 There are six main pacing strategies for endurance sports. Positive, negative, even, all-out, parabolic, and variable. Understanding these strategies and knowing which one is optimal for your particular event can have a huge impact on your performance. At the end of the video, I'll also go over how to use a heart rate monitor and a power meter to execute these strategies as well. Welcome back to another video. My name's Dylan, and for weekly cycling coaching videos, just like this one, be sure to subscribe. Pacing is a crucial part of race or event performance, and yet so many people mess it up. Every race I do, I see people going way too hard at the start of the race, and then paying for it later. I'm guilty of this too, believe me. I've learned from firsthand experience the consequences of going too hard at the beginning of a race. Oh, whatever, dude. I one time won a town sprint against a bunch of Cat 1 roadies on their so-called recovery day. So going all out right from the gun at this weekend's charity century isn't gonna be an issue for me. This video is gonna go beyond the general advice of just be more conservative, because as it turns out, there are many different pacing strategies that may or may not be effective depending on your particular event, and sometimes it does pay to go hard at the start. See, I knew it. We'll start first by defining those pacing strategies and then determining which one is optimal for different types of cycling events. This review article on pacing strategies defines each strategy and determines situations in which each strategy may be effective. First up, negative pacing. You may have heard runners talking about negative pacing, meaning that they ran the second half of the race faster than the first half. This is essentially what negative pacing is. Negative pacing is when there is an increase in speed over the duration of the event. Many running world records are set with a negative split and there may be a good reason for that. This study on the impact of starting strategy on cycling performance had cyclists perform 20 kilometer time trials where the first four minutes were performed either at their self-selected pace, 15% above their self-selected pace, or 15% below their self-selected pace. The results showed that even though the average power in the first four minutes was much lower in the 15% below condition, obviously, they went on to average a higher power over the course of the test than either the self-paced or 15% above condition. They concluded that cyclists need to be aware that a hard effort during the start phase of a 20 kilometer time trial does not optimize performance. Basically, most people naturally pace poorly and choose a starting pace that is usually too high, especially considering that in certain situations, going harder in the second half may be the optimal strategy. This pacing strategy is thought to reduce the rate of carbohydrate depletion, lower excessive oxygen consumption, and limit accumulation of fatigue-related metabolites. This sort of strategy seems to be most common in middle distance events. This is an extremely hard pacing strategy to implement. Seeing your competition ride away from you at the beginning of a race when you could keep up with them in that moment takes tremendous discipline. But for certain types of cycling events, if you actually have the patience to pull the strategy off, you could come away with a huge advantage. This strategy may be optimal in time trials or hill climbs, but you may also see it in mass start events where the racing is more strategic and the group stays together until the end of the race where a large amount of power is required to make the winning move. The next pacing strategy is more like an anti-pacing strategy and is probably what all of us did at our first bike race when we sprinted off the line at full gas only to feel like we were having a heart attack five minutes later. Yep, sounds about right. It's called the all-out strategy and it's funny that we even call it a pacing strategy because it essentially means that you're throwing pacing out the window and just going as hard as you can. However, this anti-strategy may actually be your best option for certain cycling events or certain situations in cycling races. Here's an example from a 1000 meter track event. If you look at the power, we can see that it's the highest at the beginning and then declines rapidly after that. This is because a large amount of power is needed to accelerate the bike at the beginning of the race and then after that, it just becomes a matter of holding it to the line. The all-out strategy is best suited for short sprints for obvious reasons. If you're going as hard as you can, you won't be able to hold that for very long. Short track races are an obvious example, but you may choose to employ all-out pacing within certain races under certain circumstances. For example, in the final sprint, you need to accelerate and then hold that sprint to the line. At no point in the sprint are you holding back or pacing and even though your power will decrease throughout the sprint, that's still the optimal strategy. Sometimes the start of a cross-country mountain bike or cyclocross race can use all-out pacing as well. Because the starting position is so important, there's often no holding back in the first 30 seconds of the race. Even though the race will continue for another hour or two. The key here is knowing how to settle in after the start, but we'll get to that in a minute. After this, we have the positive pacing strategy and as you may have guessed, it's the opposite of the negative pacing strategy. Positive pacing means that speed gradually declines throughout the duration of an event. For most self-paced events, excessive positive pacing is considered something to be avoided. Slowing down throughout a race almost always leads to poor performance, although not always. 