The Postal and Sky eras introduced us to the concept of the “mountain train,” with a legion of climbing teammates delivering the leader to victory. But how does having a mountain train actually help?

A breakaway in a cycling race is a hotbed of intrigue, with ‘friends’ working together for the common good while also plotting their betrayal of the group as a whole. What are the factors that actually enhance the odds that the early breakaway takes it all the way to the line?

In the movie “Breaking Away,” there is a scene in which the hero competes in a bike race where we realize that nobody in the race has a clue about tactics. Peter Cossins' excellent book, “How the Race Was Won: Cycling's Top Minds Reveal the Road to Victory,” presents the story of tactics from a historical standpoint and also through interviews with those involved in the sport.

One of the big buzzwords in psychology in recent years is the concept of “resilience,” the ability to be flexible and adjust to new situations on the sports field or in the game of life itself. That same resilience and flexibility applies to race strategy and both team and individual tactics within a race.

It’s a well-known fact that pre-riding a road race course is one the primary to-do’s of race preparation. Knowing the intricacies of the course is one of those things that coaches request their riders do before any race. For this article, let’s go into more depth about how you can take advantage of your pre-race ride experience in order to translate that into a better race day result.

As the Tour De France fires off the first hectic stages this week we all get a chance to marvel at the controlled pandemonium that reigns in the big group finishes. But there is often strict order and discipline in the midst of the chaos – namely setting up the big “train” to deliver the sprinter to the line. Just what is involved in a proper leadout, and how might you and your teammates practice such team skills?

They don’t call time trialing, “The Race of Truth” for nothing, and this year’s Tour of California was another prime example of the importance of TTs to overall cycling glory. While nothing beats proper training, there are still many big and little tips and tactics you can employ to maximize your performance.

With last month’s tips, I got you to the last kilometer of the race with as little energy expenditure as possible. So you’ve done everything right, you’re perfectly set up for the finish, now how do you bring home the bacon? Much of sprinting success comes from timing, experience and lots of trial and error, but there are a few simple things you can do to speed up the learning curve.