By now you probably know I do a lot of trainer/online bike riding from the comfort of home. I haven’t raced online much since last off-season and am pretty focused on a training plan right now so again no real time for racing, but now and then I fit quick ones in… like today.

I’ve progressed enough with my cycling that I’m now in an open category, which means my functional threshold power is over 4 watts per kilogram. I’m only barely over that mark so I typically get crushed in category races by folks who are comfortably in the category. Today, either none of those folks showed up, or I was a tactical genius. I’d like to think it was a bit of both.

Conveniently, there was a 1-hour easy ride scheduled just before this race, which served as a great warmup. After that concluded I had a chance to hit the restroom, top off my water, and even reweigh to make sure my power to weight ratio (that’s what this stuff is all about) was correct (it was – I’m +10lbs over race weight… eek! but within 8% though so nothing to be too concerned with).

This particular race was an all-out 1-lap race. That means gunning from the start, which I’m usually ill-prepared for and end up off the lead group immediately and completely out of contention. NOT TODAY. For the first 5 miles nothing occurred. Nobody pushed the pace and I was my typical vocal self egging folks on 😉 On the final hill, a short to medium 4%, one guy broke away. A few seconds later, another. With the group not jumping, I became the third to break. There was a 3-4 second gap between each of us at the top of the hill. I think the first guy gassed himself or realized how long a 1-mile slog by yourself can be and his power dropped significantly. The second guy caught him and a short while later I did too. At this point the pack was still only 4-seconds back. Sensing blood, I pushed the pace. The other two grabbed my wheel and we pulled further from the pack. Knowing tactics (I’m usually the breakaway guy because a solo break is fun as hell and VIDEO GAME), I wasn’t going to let them ride me in. I eased off a touch as they picked up their paces at the 1k mark and began sprinting shortly thereafter. I bided my time, but stayed in their draft. With 400m left I dropped the hammer. For a moment I thought I had started my sprint too late, but I edged them both at the absolute last possible moment before the line for the win.

I only pulled a 4.1w/kg for the race, which usually isn’t enough for a win, but this one came mostly down to tactics. I could have certainly put more power in, but until that last mile I was biding my time and saving juice as opposed to being combative and making things interesting like usual.

Today’s lesson? Smart is less fun, winning is most fun. Race smart.