By Scot Willingham

The Calvert-Toefield Memorial Road Race will take place this Sunday, September 18, in Prospect Park. This long-running event is a 50 mile Cat 3-4 handicap race. The Cat 4’s start first and the Cat 3’s start 2:45 later.

What a great opportunity for Category Men 4’s racers to use team tactics even if you are all of different teams. It’s that same challenge when you are a team of one in a pack of many. Chase down a break? Keep the field together for a final sprint? Find a lead out?

The answer is: Make Casual Alliances.

This involves parking lot planning. Talk to friends and acquaintances about a specific tactic for keeping the race together or attempting a break. Or in the case of the Calvert-Toefield race, getting a good paceline together for beating the Cat 3’s.

How is this done?

• Common goal. Breakaway, keep the pack together or keep the pack going fast.

• Sacrifice personal goals. (And this is where it all breaks down)

• Fully commit to the plan. (And here)

• Execution must be excellent to avoid costly mistakes.

More specifically, for the Calvert-Toefield race, the good time trialists and good hill climbers should know to take front when it’s their time and terrain. Sprinters should sit in. When the gap from the 3’s sticks, the sprinters go for the line and hope for the best. Winning by half a tire width is still winning.

Go from the gun and begin to roll on, roll off in a paceline with the strong riders pulling through. This tends to keep the pace steady or accelerating. Eat and drink early and often. Organize pulling off to only one side (unless there is wind), so that you don’t have variables in your rotation.

Honestly assess your abilities. Hill climbers, don’t work on the flats and downhills. Time trialers, don’t work on the hills. Sprinters, sit in and save it for the finish. Sprinters, be honest in your assessment and if you know that someone else has a consistently faster sprint, think about being a Marco Velo to their Petacchi. Also, use your cyclo-computers, and if average speed is higher than you can maintain, stay out of the rotation. If it’s not, PULL THROUGH.

Excited? Stoked? Challenged? The Calvert-Toefield format has that feel – a disparate group of racers actually get a chance to work as one massive bike team. One goal. “Two men enter, one man leaves! ThunderDome!” But you have to plan ahead and begin the conspiracy now. Otherwise, it may fall apart when the 3’s come into view. However, the Cat 3’s are reading this also.