DAY 3 HAMMER CHASE

The inal day of a Hammer event will be a TTT handicap race to the line

The Sprint and the Climb are scene setters for the final 45km handicap TTT which produces the overall winner of the Hammer series. The best team from the first two days gets a head start before the next team starts chasing on three laps of 14.9km. It’s a first-past-the-post, winner-takes-all race for the line.

Both the Climb and Sprint will produce their own final team position, 1-18 for the first event in Limburg. In order to find the starting place for the TTT, it’s the aggregate of each team’s performance in the Sprint and Climb, with the lowest starting first (see table). So winning both the Climb and the Sprint would give a total of two – the best possible score going in to the TTT. If teams are tied on aggregate, the teams who scored more points in the first two rounds will take the better position.

Calculating the time gaps for the TTT: are you concentrating? The time gap between teams is calculated on ‘Base Time Gaps’ plus ‘Bonus Time Gaps’. The base time gaps are fixed intervals between teams, so 30 seconds between first and second, 25 seconds between second and third and so on (see table). However the top 10 teams in the Climb and Sprint will also have earned time bonuses based on their finishing position – 15 seconds for the winner down to one second for 10th. Cue lots of adding and subtracting to find out the bonus time gaps between teams. These bonus seconds are then added to the base time gaps to give the final gap between teams, and the final classification.

Sky are one of the WorldTour teams who will compete at the debut Hammer event

TACTICAL EXPLAINER

This is where things get interesting. The Chase is a handicapped pursuit on TT bikes: fourth rider of the first team past the post wins the race. Though teams must stick to formation, the 2m rule means there could be an element of legitimate drafting. This will be thrilling or terrifying, or both.

At 45km the gaps between teams are relatively small, and it is a long effort. Even the team that starts first won’t have it easy because the psychologically motivated team behind them will be breathing down their necks.

If teams come together close to the finish, drafting is not allowed and sprinting on TT bikes impossible, so you will have to make sure that the difference is made at the right time, or face a drag race for the line.

This will come down to a battle of wits with teams trying to conserve and accelerate at different times to make sure that they are not caught out by a team that has managed to catch up, recover and then time their effort closer to the line.