Reading the Race: Bike Racing from Inside the Peloton

by Jamie Smith, Chris Horner (Contribution by)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781937715106
Publisher:	VeloPress
Publication date:	10/01/2013
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

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.

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

Editorial Reviews

"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

From the Publisher