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Oops, full disclosure, I got my maths wrong, I didn't manage 19mph 😳
In fact, it woukd have been even slower since apparently we're doing total time, not riding time 😉
I could imagine a few tuts and shaking of heads if you went stamping off up the climbs, there's always some clubby types who think everyone else has to ride by their rules etc.
You've never ridden a century and have aspirations for the first one to be sub 5 hours...
I'm struggling to get my head around that.
Sub 5 hours or sub 5 hours when strava has taken the stops out are two different things- the latter is MUCH easier.
You're probably gonna need to stop to fill bottles once at least and have a piss. So you're probably talking riding at 21 average for 5 hours with a tiny stop.
Big ask for someone who's never ridden 100 miles before.
Guess it all comes down to how many hills and how much draft is available at the right speeds and places on the day.
Trouble is later in the miles the riders get spread out and readily available 22mph+ draft gets harder to find.
If I was a betting man I'd say no. I ride solo at 18 regularly in the hills and have done plenty of centurys- could I do an actual sub 5 hour 100- doubt it unless it was pan flat!
Best of luck though, have fun trying and if you do it then well done!
When you enter you’ve got to be optimistic about your estimated finnishing time. Otherwise your stuck back with all the riffraff like MG experienced
I was! Apparently not as optimistic as everyone else 🙂
Sounds like there are a lot of road bike riders on here 🙂
Good luck with the VB - hope it works out the way that you hope.
Reading all these posts is making me look forward to our yearly 100 mile ride - quiet Sussex lanes ( might as well be closed roads,even though they aren't) only a few decent hills, a leisurely pub stop at 53 miles (after the biggest hill) with just a handful of other riders to contend with - and all straight from my doorstep, without any entry fees, ballots, or "day before" registration.
Lovely
If he had an ftp of 320 and it's not hilly (Is it hilly??) I think he could do this fairly easily.
You don't need anything like 220 watts to hold 20mph on the flat (Or at least I don't). Following a thread the other day where we discussed it, I checked on a pan flat part of the route I did the other day. No wind, riding in the drops...I required less than 190 watts to do over 20mph solo. Unless the op is massively unaerodynamic I can't see why he would require much more. My brother did ride London as his first century and beat 5 hrs (just)..and I'm pretty sure his ftp was the wrong side of 300 at the time.
Throw in a couple of climbs however and your 20mph average goes out the window pretty quickly! Good luck anyhow op..let us know how you get on.
I've seen the 220w on the flat for 20mph in a few places. My own experiences of 20mph average rides over reasonable differences with a power meter also is around this.
https://www.road-bike.co.uk/articles/cycling-power.php
http://bikecalculator.com/examples.html
Belugabob - your ride sounds good. What is it and when do you do it? And do you take hangers on? All this talk of 20mph and 25mph sound very unpleasant...personally I’d be happy with a solid 15-17mph and still be able to enjoy my pint at the end
I’m in the last pen to head out on the road and very aware that if they don’t release everyone on time (they won’t) then a puncture might mean I fail to make the 14 mile cut off on time.
100 miles is no problem - but I’m not fast.
Flattish course, so 15-17mph looks about right. I will be stopping at the feed stations.
I’ve seen the 220w on the flat for 20mph in a few places
That second link you posted, when you put the numbers in, on the drops 200 watts give you over 21mph. In line with my exp. Obviously it depends on how aero you and your bike are, your tyres, the road surface etc..
Reading all these posts is making me look forward to our yearly 100 mile ride – quiet Sussex lanes
Would you mind sharing the route? Always looking for at least one 100 mile ride around the Sussex countryside every year. Didn't think my last one through very well and realised the only way i was going to get it to 100 miles was to divert towards the end and ride up High & Over at Alfriston into a headwind!
I’m in the last pen to head out on the road and very aware that if they don’t release everyone on time (they won’t) then a puncture might mean I fail to make the 14 mile cut off on time.
100 miles is no problem – but I’m not fast.
Flattish course, so 15-17mph looks about right. I will be stopping at the feed stations.
