When is a good time to press an attack when there are no breakaways? Last lap? In a crit or cruit race.

It depends how confident you are of your time trialling abilities and how long a lap is. The bunch will really lift the pace over the last few miles to discourage attacks, drop the weaker riders and pull back break aways. If you are going to attack you need have built an appreciable lead before this point as otherwise you will probably be pulled back and be too tired to do well in a sprint.

An example of how fast you need to be - if the race is averaging 25 mph you need to be able to time trial at a minimum of 25 mph just to stay at the front of the bunch. If you can TT at 27-28 mph for the remainder of the race you will probably pull away from the group, though your attack will result in the group lifting their speed in an attempt to stay with you.

The other option is to go for a long sprint. If the conditions are right (slight down hill finish, good surface, tail wind, etc) you might be able to surprise the bunch by starting your sprint from a long way out. If you manage to get a gap on the bunch often you will find that no one will follow you as they are too worried about leading out the other riders and losing second place. If this is the case it is just a matter of suffering for half a mile until the finish line...

In the races I have been riding I'd say that between five miles and one mile of the finish it isn't worth attacking. Anywhere else is fair game.

Chris

What would be the point is attacking say half way into a 30 mile race, since they are likely to catch you...

It is all about judging how strong you are in relation to the other riders and what your relative strengths and weaknesses are. I have a reasonable jump, aerobic power and climbing ability. My bunch sprinting skill is only moderate. I find more success if I attack early or make the race hard for the rest of the field.

In a 40 mile crit I rode last year the weather was miserable with high winds and rain. Everyone was hunkered down trying to stay out of the wind, cruising at a fairly slow pace. I attacked after 10 laps (1 mile laps), bridging up to another strong rider who had put in a strong attack. We worked together well and lapped the field twice. I worked a lot harder than if I had sat in the bunch for the race, but I probably placed better than if I had waited for a sprint.

Another good reason to attack early in the race is to string out the field and drop the weaker riders. There are plenty of cyclists (especially in the lower cats) who have a reasonable sprint but suffer if the pace is consistantly hard for a long period. If you can drop them early you improve your chance of placing.

Until you have the experience of where you fit into the pecking order in races it is difficult to judge if attacking is worthwhile or not.

Chris

If the circuit race or crit has a prime lap I have seen several successful breakaways occur then (I have even been fortunate enough to be part of these before). Just be a part of the front pack on the prime sprint but save just a little back and unleash it once the sprinters back off at the line. Use the sprinters to pull you in front of the general population and break off once they are spent.

I've seen people go solo off the front that way and as a small group of 2-3 riders that then work together to keep the distance out front.