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@Straightliner
.. then just gambled and jumped on to a MTB. Turns out it was a fortuitous decision and I managed to catch the group ahead on the long descent and then keep it going on the climb out, with the group splitting and just B Clark keeping me honest. I toyed with the idea of staying on the MTB but hopped back to a road bike in the end, finishing safely on my own.
You came absolutely storming up to us on the MTB and I had to put everything I had to cling on up the climb on the road bike - you kept jumping 2 or 3m seemingly at whim and I'd have to bury myself to get back on.
That started with a crap warmup which dictated the early part of the race as I tried to finish warming. Titans grove was just a stay in touch effort saving the matches till later. I gave a little push out of the underpass as why not 😜. The interesting thing here is watching the relative power. As I accelerated before the ramp and pushed past at speed most who responded needed to hold 1wpkg or more than I was going up.
My plan was to go for a break up the climb then try to stretch it through the jungle. It seemed to be work till savoyad suddenly 'lost' a load of time. I was certain that meant a bike swap and seemed to be proved right as the gap quickly started to drop. Instead of a rest going down I needed to stay well above 4wpkg and on the short tarmac sections in the waterfall needed to push. It wasn't enough and he rapidly caught then gapped me. At this point I thought it was all over. Then his power dropped just as Ingot another wind. From 8s behind I closed before the junction and then sat biding my time till the tarmac came back. Once the surface changed it was time to open the taps and thankfully I pulled away again.
A very enjoyable race, thanks robbo. That sort of course is my favourite (I'd have happily done the full route).
Hi Robbo,
Can I nominate J-R for the backstabber award please 😉. I wonder what happened to the 'team'.
P
🙄
Well I really enjoyed that one!!
Fairly quickly got spat out of the group on the lumpy section at the front. I dunno if it's the way I ride them, but my power always seems delayed on them so I surge on the hills but everyone rides away. Then the power kicks in on the screen and I catch up a bit. It's like there's too much lag in the power I'm actually putting out being recognised by Zwift.
Anyway, soon asked into a mini group with Zilog & C Charles. We were working well together but ended up dropping Zilog on one of the hills. I then assumed that C Charles was gonna bide his time and then smash me, but noticed he was occasionally dropping a bit and then having to surge back. I kept the effort up and slowly managed to eke out a gap. I then kept the effort up to try and create enough of a gap to be safe and that seemed to work quite well.
Coming towards the line I was closing on P aul as he'd swapped to the MTB. Not enough distance to catch though! 😆
@stumpy01 in the rollers surge down and hold it on the way up. If you time the surge right you use the group draft to gain speed that then pays back in the next up.
Great, cheers Nixie I'll give that a try!
That really was a lot of fun. There's a dramatic difference between the different bikes in different places - just not quite enough to bridge the gap between me and @nixie it turns out...
I rode the KOM just hard enough to secure the points, then sat in the front group between there and the seaplane climb. I was almost caught out by @nixie's surge (even though he always does that there haha) and had to chase back on from being marooned with @straightliner - who had ridden titans perfectly and was unlucky to be tailed off like that at that point.
It broke up on the seaplane climb and @nixie really pulled away over the bridge and up past the windmill. I got to the dirt 2nd on the road - 20s behind nixie, and 20s ahead of @phil56. So I took the chance to switch - to the gravel bike + fast wheels. It went OK (screen time is not real time!) and I got going again 40+ secs down, and now basically level with @phil56, blasted back off a bit too hard but eventually settled into a chase. Took time steadily out of @nixie and eventually caught him on the jungle climb. But that wasn't enough - I knew I needed to leave him behind - and I was starting to crack. Bravado got me 10 secs ahead, still not enough, and he eventually caught back on. As soon as the tarmac came back he disappeared again for the win. I could see @straightliner and @vanilla83 moving through the field behind, but we were all over the road by then and I held on grinding up the last climb for 2nd.
