A new British Cycling video shows you how to hold your position in a bunch, the latest in the Racesmart series designed to promote better racing.
Holding your position is quite a complex skill, especially towards the sharp end of a race or just before a climb or crosswind section when everyone is competing for the same places.
Former pro rider Matt Stephens explains how to move up the bunch and stay there, where the pace is less erratic than towards the rear.
You’re also less at risk of getting caught behind a crash if you’re positioned near the front, and more likely to stay in the front group if there are any splits in the peloton.
The video advises you to stay alert, focus on the wheel in front, and to concentrate on holding it to make sure you maintain your position.
Mat has in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now pushing 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.