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First ever time trial tonight (or indeed individual race of any type on a bike ever). It's on this course. https://www.strava.com/segments/9698721
Things to be optimistic about:
1- I am reasonably fit, ftp of around 4 Watts per kilo
2 -I have a power meter to pace myself
3 -i have an old tt bike with flash looking wheels and got a loan of a pointy helmet..I'm going to look like i know what I'm doing
Things to not be so optimistic about:
1 - In reality i have no idea what I'm doing. I've only been on the tt bike once, rode it for 10 miles and almost fell off about 4 times.
2- despite all the kit i have, i suspect im as aero as a brick
3 - that 4 watts per kilo means im ok going up a long hill, but it only equates to around 270 watts. A quick trial on the turbo leads me to believe I can put out about 265 for 25 min on the tt bike - not exactly canellara levels of power
So bets on how I'll do? Weather is nice, no wind. I'm aiming for sub 27.
24 minutes
I'm going for 24'30 if your tuck is good enough.
Don't go out too hard. What feels comfortable at first is probably into your red zone. Having done TTs with a power meter at my known threshold, it feels quite easy at first. I'd say aim for a 'firm' pace to begin with. If you're gasping and aching in the first minute or two I'd say that's too much, you're in the red, and you'll fade.
YOu should be getting a 24 as above, especially with all that fancy kit 🙂
Ill tell you one thing for sure..it wont be 24 min...no chance!!!
Don't listen to the boring guys up there. Make sure you can taste blood after about 30 seconds and the desire to be finished soner will mean you go faster.
24:12
What stevious said! 🙂
No time for slacking on a ten mile TT!
stevious
Member
Don’t listen to the boring guys up there. Make sure you can taste blood after about 30 seconds and the desire to be finished soner will mean you go faster.
That just made me have a good giggle whilst sat on the bog!
I'm pretty good at pacing up a hill so will employ a similar strategy. Only issue is I have no idea what power I can hold on a tt bike outside, which is a bit of an issue! Going to set off at 260 watts, hopefully hold that until the turn, then bury myself on the return leg.
I'm assuming when you sign on they give you a time and then you basically sit around until 25 min before, do a 20 min warm up, then arrive at start line about 5 min before hand.
26:07
"Enjoy" :>)
Sub 27 is a sensible aim for your first go, but tbh sub 26 is more realistic on a TT bike. Sub 25 would be excellent going first time out - I forsee a fine effort of 25.44.
Course makes all the difference and hard to tell from a strava segment - it's obv not a superfast dual carriageway affair but it might be quick enough. Things like road surface, shelter etc make quite a difference - it looks like it has a dble roundabout turn which won't help speed.
You ride that route on a normal road bike and it will feel completely innocuous, but in a test those 80 ft rises will feel like you're going up the Tourmalet. After the turn you need to go very hard up that rise but try and make it a sustained burial - look towards the end of it so you can measure your effort.
16:34, aim big.
With 4w/kg and all the gear on a relatively flat course as that; as long as it’s not windy ... then a 24 is a disaster to be honest.
A nice warm up to open lungs. Start fast ... and try to get faster on the return - if your lungs don’t hurt and you can speak in anything other than a whisper then you went too slow/soft👊
23:30
I think i was on the road the other day on a club ride, or at least part of it. It seemed pretty flat, i think that profile is kind of misleading as it makes out there are 2 big ramps which didn't seem the case in reality.
And yes, there are 2 roundabouts.
A 24 would be a good result for a first 10. Starting fast is the worst thing you can do. Get yourself up to your cruising pace as smoothly as possible and try to hold it. Use the power meter for this, because if you go on feel, you will think your starting pace is too easy.
Treat it as a learning experience, and make sure you chat to people. I bet there will be plenty of useful advice on offer from experienced riders.
Just go out as hard as you can and just keep going.
25:37.
Your power and p/w are similar to me, and I was rubbish on my first (and only 10). No fancy bike for me though, or pointy helmet. And the rack and panniers were a bit draggy.
