Showing posts with label TT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TT. Show all posts

Thursday, July 28, 2011

BCTT 2011 - Lake Cowichan planning


Out and back 40km course. 10km up, 20km rolling (about same climbing as first 10km), 10km descending.

Dist elapsed Goal Average Speed Power
km m kmh   FTP
10 17 35     108% - Mostly uphill slog
20 32 38     100% - Rolling slightly less uphill than 10km back
30 49 37     105% - Rolling slightly more uphill than 10km out
40 62 39      90% - Mostly descending

That's the plan... 10km in 17m average speed 35kmh, 20km in 32m, 38 kmh average, etc.

Takes into account the relative amounts of climbing or descending. So push hard from 0-10, a little easier for 10-20, hard again for 20-30, and fly down the last 30-40 which is mostly downhill.

Because it is rolling for the middle 20km (10-30) think in terms of matches. There are about 8-10 hard climbs and similar number of easy climbs. So lots of anaerobic contribution. 

Go 105% up a hills until you have crested and regained target speed, 100% where it is nominally flat and 95% for downhills. 

Depending on the length of the hill, you may try for slightly higher power (shorter) or lower power (longer). But to optimize power to CdA increase power at low speeds, decrease to recover at high speeds. Always keeping power high until back to high speed, remember don't lower power at crest of hill, push past and get speed back up. 

Most people reduce power at the crest as their brain, lungs and legs are telling them to stop and since they have finished the hill it seems like that would be OK. Its NOT!

62 minutes or less should podium in Master C (well it depends on who shows up... OlafS. should be under 59). 

My time in 2007 on the same course, but 49km (started and ended differently and went farther out) was 1:15:26, average speed 39.3. So 62 with an average speed of about 39.5 should be doable. If I recall it rained that day and slowed us down considerably on the final 10km descent.


Saturday, May 1, 2010

Two Time Trials

Got to do two time trials today.

First was the season opener for the Vancouver VeloVets 10k TT out at Iona. Nice conditions, just a little wind. But still only able to get 14:33. Which is a bit slow.

Then I got a complimentary entry to Race the Ridge Golden Ears TT. Normally only open to people doing the full stage race they where nice to let me ride (probably as I won't be able to ride next week's WarpSpeed when I put my race directors hat on.)

The conditions where very nice. Probably the best seen on that course for a few years. It is a spring race and typically early cold damp mornings. Yesterday was warm and dry.

I put in a reasonably good effort, 32:29. Which is about 45 seconds faster than my time from two years ago and a new PB for me on this course. Comparisons to the rest of the field are a bit harder as they had all spent 2-3 hours doing a hard road race earlier in the day.

That said, the best Cat 3/4 time was David Stephens with 29:48, one of only four riders go under 30 minutes (including Cat 1/2.) There where three more Cat 3/4 riders just over 32.

I ran the Golden Ears file through Aerolab. Still learning how to tweak the sliders for best results etc.. This shows that a hilly course that gives you a lot of variation in speeds. Without being so hilly that you change position too much to invalidate the results.

On this course the speed varied from 20-70 km/h (exclusive of the turn-around and start.)

Best guess, CdA getting to about .220-.230.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

VVV TT - new PB 13:36, Squamish - Flat


Two TT's today... VVV 10k in the morning and then we pre-rode the Squamish TT.


Managed a new PB on the Velovets course. 13:36, 44.3 kmh average. I suspect that the hot humid weather helped...

Then it was out to Squamish... I was having a reasonably good ride I thought, with the typical slow down on the way back.. Then hit a massive set of pot holes with 6km to go and got a pinch flat. Comparing to last years pre-ride, I was almost identical in time to the turn around, about 24:55 and to the same point again almost identical time 43:35 to the 30.75 mark. So presumably would have finished about the same as last years pre-ride, about 52 minutes. Overall conditions where almost identical.

So presumably I'm in comparable shape to last year. That ride was after a rest day. Today was after doing a PB on the VVV TT...

Anthony King was up with a friend, he also flatted on the same pothole. Michel and George and I went to home depot and got some marking paint and did some work to try and make the potholes a bit more visible. The one really bad set (where we flatted) should probably have a marshall or at least some cones during the race. It is almost impossible to ride through them at speed without hitting one or more. Which may lead people into crossing the yellow line which could be bad... Better to get them slowed down. At 40+ you pinch flat (or worse...) at 20kmh you just get a bumpy ride...