That course really worked in that format @robbo1234biking. Nice choice. Good wins @nixie and @vanilla83. Comedy handicap gap between @yanboss and @straightliner for 2nd as well. And look at the GC between @robbo1234biking and @yanboss! Tiny margins all over the place.
@savoyad when you came past you still showed as riding the Tron on my screen. That nearly crushed my attempt to chase before it got going.
Thats intersting Nixie because I thought the same. When he stopped to change bike him and Phil were about 10 seconds ahead of us just past the jungle fork. I thought he was picking up Phil to get a chase group together and the he zoomed away from Phil on a tron bike as I could see the wheel glow in the distance.
I seem to have stalled a bit recently. Power numbers pretty consistent but I'm not pushing as much as I can. My problem is I've not quite got the grunt to stay with the lead group when the road goes up for any length of time and I find myself in the 2nd group on the road and often I'll be pushing on myself rather than hanging on to a faster bunch. I thought I'd gapped @J-R and @sturdylad a couple of times on the jungle climb but @J-R surged back a couple of times. I kept watching him as his avatar was sprinting quite a bit. Thought he was going for a break so interesting to hear you were hanging on. I really should have gone for it on the climb out the jungle but was relying on my sprint. In the end, I completely misread where the banner was and ended up trailing the other 2. Mediocre.
I kept watching him as his avatar was sprinting quite a bit.
I had set my Zwift FTP way down to get a new estimate from this race - I guess a side effect was my avatar spent a lot of time "sprinting" in comparison to that temporary low FTP.
In the end, I completely misread where the banner was
You and me both, @slowpuncheur - after your strong Jungle climb I was sure you had the power to win on the sprint, so was surprised to see you drop back a bit as @sturdylad wound up his speed, before I realised sturdy had spotted the finish banner and time the sprint perfectly.
Ah. That explains things. It was a little off-putting seeing your Cav impressions every minute or so :)...apart from when we both needed one!
Well the next race is gonna be a laugh a minute. I've got some new material..... 😉
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/crap-jokes/
It's a TT. There'll be no laughing;)
slowpuncheur
It’s a TT. There’ll be no laughing;)
Moot point about it being a TT. There's no laughing when I tell a joke, regardless.... 🙂
I enjoy the random jokes/messages - although as I'm usually connected via my phone I can't respond easily, and certainly not while riding hard.
@vanilla83 I was hoping to pull away enough to get 15 secs or so for a bike change, but you really wouldn't drop. I couldn't work out if you were really working hard (your w/kg didn't look too silly) or if I was just tiring by then. It's good to hear you were having to put in an effort at least.
@nixie - that little dig out of the undersea tunnel really strung things out. I will have to watch out for that in future, as it's amazing how dropping a couple of seconds suddenly leads to the elastic snapping and being left in no-man's land.
Yeah they can hurt the field more than they should for such a short section! If your the instigator you can do it with little cost to yourself as well as your effectively in control.
No way @nixie and @robbo1234biking, if I had known I was in stealth mode on my fast wheels (apart from the tell of closing a 40 seconds gap at lower power I guess...) I could maybe (?) have pushed on for a few more seconds when I went ahead. Zwift is weird. My aim was to get a gap you weren't minded to chase @nixie rather than actually hold you off up the hill, and the illusion I was smashing it on a tron did probably changed what that required. But still not enough.
@slowpuncheur noone seems to have much sympathy for "I haven't won one of these races since February". Join the club.
Well I felt a bit grim last night so turned up and just turned the pedals - at least now I'm guaranteed a top 10 finish in the GC 😀
I wondered why you were off the pace, Ogg.
I assumed you'd made a sneaky bike choice that hadn't worked.
noone seems to have much sympathy for “I haven’t won one of these races since February”. Join the club.