100 meter and 200 meter swimming, 2000 meter rowing and 800 meter running all typically follow positive pacing. And in fact, whether intended to or not, this is usually the pacing strategy adopted in ultra endurance events lasting over four hours. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that it's the best strategy. The use of the strategy in longer events is more likely the result of glycogen depletion resulting in altered substrate utilization, neuromuscular fatigue or psychological factors associated with the perception of fatigue. As an ultra endurance race for myself, I have unintentionally ended up using positive pacing over the course of a long race. However, I'm generally more successful if I use a more parabolic approach, which I'll talk about in a minute. Another example of positive pacing and cycling may be during a road race when a rider attempts to break away. This is necessary because a large amount of power is required to get free of the peloton and then depending on how much time you have till the finish, your power will slowly drop after that. One could even say that cross country mountain bike racers and cyclocross racers use positive pacing since the start of their races are so hard. However, as we'll soon see, you tend to be more successful in these types of races using a more even pacing style, which we'll discuss now. Even pacing is just as the name suggests. You're holding an even pace over the course of the event. You aren't starting hard and then fading and you aren't speeding up at the end. This is probably what you usually think of when you think of pacing. And for most cyclists, this is the goal for most of their events. And with good reason, it's a very effective strategy. For example, let's take a look at this case study on the cycling hour record. The pacing strategy was remarkably even. This is to be expected in a time trial situation. And even though I said earlier that sometimes time trialists and hill climbers will adopt a negative pacing strategy, most of the time their goal will be an even pacing strategy. And this strategy is likely the fastest in a race against the clock. Even in more variable races like cross-country mountain biking, it seems that maintaining even lap times is the quickest way to finish. This study on the pacing of elite international XEO mountain bikers found that both speed and power output decreased from the start loop to lap one before stabilizing until the end of the race. The races are characterized by a fast start followed by an even pace. In events like cross-country mountain biking or cyclocross, it's important to start hard and then maintain pace until the finish. You wanna avoid fading. Typically five minutes after the start of a mountain bike or a cyclocross race, you wanna start thinking about settling in to your race pace. Generally, this should be your goal during longer races as well. The more you stay on top of your nutrition and stay conservative or smart at the start of the race, the less positive and more even your pace should be. Just like with negative pacing, even pacing takes a lot of self-control because there's always that temptation to go harder than you should at the start of a race. The next kind of pacing we have is parabolic-shaped pacing. With this kind of pacing, you may start hard, slow down in the middle of the race and then speed up at the finish again. It can follow a U, J or reverse J pattern depending on how hard the start is relative to the finish. In races where the competition is tight, this can be the pacing method that's adopted just out of necessity. For example, many road races start hard and then settle down in the middle only to end with a hill climb or a sprint finish. In fact, any race where the group stays together like gravel racing or certain mountain bike races may adopt this pattern because after an initial surge at the start, competitors are trying to conserve energy through the middle for a hard finish. You probably wouldn't choose to follow this pacing strategy for a time trial, but instead use it for more tactical races where drafting and saving energy is key. Our final pacing strategy is called variable pacing. Most cycling races are not done on a flat road with no wind. There's usually some sort of elevation or difficult terrain or headwind to deal with. Variable pacing suggests adjusting your pacing strategy over the course of a race to deal with this. For example, in a hilly race, you might choose to go harder on the climbs and easier on the descents. Most people naturally already do this when riding in the hills, but is this the fastest method? This study used a model to simulate performance of a 70 kilogram cyclist in a 10 kilometer time trial on an alternating uphill and downhill course. They tested whether or not using a higher power on the climbs and a lower power on the descents would produce a faster time than maintaining a consistent power the whole time. The results showed that variable pacing produced a time of 22 minutes and 47 seconds, while consistent pacing produced a time of 24 minutes and 20 seconds, which is a one minute and 33 second saving using variable pacing. They then ran a similar test over a 40 kilometer time trial with alternating headwind and tailwind sections. Again, variable pacing came out the winner through the wind as well, saving 29 seconds over consistent