Tactics of El Tour

12 hours. That's all that's left.

As of yesterday my early-morning itinerary was planned out. I am aiming to be down at the start line, at the corner of 13th St. and 6th Ave. by 03:00. There I will meet a friend, another member of the UofA cycling club, who I've been riding with a fair amount recently. I thought a few days ago that I was going to have to stand around freezing, getting to talk to nobody for 4 hours (07:00 start). It makes me a little happier to have company. In addition, it gives me added incentive to get up at 01:30 that day. I don't want him to have to wait around for me.

You may be wondering why we're going to get there so early. The bottom line is we need to be as near the front of the 'gold' section as possible, and the rules are first come, first serve (see picture below). By getting up to the front, it should be a lot easier for us to catch and be a part of the platinum peloton; a group of riders who have platinum already, and who should be going around at a platinum pace.   

How the start is going to shape up

The gold section is the first section that is 'open', meaning that with no qualifications you can still be a part of it. Ahead of us will be the aforementioned platinum group and ahead of them the small 'elite' group. To qualify for that group you must have been a starter in the Tour de France. In other words, serious cyclists.

So our tactic is surprising simple. Be at the front of the gold, no more than 20-30 m back from the last of the platinum riders, and spend the first few miles pushing hard to get within a fast group. It will be tough, and we'll be using up a bit of energy early, but I think we can do it. However, bear in mind that many people have the same tactic, so people are trying to squeeze past each other at the beginning of the race. Needless to say, numerous accidents occur, so we've got to be careful. Careful but fast. Oxymoron?

To complete the explanation of the picture above, after all the elite, platinum and gold cyclists have crossed the start line, the silver and bronze groups are allowed to leave (having previously been separated by a barricade). If you come at around 06:00, this is where you'll likely be. You also have no chance of catching a fast group, as by then they'll (hopefully 'we'll') be 20 minutes / 8 miles up the road. Basically, you've lost before you've even started. Go back and try again.

Err, Doc... Are you telling me we're already 20 minutes behind!?!

Final question:

"Russ, why do you need to get in a peloton? Can't you get platinum solo?"
Short answer: No. I'm nowhere near good enough. You see, it's all about the drafting. Get within a big group of cyclists and the wind resistance is minimal. With that gone, speeds way above what you normally can go at are possible. The cyclists at the front go hard and 'pull' the rest of the group along, taking the full force of the wind. Eventually they'll need to drop back into the peloton to recover, resulting in a fresh cyclist taking their place. The process continues until someone fucks up, touches wheels and then the whole peloton goes down.

Without a peloton I can go around 20 mph comfortably on level ground. Within a peloton, we can cruise at 24-25 mph. That's the difference between finishing in 6 hours and sub-5.


That's all folks! Wish me luck!!!