Wiggle-Honda in this year’s La Course by Le Tour de France. With one of the 13 laps of the Champs-Elysees to go, Jolien D’Hoore lost her lead-out rider Chloe Hosking to a puncture, meaning the Belgian had to settle for second in the biggest one-day race on the pro women’s calendar. Until that point, despite a number of crashes, all had been looking good for the British-based team.
Although there's only one individual winner, cycling in races like La Course or the TdF itself is most definitely a team sport. As with any such activity, each member of the team must know their own particular roles and responsibilities, and know how that fits into the bigger picture of team tactics.
“Our directeur sportif split the team,†explained team owner Rochelle Gilmore, Wiggle-Honda team owner. “We had two sprinters – D’Hoore and Georgia Bronzini – with two leadout riders each. If Georgia wasn’t feeling good in the race then the plan was she would give her two lead-out riders to D’Hoore.
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