pacing. These results have been demonstrated with real life subjects as well. This study on pacing strategies during a time trial with a headwind and tailwind had subjects perform a 16 kilometer time trial with a simulated headwind in the first half and a tailwind in the second half. Subjects rode the initial trial self-paced and then did the two subsequent trials with either variable or consistent pacing. The results showed that consistent pacing showed a 10 second improvement over the self-paced trial. However, variable pacing where subjects rode harder into the headwind and easier in the tailwind showed a greater improvement at 12 seconds. The study concludes that riders should choose a constant power when external conditions are constant, but when there are hilly or variable wind conditions in the race, a variable power strategy should be planned. It turns out that for hilly or windy races, it pays to go harder when conditions are harder. How much your power should vary depends on the course. For rolling terrain, you might only do five to 10% more power on the climb, but if the climbs and descents are really steep, then you'll need to do significantly more power on the climb simply out of necessity. I talked earlier about how cross-country mountain bikers and cyclocross racers use even pacing, but that's only when looking at their lap times. Their power is obviously extremely variable due to the terrain. That's another key here for proper pacing in variable terrain. The power may be variable when looking at the race in sections, but more even when taking a step back and looking at the average power held over the course of the race. All right, let's condense all of this down and talk about which kinds of pacing strategies you should use for which kinds of cycling events or situations. Research generally suggests that for short duration efforts under 30 seconds, athletes will benefit from an explosive all-out pacing strategy. This could be your one kilo on the track or your sprint at the end of a road race. Anything that requires a big acceleration. During middle distance events of one and a half to two minutes, athletes tend to adopt a positive pacing strategy. In cycling terms, this may be your attack to get away. You surge hard but not quite all out to break free from the peloton and then your power slowly comes down after that. This is also how people usually unintentionally pace longer events. However, it's not the optimal strategy for that. For events over two minutes or more, a more even or varied pacing strategy is your best option. You want an even pacing strategy for a time trial or a hill climb with a steady grade but for hilly or windy courses, it's actually a little bit faster to go harder on the climb or the headwind. If you're on a long climb, remember that the fastest way up it is to maintain an even pace over the course of the whole climb rather than surging and slowing down. Team INEOS dominates using this technique. If somebody attacks, they don't even flinch. They just maintain a steady hard pace because they know that that's the fastest way up the hill and they'll catch whoever's up the road. Longer ultra endurance events tend to follow positive pacing. This isn't necessarily because it's the optimal strategy but just because it's the nature of these races. The closer that you can get to even pacing for a long race, the better. This of course all falls apart when we start talking about tactical racing where drafting plays an important role, like road racing or gravel racing or even some forms of mountain bike racing. In these races, you often just have to follow the lead of the group and plan your move accordingly, whether that be an early breakaway, a late attack or a sprint finish. It is fairly common for these races to follow a parabolic pacing structure though with hard surges at the beginning, slower through the middle and then big race winning moves at the end. This is actually how structure workouts sometimes to train for these specific events by adding intensity to the beginning and end of a longer endurance ride. Your power meter and heart rate monitor can be valuable tools for pacing on race day. However, keep in mind that you can produce a little bit more power and a little bit higher heart rate on race day due to social facilitation. As you race with these tools though, you learn what is and is not a sustainable power or heart rate for a given effort. If you wanna target power to shoot for during an event, determine how long that event will take you and then take a look at your power duration curve to get an idea of what kind of power you can sustain for that period of time. Remember that this is only a rough target and you'll likely have to adjust mid-race, especially in hills or in variable winds. If you've done events of similar duration before, use that power data as your rough target. Take a look at the power after races to determine if you're losing power throughout an event. If this is the case, you may wanna adjust your pacing strategy by paying closer attention to your heart rate and power at the beginning of an event. You may have to go quite a bit easier than you think you do at least from a perceived exertion standpoint. This is easier said than done, but remember that an even pacing strategy is generally faster than a positive one. Thanks for watching. I hope you guys found this information helpful for weekly science-based training videos just like this one. Be sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell. And if you like this video, be sure to give it a like and share it with your cycling friends. I'll see you in the next one.