Some are workhorses, some are pawns to distract other skaters and others specialize in the final sprint to the line. This means that training often has to focus on developing the qualities that are most important for success in a specific role. Depending on where you race most often and at what level, chances are that you usually find yourself in a similar situation each time, i.e. either fighting it out in the final sprint, or chasing the group in front of you. Some skaters do better when there is a field sprint, others when the pace is wide open from the gun. Some do well on tight twisty criterium-type courses, while others excel on open roads.
Some skaters dominate on hills, others sputter backwards in a bitter battle with gravity.
There are very few skaters who can win all types of races. Those that can must be categorically defined as freaks of nature . The remainder of us have to determine what we are good at, what we are weak at, and where we want to improve. Lactic Acid Most of us have an intimate love-hate relationship with lactic acid. But regardless of how you feel about this stuff, we all need to understand its role, its impact on performance, and most importantly, how to impact its production and removal from the muscles and blood.