[Closed] Solo breakways

jens voigt solo break

Gets the sponsors attention even if the rider is ultimately reeled back in by the peloton.

- Gets TV coverage
- Gets their name out there. In last night's instance it also nicely showed off the French national champion's kit.
- If there's a big crash in the peloton or if teams refuse to work/work together, sometimes they stay away

My brother does this in 2/3 races and inevitably gets caught, when he stays in the bunch he will often podium.

When I asked him why, he said 'cos he got bored.

Niki Terpstra. 2014 Paris-Roubaix.

I wondered why people do it

If a rider doesnt have a sprint or on a hilly stage isn't up there with the best climbers then a solo break offers them perhaps a 5% chance of victory compared to a 0% chance of victory staying with the peloton.

Although most solo breaks dont start off solo they will often be part of another breakaway group rather than the whole peloton too. So for example 8 riders might be work together and get a good gap then one of them attacks from that if they think that is their best chance of victory.

Niki Terpstra. 2014 Paris-Roubaix.

That was from a small group though rather than the peloton.

remember pro sport is advertising and entertainment first and foremost.

You don't need to win to get a contract, you just need to be able to generate enough coverage and provide enough support to the team to justify your price tag.

Solo breaks the will they won't they and the coverage that is what justifies why they happen.

Amateurs do what the pros do.

Fair enough. I wondered if the terminology was correct.

There's a few reasons to do this, apart from the obvious one of potentially staying out and winning the stage:

1) As sparks says, it gets the jersey featured on the tv screens = happy sponsors. (Individual profile increased also doesn't do any harm for the individual = potentially more or better personal deals, endorsements etc)

2) Tactical probing of individual opponents - If I break, can so-and-so stay with me or catch me?

3) Tire out a rival team to help your leader e.g. your team doesn't help bring back the break, so your rival team has to do the heavy lifting to reel it back in, tiring their riders and giving an advantage to your team who have sat back and kept their legs fresh(er). Then your team can lead out your sprinter for example and claim the stage win that way.

4) Negate points for climbs and sprints - your teammate is leading, say, the king of the mountains or sprint points - a breakaway hoovers up some or all (depending on lone or group) the available intermediate sprint / climb points, protecting your team mate's lead.

5) Just for the hell of it (see Jens Voight).

Training [url= http://road.cc/content/news/91793-vuelta-stage-6-heartbreak-tony-martin-day-long-solo-break-caught-metres-line ]innit[/url]?

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The Tony Martin solo TiRed has posted was one of the best things I've seen, I was screaming at the TV for the last 2km or so.

Dave Zabriskie in the vuelta. 160km solo to win the stage iirc.

Ah OK the coverage/sponsorship makes sense.

So moving on is there any science behind it? Presumably the solo rider will be giving it 110% and have a good idea of how long they can sustain that pace and (maybe) some idea of how long it will take them to finish compared to the peloton 😕

David Millar, Tommy Voeckler to name two Poncheurs have/are likened to going off the front solo to win, it's the only reason to do this, go off the front to try to win.

Quite simple really.

Also, later on in the grand tours, when the race has settled down to those in with a chance of GC and those with bob-all hope, often the peleton, or the leaders' teams in the peleton, will only chase enough to make sure the break doesn't gain too much time. Beyond that they'll let the break riders have their day in the sun and a chance of a stage win. In return they might get the assistance of their teams in previous and later stages, or it's in recognition that they all have mortgages to pay and bonuses to win and one day they'll be in the break, or.....

Heavily tactical sport, also highly political with ad hoc alliances forged and broken down almost every day.

it's the only reason to do this, go off the front to try to win.

Absolute rubbish. There are plenty of breakaways where the breaker knows from the start that they haven't got a cat in hell's chance of staying out for the win.

Boonen has made solo breaks to win the Paris-Roubaix a couple of times.

edlong covered it all really well in the post further up the page. Lots of reasons to do it, and not just trying to win the stage yourself.

Solo breaks are more likely to stay away in races where there are no radios (like the world championships, non pro tour races), stages where the teams in the peloton don't want or need to chase as the rider in front isn't a danger to the GC or if the terrain and rider is of a type that really suit each other. Cancellera/Boonen in the classics for example or Martin/Millar/other TT types with a tricky finish.

Didn't Roche do a huge solo effort in one of his tour victories?

Also Hamilton.

http://www.bikemag.com/pavedmag/thoughts-on-a-solo-breakaway/

[quote=bob_summers ]Dave Zabriskie in the vuelta. 160km solo to win the stage iirc.

That'd be in the first of 3 years he was stripped of all results for doping. Oh well.

Watched the women's TOB last night.... one hour of watching to see 27 minutes and 23 seconds of actual cycling coverage. Mrs Gti timed it.

Boonen rode alone from about 40K out to win Roubaix a few years back.

Favours strong time trialers or those who can maintain a sustained effort but not sprint.

It does work. Sometimes the bunch just sits there looking for someone else to chase the move. That momentary delay is enough of a gap to allow a race winning move. If you know you can hold 30mph+ to the line you might just hold them off.

It doesn't work very often but if your other hope is sitting in the bunch for a mid table finish then it is worth rolling the dice if the opportunity presents itself.

I even seem to remember a Schleck TdF break in the mountains that Cadel was left to chase.

Breaks on the last climb don't count, but 3 climbs out?

And Contador in the Vuelta a couple of years ago.

The definitive edition is surely Hugo Koblet's Brive - Agen win in the 1951 Tour de France.

🙂