Tactics in Racing Psychology

[Trunnions]

I, and many others here, would appreciate your tips on using psychological tactics in races. The basics, plus the fine arts please.

It's probably best to divide them into two areas:

1) Your personal attitude, and strategy in the race.

2) Dealing with opponents during the race.

To start us off, I'll mention this from a club race last week.

I was pushing on, solo, up a 18 km long climb averaging 6%+ gradient, and feeling good overtaking riders. Then one of them clamped onto my back-wheel, and I noticed a subtle change in my mentality. The wheel sucker really drained my mental resources, not until I shook him off did I regain my composure and began to enjoy pushing on solo again. The point is, I was surprised how dramatic an effect just sitting on my wheel was. I made a mental note to use the same tactic myself in future.

How do you deal mentally with wheel limpets?

 

[Vonn Brinkman]

How do you deal mentally with wheel limpets?

You break them physically, then mentally they will be in trouble and you will be freed.

 

[Monsanto]

How do you deal mentally with wheel limpets?

Change your speed often- people hate that. Unfortunately, it's hard to do!

A few random ideas on racing psychology:
Lots of people find visualizing to really help a lot. If you've practiced something in your head often, it happens almost automatically in a race as the neural patterns have been put into place.

Having some kind of phrase or mantra to repeat during crunch time in a race can help too. ie. when you are riding solo, "breath, power, don't think". It can help you from thinking too much at times when you shouldn't be thinking

Using reference points in the landscape might help too. ie. going as hard as you can until a distant farmhouse, then find the next driveway, then until the next corner, etc. so that you break your effort into mini sections, instead of realizing there are 70km to go before the finish.

Some people are psychotic and don't seem to need mental techniques so much, but I over-analyse everything and always second guess my efforts, so mental training really helps me...

 

[mercycle]

Wait until they get really close, then slam on your brakes. It helps if you can wiggle the back wheel a bit to take out their front wheel.

They're behind, the onus is on them to avoid your wheel.



Learn how to accelerate when seated by increasing your cadence without any visible sign on your body. Look at a good track rider; if you're on their wheel and they start doing this you wind up looking down at your speedo and saying "WTF?".
Works great on flats or uphill.

Going uphill, if you start whistling or talking to them ("Man what a nice day for a ride. I wish this hill were longer") as you increase pace is a nice addition. A few minutes of this and you'll hear "You effin A hole" as they drop off.

Not that I've ever done that...

 

[meandmygitane]

I was pushing on, solo, up a 18 km long climb averaging 6%+ gradient, and feeling good overtaking riders. Then one of them clamped onto my back-wheel, and I noticed a subtle change in my mentality. The wheel sucker really drained my mental resources, not until I shook him off did I regain my composure and began to enjoy pushing on solo again. The point is, I was surprised how dramatic an effect just sitting on my wheel was. I made a mental note to use the same tactic myself in future.

How do you deal mentally with wheel limpets?

You just tell Levi(or Pippo): what would Merckx do?

 

[brianf7]

When they sit on in head wind you just blow your nose then next time you do it attack and there is a gap. splatt!!!!!
these guys are the worst if you have to do a turn realy have to, you do it going down hill , early in the race so you have time to recover, then just hide and hope no body notices you are still there.
Sit on sprinters there the worst

 

[SpartacusRox]

You break them physically, then mentally they will be in trouble and you will be freed.

I agree. Generally if they are sitting on your after you have overtaken them then they will be close to their limit. Just varying your pace will generally crack them. Just be carefull that you don't make the mistake that i see many amateur cyclists do. They attack hard to drop the limpet but in doing so put themselves deep into the red and then have to sit up and recover and of course the limpet claws his way back on.

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

Attitude & Strategy:

Go ball's out from the gun, smash it off the front and lay down the hurt...after 10 mins look back and see who is with you, this is your group and you will work together to stay away.....ride collectively and positive. May the strongest, fittest & smartest man win on the day.
If this doesn't work, go and train harder and smarter, or you're racing in the wrong grade.

