Advice for Hills at IM France
I posted briefly on another post, but I thought I'd flush it out here.
Looking at the IM France course, the first 74 miles or so is almost all up hill with various inclines and distances. I think the last 23km is all uphill for sure ranging from 6%-8% incline. its funny because the cutoff is 8hrs on the bike for the first half and 10hrs (after swim) for the second half. Kinda funny but it must be fast downhill after that.
With that said I think its almost impossible to stay at exactly .7 on the course, And knowing the last 50 miles is almost all downhill does it make sense to increase the first 70miles or so to HIM power?
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If it is your first, I would stick with the EN gears and race execution strategy. With that much climibing I would simply try to climb with as low of watts as I can. Shift to your easiest gear and just keep the watts low. There will be times that you have to go over your gears, but just try to minimize how much and how long you are over your targets.
I would not plan to ride HIM power unless you were experienced at racing IM and this course.
Ditto to what Matt says: stay with the EN #s. I've done the France course, and trust me, the numbers do not 'all come out in the wash.' Be patient. There is beaucoup de carnage on that run course from many give into temptation to get the climbing done and over with.
Going too hard for the first half of an IM course is a certain recipe for disaster. Lots of the people you see walking in the dark rode the first half at HIM watts [although they had no idea there were doing it] and "felt great". As P is always saying if you rode to early you can prove it by running really fast.
Jason, please read our Ironman How-To post in the wiki. It will lead you to all kinds of resources re riding with power, hills, gearing, etc.
jason:
i raced france as my third IM, but before knowing Rich. No power and no strategy. the key to the course, were i to do it now (with power and EN on board)...
-study the climbs and have goal gears for each climb. not a blanket, HIM pace in other words. for example, the first 'climb' is super steep and short. just get yourself over that thing and then settle in. don't bother looking at watts for that or you might tip over, just don't over do it. as you noted, length and pitch vary from then on and from your training, you should know your rhythm for the distance and percecnt grade, etc.
-stay on top of your nutrition! good to also know what your heart rate sits at when applying these gears, so you know when to eat without stomach upset, etc.
-i am a chicken when it comes to descending, but the descents on this course were nothing like I have ever seen. VERY SAFE! the couple of hairpins are very doable and you see them coming. so plan on a fast descent.
-once headed back to T2, you are not home free. still a good distance to go and often a headwind greets you, so save some for the end.
-the run is where you get to shine, if you balanced the above properly.
since this is your first race, under shoot all your gears, but treat each block of climbing separately power wise, according to the characteristics of the climb.
by the way, this is your first one, so when in doubt, be conservative and enjoy the beautiful location and amazing climbs! you'll certainly be back once you get more experience and by then, you'll likely be focused even more on performance, so enjoy the scenery while you can!!!
GH
oh and forgot to mention that one of the highlights of the race for me was that the volunteers in the hills are from the region and REALLY know cycling.
at an aid station up in the hills, i stopped to adjust something and when i started to board the bike, one guy swooshed in and held my seat, so i could just sit without trying to balance, then another guy gives me the 'ol tour de france running behind while pushing me on the rear to get me back up to speed, with his buddy (the guy who had held my seat for me) running along side me up the climb yelling, "allez! allez! allez!
VERY cooool.
GH
Awesome advice from Gilberto. Well done
Jason, you have probably already accessed this profile from the IM Nice website, but in case you haven't, here's a glimpse of what the bike course looks like. The textbook EN Race Guidance applies nicely: aside from the short 10% pop, you can stick in first gear as planned for the initial 30', and then into second, using your gears to flatten the hills.
If you have the chance (in this or any IM) it's a great idea to drive the course beforehand, and bring along your bike to see what the more technical aspects might have in store.
Hi-jacking this old thread...
I'm doing this race in 12 weeks. On a previous thread (which I now can't uncover) I was advised to use a 27-12 cassette for Nice. My groupset is Dura Ace 10spd, so I was going to buy an Ultegra 6700 cassette. But it seems that doesn't come in the 27-12 configuration. What's the next best option (from the range below)?:
• 11-23: 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21,23
• 11-25: 11,12,13,14,15,17,19,21,23,25
• 11-28: 11,12,13,14,15,17,19,21,24,28
• 12-23: 12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,21,23
• 12-25: 12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21,23,25
(I know there's a Dura Ace 27-12 but it's stoopid money!)
Thanks in advance peeps.
SRAM does a 27-12 which is Shimano compatible - I have a SRAM FORCE myself which
is quality gear but not at the SRAM RED/DURA-ACE price.
Cheers
Jane
My goal is .72 at France ( I go down hill well, racing at 215 lbs) and will not be walking at all this year aiming for another 30' off of the run.
Trust the gears, they work! Let the "Lance Armstrong" types go on the climbs you will be patting them on the back when you run by them at mile 20!
See you there...
Mike