Your best ever TT...

rob_spedding

How did you achieve your best ever TT result - I'm after some of your top tips to share with CPlus readers!

Cheers

Rob

a_n_t

I PLF

Anonymous

a_n_t wrote:

I PLF

I PLF too.

schweiz

me too!

before my first TT I sought the advice of a club mate. The answer was:

'Vollgas von A bis Z'

So I did.

danowat

I am confused :?

Anonymous

danowat wrote:

I am confused :?

Pedal Like F***

Full Gas from A to B.

danowat

Ohhhhh.....I seeeeee, makes sense now

Matt the Tester

yea PLF

just keep going keep a steady speed (obviously)? motivate yourself! and most importantly i find, ENJOY IT!

i really bigged myself up at the final TT of the season saying to myself " I MUST DO WELL" I WILL! needless to say i got a new PB of 25:53.

markos1963

My PB came at my clubs open 10 last year(VC Norwich) It was a really shi££y day and quite windy in the early morning. I nearly didn't go but thought 'What the heck, I've paid , I might as well give it a go'
When I got there I looked at the start sheet and lo and behold the name of Ian Cammish was on the list only a couple of mins behind me!!
The combination of nerves, fear and the wish not to get in the way of said Mr Cammish drove me on to knock nearly a min off my PB!
Shame he never turned up!

Fat Head

I find that if you train hard (and follow some kind of 'programme'), you push yourself harder in an event and are more determined to do better to justify all the training you have done. You are scared to do a 'bad' result because it means all the getting out of bed early to ride for hours in the cold, and the time spent hurting yourself on the turbo have not paid off. That would be a bad feeling - training hard and not improving. Hence, you push yourself as much as you can on the day and leave nothing out there.

Oh, and training makes you fitter and faster also.

martinwilly

I don't think PLF is detailed enough advice!

I achieved my best ever TT result by doing a whole bunch of TTs beforehand. It's a skill that needs to be learnt. You have to have done a load of those TTs recently too. I think you forget to some extent how to race between the seasons.

I also achieved my best TT result by knowing the course very well.

For sure, PLF is important. I used to think that a TT shouldn't hurt, or at least not until near the end. But I'm disappointed to say that I have subsequently learnt that it does need to hurt a bit for a lot of the ride.

But going out easy is a very good tip. It's very hard to go out too easy.

For every moment of the race, constantly ask yourself these three questions:

1- Am I pressing on the pedals?
2- Am I pressing on the pedals?
3- Am I pressing on the pedals?

Easy.

SteveR_100Milers

I count the roadkill as a way of distracting myself from the pain, and the torture of looking up ahead to miles of D/C until the finish. One particular event, there were several badgers, rabbits etc and suddenly it was all over 22 minutes and 41s later. I should write a book.

richk

My best TT came in a club 10 well into the season just after a couple of open events I'd been targetting.

rob_spedding

I was guessing it was something like ride until it hurts. And then ride harder!

danowat

martinwilly wrote:

But going out easy is a very good tip. It's very hard to go out too easy.

I am a relative TT virgin, but this is (in my inexperianced opinion) quite important, even in a 10.

My last open, I went out (with what I thought was) an easy(er) pace, looking back over my garmin data it turned out that my easy(er) pace was indeed approaching 24mph, which considering my avg speed for the whole event was only 23mph meant that it was no where near as easy as I thought it was.

Conversly, looking at the same course late last year, I went out hard and suffered like hell for pretty much 9 mies but, the actually different in speed for that first mile or so was negligable, where I lost the most time was in the last few miles.

Also, knowing the course helps alot

hopper1

Drive the course beforehand... Know where the finish line will be.
Then PLF...

SBezza

To be honest it is a bit more than PLF IMO, TTing is a battle against the mind and the body, as well as against the clock.

Simple things like recceing the course are indeed pretty important, as you need to know where you might have to ride that little bit harder. Checking the wind direction is also important, and if you are going slow into a headwind, and you are not quite sure, it is so easy to overdo it, and then on the return leg with the wind behind you, you are toasted and can't get the best benefit. I guess this is where powermeters are a massive help.

Getting you head in gear is something you need to do, you know it is going to hurt, but set yourself a target, say average speed, and concentrate on achieving that. Block out the pain, just concentrate on the job in hand.

My best performance was a 12 hour TT, I wanted to break a club record, and mapped out what I needed to do each hour to remain on target (this can work for shorter distances as well). Don't panic when the speed seems slow, and undoubtedly this is due to terrain or the wind, and you will get conditions that will mean you pick up that speed fairly easy later. I just mentally prepared myself that it was going to hurt alot, but it was achievable.

Best preparation though is training, train for your chosen event, no point doing lots of miles if you are only going to target 10's, you need to work the systems you will be using, and work them hard so they adapt.

Chip \'oyler

Some good advice here. But IMO training specifically for TTs is the biggest benefit. Get a coach, get a training plan, stick to it.

greasedscotsman

Fast courses and float days!

BG2000

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

it was all over 22 minutes and 41s later. I should write a book.

That's my PB ! (normal road bike, no aero stuff etc...)

How did I do it......errrr.....I pedalled as hard as I could for 22 minutes then started sprinting until I saw the finish line.

I'm with the PLF school of thought...

