49KM Cycling Team Time Trial

thekidduxc

Participating in my first cycling Team TT tomorrow am. Before I sign off for the night, I thought I would request some input from the house. We are taking it seriously; however we are approaching it from a lay it on the line and enjoy the process attitude.

- which data fields would you use if you only looked at one field? I'm thinking: watts, NP, lap NP, cadence, timer, IF. I don't want to over crowd my screen and my HRM strap is dead.

- what would your goal IF be for the ride given the following conditions/dynamics? I'm going till exhaustion and see where that gets me!

Race Dynamics
- 4 cyclists to a team
- team's place decided via 1st 3 riders aggregate time
- approximately 30 teams being released every 120"
- team strategy is 30" pulls for the first 10' then settle into 1' pulls
- you are one of the top 2 strongest riders on the team (based on FTP and current fitness levels) and will be expected to carry longer pulls toward the end
- estimated finish time is <65'

Mike Roberts

If it were me, I'd put 3s watts and either time or lap time.  Just two fields.  Time if you can take the front at, say 48:30, and remember that you lead until 49:30.  If you don't trust your math, reset lap when you take the lead, follow that lap time for your pull.  If you're not in the lead, don't even think of looking at the Garmin.  And make your teammates commit to the same pledge.  I'd rather TT with three drunk guys than with three who feel the constant need to stare at their screen instead of the tire 18 inches in front of them at 27mph.

Be safe, bury yourself, have fun.

tim cronk

Really nothing to add.... Drove by one of those Team TT's this fall and at first I though WTF look at those guys drafting LOL... Would think team communication is most important than anything on the display.....Anyway , I'm sure there is an art to how much time each guys pulls, then rotates, keeping everyone tight, together, and safe should get the best time... Must be some roadies that know the optimal amount of time each guy should pull for on each turn? Hope you guys have practiced together?

Scott Alexander

x2 with Mike.
I'd stick with just 3 sec watts. There's not much you can do outside of that if you can't hold it. It's one of the only measurements I have on my "race" screen on my Garmin 510. Displaying an overall TSS or overall IF doesn't do you much good at any other time.
If your group is already committed to ONLY pulling a certain time (ex, 1 minute per person), then lap time would be good too.

thekidduxc

I had 3s watts and lap time. Our strategy demanded lap time. Having a simplified screen helped immensely; however, I did set up a second screen which consisted of total time and NP. I would steal a peak during a recovery to see where my NP was at that time. Kind of something to ensure I was working and not mentally cheating.

Dave Tallo

What was the OA time?

(I agree w Mike on the fields ... But would have gone one further and said leave the comouter at home, and simply push. So much of your effort would have been influenced by your draft that unless you had certainty in your pull vs being pulled numbers. Last thing you would want to do is break the pack by riding "your numbers.")

That sounds seriously fun, though.

moetai@gmail.com

I used to have speed and distance:
-Speed: so i'm careful to maintain the same speed when pulling (no surge)
-Distance (to know where we are and how far still we have to push)
Experience showed me that all prerace strategies based on X seconds pull per rider usually fail...
We decided that:
1-communication is key
2- Stronger riders pull longer...not faster

I hated Team TT...if you are the weakest, it hurts as u are dying to hang on...if u the strongest you are dying taking those long pulls and your turn comes by quickly...

Coach Rich

While I've never done a formal TTT I've done lots of rotation work work with strong guys trying to go as fast as we can. David has the right idea. All plans go out the window as soon as small gaps are opened up, Timmy gets worked just a bit too much, Tommy drops the hammer when it's his turn to pull and the team gaps Billy just as he's ending his pull and is desperately trying to get back in the line, etc.

Speed, distance, discipline and communication are what's needed.

thekidduxc

Thanks guys - have another TTT on either 19 or 20 Feb. Will let you know how it goes. We have to work on our comms and will have a brief practice session prior to that.