VHP/TC 20K TT - Cycle

Before I start with the description of my race, I wanted to describe the guy that started in front of me that won the CAT 4 division. He had a Shiv TT with Zipp 808 front and Sub 9 disc, a black skinsuit, and an aero helmet w/ visor. This is all pretty standard TT equipment for your serious racer, but he also had nasal strips. That was an extra bit of attention to detail that I respected. Moving on:

http://www.strava.com/activities/261819821

I started out way too hot in this. I let adrenaline take over and began the TT with a 610W sprint and averaged 290W over the first mile. I then spent the next mile trying to get myself under control, but I probably put myself into a big hole with that first mile effort. The rest of the race I spent trying to get my HR settled, and my body decided around 250W was my happy place. Well....as happy as you can be holding a HR of 180BPM.

It was good to lay it out there and see what my weaknesses were. Also this race was my first real test with the mini TT bars on the Venge, and they worked rather well. I've attached a picture of the Venge's TT setup.

This past month I've been focusing almost completely on sprinting, so my TT probably took a hit with that, but my focus was to do well on the crit.

This was my first race pacing with real power outdoors, and it jumps around a lot more than it does on the trainer. It took me a while to finally get a handle on managing my effort. I enjoy the consistency of environment on the trainer, but I'll need to do future testing outdoors to practice adjusting effort based on wind, terrain, etc.

Soft pedaled back to the car and stretched a good bit. After that it was time to get ready for the crit.


Pacing ultimately. Good to find this out earlier in the season.


Solid race to see where your TT is early in the season.