sportive and chain gang pace targets

sproggski

I am still shyly gathering mileage before I enter a sportive or go on a local club run.

What scares me off of going for it is the fear of getting swept up or left behind for slow pace. :oops:

I am getting through one to four hour rides at averages of around 28 km/h to 32 km/h, including hills and a fair bit of wind in the last few weeks but how much additional pace can I expect riding in a group with all the drafting, camaraderie, bravado, etc.?

I'm still boggling at the thought of 38 km/h in the TdF today, including Tourmalet and Hautacam :shock:

andy_wrx

A 4 hour hilly/windy ride at an average of 20mph - you'll be fine !

Bronzie

What Andy said - besides, the beauty of sportives is that there are loads of groups on the roads - if you get dropped by one, just sit up and another will be along that you can latch onto that will be travelling a bit slower.

You def wont be last with averages like that.

bahzob

As a (very guesstimate) rule of thumb I reckon average speed for a UK sportive is around 25kph.

30kph would be in top 10% of times for most sportives.

Looking at TDF averages can be very misleading. Reason they go so fast is as much because they are better organised than because they are fit. They only work when they have to and when they do they work as a team/group with a purpose. Same cannot be said of the normal sportive group....

May be a bit controversial but I would say that many people on this forum could easily ride a flat stage on the TDF at over 40kph if the peloton tolerated their company.

lochindaal

I am new to cycling and have only done 2 sportives. The biggest problem I have found is not knowing what to do.

You read on these forums about "through and off" but that never seems to happen. This gives me the impression that the person at the front does a stint and then pulls aside and the next person takes over.

When I did the Etape Caledonia after sitting in a chain for a while I made an effort to get to the front as I felt I should do my bit, though as a new rider it didn't last long as my pace was too slow. Doing the southern uplands this weekend I was too slow to get near a chain :oops:

It seems though that in a sportive the rider at the front wants somebody to come through from further back and over take them. This would require a lot of effort for one and as a beginner I'm not too sure if the person at the front is wanting me to take the lead or if they are happy doing there thing.

term1te

bahzob wrote:

May be a bit controversial but I would say that many people on this forum could easily ride a flat stage on the TDF at over 40kph if the peloton tolerated their company.

I agree, I entered a very flat sportive last year around Lake Geneva. Only being in small peloton for half the distance sucked me around at an overall average of 36 kmh. For the first 80 k when we were together we averaged over 40 kmh. Nasty crash on a railway crossing broke the peloton up, I'd love to know the final time if we'd stayed together.

Undertook the Étape de légende last September and was happy to get round at 23.7 kmh.

GeorgeShaw

Same for me. I've just completed the Vatternrundan in Sweden, a mainly flat 300km, and I was towed around by a number of large groups. I ended up averaging over 30kph (moving time). Even this is misleadingly low, as we were without a group for the last quarter. Most of the time, we could easily sit in at something like 35kph.

Just as a comparison, I'd only ever done one faster ride on my own - ever. And that over only 24km. And I did the first day of the Tour of Wessex, with the assistance of only a few small groups, at just under 25kph.

bahzob

lochindaal wrote:

I am new to cycling and have only done 2 sportives. The biggest problem I have found is not knowing what to do.

You read on these forums about "through and off" but that never seems to happen. This gives me the impression that the person at the front does a stint and then pulls aside and the next person takes over.

When I did the Etape Caledonia after sitting in a chain for a while I made an effort to get to the front as I felt I should do my bit, though as a new rider it didn't last long as my pace was too slow. Doing the southern uplands this weekend I was too slow to get near a chain :oops:

It seems though that in a sportive the rider at the front wants somebody to come through from further back and over take them. This would require a lot of effort for one and as a beginner I'm not too sure if the person at the front is wanting me to take the lead or if they are happy doing there thing.

Dont worry. I am in my third year of sportives and am still confused. Did the Marmotte last weekend and thought things would be better but in fact they were even worse.

salsarider79

Some people do not want inexperienced riders at the front of a chain, which I can understand to a point as they may not see hazards, or not hold pace or line well or whatever. When I started riding with friends in a chain, I watched what other riders did, signals, etc and worked on holding their pace.


Course all that really matters is that you are out on your bike and enjoying it. Riding then stopping for tea and cake with a good group of friends is what riding is about for me.

Once_In_A_Blue_Moon

Seconded. Also, as mentioned above, there will be plenty of other groups to fall into. If the group work well together, you'll fly round.

jrduquemin

I did 2 sportives last year and managed to ride practically the whole distance on each one solo. Riding in a group does help to keep you out of the wind though, unless it's your turn to pull at the front