4 up Time Trial

[siwickm]

I am looking for two more ACC riders to join myself and Max for the following 4 up Team Time Trial. To give you an idea of level Max and I are both reasonable 3rd cat riders, not really TT specialists. So any 2nd or 3rd cats or good time triallers that want to make a 4 some let me know. Ideally we will get together beforehand a couple of times to practice.

Surrey Cycle Racing League 4-up Team Time Trial Championship 2006

Under Technical Regulations of BC & SCRL

(see section 23 page 60 & 81 of BC Handbook)

Saturday July 29th 2006 starting at 1.30pm.

2 laps of Kirdford/Alfold Circuits - 35 miles

HQ at North Hall, Loxwood, will be open from 1200.

Entry fee: £40 per team

Cheers

Marek....

[siwickm]

Sean, why not enter a team with similar ability to yourself. This event is open to all abilities I believe so if you can find a group of 3 others and have the £40 you can enter. You never know all the other teams may puncture, fall off go the wrong way etc and you could win.

Cheers

Marek.....

[Jon H]

Marek, it doesn't clash with anything else I've got lined up, so I might be interested. Do you know if everyone in the team has to be registered with the Surrey League? Coz I'm not, but have got a BC license.

[siwickm]

Excellent, we just need one more.

Cheers

MArek...

[Paul H]

I'll do it if you cannot get anybody better than me.

Paul

[Marek]

Excellent, that makes 4. Right then, I will get us entered, you can give me your tenners when I next see you. I will need your full names and give me your BCF numbers just in case. You don't need to be Surrey League members, Max and I are members so that should be enough.

PM me your details along with a contact telephone number so we can discuss possible practice sessions, maybe we can do it on the club run route some weekend prior, just do through and off with the four of us to the cafe for example.

It is good to work on the tactics as there are different ways of doing the through and off depending on wind conditions etc. Also Max is really strong on the hills. I think the best tactics is for him to sit on the back on the hills else we will all die trying to keep up with him which is not ideal.

If anyone has some 4 up time trial tips then I would be interested to hear how to play to different riders strengths etc.

Cheers

Marek....

[Jon H]

Marek, PM'd you my details.

Having a practice session will definitely be a good idea, as will getting the strategy right. In a team time trial having a well drilled squad can make the difference between a good ride and a complete shambles.

Some points to ponder:

Peeling off.
In theory the lead rider should peel off onto the windward side to shelter the other riders as he moves to the back of the line. But this can be a recipe for disaster on a circuit course where the wind direction will change. Changing around which side to peel off half way through a ride can be confusing at best or lead to touching wheels and crashing at worst. In practice it's better to stick to to one side, usually the left as this means that the lead rider doesn't risk peeling off into the path of an overtaking vehicle.

Pacing.
Best to keep a constant pace. The temptation is for a strong rider to kick and increase the pace when on the front, but this can shell out the guy who's just done a turn and is recovering at the back. If there are different abilities it's best to vary the time on the front rather than the speed. So the strongest rider might do a minute on the front, but the weakest might only do 10 seconds.

Hills.
The benefit of drafting is less, so this can be where it all goes pear shaped and someone gets dropped. If one person is stonger on the hills it may be better for them to do a big turn on the front before the hill rather than on the hill, then take over again once over the top.

Rider size.A big tall rider isn't going to get much shelter behind a little guy, so unless they're also the strongest rider it's probably not a good idea to put them right behind the smallest rider.

Dropping riders.
Depending on the rules, you may only have to finish with 3 riders out of 4 who start (that's the case in CTT, don't know about BC). So you can decide to wait or carry on in differing circumstances, for example if someone is really off the pace it may be better to leave them, but if the strongest rider punctures it might be better to wait for them or swap wheels. You can also plan to drop someone, for example the weakest rider could bury themselves with a big turn on the front with a few miles to go, then leave the stronger three to finish.

Right, that's enough ramblings for now...

[Gavin]

Wow this sounds cool..

Maybe we should have a 'G' team.........

[siwickm]

Paul and Jon, if you are available on Saturday morning then we can have a practice. I am intending to meet Max at CSS for the 9.15 start. We could do the 4up practice to the Cafe and then do whatever else after. Max and I are intending to do some hills after the cafe so you are welcome to join us for that as well.

Cheers

Marek...

[Jon H]

No can do this Saturday; TT'ing late in the afternoon so will be saving my legs for that.

[Gavin]

Marek,

Who do I contact to enter a team?

We have one surrey league member.

Can you tell me what you did?

Cheers

G

[siwickm]

Go to the Surrey League website and print off the race entry form. http://www.surreyleague.co.uk

All member will need to be a BCF member, or they will have to buy a day licence. All the fees are on the form. Write the name of the event on the top and send off however much is required. Its £40 for all BCF members, if non BCF members you will have to add on the amount for the day licence for each one.


Cheers

Marek....

[Gavin]

cheers marek,

Most useful information. I'll get the printer going .......

[ajay khandelwal]

Gavin Ill have to double check if I can do that day - but if so let get a team together.

[Gavin]

I have a team AJ but if you want to get another team together there should be plenty of people in the club willing to participate.