Dealing with opponents:

See above, they can be useful! - as for wheel suckers and those who wont come through for a pull. That's up to you mate, if you wanna drag some muppet to the line and then get beaten as he sprints past, you need to grow a set. I've been in a bunch where some muscle head is pounding on the front, into the wind and laying it down...we had a couple of d!cks sitting on the back. He went back after his pull and told them to come through or F@#K off - next rotation, no sign of these pretty boy's so Mr Muscle head dropped back and whacked one on them in chops!! the other guy got the message and sat up and waited for the next group to come through.

Uphill Wheel Limpets:

Ride at your own pace / tempo - forget they're there or burst out of the saddle, stomp the pedals, lay down some hurt! - if you drop him, you're the stronger guy, if not - he's a better / stronger climber and revert to above comments on harder / smarter training.

Most of all.....relax!! it's a club race, it's not like you're trying to qualify for the World Champs or the Olympics. Have fun and keep it in perspective -

 

[usedtobefast]

a guy sitting on your wheel? slow down and get on his wheel. works, and when you get nice and rested attack. repeat as needed

 

[Trunnions]

Thank you for your quality replies, some real food for the cerebrum there. I'll digest them and come back for more later.

Incidentally, I started the exact same thread at the BikeForum, and just look at the kind of replies I got there...

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?690023-Tactics-in-Racing-Psychology&p=11670057#post11670057

 

[M Sport]

To start us off, I'll mention this from a club race last week.

I was pushing on, solo, up a 18 km long climb averaging 6%+ gradient, and feeling good overtaking riders. Then one of them clamped onto my back-wheel, and I noticed a subtle change in my mentality. The wheel sucker really drained my mental resources, not until I shook him off did I regain my composure and began to enjoy pushing on solo again. The point is, I was surprised how dramatic an effect just sitting on my wheel was. I made a mental note to use the same tactic myself in future.

How do you deal mentally with wheel limpets?

Unless there were no riders left in front of you i.e. you had just hit the front I wouldn't be worrying about riders you just passed. If he was weak enough for you to overtake then I'm picking he would probably not be able to hold the increased speed for too long after you passed him anyway.

Other factors may of course come into play like how long there is to the finish after the top of the climb.

 

[supercameron]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2GXeHbsG40
the best psychology out there

 

[nvpacchi]

Thank you for your quality replies, some real food for the cerebrum there. I'll digest them and come back for more later.

Incidentally, I started the exact same thread at the BikeForum, and just look at the kind of replies I got there...

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?690023-Tactics-in-Racing-Psychology&p=11670057#post11670057

How dare you interrupt their circle jerk .

Personally I think it is really important to not take yourself too seriously. If you're pulling an absolute hard@ss, whose focus and life goal is to move a racing category seem to be the easiest to fluster. Try cracking jokes, talking to him in a really nonchalant attitude, and he will probably get tenser and tenser, hence cracking earlier.

Also I think going overboard on really ridiculous stretches while on the bike (back, arms, shoulders, etc.), as long as you can keep the speed up, is a subtle morale weapon against an opponent.

 

[Black-Balled]

Force> Tactics.

 

[fatandfast]

not taking yourself to seriously is sound advice. Best way to become a good pack rider is to know how to ride alone. There are very few lower cat races that have any selection sections so the fact that you had a race w a big climb is great. Best advice to not get caught up inside yourself is shake hands with your surrounding starters at the line w a "good luck today". Knowing how fast you can go is super important. Lower cat races are 100 guys against you and people attack by rolling off the front w a dozen guys in tow. At the end of what the attacker thinks was effective move will be some form of outrage that people are sucking wheel or not pulling through. Learn how to attack. That means a gap of a few seconds and yes learning the skill may ruin a race or 2 or 10. Also if you have a club w lots of riders w similar abilities divide the race into section and give a few team mates a goal. If the rest of the pack does not understand your suicide tactics it very amusing. Example if 2 of your team mates never intend on finishing instead have the halfway point as their finish they continue to jump and disrupt others with constant bombs off the front that set a mental tone for others.."this guy is crazy..he will never be able to do this for 50 miles,ect,.. he is going WAY too f-ing hard!" .That's the point ,the focus on riders doing stupid things is what makes lower cat races. Any energy or concentration focused on rabbits or anything else takes away valuable energy both mental and physical from the end of the race. The end of the race is critical in the lower cats because huge curb to curb field sprints are the typical because of the ebb and flow of races and racers who are so equally skilled. You need a separate skill will define you..so it is best to make that skill a 3 minute TT rather than a super fast last 100ft which more times than not end up with road rash or the mental equivalent. The end of the race has a crunch..where even the fastest most experience guys get scared and a bit wigged out..learn to be in the front when the finish is developing. Be in the top ten in a fast race is a skill in itself. Lower cat races are all about the finish w almost nothing important happening in the the middle. So you have to learn how to finish before you learn the rest of the skill set.Not to overstae the obvious but.. if you can just stay in the top 15 for the whole race the sprint part or something like it will come after a few races.

