Coach's Tips For... The Hunny Bop
[ed: Here's another article by BJ Basham, part of the series called "Coach's Tips for... ", in which BJ will give you all the inside track on how to race a specific event. BJ knows all these races, and he probably also knows most of the racers hellbent on beating you at them. If you like BJ's contributions, let him know in the Comments section below. You can even ask him questions in the comments, which he'll answer there as well.
Note: This article was first published in 2007 as "Coach's Tips for... The Bunny Hop" (as that is what the race was called then) and is
re-published here for new readers, new racers, and those of us who
forgot a little something since last year.]
Coach's Tips for... The Hunny Bop
by BJ Basham
USA Cycling Level II Certified Coach
This is a super easy course. That is good and bad. Good if you are not technically skilled and want to finish. Bad if you hope to reduce the size of the field with some hard riding.
There is no hill and the corners are wide open and you can usually pedal through all of them. The surface can be rough, so keep your head up.
Each race is likely to end in a field sprint. To get away on this course will take a well-timed and fairly big effort to break the elastic with the field. In the sprint, the distance from the last corner to the line is not huge, but it may be possible to come by a couple of people. So the race on this course is really to the last corner, which brings us back to the good and bad stuff. Chances are that there will be a load of riders (in the bigger fields) trying to be in the front in the last corner. Keep in mind that there are no TV cameras or Pro contracts or huge prize lists waiting for you on the other side when you decide how big of a risk to take to try and lead through that last corner.
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BJ Basham is a USA Cycling Level II Certified Coach with Peaks
Coaching Group. He lives in Fairfax, VA and competes in most of the
same races you do. To learn more about his coaching practice and
philosophy, visit his website at PowerTrainingCoach.com.
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