- [Narrator] Winning bike races.
Now there are a few techniques
that will help increase the chances of a team's victory.
Time after time again, pros like Potocki, Cipollini
and Mark Cavendish very much relied on the lead out.
But what is it?
- The lead out,
delivering the fastest finisher in your team,
or string of riders,
to the finish line in the best possible condition
in order to win.
- Sounds simple really, but there's a lot more to it.
So in this video we're going to explain
the intricacies of the perfect lead out.
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- Over the years, the lead out has evolved.
Gone are the days where riders are scrapping out solo
on the run into the finish line.
For over 30 years,
the lead out has been the go to method
for delivering consistent results
for the fastest finishing rider in a team.
What is a lead out?
A lead out is simply sharing the increased workload
in ascending speed order,
to deliver the fastest rider on a team
to the finish line in the best possible position
from which to win.
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- An often overlooked aspect of the lead out train
is losing pace before the finish.
You don't want to go too soon, run out of men,
and drop your speed.
Other teams 'll capitalize and overtake you in the run in.
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- And with that in mind,
you do need to maintain control of your effort.
There is no need to go full gas
the second you first get into the wind.
Instead, you should calculate
how long your turn's going to last,
how far is it to the finish line,
and how many turns you're going to be doing.
Do a warm up James, time for a change.
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- Now you'll want to really pay attention
to the gradient at the finish line.
Will it be a short steep incline or a fast downhill tailwind
where you'll really want to maintain that high speed
to the line.
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Riders usually communicate from behind.
Nobody has eyes in the back of their head
so it's very important
that the sprinter verbally communicates
to his lead out train what he wants carried out.
Now this could be a variety of methods,
either to stay to the left, stay to the right,
increase speed, or it could be
that he comes to the finish line
and you just need to go all out.
So, you need to listen very carefully
to your sprinter about what they want.
- [Sprinter] Squeeze it a bit.
Go.
Go go go.
- Go go go.
Go.
- [Sprinter] Stay on the left.
- Left left.
- Sprint sprint sprint sprint sprint.
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Ideally you're going to want your endurance focused riders
to play their part further away from the finish line.
And the closer you get to that finish line,
the more faster and sprint oriented
you want those riders to be.
Ideally, the final lead out rider
should be someone that knows how to handle themselves
in a sprint pretty well on their own.
Someone that can move around the bunch efficiently,
but also someone that can create space for two riders,
and accelerate for a prolonged period of time
at the end of a race.
Judging by this lot, I think I'm going to have to go Hank,
Connor and then Manon as my final lead out.
Let's get some practice runs.
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- Now, length of turns are important in a lead out.
And this'll depend mostly on the riders' ability
and the distance to the finish.
Stronger riders will look to do longer turns,
and as you get closer to the finish
turns will become shorter as the pace in the race rises.
So you want to bear all this in mind
when you're planning when to start the lead out
and when you want to deliver your sprinter.
Right.
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- [Narrator] The final acceleration
should come within the last 500 meters
as the final lead out rider makes their move for the line.
Be careful not to go too hard.
Your sprinter may then need to make
two abrupt accelerations which will cost them energy
in the final dash for the line.
Instead, aim to ramp it up to max speed
at the end of your lead out, swinging off into the wind,
sheltering your team mate all the time.
It should be a progressive and smooth,
but powerful surge to the line.
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- Now, critical to knowing
which side of the road the sprint is going to unfold,
is knowing the direction of the wind at the finish line.
If the wind is coming from the right,
you're going to want to be all the way over
on the left hand side of the road,
and this is because you do not want to afford any shelter
to any other team than just your own.
So allow enough space for your riders, but no more.
Left a bit guys.
- [Rider] Left a bit.
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- It's ideal if you stay to the side of the road
when practicing the lead out.
This will allow you to only have to look over one shoulder
to keep an eye on other teams that are competing with you.
It will also shelter you from the wind
and allow you to command the perfect position on the road.
So team, how are we getting on back there?
- [Middle Rider] Good.
- [Rear Rider] Over to the left more.
- Okay.
Well, I think we're getting there so let's go and practice.
Realtime now guys.
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- [Narrator] If you are in a race scenario,
the final 50 kilometers are going to fly by.
At this point it is more than likely
you will know everything about the finish line,
the wind direction and the conditions that await you.
Therefore, it's important to ride as a unit.
You may well need a backup plan.
Anyone can puncture, but if you're all together,
you can be prepared for any eventuality you will find
whilst out on the road.
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- Before each race teams will have a pre-race meeting
to discuss the day ahead.
Now, this will consist of many things but it will mostly be,
what the terrain will be, the weather, wind direction.
It will also be the team tactics.
It's very important to get this right
and that everyone is on the same page.
Now, I've had a look at the course,
and me and my team will be facing quite a hilly route today
and I think it's best that Manon be the sprinter,
so I'll just go and tell the group.
Okay.
So, the plan is Manon's sprinting today.
You two just aren't going to get over the climbs,
so work for Manon, she'll bring home the bacon.
- [Rider] Right, plan. Let's do it.
- Okay, let's go.
Break.
Let's go.
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- As we all know, bike races are wildly unpredictable.
And in the finale almost anything can happen.
In the pro races this is easy, you simply radio in
and call for plan B.
But, we're not in a pro race,
we're out here in the middle of nowhere,
and I've punctured in our run up to the finish.
Hank!
Ride for Manon!
Don't think he's heard.
- Now don't forget to give this video a big thumbs up.
I hope it's helped you in your lead out ambitions.
- And for more content right now,
click through to the link on your screen.