To hold off the pain, I just tell myself how good it will feel when I've finish, knowing I've given it 100%. You need to give yourself that incentive throughout the effort. Tell yourself it's worth it.

andyrr

I can't at the moment recall a specific race but a couple of things I know has helped me is to try to maintaing maximum focus - I used to lose focus in TTs, even 10s, I'd realise that at 1/2 distance I'd spent the last mile not concentrating on the job in hand and was mentally, and therefore phyisically too, not giving it 100%.
You need to be surfing close to the absolute maximum that you can ride at for that distance, I know that I've felt pretty close to blowing up when I've done good performances but have managed to keep at that pace and not get too comfortable at a below-perfect pace.
If you are fit and riding well then really, unless it's close to the finish, if a faster man comes past you then you should be incapable of going faster to keep pace or to reduce your time-loss to them, I did a PB at the time for a 25TT where I thought I was going really well then whilst starting the 2nd and last lap a rider past me on his 1st and after he pulled a gap I then lost nothing to him for a long time. that indicates to me that I actually was NOT riding to my limit.
I think if you want to go really fast then you need to sometimes go faster than you think you should. Over-quick starts are a mistake but once into the race your pace should not be 'comfortable' IMHO, certainly for the shorter events.

SteveR_100Milers

BG2000 wrote:

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

it was all over 22 minutes and 41s later. I should write a book.

That's my PB ! (normal road bike, no aero stuff etc...)

How did I do it......errrr.....I pedalled as hard as I could for 22 minutes then started sprinting until I saw the finish line.

I'm with the PLF school of thought...

To hold off the pain, I just tell myself how good it will feel when I've finish, knowing I've given it 100%. You need to give yourself that incentive throughout the effort. Tell yourself it's worth it.

It's my PB too, though unofficial as it was a club evening 10. Sadly for me it was achieved with the full national costume of a tester, minus a disc and overshoes. That's a hot time on a standard road bike regalia, titles ahoy.

Phoenix flyer

Mine came on a Thursday when I already rode one on the Tuesday. To my surprise as I thought I should have been resting up.

Surfr

Just got in from the first club 10 of the year and I smashed it. I took 2 minutes and 7 seconds out of my PB from last season. I did have the benefit of a carbon road bike with aero bars as opposed to my alloy cyclocross bike with slicks and no aero bars, but I also benefitted from a winter of training.

I'd not felt like this in a TT before. I felt composed, comfortable in the tuck and my legs were like pistons, peddling perfect circles instead of the forced squares of last season. By breathing seemed composed yet my heart rate was in the usual red zone. Tried to keep a higher cadence although I don't have a cadence meter on this bike yet.

I forgot to start the computer for the first minute or so but captured the majority.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/76206523

It looks like I could have gone harder at the start but I had the thread on TT pacing strategies in my mind. Definite room for improvement but now I'll have to adjust my season's goals of 'getting into the 25s' to 'getting into the 23s' I think!

SBezza

Surfr wrote:

It looks like I could have gone harder at the start but I had the thread on TT pacing strategies in my mind. !

DO NOT be fooled by the low HR, going off too hard will result in you slowing down at the end without a shadow of a doubt.

I have been racing with a powermeter this early season, and it is amazing how easy the first few minutes feel even though I am still putting out more power than I could sustain for the duration of the race. Without a powermeter it will take practise, but you should have your HR gradually rise throughout the race, with perhaps it really ramping up to a high level for the last few minutes when you really give it everything.

Surfr

Maybe I'll just stick to my current pacing then as it certainly *felt* right.

UncleFred

Did a 10 on Saturday and took 40 seconds off my PB, set last year when I was at my fastest, since then I've now got twins and had to back off on the training over the winter.

I changed my pacing strategy to that suggested here. Start off easy and build the effort over the first mile and then consolidate the pace in the 2nd mile.

True enough i felt like I was going too slow at the start, but kept control of my effort. Once I hit the mile mark I upped the pace and then coming into the last 2 miles I felt brilliant and was really able to turn up the power and crossed the line in 23:13

Really happy with that and feel like I could get under 23 in the coming weeks.

peejay78

my first ten was last april, i managed a 24.35. i ended up with a PB of 22.38 by the end of the season.

after a few hilly events, and finding some clear form, i did my first proper ten of the year on the uh30 today and somehow, and i'm not sure how, managed to turn in a 21.18.

i think flabbergasted is a good word.

Matt the Tester

got a new PB for the first TT of the season! couldnt believe it!!

25:30 passed two people cant wait till when im actually fit!

Mark Alexander

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

I count the roadkill as a way of distracting myself from the pain, and the torture of looking up ahead to miles of D/C until the finish. One particular event, there were several badgers, rabbits etc and suddenly it was all over 22 minutes and 41s later. I should write a book.

Lots of badgers and bunnies at Newport are there track boy? He he. Which course was your 22 Steve? I'm still to get a 10 since training. My advice' pace yourself. Work out your breaking point and just go hell for leather without blowing up. If you don't have a sore throat from breathing and a face covered in snot you haven' worked hard enough.

Mark Alexander

Rob Spedding wrote:

How did you achieve your best ever TT result - I'm after some of your top tips to share with CPlus readers!

Cheers

Rob

To answer the question though. I listened to my coach. Worked hard, got near perfect pacing and was the only one of the 120 riders 2 weeks ago not to notice the wind in Resolven taking minutes out of those I've not done so before.