Standing Causes HR Increase

It's common to see riders standing when they are riding, whether it's going up a hill, accelerating, or stretching out. But if your goal is conserve as much energy as possible, it's also good to know to that your heart rate will usually increase when standing, even when putting out the same power.

Red = HR, Blue = speed
Yellow = power, Green = cadence

This graph from a recent ride caught my attention because it shows this tend very clearly. HR increases slightly while power, speed, and cadence all decrease noticeably during each of the three periods of standing. This graph is from a roller ride so the conditions are different with regard to speed and power change; speed and power wouldn't decline like this on the road, but I like to remain on the rollers so this naturally what happens when I'm stretching out. While the increase in HR is small, it's still noticeable and all the more telling since power declines.

The reason for this increase in HR is that you are activating additional muscles to do work, and a rise in HR can be expected when recruiting additional muscles to do work. But similarly, it means that you're using additional energy to supply these newly working muscles that aren't necessarily putting more power in the pedals.

So keep in mind: when max power is the goal, standing may be your friend. But when it's time to conserve energy, seated is the way to go.

Strength training during race season

The following is in response to a recent question about strength training (off the bike) during the race season.

My first question is: what’s the goal of your strength training?

Any training you do takes energy and time, and any training you do that’s not on the bike takes away energy and time that could be spent cycling. While a rider can benefit from off-the-bike training, these cross training activities need to address a specific goal, especially if they are being done during the peak part of the season. Specificity is key to top cycling performance, and during the middle of the summer that means time on the bike. Cross training can provide a fitness base but does not provide the specificity needed for peak cycling performance since it does not exactly replicate the motion and position of cycling.

As a result, strength training off the bike during the middle of the season needs to address a particular deficiency that cannot be easily addressed through on the bike training because greater strength does not necessarily translate to higher power on the bike (see Dr. Andy Coggan’s Stength vs. power article for more detail on how more strength doesn’t necessarily lead to more power).

Generally, weight training is part of a cyclist’s training program in the following scenarios:

1. off-season cross training for full body development and maintenance
2. bone health (weight bearing exercise)
3. rehabilitation from injury or physiological imbalance
4. address a specific muscular weakness
5. increase short-duration (sprint) power [this is somewhat debatable—see above article link]
6. comprehensive physical development for young riders

As a general practice, for every weight/strength workout you plan, subtract that time and energy from what you will have available to spend on the bike. If you ride less during the core racing season as a result of strength training, reconsider how much weight training you do (if at all).

A few exceptions apply. If you have issues with your lower back like I do, then time and energy spent on core strengthening and flexibility in the short term can be well worth the time saved from injury in the long term (see 3 & 4 above). Also, if the strength workouts take place during time you would not have been able to ride, then it may be a great addition to your training.

If you have chosen to do strength training during your cycling season, I recommend always giving priority to the cycling workouts. That means strength workouts should follow cycling workouts on high-intensity days so that you have your full energy available to commit to the cycling workout. Next, make sure to balance your overall training plan so your body regularly has time to recover. Strength training also needs to be counted in your overall training hours to reflect the additional energy required to complete these additional workouts.

Obviously there is a great deal more to understanding how strength training can be a part of your annual training.

For more information, check out Cycling Anatomy by Shannon Sovndal or Weight Training for Cyclists by Ken Doyle, ask a cycling coach, and continue to learn more about the numerous factors and techniques for improving cycling performance.

Speed, Leg Speed, and "Spinning Out"

Cyclists sometimes refer to “spinning out” in a sprint or down a hill, meaning they feel they reached the maximum speed they could in the gears they have. The implication is that with a bigger gear they could have gone faster in the same scenario. However, fitness and skill development (or lack thereof) are the limiting factors long before gear selection.

Leg speed is a skill that juniors are forced to develop due to junior gears (Huugh! Sorry, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. That happens when I think about junior gears.) Track riders also develop this skill due to riding a fixed gear. And it’s a skill that all riders should work to develop through high cadence workouts. Accelerating out of turns, jumping, attacking, and sprinting will all improve if a rider is simply comfortable using higher leg speed (100–150).

