{"id":257969,"date":"2025-11-03T03:21:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T03:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/257969\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T03:21:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T03:21:13","slug":"the-art-of-drafting-during-xc-races","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/257969\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Drafting During XC Races"},"content":{"rendered":"

In XC racing, drafting can do more than just help you lower your heart rate or save a few watts. It can break your rivals mentally. It can win you sprints. It can be the difference between blowing up on a fire road and holding on just long enough to ruin someone else\u2019s day.<\/p>\n

The problem is, drafting in mountain biking doesn\u2019t come naturally. Mountain trails, for some reason, aren\u2019t as smooth and predictable as a freshly paved highway. More often than not, you\u2019re dealing with technical climbs, sketchy descents, and terrain where the rider in front might do literally anything\u2014from flipping over a rock to handing you a piece of Turkish delight. The latter is rare, but not impossible.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s look at when drafting during XC races makes sense, when it absolutely doesn\u2019t, and how to do it without becoming the rider everyone glares at on the start line.<\/p>\n

Why does drafting work in XC, even if messy?<\/p>\n

Drafting in XC racing is like trying to drink from a bottle while riding a bull: chaotic, ungraceful, but occasionally successful. It doesn\u2019t have the smooth efficiency of a road peloton where everyone takes their little pull and no one hits a tree. But when the trail opens up (even briefly), drafting can give you just enough of a breather to pretend you\u2019re not about to fire your lungs for insubordination.<\/p>\n

Every XC course has those moments. A long fire road climb. A flat forest track. A miserable headwind section where the rider in front becomes less of a competitor and more of a human windshield you\u2019d gladly write a thank-you letter to. These are the windows where drafting works. Maybe not for long, maybe not as well as in road biking, but it works.<\/p>\n

Even a ten-second break from full exposure can give you enough recovery to hold a wheel, launch a pass, or, at the very least, delay the inevitable blowing of your quads, you\u2019ve been budgeting for kilometre thirty.<\/p>\n

On climbs, it can help keep your pace steady without you having to drag your own sorry soul through the wind. On flats, it can be the only thing keeping you in the group. On descents\u2026 well, if you\u2019re drafting there, either you\u2019re desperate or clinically \u201cfearless\u201d. Or both.<\/p>\n

Yes, the terrain breaks it up. Yes, it\u2019s harder to hold a line when that line includes rocks and roots. But that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s useless. It just means it takes more timing, more awareness, and slightly more willingness to risk eating dirt in exchange for saving 5-10 beats per minute.<\/p>\n

When you should draft<\/p>\n

There comes a point in every race when you\u2019re making sounds usually reserved for an asthmatic elephant with sinus inflammation. Your eyes blur. Your legs send hate mail. And just ahead, there\u2019s a rider\u2014bigger, smoother, or simply unlucky enough to be in front. In that moment, you remember that pride is a mortal sin, and wildly overrated anyway, especially when your heart\u2019s been pounding in your eyeballs for the past ten minutes and your HR numbers have climbed into a range that would make a cardiologist drop their coffee.<\/p>\n

This is when you draft.<\/p>\n

And despite what some crusty XC purists might tell you, there are plenty of good moments to do it.<\/p>\n

Drafting works best when the trail opens up. Fire roads, doubletrack, anywhere that\u2019s wide enough to sit in and not immediately slam into a tree if the rider ahead twitches. If there\u2019s wind, even better. There\u2019s nothing quite as romantic as hiding behind another racer while a crosswind tries to peel your skin off. Add a slight incline and a hangover from last night\u2019s \u201ccarb loading,\u201d and you\u2019ll be weeping with gratitude for the rider towing you uphill like a disrespected sled dog.<\/p>\n

False flats are prime ground, too. Those long, soul-draining stretches that feel like climbing even though your GPS insists you\u2019re not. Drafting here is less about watts<\/a> and more about psychological survival. If someone\u2019s ahead of you, let them take the mental beating while you quietly collect yourself and try to stop blinking in Morse code.<\/p>\n

\"XC<\/a>In XC racing, drafting can do more than just help you lower your heart rate or save a few watts. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the tactical play: use drafting to slingshot past people right before sections where overtaking is nearly impossible. Singletrack, technical climbs, brutal DH sections\u2014these are not the places to be stuck behind a human brake lever. Draft until you\u2019re close, then make your move before the window slams shut and you\u2019re locked into someone else\u2019s disaster for the next two kilometres.<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t underestimate its value during \u201crecovery\u201d moments, which is a generous term for that 20-second window where you pretend your legs are fine while quietly negotiating your will to live. Drafting gives your system a breather without forcing you to slow down. It\u2019s like taking a nap with your eyes open \u2013 while flying downhill into a loose gravel corner.<\/p>\n

So yes, it\u2019s messy. But when you\u2019re seconds away from detonating and the rider ahead is kind enough not to swerve like a malfunctioning Roomba, drafting might just keep you alive long enough to do something stupid on the next climb.<\/p>\n

When you shouldn\u2019t draft<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a very specific kind of mountain biker who tries to draft through tight singletrack. You\u2019ve seen them. Bar-to-bar with the rider ahead, twitching through every corner like they\u2019re auditioning for a slow-speed crash compilation. It\u2019s not a strategy. It\u2019s just desperation dressed as denial.<\/p>\n