 

[Bag_O_Wallet]

I, and many others here, would appreciate your tips on using psychological tactics in races. The basics, plus the fine arts please.

It's probably best to divide them into two areas:

1) Your personal attitude, and strategy in the race.

2) Dealing with opponents during the race.

To start us off, I'll mention this from a club race last week.

I was pushing on, solo, up a 18 km long climb averaging 6%+ gradient, and feeling good overtaking riders. Then one of them clamped onto my back-wheel, and I noticed a subtle change in my mentality. The wheel sucker really drained my mental resources, not until I shook him off did I regain my composure and began to enjoy pushing on solo again. The point is, I was surprised how dramatic an effect just sitting on my wheel was. I made a mental note to use the same tactic myself in future.

How do you deal mentally with wheel limpets?

With the scenario you describe, I gather you got popped and had recovered, and were in the process of catching and passing other (stronger or better placed) riders who had popped and hadn't quite recovered yet.

Best advice is to communicate. Ask Limpy to take a pull. If he can't/won't, well, I wouldn't worry too much about it over 18km @ 6%. Ride your own pace, and keep passing people. The bottom line is that you'll have to pay for each effort to drop Limpy.

Would you rather pass 5 people and drop Limpy, or pass 10 people but get jumped by Limpy??

 

[Trunnions]

Vonn Brinkman
Q/You break them physically, then mentally they will be in trouble and you will be freed./Q

Succinct. So you wouldn't choose to try to ignore them, and carry on at your own pace? You prefer a proactive response.


Monsanto:
Q/Change your speed often- people hate that. Unfortunately, it's hard to do!/Q
This was what disturbed me mentally; +having+ to up my preferred tempo to shake him off. Tricky when you're on the red line, as you ought to be.

Q/Having some kind of phrase or mantra to repeat during crunch time in a race can help too. ie. when you are riding solo, "breath, power, don't think". It can help you from thinking too much at times when you shouldn't be thinking/Q

Excellent, I'll try it. I've only just realised that so much of cycling on the limit +IS+ mental, which is why I began this thread. "...shouldn't be thinking" << Gold, and a new thought to me!

mercycle:
Q/slam on your brakes/Q
Gentlemen don't brake-test to win.

Q/Learn how to accelerate when seated by increasing your cadence ... start whistling or talking to them.../Q

I like the secret speed-increase, but if you have spare breath to talk and whistle YOU are not trying hard enough yourself, wouldn't you say? Chatterboxes are fun during races, but they never win.

meandmygitane:
Q/You just tell Levi(or Pippo): what would Merckx do?/Q

And the answer is?

SpartacusRox :
Q/Generally if they are sitting on your after you have overtaken them then they will be close to their limit. Just varying your pace will generally crack them./Q

I like it; "varying", not simply speeding up a tad.

JackRabbitSlims:
Q/Attitude & Strategy:
Go ball's out from the gun, smash it off the front and lay down the hurt...after 10 mins look back and see who is with you, this is your group and you will work together to stay away.....ride collectively and positive. May the strongest, fittest & smartest man win on the day.
If this doesn't work, go and train harder and smarter, or you're racing in the wrong grade./Q

Right, I'll try that next race.

Q/...next rotation, no sign of these pretty boy's so Mr Muscle head dropped back and whacked one on them in chops!/Q

Kiwi club-racing is a blood-sport folks!

