donyiyo wrote:
Harambe wrote:Technique is another thing that makes it different. Technique can make up for lack of fitness.
Yeah, sure...right (lol!!!) go tell that to anyone facing a 15 -20% gradient climb. All the technique in the world will not save you.
Of course, even on an 8 or 10% climb that still holds true.
But that's a very specific situation in bike racing. Much of amateur bike racing is crits and various flatter RRs. I've seen some pretty unfit guys, literally guys that would not be able to follow me up a 5' climb when I'm riding Z2 power, do just fine, even win, in crits because they know how to position, save energy, and time key moves. One of the guys on my team has literally a 230w threshold, but has something resembling a sprint (1000-1200w 15s average the end of a race), he did well enough in cat3, even getting a win, to move up to P12. He commonly finishes top 10 there. That said, if he showed up to a hillier race, he would literally be dropped in the first 5 minutes.
There are some situations in which they are helpless, such as a break establishing itself, as they don't have the firepower to get in the move, nor to contribute to bringing it back, but technique and bike handling play significantly into the game on any flatter or technical courses.