Drafting only works when there\u2019s space to use it. In singletrack, there isn\u2019t. You\u2019re too busy dodging roots, trees, and whatever internal damage your last gel packet is currently doing to your stomach. Sitting on someone\u2019s wheel here just means you\u2019ll eat their panic braking, their missed lines, and possibly their rear tyre when they suddenly decide to clip a rock and take a nap.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the wild card rider. The one who changes lines like they\u2019re swerving potholes, only they can see. Drafting them is less about energy savings and more like playing a very weird Space Invaders game.<\/p>\n

Fast descents are another bad idea. Not because drafting doesn\u2019t work there, but because it turns into a hostage situation. You\u2019re stuck behind someone rolling into features like they\u2019re scouting a new planet. You\u2019re faster. You know you\u2019re faster. But instead of passing, you sit there, sulking behind them like you\u2019re in a slow, dusty traffic jam\u2026 except this one ends with you watching someone case a jump and become part of the trail.<\/p>\n

And finally, let\u2019s talk about the most shameful form of bad drafting: when you\u2019re clearly stronger but too lazy to pass. This isn\u2019t strategy. It\u2019s passive-aggressive cardio. You tell yourself you\u2019re \u201cwaiting for the right moment,\u201d but really you\u2019re just drafting out of spite and glycogen-depleted stubbornness. You\u2019re not saving energy. You\u2019re wasting time.<\/p>\n

Drafting has its place. But if that place includes tight corners, sketchy riders, blind drops, or a mental monologue that starts with \u201cI should probably\u2026\u201d\u2014don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Basic etiquette<\/p>\n

Drafting isn\u2019t illegal. But if you do it wrong, someone will fantasise about throwing a multi-tool at your head. Not because you\u2019re drafting. It\u2019s because you\u2019re doing it like a barn animal with no concept of personal space or basic decency.<\/p>\n

So, some ground rules.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t overlap wheels. Unless you\u2019ve always wondered what your teeth would look like embedded in a tree, keep your front tyre out of someone\u2019s personal zone.<\/p>\n

Leave a bit of space. You\u2019re not trying to dock a space station. Drafting works without needing to inspect their cassette for wear.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t half-wheel. If you\u2019re going to pass, pass. If not, sit back. Hovering awkwardly next to someone, like you\u2019re thinking about it, helps no one and makes you look confused by the concept of momentum.<\/p>\n

Say something. Grunt. Nod. Mutter a wheezy \u201ccheers.\u201d Anything to prove you\u2019re not some mute energy vampire sucking watts in silence.<\/p>\n

When you pass, pass properly. No sudden moves. No weird lines. No divebombing out of the slipstream like you just remembered the finish line exists.<\/p>\n

Braking? Smooth. If you panic-brake while drafting, you\u2019re not saving energy. You\u2019re planning an accident.<\/p>\n

And yes, breathing like a dying racehorse is acceptable. Just don\u2019t expect applause for it.<\/p>\n

How to drop someone off your wheel<\/p>\n

Sometimes, someone sits on your wheel a little too long. They\u2019re not pulling. They\u2019re not passing. They\u2019re just back there\u2014coasting, breathing, quietly harvesting your watts like a smug little energy leech.<\/p>\n

Maybe you don\u2019t mind. Perhaps you\u2019re feeling generous. Or maybe you\u2019ve realised they\u2019re using you as a free ride to the final climb, where they fully intend to slingshot past and pretend they did all the work. Maybe their sketchy cornering is wrecking your lines. Maybe you\u2019re just done with the sound of their breathing, which now seems to be synced with your will to live.<\/p>\n

Whatever the reason, it\u2019s time to make them go away.<\/p>\n

There are a few ways to go for it. You can attack on the climb. Hit it just before the gradient spikes. They may follow, but at least they will burn a match, not just coast behind.<\/p>\n

You can also get creative with the tech. Pick lines that demand confidence. Not dangerous. Just spicy enough to make them second-guess staying that close. A few fast roll-overs and they\u2019ll back off before they end up inspecting your rear tyre with their face.<\/p>\n

On the same note, you can also start cornering more aggressively or being disruptive. Don\u2019t follow a rhythm, just go slow and fast at random intervals, as if you\u2019re doing a HIIT training.<\/a><\/p>\n

Finally, you can just trick them into going in front. Fake weakness. Let your shoulders sag. Maybe cough once for effect. Make sure to drop the tempo as if you\u2019re gone. Once they rush to the front, stick to their tire and flip the script. Just be careful. They can capitalize on this by mounting a devastating attack.<\/p>\n

Still, if you don\u2019t want to be passive-aggressive, just ask them to share the load. Don\u2019t just try to drop them. Working together is always the best way to success. If they don\u2019t want to cooperate, well, then it\u2019s time to show who\u2019s boss.<\/p>\n

Can you actually win a race by drafting?<\/p>\n

Yes. Absolutely. But not if you treat it like a backup plan.<\/p>\n

Drafting isn\u2019t a passive strategy. It\u2019s a tool for control. You sit in when it hurts. You recover while others burn. You hide in the wind just long enough to sharpen the knife. And when the time comes, you don\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n

You use it to move up before a key section. You use it to stay in contact when your legs are screaming. You use it to bluff, to wait, to strike. Drafting is chess with a heart rate of 190.<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t win a race because you drafted. You\u2019ll win it because you know when to stop drafting and go all in.<\/p>\n

Because no one remembers who sat on a wheel for 30k, but they\u2019ll remember who came around that last corner first, and made sure no one else had the legs to follow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In XC racing, drafting can do more than just help you lower your heart rate or save a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-257969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}