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    Reading the Race: Bike Racing from Inside the Peloton

    Reading the Race: Bike Racing from Inside the Peloton

    5.0 1

    by Jamie Smith, Chris Horner (Contribution by)


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      ISBN-13: 9781937716486
    • Publisher: VeloPress
    • Publication date: 09/13/2013
    • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
    • Format: eBook
    • Pages: 256
    • Sales rank: 349,534
    • File size: 8 MB

    Jamie Smith is a veteran bike racer and bike race announcer. He has been a bike racer since 1983 working his way up through the ranks of amateur cycling, and a bike race announcer since 1985 traveling with some of the world's greatest cyclists. He spent several years in public relations for a sleepy Detroit suburb, receiving one Emmy nomination and several Telly Awards. Writing repetitive press releases and boring speeches inspired him to find something more exciting to write about: bike racing. A graduate of Central Michigan University's Broadcast and Cinematic Arts program, Jamie has become adept at describing cycling's most complex intricacies to normal people. His first book, Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer, was selected as a 2009 Notable Book by the Library of Michigan. He has since taken on the role of sport director to translate the complexities of bike racing for befuddled bike racers who mistakenly chase down their own teammates, miss the winning breakaway, and consistently finish one place out of the money. He currently lives in Rochester, Michigan, with his 11 bikes, 2 surfboards, 1 rowing scull, and 5 pair of cross-country skis.
    Chris Horner is one of cycling's most popular and observant riders, blessed with a rare ability to read a race in progress and describe it fluently afterward. He began his long pro career in the U.S. in 1995 with PAA-NutraFig; moved to Europe for three years with Française des Jeux; and then returned to America to guide the Mercury, Prime Alliance, Saturn, and Webcor teams, with whom he won nearly every major race on the domestic calendar. A three-time national racing calendar champion, winner of the 2013 Vuelta a España, Tour de Langkawi, the Tour de Georgia, the Tour of the Basque Country, and the Tour of California, Horner led the 2012 U.S. Olympic squad and currently rides for RadioShack-Leopard-Trek, where his veteran counsel and unflappable temper make him the go-to guy for tactics, race smarts, and planning.

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    Table of Contents

    PREFACE

    CHAPTER 1: WHAT'S MY MOTIVATION?
    Why Do You Race?
    The Pro Game versus Our Game
    Euro Pro
    American Pro
    American Amateur
    Mistakes Amateur Teams Make
    How Tactics Have Changed
    Tactics in Other Sports

    CHAPTER 2: BASIC TECHNIQUES
    Basic Training
    Bike Handling
    Cornering
    Drinking and Eating
    Looking Over Your Shoulder
    Braking
    Standing

    Stretching
    Shifting/Gearing

    CHAPTER 3: ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
    Riding in the Rain
    Holding a Steady Speed
    Bumping Others
    Pacelines and Rotating Pacelines
    Echelons
    Economy of Motion
    Peeing While Riding
    Handling Speed
    Descending
    Self Made Speed
    Intervals
    Seeing Movements
    Climbing
    Recon the Course
    Getting Psyched Up (or Out)
    Pack Riding
    Playing the Accordion
    Gaining Position
    Claustrophobia
    Avoiding Crashes

    CHAPTER 4: ATTACKING
    The Breakaway
    Slingshot
    Broadcasting Intentions
    Faux Attack
    Bungee Attack
    Size of the Break
    Working with a Teammate
    Breakaways That Don't Work
    Blocking
    Gatekeepers
    Chasing, Bridging, Reeling, Catching
    Bridging Distance
    Chasing Your Own Team
    Not Caught 'til it's Caught
    Division of Power

    CHAPTER 5: WINNING AND OTHER LOFTY GOALS
    Joop
    Reading the Race
    Overfamiliarity
    Patience
    Working the Break
    Roll Call
    Getting Rid of Them
    Should I Stay orShould I Go?

    CHAPTER 6: SPRINTING
    Measuring Distance
    Positioning
    Lead Out
    Form
    Communications
    Get On My Wheel
    Combines
    Picking the Right Strangers
    Sharing the Booty
    Going Solo

    CHAPTER 7: TIME TRIALS
    Knowing the Course - Intimately
    All Wind is Not Created Equal
    Climbing and Descending
    Man and Machine
    High Alert
    Heavy Wind

    CHAPTER 8: DECISIONS, DECISIONS
    Caught
    When a Crash Occurs
    Cloudburst
    First 5 Laps, Last 5 Laps
    When to Relax
    Suffering, Tail gunning, Punching Tickets
    Front or Back?
    Helping a Brother Out
    DNF versus Finish at allCosts

    CHAPTER 9: ASSEMBLING THE PERFECT TEAM
    Club versus Team
    Recruiting
    Chemistry
    Sacrifice
    Practicing as a Team
    Assessing Strengths and Assigning Roles
    Practicing as a Team
    Group Training Rides
    Picking the Right Ride
    Finding the Ride
    Worlds
    Making the Grade
    Working as a Team in an Open Group Ride
    Racing as a Team
    Goals
    Team Meetings
    How to Win, Place,or Show
    Going for It
    Luck
    Splitting the Winnings
    An Honest Assessment of Your Contribution

    CHAPTER 10: GO RACE

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    In Reading the Race, race announcer Jamie Smith and veteran road captain Chris Horner team up to deliver a master class in bike racing strategies and tactics. Armed with strategies and tactics learned over thousands of races, cyclists and cycling fans will learn how to read a race--and see how to win it.

    Bike racing is called a rolling chess game for a reason. Sure, a high pain threshold and a killer VO2max are helpful. But if you're in it to win it, you need race smarts. Starting breaks, forming alliances, managing a lapped field, setting up a sprint--on every page, Horner and Smith reveal new secrets to faster racing and better results.

    Smith and Horner dissect common mistakes, guiding riders with lessons learned from decades of racing experience. Reading the Race reveals the veteran's eye view on:

    • Assembling the best possible team
    • Crafting strategies around the team, course, and rivals
    • Reacting instantly to common scenarios
    • Making deals and combines
    • Breaks, echelons, blocking
    • Pack protocol and etiquette
    • Finishing in the prize money or on the podium
    • Winning the group ride

     
    Whether you're a new racer, an aspiring pro, a team manager, or even a roadside fan, Reading the Race will elevate your cycling IQ for better racing.

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    From the Publisher
    "Horner's anecdotes make Reading the Race a worthwhile read for those whose primary interest is the European pro peloton, but really the book isn't aimed at the armchair rider, it's a practical manual for those who want to learn the tricks of the trade." - Podium Cafe

    "The descriptions of specific group tactics, such as pacelines, echelon riding and the like, are clearly illustrated and annotated. If you have any doubts as to how any are to be implemented in real life, these leave no doubt as to how each ought to be successfuly accomplished." - The Washing Machine Post

    "In the Reading the Race, [Horner and Smith have] outlined the key mechanics of reading a race - and more importantly, how to win. Starting breaks, forming alliances, managing a lapped field, setting up for a sprint, it's all there." - Road Bike Review

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