At the end of the day, your top speed is limited by power—800 watts in a 53 x 12 is the same speed as 800 watts in a 53 x 14. But developing leg speed so your muscles will perform well at high RPMs can help you put all of your available force into the pedals, ultimately producing more power.

Power aside, let’s just look at the myth of spinning out. Not many riders are hitting 40 mph in a sprint. Never the less, it’s possible to reach that speed in nearly any set of gears whether you throw on a monster 55 chainring or you’re limited to junior gears (roughly a 48x13). As you can see in the chart below (click to enlarge/zoom), the absurdly large 55 x 11 requires a cadence of just over 100 to do 40 mph. Juniors can keep pace with a cadence of about 138.

On the track, pursuit riders use a cadence of about 120, kilo riders are around 140, and track sprinters are over 150. This isn’t the cadence you want to hold for an hour, but for accelerating out of corners, sprinting, or descents of a few minutes, the stock 53 x 12 on most bikes is more than enough. If you can’t hold 140 RPMs for the duration of a sprint, or 120 for at least 10 minutes, it’s time to add some high cadence drills to your workouts so you’re capable of it and become more comfortable maintaining this tempo.

So next time you hear a rider say he’d “spun out,” what he really just said is, “I can’t go that fast,” or “I’m lacking leg speed.” The chart doesn’t lie, and any rider should be able to put out 140 RPMs for a 10-15 second effort. Few riders have the power to turn the pedals at 140 RPMs in their biggest gear, but if you did you’d hit nearly 48 mph on a 53 x 12 and just over 40 on junior gears. Those are speeds that can win a lot of races.

The Feed Zone - Tips for Hand Ups

So that long road race is coming up, and you’re starting to think that getting a few bottles during the race would be a big help for staying hydrated. The feed zone is a tricky place, both for riders and the people feeding them, because most people—on and off the bike—don’t do it much.

A few things to think about before you plan to get a hand up during a race:

• If you’ve never done it before, race time is not the right time to learn.
• If putting 1–3 bottles in your jersey will be enough for the race, that’s the best way to go. If that won’t suffice, then make time to practice before race day.
• It’s great that Billy’s girlfriend volunteered to help at the race, but if she doesn’t dress like Mother Theresa, she shouldn’t be asked to do her great works either. Feeding a team during your first race is totally unrealistic! And if you’re a friend of Billy’s, you won’t do that to his girlfriend. Plus, you’ll have a better chance of getting your bottle.

At this point, if you’ve decided that you need to get a feed at the race, or simply that it’s about time you started learning how to do this, read on. If the person giving you bottles knows what to do, that will be a big help. Next, a lot of your success will depend on everyone around you staying sane and whether or not you have good hands. If you took up cycling because you were the kid who couldn’t catch a ball if offered a million dollars, this hand up thing is not looking good for you. But these basics will help both you—the rider—and your assistant if you’re new to this. In the cycling tradition—and lacking a better name—I call the person handing up bottles the “soigneur.”

Before the race, plan the following:

• What bottles, drinks (water, energy drink, etc.), and food should be put in a cooler or other container for quick and easy transport and access
• Where the soigneur will stand (right/left side of road, and beginning/middle/end of feed zone), and where on the course the feed zone is located
• What the soigneur will be wearing (clothing color, hat, etc.) so they can easily be spotted
• Which lap(s) you plan to get a feed
• What items you will get (energy drink vs. water) on which laps

Soigneur skills for handing up bottles:

• Get close to the riders—usually this will be uncomfortably close for people new to feeding—but obviously don’t get into the road, which is dangerous for you and the riders
• Hold the bottle correctly!!! Refer to image shown here.
• Hold your arm straight out—this will be the right height for the rider and you won’t have to get quite so close
• Let the rider absorb the impact of grabbing the bottle—don’t try to run along or move the bottle in the rider’s direction to lessen the impact. It’s a bike racer you’re working with, not an All-Pro Wide Receiver, and there are usually lots of other people in the feed zone.
• Pick up dropped bottles after completing the feed
• New soigneurs should only try to feed one rider, two max. With more experience for rider and soigneur it’s possible to feed more riders but still tricky.

