TTT....time trial tips

[Stu Merckx Man]

ive got a junior 4 day stage race next week and the first stage is the 4 mile prologue tt

i have not got a clue about how to TT properly so i have a few questions...

what sort of % should i be riding at?
should i be riding at different % at different stages?
what about a warm up?
should i be spinning or pushing a big gear?
how should i tackle hills?
ive got some TT bars, will i need to change the saddle position or anything?

any other things you think i should know will be welcome!

cheers
stu

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

Go flat out Stu.

Depends on the course - if hilly, then adjust to have something left at the top and push on hard DOWN the other side.

Spin if there are lots of corners, push along the straights.

Just clipping tri bars on your road bike won't need any changes.

You'll need a good warm up - at least 30 / 40 minutes with a few short race pace bursts to be able to ride at that intensity

Where ad when is it?

Good luck

[Stu Merckx Man]

oh its the in gear junior tour of sussex...

starts friday 25th, HQ is Ardingly College in haywards heath, so i think most of the stages are around there..

stage 2 after the prologue is the 'ardingly circuit' 80 miles *gulp*

stage 3 is the 'dane hill circuit' 64 miles

stage 4 is not a circuit , starts from ardingly college and finishes and the 'ardingly show ground' 64.5 miles.

reading the info pack it all seams pretty proffessional, there are sprint points to be won throughout the stages, and feeding stations and everything!

stu

[Jon H]

For a 4 mile prologue TT, you're going to be looking at an effort of under 10 minutes, so just think of how hard you can go for that length of time; probably in excess of 90% max HR. It should hurt a lot.

Although bear in mind that you've got an 80 miles road race afterwards, so you might not want to completely kill yourself in the TT. A few seconds advantage gained in the TT could easily be lost by being dropped in the road race stages.

[Stu Merckx Man]

cheers jon. i think ill jump on the turbo tonight to see what i can do in 10 minutes, would it be more along the lines of a vo2 thing rather than a threshold thing?

i meant stage 2 the day after the prologue, so ill have plenty of recovery time.

[Sylv]

Avoid the wildlife

[Toks]

[quote="Stu Bianchi Boy"]cheers jon. i think ill jump on the turbo tonight to see what i can do in 10 minutes, would it be more along the lines of a vo2 thing rather than a threshold thing?

i meant stage 2 the day after the prologue, so ill have plenty of recovery time.

[richv]

For a 10 minute effort ignore your heart-rate, if you try to get it up to a 'racing' rate in the first couple of minutes you'll be going out far too hard.

To get a feel of what it should be like (if you can measure distance/speed on your turbo) do 10 minutes flat out on the turbo, note the distance travelled and work out your average speed, have a 10 minute rest then ride again trying to get up to your original average speed within the first minute holding it there for the next 8 minutes and then go as hard as you can for the last minute. That should give you some idea of what an 'even-powered' ride is like.

When you race try to remember what the start felt like on the turbo and try not to overcook it off the start. When you get to halfway you can kill yourself as there's only 4 minutes left

If you're prepared to adjust your bike you can drop the handlebars as far as they will go (flipping stem over can help depending upon how it's set up already). If you're not comfortable on the tribars in that position moving the saddle as far forward as it will go may help. You want to aim to get the front as low as you can whilst being able to pedal in relative comfort. Importantly remember where everything was to start with as you'll curse me if you can't get back to your original position.

For a short ride you definitely need to warm-up. My warm-up takes just under an hour including faffing time:

5 minutes very easy
5 minutes easy
10 minutes working up easy-moderate pace
Get ready to race, helmet number etc, excess kit off
5 minutes moderate pace
5 minutes fast pace
Then:

3 x 45 seconds at race pace (not flat out, but what you will be racing at) with 3 minute rests in between.
15 minute spin to start

Doesn't matter whether you spin or push a big gear. I would guess they will gear-check you anyway so you won't have any choice. Make sure your gears comply.

Hills exactly as Paul says, important thing is to really push down the hill not take a rest as most people do.

Other things to remember:

Don't put a full water bottle on your bike for a 10 minute ride!
Check tyres for flints etc before you get on it and again when you're waiting at the start.
Make sure you know where the start, finish and any turns are.

[Stu Merckx Man]

cheers for all that, i think ill try out some positions with the bars, see whats comfy, if i can breath properly, give it a go on the turbo...and a good warm up seams like a must!

cheers
stu

[Marek]

As only a week away I would not change anything on your bike or use the TT bars as if you have not practiced with them before I think you are more likely to go slower. I have a feeling this is a very hilly prologue, so it won't make much difference.

Cheers

Marek...

[Stu Merckx Man]

good points, i will email the race organiser and ask what kind of course it is. i probably wont use the tt bars anyways.

stu

[Robh]

The power guru's say more time is gained going hard on the up bits and recovering on the down bits...

Why not ride the course beforehand than pissing about on a turbo?

[Dominic]

What power guru is that?

I seem to recall that Boardman was always an advocate of easier (in relative terms) up the inclines and hammer down the other side. In fact I think I read an interview with Jens Voigt who commented after riding two up with Boardman that he couldn't get over how slow Boardman was up the hills.

[richv]

Mathematically it is slightly quicker if you increase your power up the hill and lower it slightly downhill if you can maintain the same average power over the whole course. That's what the 'power gurus' rely on.

As far as I'm aware there is no reported experimental data to show how 'varying' your power affects your ability to produce a high average power. I suspect that your body is most efficient at a consistent power output and that varying the power output thus reduces your maximum maintainable power. If that is the case then the maths doesn't work.

The people who advocate varying power never suggest more then about 5 or 10% anyway. Given that if you're riding without a power meter the perceived effort of going up a hill at 300w is about 2/3 that of going down a hill at 300w (because you're used to powering up hills and rolling down and tend to think that's the natural way of doing it) when you first try and ride an even-powered (or a slightly variably-powered as suggested) it will feel like you are going much harder downhill then you are uphill.

Boardman was years ahead of his time.

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

[quote]I seem to recall that Boardman was always an advocate of easier (in relative terms) up the inclines and hammer down the other side. In fact I think I read an interview with Jens Voigt who commented after riding two up with Boardman that he couldn't get over how slow Boardman was up the hills.