25.48
In my first TT I managed 29.20 on a hilly course one windy evening on a standard road bike in standard road kit and I was 62 at that time so in fancy gear on a TT bike you should be able to take a minute or two off that.
With a favourable wind and sporting course and all those marginal gains.
23:56
I never used a power meter just perceived effort.
Reign it in at the start 8 out of ten up to the turn then start turning the wick up in stages to see how you feel.
Finish empty.
Enjoy.
I’m going for 25 min on the nose.
I don't think anyone's mentioned this yet: be fast not powerful.
(Seemingly) like you, I train and race on the road and MTB with a power meter, so have done many more 20 minute power tests than TTs. So on the rare occasion I find myself standing in a layby with other oddly attired people, I have to remember to switch off the instinct to go for the highest average power and try to go fast instead. In practice, this means focusing on taking corners well and getting up to speed quickly, pushing harder on the climbs than descents (more efficient due to drag being proportional to v^2), staying low, and keeping your head tucked in.
CR is 20:37 at 350w by an aero-looking gentleman, so I'm going to say 25:57
https://mywindsock.com/segment/9698721/ says the out-leg is currently a headwind, so use more power heading out and up the inclines both ways.
Never mind the time (low 25 is my bet), make sure you tell us what the biscuits and cakes are like in the HQ afterwards!
I forsee a fine effort of 25.44.
That my pb
From about 15 years ago
On a normal road bike
My other TT was the year before, I did 25.45!!
TT's are boring!!!
25 mins should be fairly straightforward given your stats but little experience.
24 mins if things go right.
CR is 20:37 at 350w by an aero-looking gentleman, so I’m going to say 25:57
Glad someone else picked up on this! Assuming that guy knows what he is doing, has better kit, and masses more power, then I can only conclude that it's not a super fast course.
I'm getting my excuses on early. I'll report back when I'm done. There is a fair spread of predicted times so far!
Smash
It
See if you can catch your minute man before the first turn and then move on from there; always another one to chase down. You'll be remembered forever !!
4 score & 10..
25:01
stevious
Member
Don’t listen to the boring guys up there. Make sure you can taste blood after about 30 seconds and the desire to be finished soner will mean you go faster.That just made me have a good giggle whilst sat on the bog!
I LOLed at this because it sounds like my toiletting strategy.
Lose time on the turns, 26 I'm afraid..............
27.40
Go out too fast , blow up half way back and get cramp in a hammy
Speaking as someone who's done one flat 10 in fairly calm conditions (on a road bike, normal road kit, MTB shoes/pedals, comparatively parachute like well vented helmet) in 24.30, with no idea what my w/kg and no power meter, significantly better than that.
22min is my bet.
Has he finished yet?
No Tim on Strava top 10 today!!
He's still out there!
2 hours 25 minutes 18 seconda! 😱
I have finished..I wont have made top 10 though!. Didn't stick around for the official results and forgot to stop my garmin. I'll need to download the ride to check..
But I think someone on here got pretty close with their guess!
Well done, now dont do anything so silly again or you will get addicted!!!
So official time will be posted later but according to that strava segment above I was 24.55.
Definitely could of gone harder in last 2 miles, was kinda saving myself for the last 400 yards which was slightly uphill..but turned out the finish was 400 yards before the point i thought it was! Also almost took a wromg turn at one point which cost me a few seconds.
Pacing was ok. 261 watts which was round about what I thought it would be, but as I say I felt far fresher than I should of at the end.
Still can't complain, better than i thought id do.
señor j - 25 on the nose
dirtyrider - 25:01
will wait for the official results
I think the official results will be around 25.05 if I was a betting man!
Dirty rider for the win I reckon!
Well done - that's a really good time for your first ever go at a test, on what sounds like a pretty honest course.
That's my club 10, well done.
That's a good time for your first try on that course, 11 seconds off my pb fat bike time 😉
Well done O.P.
Damn you , dirty rider!
🙂
Fastest Dog !
