So you have made the winning break in a race and now have to figure out which strategy will give you the best possible finish. It can get complicated when in this position especially if you have teammates and rivals within the bunch. But the worst mistake is NOT thinking about WHAT you are doing and WHY you are doing it. If you are going to trade pulls and work your ass off it better be for a reason. Before every race you should have a main strategy and goals to accomplish. Inevitably these often change during the race so you must be prepared and think about what you are going to do next to put you or your teammates in a position to win. These strategies and goals must also be realistic and based on your current strengths, abilities, and fitness.

I will give an example and others to follow. At a local race this past weekend there was a very strong pro racer in attendance. It was clear that his presence would completely change the race dynamic with a majority of the racers being 2's and 3's.

The first thing you must do is visualize how you think the race will play out. Clearly a pro racer in a 2-3 race would shake things up a bit and if you know cat 3 racing, you know that few breakaways just roll off the front without getting chased down. So I didn't think Mike would get away in the early part of the race simply because every move he made would be followed by 40 guys. It would be different if there were a major climb but this being a relatively flat course it would have been very hard to get away with odds like that. So it would probably be later in the race when legs were tired that he would be able to get away. There would also be a lot of guys getting off the front early on because who cares about those guys when the really good pro is still in the pack.

Second, you have to plan your strategy based on your strengths and how you think the race will play out. If you are a weak climber going early before a major climb is a good strategy.

Third, you have to execute your plan. If during the race things change, and they probably will, you have to adjust your strategy! Simple as that!

Based on my thoughts on the race I thought it would be important to try and get in a move early on that did not include the pro (because it would immediately be cancelled) and just sit out in a break for the early part of the race. I knew that as the race wore on he (the pro) would eventually bridge and the final group would be selected. Then it was survival of the fittest. And that was the whole strategy, get away early and push a moderate pace rather than suffer with attack after attack within the main group. This being one of my first races of the season I knew that I would not have very many strong attacks in my legs and getting in a steady break as soon as possible would be the best option.

So here is how the race played out. It was a fairly flat course with one moderate climb on the backside. It was I think 9 laps of an 8-mile circuit. From the start groups of 2's and 3's would attack of the front with no major reaction due to the pro still attempting to warm-up at the back of the pack (it was a cool morning).

Eventually I gave it a go and bridged up to the now 10-15 strong riders at the front. The group was big and unorganized so the pace was pretty easy which was ok as we maintained about a 30-45 sec. gap. About a lap later the pro showed up with only one other rider and the race was on. So the strategy worked and now it was survival of the fittest. The next couple of laps up the hill there were hard attacks that didn't necessarily feel good on the legs but were not that bad.

However, every attack will limit your intensity at the end of the race and I made the mistake of being a little to active trying to get away with the pro. With about 3 laps to go I was let roll off the front with no major attack. Soon a rider bridged the 15 or so sec. gap and I had to decide if this was a good move for me to be in. I'm sure you've all been in that position of wanting something to happen and when it does you start to wonder if it was the best move. The legs were feeling the hard attacks and I was unsure if I could make it to the finish in a 2-man break but I was also unsure if my legs would last in the pack with more attacks so I decided to go with it.

Eventually one other rider bridged and we had about a 1 min lead. At this point I had to think and change my strategy. I was in a 3-man break the legs were hurting (so much I didn't know if I would make it), and I knew a pro would soon be joining us (hopefully alone), a small lead, and they only pay 5 positions! Given these options and trying to preserve for yourself the best possible finish given your situation I decided to sit on and take pulls once in a while.

Inevitably you will get yelled at as I did, but I gave him my position and I was not there to kill myself to help him win as he was obviously stronger than I was and probably going to beat me given how I was feeling. If I had been stronger and thought I would have a chance at winning I would have gladly worked but feeling the way I did and wanting to preserve a top 5 finish I knew I could not do a lot of work!

Eventually the pro caught us and with one other rider, that made a break of 5. The last time up the climb he attacked and blew the group apart and only the rider that came with him could stay on his wheel. The other two were stronger and held a lead just up the road and did not work together. I was left by myself to TT back to the start and barely made it before falling over. I had spent my last bit of energy crossing the line in 5th.

Reading a race and successfully strategizing are abilities that come with experience and knowing your abilities. Never get caught not knowing what to do during the race and what you can do to put yourself in a better position, after all that's the first step. Had I worked in the break I probably would have been dropped and passed by the bridging pro and then the chasers. But by giving myself a break in the break I was able to stay with them until we were caught and until the last attack which was close enough to the finish that I could struggle in on my own.

Always be thinking and have a strategy for what to do next!

Thanks to Chad Butts.