As well as competing in long, mountainous sportives, I'm also working hard at my speed cycling. I do an unofficial TT with Evolution Triathlon club on a Friday evening, but the main target is Thursday night's 10TT with Maidenhead Cycling Club.
The course varies, but the fastest one is on the H10/2 on the A4 between Maidenhead and Twyford, and I'd done it two times this season so far, beating my PB only a couple of weeks ago with 24:47.
I was concerned that after the hard riding in the Alpes at the weekend my legs would be tired, but I also thought that maybe after three days rest they would be stronger. As the weather was perfect, I could think of no excuse for not going, so I got prepared for the race, and set off on my bike to the start. I have been experimenting a little on my warmup, and as it is 10 miles to the start I do that now.
Unfortunately, disaster struck. Rear tire went bang half way there when I hit a pothole. I always give myself a bit of time, but I suddenly realised my race may be over as I had neglected to pack tyre levers. I scrabbled around at the side of the road, looking for strong twigs or something, and found a bit of broken plastic. But it didn't work. I had a brainwave and took out my house keys. It wasn't easy, and I think I scratched the wheel rim a little, but I got a little bit off, and as the tyre was warm and pliant I managed to rip it off with my fingers. I was running out of time, but if I hurried I'd get to the start line in time to sign on.
I raced to Maidenhead and made it, out of breath, and paid my money for number 39. I now had 50 minutes to wait so did my old routine of resting and occasional sprints up and down the side road.
The ride itself is less interesting than my journey there. I now have a Giro Advantage Aero helmet and some Mavic Cosmic Carbone wheels, and I'm getting more confident that they really are making a difference to my speeds. The course is basically 5 miles one way, mostly downhill, then 5 miles back, mostly uphill. I got in position and hardly noticed the westerly 10mph headwind - I was going well, pushing not too hard but maintaining a good speed. I would have been struggling with my previous setup I think.
I hit the roundabout which is the half way turnaround, and started to push harder. And I actually speeded up. I love having a tailwind, and checking my speed I knew I was faster than I could remember doing up these inclines. My Garmin 800 wasn't showing average speed as I had managed to reset the field by accident, so I was unable to really compare previous races or know for sure how I was doing. But I've done the course a lot, and my speeds were definitely good.
At the penultimate roundabout a car pulled out and I lost a few seconds, but powered on down the hill quickly getting my speed back quickly. I was maintaining 45-49km/h until the final small uphill bit to the finish where it fell to 40km/h. I pushed as hard as I could, feeling good still, and finally crossed the line. Unofficially I knew I had a new record.
Very pleased when I found out I had actually taken 28 seconds off my old record. New record is 24:18. What does this say about hill climbing and TT performance? I'm not fully decided.
Links
Strava
Results
The course varies, but the fastest one is on the H10/2 on the A4 between Maidenhead and Twyford, and I'd done it two times this season so far, beating my PB only a couple of weeks ago with 24:47.
I was concerned that after the hard riding in the Alpes at the weekend my legs would be tired, but I also thought that maybe after three days rest they would be stronger. As the weather was perfect, I could think of no excuse for not going, so I got prepared for the race, and set off on my bike to the start. I have been experimenting a little on my warmup, and as it is 10 miles to the start I do that now.
Unfortunately, disaster struck. Rear tire went bang half way there when I hit a pothole. I always give myself a bit of time, but I suddenly realised my race may be over as I had neglected to pack tyre levers. I scrabbled around at the side of the road, looking for strong twigs or something, and found a bit of broken plastic. But it didn't work. I had a brainwave and took out my house keys. It wasn't easy, and I think I scratched the wheel rim a little, but I got a little bit off, and as the tyre was warm and pliant I managed to rip it off with my fingers. I was running out of time, but if I hurried I'd get to the start line in time to sign on.
I raced to Maidenhead and made it, out of breath, and paid my money for number 39. I now had 50 minutes to wait so did my old routine of resting and occasional sprints up and down the side road.
The ride itself is less interesting than my journey there. I now have a Giro Advantage Aero helmet and some Mavic Cosmic Carbone wheels, and I'm getting more confident that they really are making a difference to my speeds. The course is basically 5 miles one way, mostly downhill, then 5 miles back, mostly uphill. I got in position and hardly noticed the westerly 10mph headwind - I was going well, pushing not too hard but maintaining a good speed. I would have been struggling with my previous setup I think.
I hit the roundabout which is the half way turnaround, and started to push harder. And I actually speeded up. I love having a tailwind, and checking my speed I knew I was faster than I could remember doing up these inclines. My Garmin 800 wasn't showing average speed as I had managed to reset the field by accident, so I was unable to really compare previous races or know for sure how I was doing. But I've done the course a lot, and my speeds were definitely good.
At the penultimate roundabout a car pulled out and I lost a few seconds, but powered on down the hill quickly getting my speed back quickly. I was maintaining 45-49km/h until the final small uphill bit to the finish where it fell to 40km/h. I pushed as hard as I could, feeling good still, and finally crossed the line. Unofficially I knew I had a new record.
Very pleased when I found out I had actually taken 28 seconds off my old record. New record is 24:18. What does this say about hill climbing and TT performance? I'm not fully decided.
Links
Strava
Results
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