Rider skills and tips for getting a feed

• Toss off extra bottles after the feed zone—this way if you have a half-empty bottle you can keep it in case you miss your feed
• Aim to grab the bottle at the neck with your thumb and forefinger, and the rest of your hand wrapping around the length of the bottle
• Anticipate the difference in speed of the stationary bottle and let your arm absorb some of the speed difference—don’t try to grab the bottle with an iron hand and arm
• Let dropped bottles go—don’t look back after them as you’re only likely to cause a crash

General stuff to know

• Feeding is a learned skill, so practice it!
• Plan feeds earlier than needed in a circuit race so you can always have full bottles with you, even if you miss a feed one lap.
• Only hand up 1 bottle at time. If you really need to hand up more, then you need to use a musette bag (photo of musette bag) which uses a little different technique and practice
• Many relationships have been negatively affected by the failure to connect on a feed, so talk and practice ahead of time and leave any errors out on the course (don’t bring them home afterward)
• Writing your name (and team name) on bottles helps you get them back, but expect (and plan accordingly) to lose some.

Now practice

1. Find a quiet street/road with an uphill—hopefully the races where you need to feed will also have a hill at the feed zone.
2. Practice with the soigneur on the right side of the road. This is the side you will feed in most races, plus most riders are right-handed which will make this easier (sorry lefties).
3. Have empty and water-filled bottles available (don’t use energy drink for practice—it’s sticky, and bottles sometimes squirt or pop-a-top during a feed); start with an empty bottle then move to water-filled bottles
4. Soigneur stands on the white line (or on the curb) on the side of the road
5. If necessary, before reaching the feed zone the rider moves any empty or near empty bottles to make room for new bottle
6. Rider approaches following a straight line near the white line
7. Rider maintains line through the feed zone—do not swerve in toward the soigneur to get the feed as this creates more chaos for riders and feeders alike; the soigneur should adjust their road-side position to be at the appropriate distance
8. Soigneur holds bottle straight out at arm’s length grasping the bottle from the top (bottle dangling down)
9. Rider puts hand out in bottle grabbing position (about 18“ in front of the shoulder at shoulder height with hand open) signaling they will take the bottle and helping the rider and soigneur home in for the feed
10. Rider holds line and keeps eyes on bottle as taking feed to properly catch bottle. I recommend wrapping the bottle into your chest to hold it securely (sort of like it was a football) and making sure you still have a safe line through the feed zone.
11. Rider then places bottle in cage or jersey
12. Rider tosses off any empty or nearly empty bottles
13. Repeat a half-dozen times or more increasing the speed as you get more comfortable

During a race

• Stay to the left if you are not feeding—this will make life better and safer for everyone
• Make sure to follow all of the pre-event planning noted above, plus remember and use the same techniques you did in practice
• Expect the feed zone to be a bit chaotic during a race, but focus on getting into position (or out of the way) before entering the feed zone, and holding your line through the entire feed zone.
• Rider and soigneur should communicate with each other each lap through the feed zone—confirm the schedule (as it was planned) or make changes as necessary

Example and future aspirations

In this video, riders are going through a feed zone picking up musette bags and grabbing bottles.  They make it look very easy, and you’ll probably have a hard time picking up the feed zone action until you’ve watched through the video a few times. Look for riders slinging musette bags over their heads they have just grabbed, and a few bottles being handed out. Everyone continues to ride a steady pace and a smooth line. Watch the upper left corner as the soigneur with the white and red shirt hands out three bottles from 0:23–0:28 in the video.

Selecting a Bike Rack for your Vehicle

Bike racks come in about as many options as there are vehicles to put them on. Roof, trunk, or trailer hitch mounted, with or without front wheel removed, holding 1–4 bikes (or more if you see those ProTour team cars). The list goes on and on and every manufacturer has what seem like infinite options.

To help you get started, the following list provides some considerations to make that will help you focus on the style of rack that will best fit your needs. Picking the manufacturer and features is up to you.

