WHAT IS A BICYCLE RACE

Unlike in Keirin bicycle races, in road bicycle racing competitors ride long distances of over 100 km on public roads and whoever crosses the finish line first is the winner.

The rules state that it’s a simple individual competition in which over 100 riders start at the same time and compete to see who can reach the finish line first. In reality, however, it is a team competition, in which each team tries to have its strongest rider (this rider is called the ACE) win the race. The reason for the team competition is that in road racing, AERODYNAMIC DRAG is the most difficult thing to deal with. When the speed doubles, aerodynamic drag increases to the square, and when the speed triples, aerodynamic drag increases to the cube. Therefore, the key to victory is to have all the other team members ride just in front of the ace in a formation to reduce aerodynamic drag, and to enable the ace to conserve their strength until just before the finish line.

Then, just before the goal, the ace will give their all to try to win the race for their team. The race tactics used against the other teams are the highlights of the competition, such as when the ace makes a move and starts riding in front. The main characteristic of this sport is that it is an individual competition by rule, but in reality it is a team competition.

The standard of value of performance in a bicycle road race is to have a winner from your team or to achieve a ranking close to the winner. On the other hand, if all six members of a team complete the race, the team will be rated the highest.

Conversely, if all six members finish the race, but the team's highest-placing athlete is lower-ranked, the team's rating will be lower.

In addition to the above-mentioned races, bicycle road races include "criteriums," in which riders compete for positions by completing several laps of a course of about 1 to 3 kilometers per lap, with traffic restrictions on park paths and public roads in urban areas, and "individual time trials" and "team time trials," in which riders compete for the fastest finishing time on a set course.