For UCI races, remember to use +elbows only+ like Julian Dean. Kiwi Commissaires let that go as just fair-play.

Q/Uphill Wheel Limpets:

Ride at your own pace / tempo - forget they're there or burst out of the saddle, stomp the pedals, lay down some hurt! - if you drop him, you're the stronger guy, if not - he's a better / stronger climber and revert to above comments on harder / smarter training./Q

Sound advice.

Q/Most of all.....relax!! it's a club race, it's not like you're trying to qualify for the World Champs or the Olympics. Have fun and keep it in perspective/Q

Excellent! No point at all if we don't enjoy it. There's always somebody better, faster, stronger anyway.


usedtobefast:
Q/a guy sitting on your wheel? slow down and get on his wheel. works, and when you get nice and rested attack. repeat as needed/Q

Bingo! My favourite response to the wheel-limpet question; proactive, but doesn't force me to increase my speed, and puts the mental strain on him. Chess on two wheels.

 

[Boeing]

A good way to keep you head straight is to monitor your race goals. I have always set a personal pre race goal based on personal best opportunities as a baseline default. no wheel clown is going to keep me from a personal best. It could be all or part of the course etc.

That way I know I can leave with something tangible to complement my hard work and training and reminding myself keeps me in the game and not in wheel sucks hr monitor.

Trying to drop someone off your wheel full tilt is a mistake in my humble opinion.

Knowing your recovery rate between max efforts it important. If you can surge tempo and recover and repeat you will learn what dudes game is. That way you can time the finish. Knowing your personal best ETA is a good idea as well. Typically your recovery tempo will frustrate him and he will want to take a turn and boom you've got him. I would not slow down just to sit on wheel IMHO. I know some say that but if you do you are in his game now... f that. tempo recover and see what he does. dont just duck into his shadow

Know the course. know your strength. I am best on false flat to about 6% and try to make gains there especially if I need time against better climbers

Know how to corner. The best way to lose a club wheel suck is to take him into a corner or series of corners at mach 90. while he is trying to find his line you can stomp the gear on the exit and build a gap and resume your tempo surge.

Don't assume the other guy isnt hurting.

"it's not fair I am fit and doing all the work waaaaaaaa" he is going to be fresh" is no way to race

 

[Trunnions]

M Sport:
Q/Unless there were no riders left in front of you i.e. you had just hit the front I wouldn't be worrying about riders you just passed. If he was weak enough for you to overtake then I'm picking he would probably not be able to hold the increased speed for too long after you passed him anyway.

Other factors may of course come into play like how long there is to the finish after the top of the climb./Q

Thank you for a thoughtful reply. What surprised me was the dramatic mental effect it had. It's certainly a new experience for me, not having overtaken top ten riders in my age-group before. These replies have prepared me for next time. It's fun learning!


nvpacchi:
Q/Try cracking jokes, talking to him in a really nonchalant attitude, and he will probably get +tenser and tenser+, hence cracking earlier.

Also I think going overboard on really ridiculous stretches while on the bike (back, arms, shoulders, etc.), as long as you can keep the speed up, is a subtle morale weapon against an opponent./Q

Mental tension and muscular tension: This is a fascinating psycho-physiological link, isn't it? Have you ever found yourself doing better than you expected, or trained for, in a race, simply because you were more mentally relaxed, without high expectations?


fatandfast:
Q/Best advice to not get caught up inside yourself is shake hands with your surrounding starters at the line w a "good luck today"./Q

I recall Mika Hakkinen pointedly doing this to the front of the F1 grid in the excruciatingly tense 1998 final race at Suzuka. Completely relaxed, with no helmet, full eye-contact, smiling warmly. He doused Schumacher's neural circuits, shorted them out, causing him to stall his Ferrari on the line. The World Driver's Title was decided there and then.

Q/Knowing how fast you can go is super important./Q
Excellent post Sir!
Controlling over exuberance at the start after a good warm up is an essential discipline to master.