• Ease of use: how difficult is it to put bikes on the mounts or simply reach the rack (e.g. roof racks on full-sized vans require a ladder)
• Rack’s impact on use of car: does the rack block or alter your access to different parts of the car (e.g. impair or prevent access to doors, truck, tailgate, etc.)
• Quality of attachment: what’s the risk of the bikes coming off the rack; what’s the risk of the bikes being damaged (i.e. things rubbing together)
• Security of the bikes (theft prevention): how/if the rack can be locked to the car and the bikes locked to the rack
• Dirt and bugs: amount of junk that will get on your bikes while traveling
• Carrying capacity: how many bikes, wheels, and other gear can be carried
• Cost: what are you willing to spend for the rack and its affect on fuel efficiency

Make sure to consider your type of vehicle (van, SUV, sedan), amount of gear, amount of travel, your budget, and other individual factors as you consider the list above. What’s good for one person won’t work for another so don’t just get the same thing your teammate got unless your situations are pretty similar.

I rarely carry more than one bike and have found that the best balance of all these factors means putting my bike in the trunk. It’s easy, secure, keeps the bike clean, and it’s free, but it doesn’t work well when I need to carry 2 bikes. I’ve used trunk and hitch racks and been moderately happy with them (work fine but limit/prevent trunk/tailgate access). My family even used to have a custom made trailer that could haul four bikes, a gross of wheels, tools, and leave enough room for a cooler, too. Next I’ll get a roof rack when I need to start carrying more bikes because it’ll allow me to get a box for carrying skis in the winter.

So figure out what works for you and then get shopping. Thule, Yakima, Saris, and Rocky Mounts are just a few names out there.

Train your brain: Dealing with failure

In the midst of putting time and effort into training and racing, one element that can often be overlooked is making sure you’ve got your head in the right place. The mental aspect of cycling is just as important to success as the physical. Maintaining focus during a race allows you to follow through with race strategy, save energy, stay nourished, be aware of race dynamics, and give your best effort. During training and daily life, having a good mental outlook helps maintain the consistency and lifestyle that supports your cycling habit through persistence, healthy habits, intense effort, and quality relaxation.

One of the challenges every cyclist will face is failure. At some point everyone has a bad workout, gets dropped from a group ride, experiences a mechanical problem that ruins a top placing, or fails to meet a top goal. Learning how to deal with these failures—small and large—is an important of being a cyclist.

Marvin Zauderer over at Pez Cycling has an article Putting Failure in its Place, that provides an introduction about how and why people respond to failure in different ways and gives some ideas about handling it productively. It’s not a guide to dealing with failure, but it’s a good place to start thinking about how disappointments affect our outlook and how we can react them. If you’ve never taken time to think about how you deal with set backs—on or off the bike—I think this is a good time to start seeing how you can learn and adapt when you fall short of your own expectations.

Upgrading Racing Categories

As the end of the road racing draws near, hopefully you look back and feel like it’s been a good season. You may even be thinking that next season you’re ready to move up from a category 5 to a category 4, from a 4 to a 3, etc. But how?

Each USA Cycling licensed racer has a separate category for road, track, and cyclocross. Upgrades for each discipline follow a separate set of guidelines based upon experience and results. As a new racer, upgrades are based mainly on experience, with the goal that cyclists advancing to the next category have the skills and fitness to be safe in the higher category. At higher categories, riders move up based upon results in their races.

Details on each upgrade process

• Road Categorization Upgrade Guidelines
• Track Categorization Upgrade Guidelines
• Cyclocross Categorization Upgrade Guidelines

While the official guidelines are a good measure of a rider’s potential for an upgrade, you may find some riders upgrade even if they don’t meet the official criteria. These exceptions can happen for many reasons—good and bad. If you have questions about your particular situation—or are eligible and want to upgrade—contact your Regional Coordinator.

