Why would drafting be a good strategy in a bicycle racing?

Question

Bicycle racers such as lance armstrong would often intentionally ride behind another racer. This is called Drafting.

Why would drafting be a good strategy in a bicycle racing?

Answer 1

"....WOULD OFTEN INTENTIONALLY" ?????

THE WHOLE RACE IS ALL ABOUT DRAFTING....EVERY BIT

IT'S NOT A STRATEGY....IT IS THE RACE ITSELF

YOU GO 30MPH IN A PACK...YOU GO 20MPH BY YOURSELF

YOU LOOSE TOUCH WITH THE DRAFT - YOUR RACE IS OVER

Answer 2

The rider in front is punching a hole in the wind, so the riders behind don't have to do as much work to go the same speed. The drafting riders are saving about 30% of the energy to go the same speed. But in some races, such as the Race Across America, Ironman Triathlons, and others, drafting is not allowed.

Answer 3

The human body is the engine in a bicycle race, but its power and fuel capacity are limited. Drafting is a way to save energy for later in each stage so it can be used for climbing, sprints, breakaways or those all important stage wins.

I see someone read that it saves 20% effort. I believe it's closer to 40-50% really. For example, on the last leg of the Elephant Rock ride there is a stretch that goes next to the freeway for about 8 miles, and there is ALWAYS a 15-25mph headwind while riding it. Only someone with inhuman power is going to make any time on this section after an entire day of riding!

Last year I stuck myself into an impromptu paceline to avoid the headwind, and with 5 to 7 riders you only have to really push for about 20-30 seconds to get another 4 minutes of rest. Seriously, when drafting you often have to sit up, leave the slipstream for a bit or brake lightly to avoid hitting the rider in front of you!

So for this stretch of road, into a nasty headwind, our paceline was still pushing about a 30mph average speed the entire 8 miles. Learning to draft is one of the best ways to do long rides.

Answer 4

Drafting? Lots of folks do it, sailors do it. Heck, birds do it.

Most racing sports involve drafting for the same reasons of conservation. Look at NASCAR or Indy Car racing. They draft behind each other to conserve on fuel (which means fewer or at least later pit-stops). The same goes for bicycle racing. So, if Lance Armstrong didn't have a strong team to draft behind... he probably wouldn't have a lot of energy left for those spectacular finishes. So the heart of the strategy is draft to conserve energy an draft to finish strong. Seems like sound strategy.

Answer 5

because drafting helps reduce wind drag for the guy that is drafting another rider. Race cars do that also.

Road racing as a team make turns on who's at the lead, so that the riders spent their energies more wisely.

On mountain bike, it doesn't apply usually.

Answer 6

its areodynamic. the person in front breaks the flow of the wind. if some else was drafting behind, then most of the air would just flow right over him instead of breaking the wind himself. it decreases pedaling effort a lot so one will have a good amount of energy to sprint ahead when the time is right.

Answer 7

Short answer yes. But in some disciplines it is illegal (banned).So make sure.
Once you reach the mind blowing speed of 15km/hr (9mph) 50% of your power will be devoted to over coming wind resistance. Wind resistance is proportional to speed cubed(2times quicker 8 times the power) . So as you go faster the energy you save will increase dramatically.

Answer 8

It lets the driver in front take the full force of the wind drag. Driving behind him is less drag because the air is disturbed. The driver in front will get tired quicker because he has to use just a little more force to peddle.

Answer 9

It's not the only strategy or else everybody will do it. But drafting reduces your effort by 20%, leaving you a bit more fresh to contest the race.

Answer 10

drafting saves up to 20% of your energy. OR MORE