25mile time trial?

[Panter]

Morning all

I've been asked if I'd be interested in taking part in a 3 man time trial at my club.

I've never done a time trial before but appaarently with this one the slowest riders time is the one taken.
So, much as I'd love to do it, there will be a fair bit of pressure on me as the overweight newbie and I don't want to let my "team" down.

For me, 25miles is too far to sprint and on a leisure ride I would normally do 25miles in 1Hr 20- 1Hr 35 although TBH even on a leisure ride I try not to hang about and doubt I would do it very much faster.

Is there any sort of special preperation I can do to help? I'm currently just dropping my weight, putting the miles in and keeping up with the gym work but should I simply be going out a weekends and doing the 25 as fast as I can?

Also, what would a realistically respectable time be for a 3 man time trial (not looking to break any club records though thats for sure )

Any advice appreciated

 

[RedBike]

Practice riding with the other two?

The idea is that the guy on the front pedals as hard as possible for a minute or so. He then moves aside to let someone else have a turn on the front while he slipstreams and 'rests'.

Ideally you need to practice holding the wheel of the guy infront (slipstreaming) and changing positions in the group.

 

[Panter]

Thanks for that
Thats just the sort of thing I hadn't thought of. I've only done a couple of club runs and I don't get too close to anyones back wheel as I'm scared of running into them.

I'll see if we can tie up for a practice run, otherwise I may be better off gaining some more experience before doing a team event.

 

[RedBike]

Most 25mile time trial (single/lone entry) take around about an hour. With only the quickest riders getting under the hour. Group entries should be significantly quicker.

 

[Panter]

Most 25mile time trial (single/lone entry) take around about an hour. With only the quickest riders getting under the hour. Group entries should be significantly quicker.

I'm well off the pace then


maybe later in the season................


Thanks for the help

 

[RedBike]

Your current pace shouldn't matter too much in a group entry. You just slipstream (sit in) all the way around. This is apparently 40% easier than pedalling on your own at that sort of speed.

 

[domtyler]

I wouldn't worry too much, like most sports it is the taking part that counts. This really is the case, I am sure that your club mates would be far happier and respect you far more for taking part, even if you only get a slow time, than if they don't manage to find someone to make up the three.

Of course you get half the people turning up who take it seriously, but there are just as many who turn up to have a laugh and a bit of exercise. Give it a go, you really don't have anything to lose.

 

[walker]

Practice riding with the other two?

The idea is that the guy on the front pedals as hard as possible for a minute or so. He then moves aside to let someone else have a turn on the front while he slipstreams and 'rests'.

Ideally you need to practice holding the wheel of the guy infront (slipstreaming) and changing positions in the group.

It's normally a little shorter than a minute (Have you tried going flat out for a full minute?) I've never done a TT but the fundamentals are the same as racing. Practice with your two buddies to get used to each others riding style. I would pick a distance of around 30 miles to practice on so it gives you some leeway on mistakes, stops to chat on whats going wrong etc, and a warm up mile. Best advice I could give is just to relax. the more tense you get the more likely a mistake will happen

 

[Cycling Naturalist]

Your current pace shouldn't matter too much in a group entry. You just slipstream (sit in) all the way around. This is apparently 40% easier than pedalling on your own at that sort of speed.

It's certainly a lot easier than being at the front, to the extent that when I've been drafting someone, I've often found myself freewheeling.

 

[wafflycat]

Don't worry. Enjoy it. You do need to be quite close to the rear wheel of the rider in front to get the full drafting effect - the only time drafting is allowed in a time trial - make the most of it!

The key to happy team time trials is to practise together. Practice the changes from moving off the front to being the rider at the back. Practise the turns. Practise having to stop... you do have to obey the rules of the road, so if you come to a junction where a turn is made and it's unsafe to turn, you have to be prepared to stop. Plus the practise means you get to know each other's strengths & weaknesses and can plan for who is going to be at the front longest...

The main thing is to have fun (whilst going flat out for 25 miles...)!

 

[piedwagtail91]

I've done several two ups but never a three. make no mistake they are brutally hard.(don't want to put you off though!)
as above you need to practice with the other two, learning not just to change and go through,but which side to change on when the course changes direction in relation to the wind.go through at a pace you can all manage at first and then get the speed up.
if the club have a chain gang use it. try to get a few short fast solo rides in if they don't.
they must feel that you're up to the ride to ask you, but expect it to hurt, sitting in for 25 miles won't be an option, as you probably won't be able to hold the wheels when they change.
good luck

 

[Keith Oates]

As the others have said practice with your team mates is essential, also getting close to the wheel in front is very important and needs care and confidence in your team mates abilities. Also when riding that close don't make any quick alterations of direction or pace as that could cause a mishap!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Panter]

Thanks peeps, much appreciated

Apparently, its more being done in the "a bit of fun" spirit as most of the others have dedicated time trial bikes and are pretty serious about it.

The team leader has suggested that if I can do a 10miler in less than 30 minutes then I should be fine so I'll have a go at that and see how it goes first.
Otherwise, he can ask someone else who used to be a hill climb champion

 

[Tynan]

done on regular roads with traffic and junctions?

yikes

rlj?

 

[palinurus]

I did a 50 km 3-up last year, didn't go very quick but it was the highlight of the season for me. Definitely practice together first, we did- and although we were a bit messy on the day it would've been much worse without.

We tried about 30s pulls on the front, it worked but I think my pulls should've been longer since I had more left at the end than I should have had in a TT.