IL State Time Trial Champs

Harvard, IL

I dug out the TT frame a couple of weeks before this and rode it exclusively coming up to this event. TTing is always something I’ve liked. I have a good tolerance for suffering and have always seemed to maintain concentration and never give up. Good attribute for my favorite discipline of cyclocross.

The aim was to break 25 mph and average 290W. I’d been doing 285 W in training without too much pain, so I thought this was achievable if I were fresh and well-prepared. Equipmentwise I own a craigslist TT frame and fork, with a too-tall headtube, that I got a great deal on plus: a Giro TT helmet, chopped roadbars, performance’s cheapest clip-ons and an 8 speed shifter run in friction mode so I can use a 9 speed 11-23 cassette. Regular road wheels (18 spoke, 28 mm rim) on front and 32 spoke powertap with open pro rim on back, all shod with regular 23 mm Michelin Pro Race 3s. I’m a bit more flexible this year so I reduced the stem height by about 2 cm and brought my position slightly forward. Not being a fan of buying speed, I made my own aerocovers with some Hobby Lobby foamboard and some zipties – a complete PITA to mount and dismount, and I’m not sure that it makes me faster, but I do it just to annoy the folks who spend $1000+ for a cool sound and a few extra seconds.

I’d be more impressed with the event organization if they could actually state the correct distance on the flyer (it’s 32.7 km, not 30 km) and let us know in advance how rough the roads were in parts. Closing online reg a week beforehand and then charging a cheeky $37 for day-of is not the way to impress. If it wasn’t the State Champs I doubt that many would have turned up. As usual, payout was minimal. That said, the most important thing was safety: the course was very well-marshalled with very little traffic. They also got the results online very promptly, something that very few promoters seem able to manage.

Onto the day itself - not enough sleep, 2.5 hour drive, lousy warmup is not the way to prepare. Temp in the 70s was perfect with a light breeze. There’s a 10 minute start delay so I use that time to go for a little more warm-up cruising. Of course, I lose track and end up sprinting back to the start just as my minute man is taking off – a close call!

I get going and use the PT to moderate my power and avoid the early blow up. Just can’t find any rhythm and the horizontal cracks in the road jarring me every two seconds really start to get to me. I shift up and shift down, playing around with my cadence, but just can’t seem to find that happy place. I try to keep power up but there are several points where I look down and find I’m doing only 220W. Feels like my seat is way too high and my hamstrings are in serious pain already. Hit the first corner, the surface improves, and I make a big effort to settle in – finally find some rhythm and am able to put down a consistent power for a while. A few more corners, taken conservatively, and I’m about two thirds done. This is where there is an extended section of potholes, hidden in shadows, followed by the one fast downhill with a rough culvert at the bottom that’s just begging for a dropped chain or pinch flat. I get some direct pothole hits and
then coast gingerly over the rough hollow. Probably lost quite a few seconds here but I’m not prepared to risk it when I don’t know the course. The strangest thing is that I passed noone and nobody passed me. Something that’s never happened me before. Catching sight of a rabbit can be a great motivator, as can being caught; I found it mighty lonely out there.

After the last turn I know it’s a straight shot for home on a slight uphill and mild headwind. Really starting to hurt here and my muscles and tendons are protesting. The next few miles consist of alternating between 30 secs or so at 300 W, dropping down to 240 for a few seconds, before sucking up the pain again – all the time waiting for an indication that the finish line was near - some course distance markings would have been useful. After an eternity in the pain cave, and many false sightings, I see the finish tent and hammer for all I’m worth for the final minute.

24.6 mph, 283 W - Kinda disappointing. There are folks putting out lower power and going faster, so I’ve still got quite a lot of aero gains to make. The good news is that my breathing was fine, my legs let me down. I think my saddle was just too high. Way too much messing about with position and I guess I never settled on one in time to really get used to it. I estimate my CdA at about 0.275 m^2. Looks like I can afford to lower my position a bit more and get closer to 0.26 CdA – that would have me comfortably above 25 mph. Gotta dial in one position for next year and ride that a lot more.

Resultswise Cat 4/5 is always a bit of a joke. You always get a bunch of triathletes or TT specialists who have never raced enough to upgrade and come out to do some ridiculous times. The top 5 would also have podiumed in Cat 3 while the winner did 28 mph and just lost out for best time of the day to a P12 rider. As it was, I finished somewhere midway. It was interesting that there were several riders clustered together with only a few 10s of seconds separating us. This is where it becomes tempting to invest in all the bling. Zipp 808 front, carbon aerobars, carbon rear would guarantee me an extra 30s to 1 minute and soothe my ego by vaulting over 3 or 4 others. It’s not something I really see the point of though. I’ve DFL’d enough races to know that I don’t have serious self-esteem issues and I could never spend enough to get me on the podium. Next year, maybe a decent skinsuit and a new wheelcover – main thing will be dragging the bike out much earlier and working on getting used to lower position. The 40k hour mark still needs to be broken.