| They don’t call time trialing, “The Race of Truth” for nothing,it is just you on your own out there (unless you do a team time trial). Lots of things can go wrong, poor preparation, setting out too fast, cornering too fast or equipment failures can lead to disaster..... |
Time trialing, like climbing and sprinting is one of those things that riders assume you are either good or bad at. Either you’ve put in the training to succeed or you don’t have a chance in hell though you can still elect to cruise around and enjoy it. While aerodynamic TT-specific equipment will substantially improve your performance (proper equipment I'm told, can save you up to 5 minutes over the course of a 40km race, or at least the 58 s LeMond gained back on Fignon in 1989[good news for me]), it still often comes down to the strongest rider taking the day.
The tips below won’t guarantee a win, but when mere seconds might separate you from a personal best, you’ll want to make sure you do everything right to get the best result possible. In the tips listed below I’ve attempted to compile every piece of time trialing advice I’ve picked up trawling around the WWW, speaking to others or from what I remember from my attempts years ago.
1) Practise your starts. Have someone hold you and practise doing held starts at least a dozen times before race day. They should stand behind you and hold underneath your saddle. When done properly, the holder will not push you off. They just let go.
2) Riders are generally held by a starter and go off in either 30 or 60 intervals. Check and quadruple-check your start time! Believe it or not some high profile riders have been disqualified for missing the start time.
3) For time trials with turnarounds, break at the ABSOLUTE LAST SECOND. Instead of taking the shortest line through the turn, ride straight up the right side of the road, hit the breaks, turn sharply to the left. Circle around the turnaround and get back up to speed as fast as possible.
4) Practise turnarounds during a hard interval effort to most closely approximate race conditions. Practise it somewhere safe so if you overestimate your speed, you won’t go down. it will also get you used to the trickier bike if you have a time trial bike and its limited turning capability.
5) Pre-ride the course if possible. Do it at the same time of day as your race to get a gauge on the wind strength , temperature and any other potential factors but don't over do it.
6) Tune your bike up before the race. Clean and lube the chain and check the shifting to make sure it is smooth.it seems to me that TT bikes are more unreliable than normal road bikes. Make sure to check your race wheels as well, especially for any cuts to the tire. When you actually put the race wheel on the bike, make sure the rear wheel is secure and not going to shift and go against your chainstays.
7) Unless it is a very mountainous time trial, ride a straight block on your time trial wheel for the biggest possible gear selections.
8) Keep a bottle of energy/hydration mix with you from the moment you wake up through to the start. Hydration is essential to peak performance.
9) Eat your last big meal about 3 hrs before your event. This will vary from rider to rider so experiment with this in practise. The longer the event, the closer to the start you will be able to eat. If you are hungry after this pick at high energy foods or fruit
10) NEVER ride new equipment, wear new clothes or try out a new drink or food on race day.
11) The smoother the road, the higher the tire pressure you can run. Tubulars can be inflated to 180 lbs, but on a rough road, that means your tires will be bouncing around a lot. When your rear tire is not on the ground, you can’t propel the bike. 120 is a safe call for most tires and roads.
12) Caffeine is legal and performance enhancing. However, if you drink it every day, the effects will be minimised. Some people (not me) stop drinking coffee until just before a race.
13) When you get to the race, check the official race clock and synchronise your watch with it. Check to see if they are on schedule. Best thing of all is to have a countdown timer on your watch that you synchronise with the official race clock. Set it for the time gap between the start of the clock and your start time.
14) Get a really good warm up. The shorter the event, the longer the warm up. More on this soon...
15) Give yourself a full hour on the bike to warm up. This does not include bathroom breaks (of which there should be several if you are properly hydrated), snack breaks and time to pump up tires and put on your race wheels. This should be done early and before the warm up to avoid nerves
16) Wear knee warmers or Skins during warm up unless it is extremely hot. This provides compression causing increased blood flow and gets your muscles warmer faster.
17) Stationary trainers are best for warm ups. Don’t use your expensive tubular tire on the trainer. Bring a spare wheel.
20) Have someone at the start line to take your jacket and knee warmers or park very close to the line.
21) Generally you should start with your chain in the big ring and an easy cog in the back. However, in practise, make sure the chain angle is not too severe.
22) Start your timer exactly 1 minute before you start to avoid last minute fussing.
23) Start with your hands in the drops or on the ends of your cow horn bars and your front leg in the 10:00 position.
24) With 1 second to go before your start, squeeze the brakes and come out of the saddle. Remember to breathe.
25) Get up to speed very quickly but do not go above your time trial pace. Aim for negative splits meaning you speed up very slightly, rather than slow down over the course of the race. In a perfectly paced ride, you will be completely spent when you cross the line.
26) Unless you have a power meter, pace yourself on perceived exertion. Heart rate can take up to 10 minutes to adjust to your effort. Keep in mind that due to the adrenaline of race day, you will be able to ride at a higher heart rate than in training.
27) Keep in mind that due to the adrenaline of race day, you will be able to ride at a higher power level than in training.
28) On rollers, you may recover a bit on the down hills and work a little harder on the up hills. It is most efficient to keep your speed consistent. Before a short hill, shift into a harder gear and power over the climb out of the saddle. The bigger gear and the low cadence will prevent your heart rate from rising too much. Shift as you come over the crest to keep your cadence from increasing on the flat or downhill, which would cause your heart rate to go up.
29) Optimum cadence for a time trial is generally 90 to 105, but you must practise this. Leg speed is the key to cycling and it is easy to train. If you can pedal smoothly at 120 rpm in training, you will be extremely efficient at 105 rpm in the race. To train this, do one interval a week building from 10 minutes to an hour with very little resistance at 115 to 130 rpm.
30) Keep your head up! Not only is it safer, but it is actually more aerodynamic. There’s no “point” in having the rear of your aero helmet sticking up high in the air!
31) Take the shortest line possible. On a closed course, don’t stick to the right side of the road when it curves to the left. Cut through the inside and save precious seconds.
32) You generally won’t need water in an event shorter than an hour, but carry a water bottle anyway. It’s more aerodynamic.
33) Count your pedal strokes or breaths to distract from the pain. If you notice you are breathing only on the right pedal stroke, alternate it to the left from time to time.
35) Drafting is not allowed. If you catch up to a competitor, the overtaken rider is required to fall back to a specified distance (usually about 50 meters) behind the other or maintain wide horizontal separation so that he receives no aerodynamic shelter or help from the other. When passing a rider, make sure you do it authoritatively and don’t get caught for drafting yourself.
36) Start your recovery the moment you cross the line. Replace your race wheels and then hop back onto the trainer for a specific cooldown to enhance the recovery process.
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