Attacking is hard! Attacking and actually getting a gap is harder!
So how do you do it?
Here are seven tips to help you make a success attack on your group rides and races.
1. Commit to the plan of attacking and getting away. This means throw away plan b of sitting in. Most people try to attack only once or twice and try to time it perfectly. The first attacks don’t seem to work so they change plans and sit in the group.
2. Don’t attack full gas. If you are going on the offense, use lower zones to attack with. This is so you have gas in the tank if there is a counter attack. I see many riders drop themselves right out of the winning move by attacking so hard they can’t stay away once they are clear.
3. If you are going on the offense, attack in places where there are distinct changes in speed from slow to fast. This can be out of corners, head wind to tail wind, or the tops of climbs.
4. Stop trying to pull the Houdini! Attack in places that work instead of trying to time your attack so you magically vanish when the best rider sneezes.
5. Make a 30 second leash limit. If you are taking a defensive strategy, commit to not letting any rider (s) get up to a 30 gap. This way you are in all moves that go, both covering and bridging to other riders.
6. Stop obsessing where the best riders are. Everyone always marks the best riders to get in the moves, but unless you are in the yellow jersey, you should be trying to go places without them! This strategy usually fails everyone is doing the same thing and they cancel the best riders out and you in the process.
7. Be relentless. In order to snap the elastic you have to keep trying. You can stop trying when you get in the move or your legs seize up to the point they are quivering.
