Riding
We will average around 29kph (more on that later) and this is a tough enough challenge with a lumpy route to Paris and some serious wind in the French countryside. The Ride Captains will get the bunch working together to really max out the benefits of riding in a big peloton. Group 2 are famous for Jon’s through-and-off.
It would definitely help if you have done some bunch riding. If it is practical to come along to one of the Hotchillee monthly rides I would highly recommend it, as it helps bed in these bunch riding skills with us, and more than likely with some of your fellow riders for the event.
Pacing
The best way to understand our pacing is to join us for one of our training rides, we may say 29kph - but this is a number born from experience rather than something we aim for. The pace is certainly much easier than riding 29kph solo, but you need to able to maintain a good pace for longer rides of 100+km.
If you can’t make it to one of our training rides, a local sportive is another good way to test the water. To get an idea of the hills, a good rule of thumb for our route is to train for a little under 1000m of climbing per 100 km. The Ride Captains will usually increase the pace on the biggest hill of the day so that one can no longer hear the chat from the peloton, but conversation is a fixture of Group 2 for most of the rest of it.
One thing worth mentioning is that while this a big challenge in terms of distance, don’t forget to work on your top end. There will be times where you may be free-wheeling along for what seems like forever in ‘business class’ but need to accelerate out of a corner or close a gap, so those 5 minute or less efforts are still useful.
Finally, it is a fact that looking fast is the main contributor to being fast, so if you have long colourful socks, funky kit, a shiny bike and sparkling cassette; you’re most of the way there. New tyres could also mean you’re not chasing back to the group just before the race section!
Hopefully this has given you a feel for our wonderful Group 2 and answered some questions you may have, but please feel free to get in touch with Ride Captain Dimi via the Hotchillee App