Group Ride Etiquette

Last week I posed the question, “What is the purpose of a group ride?” and talked about what you can do to try to be ready for group rides. Sure, there are a lot of questions you can ask as a new rider at a group ride, and groups could do a better job of being organized, but every group ride adheres to some basics that you should know. With these largely unwritten rules in hand, you may find you have less questions on your next group ride.

Ride right
The first set of skills to getting along with your fellow cyclists at any group ride is to master the basics of riding in a group. Primarily, this is for safety and to demonstrate your competency as a cyclist. Mastering the skills of riding in a group is a long-term, ongoing effort, but the basics of riding a straight line, not overlapping wheels, pulling through smoothly, and not letting gaps open that others have to close are ones to start with. Check out Pacelines, Part 1 and more paceline posts to come for more details.

Communicate
One of the things that most helps other riders stay safe on a group ride is pointing out or announcing road hazards such as holes and cracks, road debris, and vehicles to avoid. “Car up!” “Left turn!” and similar announcements are important to make sure that everyone in the group knows about major changes in direction and key hazards. Especially as the rides get longer and faster, announcing things is important because tired riders tend not to pay as much attention and more accidents happen at these times.

Be nice to cars
This isn’t about baking cookies for the commuters at your local stop light. This about building goodwill with motorists and simply staying safe. Generally, motorists don’t know what to do or expect when they encounter a group of cyclists. Generally, it is a good idea to move as a unit, as if the pack was just a big semi that takes a little longer to cross intersections, a little more space to pass, but follows the same rules of the road and traffic patterns as all other vehicles. This makes the situation more comfortable for drivers as they can better anticipate your actions and what they should do.

As a group, stop at stop signs. Signal to motorists as you cross an intersection—wave to say “Thanks” or have them go ahead before the group goes. Avoid holding up traffic when an easy alternative is available that won’t hold up traffic, and minimize your traffic impact when it is not plausible to stay out of the way.

If cars yell or gesture rudely at you, simply wave and smile. Don’t antagonize motorists. Like Rock, Paper, Scissors, riding on the road goes something like Car, Bike, Pedestrian (except the Pedestrian never wins).

Getting aggressive
Treating the motorists nicely is an easy rule. But putting the hurt on other riders, that’s just a part of many group rides. When to ramp up the pace, attack, or sprint is often a question. Many group rides are open to people attacking, some even encourage it, but some group rides are intended to have a structured paceline throughout. If you are unsure, ask someone. The following cues will help you know when to drop the hammer—or keep an eye out for it.

Nearly every group ride starts with a warm up. This can sometimes be pretty quick but is, never the less, seen as a neutral part of the ride. Attacks are frowned upon. The warm up often consists of the group riding a double paceline with two riders sitting on the front for a little before dropping back together. If you don’t know what part of the ride is the warm up, feel free to ask.

After the warm up ends at the usual town sign, intersection, or other land mark, there is usually a bit of a roll up as the ride quickens and takes on a rotating paceline. My experience is that this part of the ride usually has the expectation that the pace is fast but no one attacks. This part of the ride usually ends with a sprint.

After the roll up and sprint, the group is usually open to people attacking. For some groups, the rest of the ride is a mock race and breaks try to stay away. Other groups will come back together at certain locations on the remainder of the ride, even if someone goes up the road. So if you want to attack—or simply be ready when others do—this is the time in the ride to keep your eye out.

Last, remember that group rides are just training. While they can get competitive, it is not the time to be aggressive in taking risks to move up in the group, slide through a gap, take a corner at high speed, or otherwise endanger yourself and others. Keep it safe.

General etiquette
Aside from the dynamics and skills for riding in a group, it is good to be aware of what qualifies as a faux pas. First, be sure that you are prepared for each ride. This includes carrying the basics with you for every ride; just because you are riding with other people doesn’t mean you can leave your supplies at home. Second, help out others when they have a mishap. They may have supplies to fix a flat, for example, but that doesn’t mean the group should leave that person behind. They might run into one of those annoying situations where the simple flat turns out to be a double flat, or come across something where they have the tool but not the know-how yet to fix it. Think of helping as good karma.

