This happened in a local gravel race over the weekend, and it seemed pretty weird.
I was in the lead group of 4, and it was like one guy wanted to push me off the road. Every time he pulled I was 3rd wheel, then when he pulled off I was 2nd wheel, and as he dropped back he’d move in like he was trying to take the wheel in front of me. I tried just letting him in, but he had no interest in taking an extra pull. I ended up just holding my ground and being ready to push back.
I took it as a compliment that I was enough of a threat that he needed to try to push me out of the draft and into the deeper gravel with every rotation.
Sounds odd based on what you are describing. Didn’t you ask him what he was doing? Maybe he was concerned that the guy on the back was gonna get gapped and didn’t want to be behind him? Or was the guy at the back riding erratically or a small person providing poor draft? Unless he was actually making contact, is it possible he was just trying to stay tight near the front while staying tight to get some shelter? Any cross wind? There are lots of situations in a road or gravel race where I wouldn’t want to go to the back of a group of 4 after pulling off. But actually trying to push you off the wheel and then not even taking it when you gave it up doesn’t make sense to me. What did he do when you gave him the wheel? Really hard to speculate without being there. When someone is riding weird in a race (letting gaps form, disrupting the group, etc.), I’ll usually start a conversation and feel them out. Sometimes they don’t know what they are doing, sometimes they are being disruptive on purpose (which is allowed as long as it’s safe). If a group that size doesn’t like the way one of the riders is riding, they best solution is to drop them or ask them to just hang at the back if they are that disruptive and/or not taking pulls.
When I was riding groups, there were people that I would not follow in the paceline: One was usually on their cellphone doing selfies, or photos of where they were. Another guy was erratic, slow, then fast, then slow. Gaps would develop, and he’d try to catch up. I saw some people on the line just buzz past him to hook up at the end, bypassing him. Others were not staying in their lane, weaving back and forth, and I’d hang as well as I could. During one ride, the girl in front of me stood up and her pushing her bike back so far/hard caused me to tap my brakes and the guy behind me crashed into my cassette, and crashed out of the group. What is it about standing up and shoving your bike back so far/fast in a paceline?
But I can’t remember anyone like what happened to you. (I did have someone constantly criticizing my line riding, so thanks Captain Happy)
'Hook ‘em’? (There was a story of a guy on one of the ‘boy racer wanna be’ rides that deliberately hooked a noob. I think it actually happened because I never saw the guy ever again in that group, but saw him at the LBS and around town. That is totally uncalled for and beyond rude!)
Always thought it was crossed wires from roadie skills/habits. Some guys think maintaining minimal lateral distance is important for aero. The same value as staying close to the wheel in front of you.
If he wasn’t doing anything else it’s hard to take it as malicious, and more that he didn’t know how his actions were perceived.
I’ve resolved these issues by telling them “give me more room” and pointing side-to-side but I’m not adverse to negative racing tactics like riding through potholes or rough gravel, attacking when people start to eat/drink, or wheelsucking the offending rider. Sometimes you need to reshuffle the cards.
Yep, it is to a point. And that lateral distance can be almost touching if you are comfortable with the folks around you. And the draft can be better than sitting on the back if there is a cross wind. Even without the aero factor, I’ll often choose riding to the side rather than sitting directly behind someone because I want to see and pick my line.
The guy behind me was his covert teammate. I had actually tried to slot in behind him because he was pretty tall, and I could sit up more in his draft. There was no wind at all, and if I let a gap open he would just drop back. I get wanting to stay tight to get a draft as you drop back, but when I wasn’t expecting it at first he ended up directly behind the front rider.
Asking what he was doing would have involved talking, and I generally avoid that at all costs.
I don’t think it was anything malicious, just an annoying tactic at worst, and I wasn’t sure if it was something I’d managed to avoid until now.
To each their own, but sometimes a friendly (or not so friendly) discussion is the quickest way to get to the bottom of the issue. I’m not the silent type when racing my bike, but I know a lot of folks don’t like chatting while they race and that’s cool too.
That’s the wrong attitude, IMO. I’m a quiet person and generally default to not saying something, except when it comes to safety on the bike. I’m not letting politeness get me injured. I like my bones unbroken TYVM.
I think this is the issue for the OP……and the root problem is that people aren’t rotating in the right direction.
There should not be a draft for the rider pulling off……they should be pulling off on the windward side ( into the wind). If the rider dropping back has a draft, they pulled off on the wrong side.
The further back you get in the pace line, the worse the problem gets……the rider dropping back is hugging the ascending riders and they start pushing people out of their way without realizing it. I see it all the time when riding in groups rotating the wrong direction. But the time you get 5-8 riders back, it is a total cluster.
Sure, but you are assuming the person pulling off wants an efficient paceline with shared work. I assume he’s not wanting to be in a rotation if he’s not going to the back. There are many situations where a rider doesn’t want to be in a rotation and/or is looking for ways to disrupt the group (fair game as long as it’s safe). Also possible he has no idea what he’s doing, hard to speculate without being there.
