The Plan
The plan was to knock 20 seconds off my pb. It started raining 5 mins before my kick off time. Bah!
The Race 21.5kms – 36.5kph @78.5kgs
I began the race in my small front and within 20m had changed to the big one. From there is was big ring all the way. Heading out to the first bend I moderated my speed as the road is a little bumpy and with the freshly wet roads I chose to favor safety over speed. This means I got up to 55kph and not 60.
Rounding bend one, I was very slow. Rather than the usual 45kph, I rode at 40. This was the theme of the day. I was able to ride up the hills faster than normal and pb’ed a few of the climbs, All of these were accomplished on the first lap.
At the round about at the far end of the course, I saw I’d ridden 8:40. My goal was 8:15. Today would not be a pb ride.
Over the course of lap one, I passed three of the riders in front of me. Two I passed on the first hill and the third on the final hill before the round about.
I observed a B grader about to start as I began my turn into lap two. He overtook me just before I crested the first climb. After that the race became a frustrating ride. The other rider failed to pull away. This meant I spent 3/4 of the race pacing a slightly slower rider and I finished the time trial feeling like I could go again. Looking at the results, the rider rode C the last time I raced this course and he was 30 seconds better than me. Today he was 1:30 slower than last time. I was a minute slower.
In the end I came 6th, a little over a minute over my pb. That’s acceptable given I mostly come 5th. The winning time was set by a rider who rode one second slower than what he rode when I last raced here, so well done.
Summary
Chicken around the bends in the wet as I want to walk away from the race. Pleasing to see pb’s on the climbs. Next time I should probably overtake riders who have overtaken me (who are not in my grade) if they are going too slow for me. Start in big ring. Stay there.
My form seems to be acceptable next week and the Tour of East Gippsland.
Today’s official results Results
Stats For The Day
Power Stats
Iffy data
Average pwr: 206W
Normalized Power: 269W (92% FTP)
Critical power (CP): 210W (2.67W/kg – 72% FTP)
Intensity Factor: 0.92
Thanks to my sponsor, Drouin Cycles – performance division.