Can you find me 10 seconds on a 3 minute sprint?

[bulldoze]

I am in my sixties. Annoyingly Strava age brackets are 55-65 which seems crazy to me - how on earth can I compete with a 55 year old me? that guy was pretty damn quick!

But there is a popular segment near me which is tasking me. I have started back up with Strava and noticed last week that the fastest time is just under 3 mins for the over 55s - I had a crack at this last week from a standing start and was 7s off the pace.

How I can get faster (I think)
- First and foremost is some targeted training I guess. I am thinking at my age I need to be careful here. So perhaps 2 x 30-60 minute rides a week plus 1 hill session and an 1 interval session. 3-5 repetitions of 1min - 4 min intervals should be fine. 4 weeks of this should be about right.
- Getting more aero is probably key as well, I have ridden a road bike about 20 times total in my life - but I do own a decent one. In my normal cycling life I am just a flat bar commuter. I think maybe I need to learn how to tuck properly while still being able to stamp on the pedals properly.
- Kit wise I just have a non-aero helmet, regular t shirt and running shorts, I might be losing a second here.

The guy who is on top of the age leaderboard did it as part of a group run so I am guessing there was some drafting going on and of course he no doubt attacked it at speed which I did not so there is hope I can gain a few seconds from a run up. Wind direction is a factor as well so if there is a head wind then I will abort attempts.

I am thinking the attempt needs to be this summer as I am seeing my performance and conditioning drop off alarmingly year on year

Any other tips?

 

[classic33]

Is the segment a standing start?
If you're already moving as you enter the segment, it should cut a couple of seconds for no extra effort.

 

[Sharky]

How long is the 3 minute segment?
Guessing a mile or just over.

If this is your target, then forget the hour rides and focus all your training on efforts, taking no more than three minutes.

Before you do this, you should do a medium pace, 5 mile warm up and afterwards do a similar warm down. So you'll get the mileage in, but the focus will be on the one mile effort.

If you have the bug, for hitting times, then I would recommend joining a club and ride some 10 mile time trials. The latter are usually on decent roads and are out and back, to average out wind and hills.

Me ?
A young 76 yrs old and I've been targeting 10 miles and hoping to get inside 30 minutes before the end of the season. Currently just outside 31 minutes and a long way outside my younger self.
This year most of my training rides have been about 13 miles and the longest about 15 miles.

Good luck