Customer Reviews

Racing Tactics for Cyclists

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is perfect for beginner cyclist, amateur competitors, intermediate competitors and anyone that wants to truly enjoy watching cycling. I've raced amateur and watched hundreds of hours of cycling, once I read this book I realized I was missing allot! No doubt this book will quickly become a 'must have' for anyone serious about cycling.

The author does a fantastic job describing advanced techniques. I own 12+ cycling books and some are practically Chinese, not this book. Very easy to read and understand while conveying a complicated topic. Great Stuff!!!

I am a newcomer to this world of cycling and now experiencing a side of life that is fun and exciting. This book was given to me by a good friend who is an avid biker as a way to expand my knowledge of the racing world. I thought I would be bored out of my mind with all the technical language but I surprisingly understood alot of it, given my limited experience. I found it easy to read, helpful, informative and definitely entertaining. Mr. Prehn has done a terrific job in reaching a very wide audience.

After my 10+ year cycling career, having raced in Italy, this book added very little to my knowledge. It tells some good stuff about crosswinds and echelons, but I think that Boresewick's Road Bicycle Racing is a better book in technics and tatics than this book.

If you are an novice or cat.4 this book may add a lot to your know-how! Since this is not expensive, it's worth giving an try. If you are an old-cycling-man like me, leave it alone.

Since reading this book is likely to make you a more competitive racer, I can hardly suggest that you read it. Afterall, that would be like giving myself a flat, or forgetting to put my rear wheel on before I lined up against you. I want to win just as much as you, so stay away from this book and all its excellent information. There are few books like this available for racing cyclists, thankfully.

I've been racing for 20 years and this book is a very well-written, very concise summary of many basic skills that every cyclist needs to know. Perhaps more importantly for the beginner, former US Pro champ Prehn explains outstanding tactical moves from his racing days as well as more recent races. Not all races are identical, but the examples help the reader begin to think "outside of the box" and begin to recognize and consider the multiple team/personality/individual talent dynamics that exist in any road bicyle race.

If you are a beginner it is probably a pretty good book. If you have lots of experience and have read other things then you probably won't find many new ideas or concepts. It is mildly entertaining and I guess it just gets you thinking about strategy and reviewing different scenarios. So from that perspective it is ok. Its kind of written haphazardly like ideas went from the brain to the pen as they came up.

If you are considering a race, or are just a beginner, this book is great. You also should read it if you just want to understand why cycling teams do what they do in one-day races or in Grand Tours. Once you have read this book, pro racing will make a lot more sense and it will be more enjoyable to watch, even if Phil, Paul and Bob are not doing the commentary.

I am an avid cyclist who rides 75+ miles a week but has never raced. I found the book to be very interesting and I am a much more knowledgeable fan after reading the book. When watching the TDF on OLN I can now understand what is going on during a mass sprint at the end of a flat stage. Prior to reading the book it looked more like total chaos. Diagrams are simple, concepts are well explained and the book is very easy to read in general. Given all the simplicity it might be easy to see why the book might not be as valuable for someone with lots of race experience.

I recommend this book to anyone who is trying to learn bunch racing skills or teaching them to younger riders.

While the experienced rider may read the skills and think "I've been doing this for years, but I'd never thought of suggesting that to a younger rider".

It doesn't have alot on team tactics but I have a few chapters I have my juniors read while travelling to events.

I purchased this book alongside Bike Racing 101 in order to learn more about racing tactics and racing generally, in prep for my first ever season of road racing.

Overall, I found this book to be a great follow-on to that one,as it goes into more detail about specific tactics and overall racing strategy, and I feel it expanded my knowledge base for the season ahead.

I found the illustrations to be hit-or-miss. Sometimes, the tactic is clear from the illustration; other times, as clear as mud. It's especially frustrating when the text describes a tactic, and the illustration is nothing more than the backs of several riders with one arrow.

Anyway, I still learned a lot, and I recommend this book along with Bike Racing 101 for novice racers or racers who have not had any formal basis in tactics. This is also a good read for anyone who is a casual cyclist but enjoys watching cycle races on TV, especially the Grand Tours on what is now Versus (in the US). Though Phil and Paul do a fine job of talking about what's going on, this book will give you the down-and-dirty about what the peleton and the breakaways are actually doing.

All things considered, a good buy for new racers and interested casual riders.