Road Racing etiquette

Hey all i am registered for the Allan Smith Road Race this weekend which will be my first competitive outing and really looking forward to it (albeit a little nervous!). I do however have a question around the "unwritten rules" around road cycling. Can anyone give me any hints or tips of the things that i should be mindful of when racing?

Thanks,
Trent

Three things that'll stop people yelling at you:

Ride smooth. Hold your line. Stay off the brakes.

Given that the Allan Smith is a graded scratch race, if you feel you've been mis-graded and you're stronger than your grade indicates you should be it's generally considered not great etiquette to dominate the race.

You may be asked to pull turns - but this isn't a handicap and you're not required to do so. Seasoned riders may try to guilt you into doing too much work if they think you'll fall for it.

To some extent, it will depend on your grade. Generally, the higher the grade, the more seriously riders will take it. (But even in low grades there always seems to be one or two who think they are racing for sheep stations.)

But the main thing to remember for your first race: Don't put other riders in danger! As Alasdair has already said:

"Ride smooth. Hold your line. Stay off the brakes."

Try to do your share of the work, especially if there are riders up the road that you are chasing. Obviously, as you get closer to the finish, this rule gets relaxed. If at 5km to go, you think you can win with a solo breakaway, go for it! But if you have sat at the back of the bunch all the way up to that point and then attack, you won't win any friends.

D

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com.au/2008 ... rt-of.html

Wow, if everyone listened to that advice no one would even try and win.

It's okay to have a few trying to win; we just don't want everyone believing they're in with a chance. We'd have mayhem. Mayhem, I say.

But if you have sat at the back of the bunch all the way up to that point and then attack, you won't win any friends.

This is my entire bike racing modus operandi!!

[Gemm]

Sounds like you won E-Grade Trent? You have failed to embrace your inner 'meh'
(well done)