1st Prologue - what's the plan?

amc

Next weekend i'm doing the Tour of the Milburys which is a 4 mile (slightly uphill) TT followed by a 70 mile race, cat 2/3/4, in Hampshire.

I'm a very average Cat 3 rider and having never done a TT of any distance i'm wandering if there is any advice for such a short ride and any thoughts on how to recover between 'stages'. I'm off in the TT just after 10am and race starts at 1pm.

You can use TT bikes and clip on bars but having never used either, i think it safer to just stick to my road bike. I'm assuming at 4miles, advice is just give myself a minute to settle in, get on the drops, and go for it? Do i try and get more on the tip of the saddle for the TT?

Afterwards, stretch, recovery drink and a quick bit to eat before the rr?

A step into the unknown for me but should be fun. Any general advice would be appreciated.

willhub

It's 4 miles?

I'd just go as hard as is possible, 4 miles ain't going to cause your legs to get knackered out they'll be recovered by race time.

I'm crap at time trialing and racing but even I'd be recovered for the race!

celbianchi

Even a 4 mile blast needs a pacing plan.
10 - 15 secs of quick acceleration from the gun, get sat down and for the next 60 secs or so concentrate on keeping it easier than you think you can go (it will take a while for the effort to catch up with you and if you hammer the first 60 secs you will have to ease off and end up slower). This requires self control (even in 4 minute hill climbs I don't go flat out from the off).

start to increase the effort after 2 mins or so and when you get to 8 mins start to think about driving it hoem and getting it all out.

Pross

Warm up really well on rollers or a turbo if possible. You want everything up at race temperature ready to go hard from the start at that sort of distance.

shockedsoshocked

Warm up certainly, with a few blasts thrown in. Make sure you warm down too. You'll probably be hanging over the bars at the finish but go spin the legs. Recovery drink if you feel the need and plenty Of food. A warm up again for the RR so you're not starting on dead legs.

racingcondor

Definitely get yourself warmed up properly first.

If it was on flat, smooth road you'd be looking at a 10-11 minute full on effort (around) on your road bike. I'd approach that by picking a speed that feels OK, keeping my cadence up above 90 and waiting for the hurt to settle in (HR creep will get you at some point if you're going hard enough). By the last mile you'll know if you've got anything left.

If you can find a good bit of road to do a 15 minute interval 3-4 times then you can pick a level of HR or perceived effort that should be sustainable and use that to guage the TT (assuming you can't actually ride the course).

racingcondor

Oh and stay aero (not that it need saying).

I have a large saddle - bar drop so I'd probably have my hands on the tops either side of the stem, elbows in and back as flat as I can (moving to the drops for the start, any time I need more power like a steep bit and any tight corners). If your drop isn't 10cm+ you're probably better off in the drops.

amc

Many thanks everyone, good advice there.

I have a large saddle to bar drop too, so do you recommend putting my hands on the hoods, stretched out a bit, elbows in or drops (i'm not sure hands if i'd feel to comfortable/stretched out enough with hands on the tops?).

Also it is worth taking bottle cages out for such a short distance (even i can last 4 miles withut a drink)?

gandhi

Assuming the course hasn't changed, here are some specific tips: -
The course is steep early on, then it turns into a drag. It's worth having aerobars for the draggy section.
Because the course is harder earlier, you should aim to ride slightly harder at the start (if you don't have a power meter this is quite hard to do).
Just because you're catching people, don't think you're going well and ease up. The time gaps will be massive.
There's quite a long wait for the road race, and a fairly long ride back from the finish.