Biking Techniques (Part 15)

Drafting

A consequence of the bike being an aerodynamic brick is that it leaves a big hole in the air behind it. A following rider can sit in that hole and let the bike in front punch through the air for him. In fact, if they get close enough, the bike behind starts to fill in that hole for the bike in front, smoothing the airflow off the back, and so not only does the drafter get a tow, the draftee gets a push.

When the speed of a bike running alone is mainly governed by drag -- as it is for all bikes -- you can go much faster running with someone else. In fact, especially in the lower-powered bike classes, you may not be able to run at the front in a race if you can't run with someone else. It's like NASCAR at Daytona -- you have to run with someone, preferably a large train of someones, or you get hung out to dry in the airstream.

But drafting has many dangers. Tucked in behind another bike, you get a restricted view of the track. You can lose your site picture and orientation. If the rider in front slows unexpectedly, wheels can touch which will launch you both into something that would be a shoe-in for "greatest .mpg crash videos." You tend to fixate on the bike ahead of you, and not notice when the braking point is coming up. If you're catching up the bike in front, your bike will start to accelerate rapidly when it gets into the slipstream, and you can be sucked right into a collision.

So for today, while you can use drafting to a limited extent, please leave plenty of room and drop out of the draft well before the next corner. Collisions between bikes on the track are very bad news.

From TrackDoD Novice Group Orientation