Third, you don’t get bonus points for attacking during the warm up, on the way through the turns and stops of that small town, by running stop signs, or other means of trickery. Keep the attacks for the open roads. Fourth, gapping a rider, taking someone into a curb, bumping someone out of line for a spot before the sprint, or otherwise being physically aggressive is not cool on a group ride. That just leads to having a bad reputation.

Last, say “Hi” to the new rider. You want him to come back next week.


Those are the basics. Is there anything left out here that you think every rider should know? Any lingering questions you have?

The dollar bill trick

Buying a fountain drink in the middle of a long, hot ride: $0.99.
Being able to fix a flat tire despite the huge slice in your tire: priceless.

If you read “What you should carry with you on every ride” then you may remember the reference to the magic of the dollar bill. If you ever find yourself in the middle of ride with a big hole, cut, or separation in your tire, this dollar bill will come through as a simple, short-term solution.

You probably don’t carry an extra tire with you when you’re out riding—and I’m not suggesting you should—but without some sort of solution, replacing or patching your tube when you your tire is damaged probably won’t get you home. The problem with big holes, cuts, or other separations in the casing and or rubber of your tire, is that the tube can bulge out through these gaps, easily leading to a puncture. A dollar bill is a good, quick fix because it can help prevent the tube from bulging out of the damaged part of the tire. The wrapper from an energy bar or gel can also be used, but the shape of dollar bill is part of its effectiveness.

To use the dollar bill, replace or patch the tube as you normally would, then before reinserting the tube into the tire, inflate the tire just enough so it’s no longer in a flattened shape (your mouth provides plenty of pressure if you’re quick enough closing the valve stem. Now with the tube taking on it’s normal shape, wrap the dollar bill around the point in the tube that matches with the damaged portion of the tire. Fully insert the tube into the tire, checking to ensure the dollar bill in lined up correctly with the damaged spot in the tire. Once the tire is fully mounted, inflate the tube and you’re ready to ride. The dollar bill will hold the tube from bulging out of the tire, and you should be able to make home.

Paper money does not resist puncture the way a healthy tire does, and given many miles your money will start to get brittle and crumble. Trust me on that one. So once at home, you need to replace the tire and remove the dollar bill.

What's the purpose of group rides?

If you have ever been on a group ride, then you know the drill: roll out of the parking lot, ride along with the group for a while at a steady pace, at some mysterious point pandemonium ensues, and the only thought other than "Don't lose this wheel!" is "How am I going to find my way home?"

What happened!?

Most racer-oriented group rides seem to be a free-for-all, and sometimes it takes years to figure out what's going on. Routes, length of the warm up, sprint locations, drop policy, pacing, and more are largely a mystery. What's just part of the fun for one rider is a faux-paus to another. Even riders who come often don't know the plan.

So what is the purpose of a group ride?

That's the main question that rarely gets answered—out loud anyway. Everyone shows up with their idea of what they wish or expect the ride to be: hard workout, speed work, paceline practice, sprint training, race simulation, testing your (or your buddy's) fitness, cojones measurement, etc.

Bicycle touring/recreation clubs often pre-define multiple groups by pace and drop policy. Not a bad plan, but racing-oriented group rides aren't often that organized. Whether you are new to the group ride or have been coming for years and are still looking for answers to the mystery of your group ride, here are a few suggestions.

Be prepared.
That's the Boy Scout motto. Know the start time and location of the ride, and the length of the ride, if possible. Bring plenty of food and fluids, plus your own tools for roadside repairs. If you have a good, compact map of the area (or a phone with GPS/maps), bring it along if you are worried about getting dropped and being lost.

Arrive early.
Get to the meeting point before the scheduled ride time so you have time to get your bike ready, meet a few people, and inquire about the plan for the ride. As a new rider, you don't want to be rushing in last minute and chasing everyone out of the parking lot without having met anyone or asking any questions about the route or type of ride to expect.

Ask questions.
Ask about the planned route, warm up, structure of ride (organized, free-for-all, drop policy, etc.). Don't be discouraged if you don't get the answer right away—you may not be the only person who doesn't know the plan. Ask multiple people, if necessary.

