On my weekly group ride there’s a sprint after 20 miles or so, and it follows a 3 mile section of rollers where the group is averaging about 26mph. Usually someone is going fairly hard on the rollers so I try to sit in as much as I can during the lead up but it is still fairly draining. When we come into the sprint area the group is typically going 26-27mph. I’ve tried slowly working my way to be 3rd or 4th in line and then launching, and I’ve also tried slingshotting from maybe 5th-6th or so. I’ve also tried waiting for someone else to sprint, follow them, and then come around. To win the sprint you need to be hitting it hard for 30 seconds or more.
My highest average power for 30s was 1015w but that was on a very steep hill, out of the saddle, and pretty upright. My max power seated for a short period of time ranges from 1000w-1250w. If I try to stay in the saddle and low I can average about 900w for ~20s, taking me up to 39-40mph, but then to avoid my power dropping off greatly I need to get out of the saddle for another kick. At 40mph I’m getting physically and mentally drained very quickly, and at that pace it’s hard to decide if I want to be out of the saddle hitting it or go seated for better aerodynamics. If I’m standing on a good day I can hit 1400-1500w for a bit but seated at that point I’d be dropping down and down and down. It seems that standing toward the end and kicking it hard is a deterrent for others. At this point I’m mostly just trying to take another second off the Strava segment. There’s never a tailwind in this section of road. It’s a fairly flat segment.
Question: At 25-30 seconds of sprinting at ~40mph would you prioritize staying low (at lower power) or getting out of the saddle (at higher power)? I’m having a hard time going much faster.
