What to do if you get dropped? Put on your Nike’s and JUST DO IT!
Getting dropped from a group happens to all of us. Even the best riders in the world get dropped. Pick yourself up and fight to get back on.
You can fall off the group for all sorts of reasons from reaching down to grab your water bottle for a drink, taking off a layer, getting gapped by another rider, being in the wrong position in the group, etc. For whatever reason below are some key tips to bridging back to the group.
- First NEVER give up! You never know what will happen up the road. The strong rider(s) in the group could flat making the lead group disorganized causing them to slow down. Or riders in the lead group could begin to suffer leaving the pulling to only a few riders causing the lead group to slow down. You just never know what is going on up the road so don’t give up.
- Regroup and get help. Looking around either up the road our behind you to regroup forming a paceline and work together. Many times one of the strong riders in a group will be in the wrong position getting gapped and dropped. Working together with other riders you can have enough engine power to bridge back up to the group. It is a sign of inexperienced rides who have been drooped who don’t work together but ride solo trying to bridge the gap. Don’t make this mistake. If there are other wheels around you there is a way back to the lead pack!
- Respond quickly and close the gap fast! If you do get gapped or dropped close it fast and get back on. Others are suffering just like you. Many times if you can just hold on for a split second longer or get back on the group, the group slows down allowing you to recover. Pushing air by yourself is much harder than suffering for a few seconds to get back on. It is much easier to recover riding in the pack than on your own. Put your Nike’s on and JUST DO IT; close the gap while it is small.
- Put your blinders on and go into time trial mode. If the gap is large don’t panic. Relax, breath, and don’t try to bridge the gap in one sprint up to the group. You will blow up. Ease into a steady time trial pace collecting your energy to bridge the gap over time. A group bike ride is like a book of matches. You start will a full book of matches and each time you sprint, take a pull, bridge a gap you burn a match. Eventually you run out of matches and your done. Get into a steady mode where your conserving your matches and keep the pace over a period of time with the chance of getting back on.
- Don’t sit on the back move to the front. Lastly, when you bridge the gap use your speed and the draft of the other cyclist to move to the front. Getting to the front will give you more protection to recover so you don’t get dropped again. It is tempting to sit on the back of the pack but your are risking getting dropped again. It actually takes more energy and is harder sometimes on the back of the pack. Move towards the front and sit in; ideal right behind the rotating paceline.
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Posted on: August 25th, 2008 By: Tyler Ford In: Cycling 101 - How To
April 24th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Well….these are the same strategies my husband has told me for years in re: to races. Never give up, keep working, draft if possible…..certainly helps him on group rides and in races. me….I’m pretty slow, to be honest. Wish I knew about bike racing when I was a kid & teen, when I was young and strong and faster than anybody I knew….guess that’s why we keep taking kids out riding.
April 26th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Great advice. I have personally been dropped and tried to sprint back to the group only to get dropped again because I was so burned out. Unless it’s the last lap or final couple of miles there is always time to catch up and finish strong. You can always “practice” on group rides. Let the group pass you and try to regroup with them by a certain landmark.
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I got dropped in the last race I was in because I was riding in the back. I know I should of went to the front when the pace picked up.
May 25th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Yeah, the last time I was dropped from a ride I tried to bridge the gap solo, because no one else wanted to give it a try. I pushed hard from the get-go and was able to close much of the distance, but once I got close I started to tire from the effort. The group seemed to pick up the pace, but it was probably me just loosing steam. Needless to say I never made the jump. I could have used these points prior to that day, but I will remember them in the future.
Ride On!
-Super Dave
May 29th, 2008 at 8:27 am
I don’t usually ride in groups. But, I do like to chase people when I find others out on the road. Push hard to catch them and pass them if I can. Depends on the closing distance and such. It is a lot of fun when you spot a group off in the distance and then just hammer down to catch them.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Just tonight while out for a solo, I was passed, unexpectingly, by the local bike club racing team so I caught up and stayed with them for a couple of miles. Although I could out climb most of them, it’s on the the flats that are my weakness, while inline, I get dropped. Maybe it’s a lack on fast twitch muscles or something or I need to ride more. Just been riding a year now.
August 26th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
The same premise that exists when “Everybody is faster on race day” also exists when you’re on the front of a large pack. There is a little ego booster to be had when you’re the one pounding out the cadence, although watch the shadows around you and make sure you haven’t gone off the front!