Optimal Cycling Strategies for two Cooperating Riders
Journal Title: Journal of Science and Cycling - Year 2016, Vol 5, Issue 2
Abstract
Winning a stage of the Tour de France depends on several factors. Besides preparation and the physiological and mental condition, the racing strategy plays a major role. There have been several works that determine optimal strategies for individual time trials based on mathematical models, but only few that consider more than one competitor. One of the first looking into strategies for two competitors was Pitcher [1]. He considered slipstream effects in running and pointed out that the runner behind can take advantage of this effect and win the race by taking over shortly before the finish line. A major limitation is that the front runner does not react to the strategy of his opponent. Dahmen [2] adapted this approach to cycling and Aftalion [3] generalized it by allowing both runners a free strategy. In this work we propose a model for two riders cooperating in order to finish a course in the shortest possible time. We will present the underlying mathematical models, the optimal control problem and provide a numerical example.
Authors and Affiliations
S Wolf| Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Konstanz, Germany, D Saupe| Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Konstanz, Germany
Keywords
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