Snap, except I'm in the second to last pen. If you see a chap in a Refreshers top, riding a Ritchey Logic, gis a wave 🙂
My FTP is around 310 320 ish I think it it was the last time I did a ramp test. On an aero bike with carbon aero wheels if that makes any odds. Every little helps
Depends how heavy you are (if a hilly route) and how big you are as you yourself as far more drag than your bike does. But as you say, every little helps. A small gain in 100 different places accumulates to a significant gain.
Pacing is the issue though as I hinted at with my first post...I was swept along with the crowd at a pace that was a bit ambitious for me and blew a gasket in the last 6 miles or so, but if you're hanging onto a bunch the benefit of the draft probably makes up for the risk of your pace dropping off at the end in terms of your overall time.
I had a very similar thought to the OP when I was lining up for the PRL in 2017. How hard can it be?? I had done a couple of centuries but they were 7 and 14 years before so no bearing on what I was about to do.
Well I was fairly fit for me, but set off too quick with some very fast mates, lost them when I slowed for a brief chat with Bullheart, and then never caught them again. I ended up looking for a train that was going about my speed as everyone passing me was flying, and I seemed to be flying past others. After about 40mins I turned and realised I was head of the train!! No one helped my train, and I just couldnt get on the back of a faster group. I had the odd bit of help here and there but was pretty much on my own from Richmond to the end. From Kingston on I was slowly turning myself inside out, and by the end came over all emotional as I was so broken and was really shaky after I crossed the line. My mates were fine, and about 10mins faster but with a few stops for me (they waited till they saw me and buggered off without helping)
Final time was about 5hrs 30mins which was just outside the top 25% I seem to remember. Just looked at my Strava for it, and my average speed was actually pretty constant, although the first half was quicker, and it estimates my power to be 177W average over the course.
So how hard is it to do a 5hr century? For me, I'd need a more training than I did and to be in a group aiming for the time, otherwise no chance. I'm not sure I'd ever have the legs to do it solo, but as you can see from the responses above everyone is different.
IHN - 16st cropped beard idiot here. No idea what kit I’ll be wearing but I’ll be on a black and white Genesis Zero.
If your FTP really is over 300W and you are in any shape or form adapted for endurance riding then you should have no difficulty doing a flatish century in under 5 hours.
Things you can do to get a good time
- Get there early to get a place at the front to avoid traffic
- Wake up even earlier to eat carbs and take a dump
- Have a solid tried and tested ride nutrition strategy - consume 60-80g per hour
- Carry 4 large bottles on the bike so you don't need to stop.
- Piss in your shorts if you need to
- Make friends with fast riders and team up with them. Use some tactful positioning if you need to in order to not get dropped on climbs.
- Get your pacing right.
It's a sportive though you can try to enjoy yourself too 🙂
Will groups help me if I can get some drafting tow?
Apologies if I'm making the wrong assumption here, but if you are asking that question, I'm guessing you don't have much experience of riding in a group?
If that is the case, don't underestimate what it takes to ride effectivity and safely in a group, especially in a sportive, where you are likely to have a potentially chaotic mix of experienced and inexperienced riders.
Group riding takes a bit of skill and it takes time to learn how to do it properly. A Sportive won't be the easiest place to start!
– Piss in your shorts if you need to
Is this a joke? This seems a bit yukky but out of curiosity if you let it trickle slowly does the wind dry your shorts quick enough that your shorts aren't obviously dripping? 🙂
My stop at an official PRL100 toilet ended up costing quite a bit of time but my normal nip-behind-a-hedge is probably 2 min tops (incl. time to get up to speed). Of course if you end up dropping out a good chaingang it's irritating but is it really worth it for a sportive?
It takes about 180W to ride at 20mph solo, on the flat with no wind according to the calculators and that fits well with my experience.
The last solo road ride I did was 80km at 29km/h (18mph) at an average of 186W, but included 1000m of climbing and it was bloody windy. One before that was 59km at the same speed with 775m of climbing at a 203W average (power from a power meter). I'm about 73Kg at the moment.
