This segment racing just seems alien to me - am I right in thinking that if I blitz round a course at full tilt I will be beaten on points by someone just trying on segments ?
Finishing positions is one set of points. Where as FAL (Fastest across line in a segment), and FTS (Fastest though a segment) can equate to many segments so many more point scoring opportunities.
So in the racing league you get people just targeting segments. Sometimes they drop off the back of the group internationally, to save energy for the segment(s) they’re targeting. This has been exaggerated to the point they might finish the race minutes after everyone else. Or wait to be lapped so they can attack a segment in the draft.
In our case last winter we weren’t the strongest team on paper. So we had a sprinting team specifically attacking segment rather than the finish. We nearly won the league off the back of the tactic. But if I’m honest I find it a bit odd…
Having said that, because it allows more people to have a chance of contributing it has mass appeal. Historically sprinters would be sprinting for the line at the end. Now you can sprint for the first segment, maybe a couple of minutes into the race, get a load of points, and then spin around the rest of the course calling yourself Chris hoy to pass the time! And then get more points than someone who stays the course until the end.