Fair point. At least it's flat next week. Lol
Here are the handicaps for tomorrow night. The distance is 17.6km so should finish just before the rock arch on the way back. Keep an eye on the distance. Draft is turned of so although you will see other riders they won’t effect you.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SYEJq-_k2w-I3LUIgg6hoi5LAb7angXxiRasZfjvPE4/edit
I gave last week a miss as I'd just got back from 3 days of biking and walking in the Lakes. Heavy legs and a couple of niggles meant I say on the sofa at 6:30 and CBA to get up again! "Looking forward" to being back tomorrow.
Is there lead in proper then with it being a tt or is it timed from flag up?
dangeourbrain - you have a start time in the companion app (in the event itself).
Everyone goes off at 10sec intervals and it's basically go from the start.
I can't make it as I've been invited to see Posh play at home and thought it would be nice to have a social evening out!
https://zwiftinsider.com/time-trial-mode/
If people havent done a TT before info is above. The start line is shortly after the launch escalator thing so no need to kill yourself out of the pen!
Well yes and no. I asked Zwift to finish it at the archway as you go through the first time on the way back which makes it 17.6km but they didnt seem confident it would finish exactly on the arch. Most other TTs on this route finish at 17.6km but it just seems inconsistent in typical Zwift fashion (this was to allow people who havent got a chance to do it tonight to complete the same event).
If you do the full course (Tempis Fugit) then it is 19.Xkm and goes back around the loop, back over the sprint and through the arch.
OK, thanks for the clarification. The last loop and back to the arch has always felt rather mean to me 😀 so glad that is not in play.
Yeh last time we ran this route (around 18 months ago I think) a lot of people based their effort on the first go through the arch and then died as they had to come back around the loop. Not sure that extra bit adds much value as you have already gone over that bit of road.
Also dont forget you will have individual start times!
I'm allowed to start riding a bit more this week, so I'll have a crack at the TT, but to encourage myself to not go too mad, I'll be on an MTB...
The last loop and back to the arch has always felt rather mean to me 😀 so glad that is not in play
I can't help but agree, it doesn't help it really does feel like it *should* finish at the arch so you get your head down for the final push only to find out it's not.
Gutted I can't do the last race tonight, perversely I like a good TT! The old Kickr is on it's way back to Wahoo and the new one has been despatched yet.
Enjoy it all, will be back for the autumn series in a few months.
Gutted I can’t do the last race tonight,...
... Enjoy it all, will be back for the autumn series in a few months.
One more to go next week (though I won't be able to make that one)
Ooh, might have a chance of making the last one then!
Dont forget I need some suggestions for Riders Rider!
Ive had one in so far but need to open the voting tonight!
If so @stumpy01 for being constantly cheery and encouraging other riders
You realise his jokes are there to rob you of the will to live early in the race don't you?
Haha! It backfires as I just want to get as far away as quickly as possible 😉
Hmm..thanks for the nomination, but as I haven't raced this series I'm not sure I qualify 😄😄🤣🤣
Maybe those who've really committed, dug deep, and improved from the training should get the prize? Not silly old me!
DrP
dangeourbrain
You realise his jokes are there to rob you of the will to live early in the race don’t you?
Factually incorrect.
It's actually a cunning distraction technique.
Only problem with it is a few times I have fallen off the back of the group while concentrating on typing, so I actually only seem to distract myself!
I'm not sure 2 HIIT classes were the best preparation for tonight's race but here we are!!
Are there any special instructions for the start tonight (as per the TTT IE, no pedalling after the 7.30 start time) or do you just warm up as normal and go when your start time rolls round?
As a serial wheelsucker I hate these events 😂. So need every advantage… It’s flat so I guess the best bike choice is whatever the fastest TT frame/wheel combo is you can buy from the drop shop for your level? Unlike regular bikes where it’s marginal gains, looks like there are genuine seconds to be shaved off with faster bikes (which is a bit unfair!) Sadly I’m still a couple of levels off the Super9 wheels 😭
@sturdylad go as soon as your individual timer counts down to zero. You will see others going of around you but its individual and drafts dont count etc!