You should read Steve Tilford

Here is a small sample of his writing, and this is a guy who has raced a lot of races. 

We, the TradeWind Energy Team always try to ride offensively. I’m not too much into defensive riding. It makes for a boring race that isn’t fun. We don’t chase. If we miss the break, we missed the break. That is when the racing occurs, when the break is forming. Ride at the front and race when it is hard. That is what bike racing should be in my opinion.