Find the leader.
Usually there is one person who is the appointed or de facto ride leader. This person does not always have the answers either, but by asking this person about the pace, structure, warm up, sprints, and drop policy, you just made it more likely that the ride will have more of a plan.

Make a friend or two.
Every group has people who are naturally friendly and more than happy to help. Talk to a couple of people and find a person or two you are comfortable asking questions during the ride, like how far to the next sprint. If you are worried about getting dropped along an unknown route, having a friend to remember you is good, especially in the event you have a mishap.


People do group rides for a variety of reasons: comroderie, fitness, learning skills, and much more. But just like team racing requires communication, so do group rides. So talk about it. Ask questions. That goes for riders new to the group and riders who have been showing up for months or years but don't know the plan. If you happen to be the leader of the group ride, keep all of these questions in mind and even consider giving a quick pre-ride plan to everyone regarding the route and goals for the day.

A last note for all of the "usuals" on group rides, please say "Hi" to the new guy. Find out his name. Let him know what normally happens on the rides and ask if he knows the area (especially if no one waits for dropped riders). So many group rides are like an exclusive club where anyone can show up, but only the special people get in. Don't force new riders to finish with the front group before they even get a "Hi, how are you? What's your name?"

Most efficient positions in a pack

Your position in the field during a race is determined by a number of factors: speed, part of the race, team plan, individual role, goals, fitness, trust in others, location of key competitors, and much more. But it is important to also know the most efficient positions in the field, so you can find them when you want to save significant amounts of energy.

I remember seeing a graphic a number of years ago that illustrated the energy savings of various positions in a peloton. It may have been longer ago than I remembered because I couldn't find it or any related articles online (please post a comment if you can). But the illustration and the numbers on reduced aerodynamic drag confirmed what I had experienced all along: not all positions are created equal. Some positions provided over 50% savings in aerodynamic drag.

First, it is good to understand a little bit about aerodynamics (this is very simplified—my apologies to anyone who actually studied aerodynamics or flow). As air hits an object—a pack of riders in this case—the greatest area of pressure (wind resistance) is at the front. We all know this from pulling. But rather than a knife cutting into butter that creates a very narrow path, the path of air flowing around an object creates a rounded shape at the front that later tapers off. You probably know this "bubble and taper" shape of the air flow from the shape of aerodynamic helmets and the tubes of aerodynamic time trail bikes. These shapes are used in equipment to minimize aerodynamic drag.

This bubble and taper effect is important to understand when riding in a pack because it illustrates where and how to move up in the field, as well as why the tail end of the field is a bad place to be if you want to save energy. My crude illustration shows this bubble effect (dotted line) and how the most energy (think: hot zone) is required at the front (left side of image), while the sweet spot is found in the cooler regions.

While it's obvious that riding at the front of a pack requires the most energy, the bubble effect also explains why just a few riders behind the leader the peloton is 6+ riders wide. This bubble effect at the front of the pack creates a wide zone in which riders can gain a drafting advantage. When a race slows down a little, this bubble of reduced aerodynamic is pretty big, so moving up the sides of the group is a relatively easy and efficient maneuver. That's why people do it so often.

Conversely, it is important to note that the bubble is only at the front of the pack and tapers off. If you stay buried in the middle of the field, you always get a great draft. But as you get to the back of the pack, in the line of single-file riders trailing the peloton, you actually start to get less draft. Repeat: further back does not always mean an easier ride—you can sit too far back. Now you might start understanding why developing riders sitting at the back of pack often get dropped: in addition to less fitness, they are also getting less aerodynamic advantage from the draft.

This alternate picture is meant to roughly illustrate how different positions are more or less efficient. Don't go fighting for fifth row based on this example (you may find an equally efficient position further up or back—and you need a prize just for finding "fifth row" in an actual field), but do pay attention to the general pattern.

As with most things in cycling, you have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages in this case, too. The most efficient spot in the field may not be as safe and won't allow you to attack or chase the way a less efficient position will. But in a long road race, it sure can save you a lot of energy so you have more left for the finish.