Cycling Training

How to Sprint Like Freight Train – Part 3

As we covered previously, we break sprinting down into five essential elements:

P – Positioning
A – Awareness
T – Timing
A – Acceleration
S – Speed

Last week we covered awareness. This week, we’re looking at timing.

We have spoken about timing above in many of the positioning and awareness segments. The important thing to understand about timing is that you need to know yourself. We have talked about P.A.T.A.S above and like this, before you sprint you need to have your Position and Awareness sorted out .

Timing is the next thing you need in your arsenal before you unleash that deadly Acceleration and Speed. To know the best timing, a whole lot of factors come into play. Your position and awareness of your environment need to be factored into your timing.

The most important part of timing is that you need to become aware of your strengths and abilities. Timing is the art of knowing when to begin your sprint. In an ideal world you would be crossing the finish line first at your maximum speed. This of course would mean that you have timed your run at the line so that as you begin to accelerate, you have judged the distance to the line so that as you cross it you are maintaining maximum speed. This ideal world does not exist and many unplanned factors can play a part in disrupting this goal.

Important in these times is not to panic, but to remain focused on a solution to what ever problem has interfered with your ideal run. It is impossible to control other riders but it is possible to control yourself. As you are approaching the ideal time to launch your sprint, become more aware of your surroundings and the position of other riders. Try to anticipate the flow of the bunch and make sure as you approach acceleration time, you are in a position to have a clear run at the line.