Ask a pro: Axel Froner on how to catch back on through the caravan

CT Giant Store Assen’s Axel Froner admits that the past few years he has spent way too much time in the caravan. That could either be due to crashes, mechanicals, feeding or ill-timed nature breaks. So, he firmly believes catching back on is one of the top three most important skills any cyclist needs to know if they want to race higher level races, especially in Europe.

If you have a puncture or mechanical where you can continue to ride, go to the back of the pack and put your hand in the air to call your car forward, he says. “Do not stop until your car is directly behind you, even if this means destroying a rim in the process,” Froner says. “Once your car is behind you, slam your brakes on as hard as you can and get off your bike, let the mechanic do his work then remount and get your push back in.”

The first moments of catching back on to the peloton through the caravan

After that, the fun begins. When you’re catching back on, no matter what the reason, it’s a multi-step process.

“Follow the bumper of your team car religiously until you catch the tail end of the caravan. I prefer to ride in the center of the car and look through the rear window to see the road ahead rather than sit on the left side of the car and look around, but that is a preference of how much you trust your director,” he says.

That’s step one. But there’s still a ways to go before you’re safe and sound in the bunch.

When you’re in the actual caravan: leapfrogging the cars

The 22-year-old who is based in the Netherlands says that on flat roads you just need to move forward one car at a time, taking a few seconds on each bumper to gain enough momentum to make it to the next. “On hills you have to pick your own pace. Try to slip back a few cars to save energy if possible instead of staying on the bumper you started with. You will make this up easily on downhills or flats,” the Ontario native advises. “On downhills you have to use slipstream to the maximum. Aim straight for the bumper of cars then swerve at the last moment to use the most speed without pedaling. This will help you move up two to three cars at a time.”

The accordion-like nature of the caravan

The caravan can act like an accordion. The gaps between cars open and close constantly. It’s possible they may also pass you on a descent if there’s no switchbacks. What then?

“Try and use their draft as much as possible as they pass you and wait for the caravan to bunch up so that you can get on a bumper for a sustained period. In corners, you have to put it out there a bit more,” Froner says. That means you jump up the inside of the cars. They will honk to let drivers ahead know you are coming. Then pass as many cars as possible as they are stopped.

The same goes for exiting a corner. “Keep a fast pace as cars pass you again. Wait for the caravan to bunch up before getting back on a bumper and continuing to move up.

How long can you actually hold onto a sticky bottle in a pro race?

Keep calm and carry on

Froner says the number one rule is stay calm, or as he says “no stress”. “Never panic in the caravan. Take it slow and work your way forward one car at a time. You want to make your way back to the pack with as little energy spent as possible,” he says. “Never use energy to gun it up the left side and jump a bunch of cars. That’s because in the caravan the accordion effect is strong. So you’re gonna need that energy to make the final bridge from car 1 to the back of the pack.”

Save energy if the pace increases

He also says that you should never be scared to go backwards a car or two if the pace is too hard after a corner or on a climb, as you will save energy and will move back up once the pace settles. “Too many riders make the mistake of chasing the bumper of the car they are on because they are scared to fall back farther or don’t want to lose the progress they have just made,” he adds. “When I move through the cars it’s never only forward, for example in a race recently I stopped at a bad time for a nature break and only made it to car 3 before we hit a 3-km KOM.”

Sticky bottles FTW

Since it was early in the stage and he wanted to save energy, he slowly slipped from car 3 to the last car by the crest of the climb. “Then I grabbed a sticky bottle over the top. And I moved back up to the peloton by the end of the descent, with very little energy used,” Froner points out. “A helpful trick to close the gap between car 1 and the peloton is to grab a few bottles from the team car as you get to the first 3 cars. This will give you a good slingshot back into the pack. Plus your teammates will be happy for the refreshments. Win, win!”

Froner’s first UCI podium

2024 started off well for Froner. He had his first UCI podium in the Stage 1 of the Visit South Aegean Islands. Froner took third in the 180-km opening race.

“It was a hard hilly race that finished on a short 1.5-km steep climb to the end, which reminded me a lot of the Bethune-Hill Crescent climb I do at home for training in Scarborough, Ont. so it was a perfect finish for me,” Froner recounts. “I ended up on the wheels of the Astana development team in the last 800 m. I waited just a bit too long to attack around the outside. But I was still able to come around a few guys to sprint for third.”

Unfortunately for Froner, that high quickly followed with a low after he crashed at the GP Rhodes on Sunday. “I ended up in a tree on a fast descent. A few riders came together in what was probably my scariest crash of my career,” He says. “The biggest pain is in not being able to go after more podiums here in Greece. But somehow my bones held strong so hopefully I will be healed soon and racing again here in Europe.”