I can ride in groups and I'd be pretty confident of a sub 5 hour 100 in a good group on a rolling course. My FTP is probably around 285 at the moment, so with 300+ you should be fine if you know how to ride with others - it could be stressful in sportives which have a high proportion of inexperienced riders, but if you pick the right group it'll be fine.
Only flat-ish, not flat.
Yeh pissing in shorts a massive no no on a sportive. In a road race or triathlon race fine. But the whole thing about a sportive is it's not a race.
that's not flat, but 1500m over 160km is not too bad. Can you get out with a chain gang over the next week to do an introduction to group riding with people who can do it? It's not rocket science, but you have to be smooth, relaxed, trust those around you, and ride close (apologies if you already do plenty of it, but as KCR notes up there, it doesn't sound like you do)
Might not be the best etiquette wise but you could just sit on. IME it's rare to have a full group taking turns, I've only ever seen it in handicap races.
It's been a while since I did a sportive, are groups even that organised anyway? Especially over a 5 hour distance and competing for space.
Might not be the best etiquette wise but you could just sit on.
Yup, s'what I do, sit on for a bit, then go forward so they can sit on if they want to. If they do, fine, if they don't I find the next one to sit on.
Starting in a good group is key - I did london 100 (sub 5) from a 6 hr group. I spent a lot of time on my own.
Know the course; gel before the hills.
Good luck finding a group who can work together - any sportive I've ever done seems to be everyone trying to avoid a turn on the front.
I've done some sportives before so I have had a bit of experience in group riding.
Not sure on the pissing my pants tactic although my bladders not what it used to be. Sounds like jumping on the right pack is the best tactic and if it's not shifting enough try and bridge up to the next pack.
Re hydration, some long distance racers are using a camelbak bladder in a frame bag. James Hayden in last couple of TCR's for example. Paying good money to ride for 5 hours near threshold and probably on the drops isn't my idea of a good day out on the bike but good luck if you give it a go.
I'm with thomthumb, if you're strong you'll end up with a bunch of wheelsuckers trying not to freehweel to avoid detection.
gel before the hills
Or better still, keep yourself topped up throughout 😉
. But the whole thing about a sportive is it’s not a race.
We all know its not a race, but the Velo is very close. Closed roads, timming and the results list you in order of your finishing time, so all but a race in name.
But whether it is or not plenty of riders put as much effort into training and preperation as "proper" racers do. Their goals whether its to just finish or go under 5hrs are just as valid as any cat3-4's racing ambitions.
`onewheelgood Subscriber
Only flat-ish, not flat
Yorkshire flat shall we call it?
You don’t need anything like 220 watts to hold 20mph on the flat
195 watts gives me 23 mph. On my TT bike for 12 hours. And I'm pretty aero. You'll need about 175 in a good group and able to hold a wheel.
Paying good money to ride for 5 hours near threshold
You left off the "on closed roads".
And EAT SOMETHING EVERY 30-45 MINUTES, I alternate a gel and a soft bar of some easy to consume form. With bloks or jelly babies ad libitem
– Piss in your shorts if you need to
Is this a joke? This seems a bit yukky but out of curiosity if you let it trickle slowly does the wind dry your shorts quick enough that your shorts aren’t obviously dripping?
I suppose it depends on how much time means to you. Even if you only lose 2 minutes then that is the difference between basic and top of the line aero wheels over 160km.
I don't see myself doing it in a sportif, but I'd certainly rather piss myself in a race rather than lose the peloton. A pro-incontinental recently boasted to me that he peed 4 times during a race, I just hope I wasn't riding behind him when he did it.
This website has a handy tool for working out pacing strategy, you need to input a gpx of the route and your basic performance numbers.
Racecraft trump's FTP
Me and a mate have same FTP and same w/kg.
Due to him loving zwift and rarely riding with a group outside of events he places waaaaaaaay below his supposed FTP ability.
If your group skills are poor then FTP means very little unless you have the ability to monster along on a solo break.
It's not just riding in the group but being able to read the group,see who's working,who's along for the tow and work out where the split on the climbs will be and making sure your on the right side of it for your ability or you'll end up climbing over the top with a group that's banjoed and needing recovery before pushing on.