Q/Learn how to attack./Q
Knowing many would set off too fast on this particular long climb, I was leading, but let a handful go by me, and stuck to my chosen climbing pace, then my "attack" began halfway through the climb, knocking them off one at a time. Different eh? (Btw: 7th. but satisfied.)


Bag_O_Wallet's
Q/With the scenario you describe, I gather you got popped and had recovered, and were in the process of catching and passing other (stronger or better placed) riders who had popped and hadn't quite recovered yet.

Best advice is to communicate. Ask Limpy to take a pull. If he can't/won't, well, I wouldn't worry too much about it over 18km @ 6%. Ride your own pace, and keep passing people. The bottom line is that you'll have to pay for each effort to drop Limpy.

Would you rather pass 5 people and drop Limpy, or pass 10 people but get jumped by Limpy?? /Q

Not popped (this time), I chose to let some zoomers go by, hoping they would blow up along the climb, and stuck to my own strategic pace.

I noticed, "keep passing people" really gives you a mental boost doesn't it? Success breeds success. Especially when they are bods who normally beat you. It probably fires off a central endorphine release that souses any feelings of tiredness.

Here we are again; mental "feelings" intimately linked with physical feelings.

 

[Trunnions]

Here's a tip I heard recently.

We've all noticed how much easier it is to chase somebody down when you can see them, as the gap shrinks.

When you are trying to pull away from a chaser, wait for a series of tight bends, or switch-backs. Get at least one bend ahead, then put maximum effort in when you are out of sight of the chaser. He comes round his bend expecting to see you, but you've gone, leaving him demoralized, and without a visible target.

I notice astute commentators credit sprinters and break-away specialists for not looking back during their break or run for the line (like Efemkin and Demoullin).

Why is that? What does it indicate to riders and observers when they see a rider looking over his shoulder?

 

[Trunnions]

What about psycho-tips for getting back onto the peloton, or group, who just dropped you?

Say, you're 20 yards behind, and truly surprised you were popped.

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

Just a suggestion....but maybe you could concentrate on the Physical component of cycling....and then the Psychological component??

Both very important, but I think the physical will have a larger influence on the outcome of the race.

Being popped or dropped or sh!t piped is a complete mind F@#K and is just some thing you will have to deal with. Sometimes, burying yourself to get back on is worth it! - you may have to drop into the red zone for a bit, but at least you get back in the bunch, can recover a bit and you'll instantly feel a massive relief. Pick your battles though....nothing worse than working yah nuts off and slowly watching the group pull away...

Is sometimes worth sitting up, waiting for the next bunch and working with them to reel in the group ahead.

Yah win some.....yah lose some -

 

[180mmCrank]

It sounds like you dealt with it fine

Most of the races you win are not decided by complex tactical/mental manouvres in a race but by the hard miles and preparation before you take to the start line. The best approach is to make sure you are better prepared and stronger than the other guy.

It is as important to apply a strong mental discipline to increase the quality and consistency of your preparation as it is to be mentally tough in the race itself. Jens can tell his legs to shut up because he knows he's done the miles. The belief he has comes in part from the preparation and he is one tough mother on top of that.

 

[Bag_O_Wallet]

(snip)
Bag_O_Wallet's
(snip)
/Q
Not popped (this time), I chose to let some zoomers go by, hoping they would blow up along the climb, and stuck to my own strategic pace.

I noticed, "keep passing people" really gives you a mental boost doesn't it? Success breeds success. Especially when they are bods who normally beat you. It probably fires off a central endorphine release that souses any feelings of tiredness.

Here we are again; mental "feelings" intimately linked with physical feelings.

Well played to stick to your own pace. The mental and the physical are, as you say, intimately linked. Keep your inner monologue positive and supportive, and try your best not to get too high or too low with what's going on around you.

 

[usedtobefast]

What about psycho-tips for getting back onto the peloton, or group, who just dropped you?

Say, you're 20 yards behind, and truly surprised you were popped.

why did you go off the back? bad positioning? not fit enough? a 60 foot gap can be huge or small. being race fit is always the best approach, then you can usually get back on. be prepared to suffer,really suffer, if you want to do well.
once you get the fitness,then you can play chess with your opponents. or just
crush them like insects at the first available moment.