Debate: Team Play

Where's the line between racing for yourself and racing for your team? When do you decide what role you're going to play? How does your team reach consensus about who does what for whom in a race, or don't they? Should it always be everyone setting up the strongest racer to give the "Team" the best shot at the win? Or does the strongest racer have some responsibility to everyone else? Does your team have someone outside of the racing squad who sets team decisions? If you do, who is it? If you don't, do you wish you had one?

photo by Jonathan Devich / epicimages.us, from his Tour of California Gallery.

 

(This "Debate" thing is new. If you like it - and I'll measure by how many of you comment - I'll keep doing it.)

Comments

[raf]

why join a team if all you're going to do is race by yourself?

[Kyle]

First.

Actually there is so many variables to answer this question. I think it comes together more in the higher categories. You should probably just make the debate one question to answer it. Having more than one makes it to large of a debate over the internet. But right now it is pretty much who is the strongest of the day.

[John P.]

1. Who is best suited to this course?
2. Who is peaking?
3. All subject to change if someone manages to get in a big break.
4. Who will be the captain on the road to optimize the chance of something actually working?

Those are my questions, no answers I'm afraid, and I'm sticking to them. Of course, I'm not on a team so what do I know?

[Dave Kirkpatrick]

Kyle - Please read my post of a few weeks back. "There IS so many variables..." Why don't you just come to my house and scrape fingernails on a blackboard while I try and sleep?

If you aren't going to race AS a team why be on a team? First big key is like and respect your team mates. Without that, a whole lot falls apart. Learn your individual and collective strengths and weaknesses. No one should get his way all of the time and no one should get his way none of the time. Success is the best grease.

Keep strategies wicked simple - ride for a team mate in a break until the break is caught, counter when/if that break, never get dropped from a break and expect to go home a bloody pulp if you even consider chasing something that your guy is in.

[Joshua]

If you read my blog you would know that I am a big fan of team tactics and team work. My team, the Virginia Beach Wheelmen (VBW) work very well together. I know that my job is to chase breaks if our guys are excluded from them and shut down the field if our guys are in them. We all attempt to get into breaks and everyone has the same roles of chasing or shutting down.

Now if the end of the race is near and it is going to end in a sprint finish, then the tactics change and we all work to make sure our sprinters are in good position.

[Kyle]

Dave, haha I was talking about how many questions Mike was posing in how many variables to give an answer. Should have made that more clear.

Like the first question would be a great debate in itself.

But I think a team is a great motivator outside of the race anyway and thats why I am for them. A bunch of guys who are not on a team will less likely hold races. As for my team just like many other the 4's do not have the game together as much as the 2's and 3's. A few of us have gone to recent races with a plan. But you are right in what you said about certain strengths being utilized. But for the most part before a race we just ask each other who feels really well and is performing well during the race. And thats what I meant. Sorry for the confusion. I do that on my blog and should leave it there.

And dang it I was not first to post.

[girloffroad]

Excellent questions. My comment doesn't really answer any questions at all, but one of the things I'm having to learn this season is to change my mindset from every place counts (like in mtn biking and cyclocross) to what matters is the overall win, or sometimes winning the field sprint, and what team it was. In road racing it's all about team tactics or surviving other team's tactics - whether or not you are an individual or a team. If you can answer the questions you posted above with consistent answers among your teamamtes, chances are your team can probably race effectively too and get the win.

[T.Karnes]

I agree 100% with John P's post. I know that on Hincapie, its pretty simple. We sit down before every race and talk about what we feel should happen. Mabye somebody has a good idea in mind that we havent really used? We all talk before to make sure that we are all on the same page before the race. We just work for who ever is in the best form at the time. Being as I dont live that close to the team, I race for myself when I race in Virginia/Maryland, because I have no teammates in these races. When I'm with the team, im 100% a team player. We dont really have tasks for each race, because the races change so much. Basically if you are in a position to do something beneficial for the team, do it. Whether its mark a move that you werent assigned to cover, if you have the legs, or pull back the break, etc. We go into races knowing that, whatever work we do now will come back to help us ten fold. Riders who are in good form now, arent going to be in good form the whole season, so they will have the role of working for the riders who helped them. We have a couple guys who set the race plans. Rich Hincapie, the team owner, and Steve Carpenter, a masters rider out of tennessee who is the manager of the team.

[Jon Farneu]

Geez this "argument" seems suspiciously like www.NYVELOCITY" with out the wit or panache those guys have, what gives? Cant we think of our own stuff?!

[Sam]

Suspiciously like velocity? Its a total rip off!

[Mike May]

I wish, Sam. They get dozens of comments when they put up a topic for discussion. But yeah, I got the idea from them, after talking to Alex O for a while on the phone and spending a lot of time on the VelocityNation.com site. It rocks, and they've got an awesome thing going up there. Can we agree to call it "emulation" instead of "a total rip off"?

Hey Jon, sorry this one is lacking in wit and panache. There's no place like NYC for that I guess. But I've got to tell you dude - if there's anything we're not short of here at GamJams it's original material and new ideas. BJ's Coach's Tips, You've Been Cooked, the Ambassadors, The Great Group Ride Map, Keeping Tempo and just about everything else you see here is home grown. No patents filed, no copyright protection. Anyone is welcome to try them out for themselves. Just tell me if you figure out a way to make them work better.

[John P.]

By the way, I like the debate idea Mike. Keep it going.

By the Way, I'm sure Cave Men put topics up for discussion also. Velocity soooo ripped the idea off Cave Men. *shakes head*