POWER

[Rob3rt]

Nice

Did a HC yesterday, -19 TSB, came joint 8th with a power to weight ratio of 6.83 W/kg (3:04 @ 512W, weight 75kg). Had a pretty shitty ride, my pacing strategy (what little there was as I didn't know the climb) went out of the window and I was all over the place, in and out of the saddle, couldn't seem to commit to anything, ended up weaving all over the road blowing up catastrophically. Unlikely I could have gone appreciably faster but could have been a bit more classy in my riding, barely made it to the finish was blowing so bad and could taste blood all evening afterwards, still coughing now! Given that I was racing for 3rd at best, not too bad, but was pretty disappointed with how messy it was.

 

[VamP]

Nice

Did a HC yesterday, -19 TSB, came joint 8th with a power to weight ratio of 6.83 W/kg (3:04 @ 512W, weight 75kg). Had a pretty s***ty ride, my pacing strategy (what little there was as I didn't know the climb) went out of the window and I was all over the place, in and out of the saddle, couldn't seem to commit to anything, ended up weaving all over the road blowing up catastrophically. Unlikely I could have gone appreciably faster but could have been a bit more classy in my riding, barely made it to the finish was blowing so bad and could taste blood all evening afterwards, still coughing now! Given that I was racing for 3rd at best, not too bad, but was pretty disappointed with how messy it was.

Did you ride to power, or just go balls to the wall?

 

[Rob3rt]

I went, 3,2,1 Kaboom!

No point racing to power on a short HC like that IMO, just smash it as hard as you can for as long as you can and hope some spectators cheer you on for the last little bit then aim for a marshal at the finish line so they can catch you.

When I refer to pacing strategy I mean more gear selection and being either seated or standing. E.g. I may plan to go off in 39:23 or a bit bigger gear and stand up for the 1st third, shift to the 39:25 and sit and grind, then shift back to 39:23 and sprint for the line. I will maybe check my time at 2 points along the course, at known points, to know if I am on a ride or not. But yesterday I was up and down, in and out of the saddle, wobbling all over etc. I shifted down part way up the 1st steep section when I should have committed to just churning the gear I was in as I could have done it, classic mistake and one I have been avoiding doing so far, but yesterday I did it.

Gunnar Grolund makes an interesting point about dropping a gear in a short HC in an article I have seen, he says he avoids doing it because by the time he reaches the point he thinks he needs to do it, he will not get any respite from shifting anyway. IME, this rings true, by the time you start to struggle, if you shift, you won't accelerate, you won't get any respite from the pain and you will probably give up a fraction of a second letting off the pressure to shift, so you may as well just commit and plow on.

 

[VamP]

I went, 3,2,1 Kaboom!

No point racing to power on a short HC like that IMO, just smash it as hard as you can for as long as you can and hope some spectators cheer you on for the last little bit then aim for a marshal at the finish line so they can catch you.

When I refer to pacing strategy I mean more gear selection and being either seated or standing. E.g. I may plan to go off in 39:23 or a bit bigger gear and stand up for the 1st third, shift to the 39:25 and sit and grind, then shift back to 39:23 and sprint for the line. I will maybe check my time at 2 points along the course, at known points, to know if I am on a ride or not. But yesterday I was up and down, in and out of the saddle, wobbling all over etc. I shifted down part way up the 1st steep section when I should have committed to just churning the gear I was in as I could have done it, classic mistake and one I have been avoiding doing so far, but yesterday I did it.

Gunnar Grolund makes an interesting point about dropping a gear in a short HC in an article I have seen, he says he avoids doing it because by the time he reaches the point he thinks he needs to do it, he will not get any respite from shifting anyway. IME, this rings true, by the time you start to struggle, if you shift, you won't accelerate, you won't get any respite from the pain and you will probably give up a fraction of a second letting off the pressure to shift, so you may as well just commit and plow on.

I am planning to have a go at our club's HC in two weeks time, which given the shortness of hills down here will take place on two hills. One a short sharp explosive (sub 2 minutes) and the other shallower and longer (5 minutes). Time intervals that should suit me, but we'll see. I'll just go off flat out and not even bother taking the PT wheel - save a few grams. I've been doing those kind of interval durations all year, so it shouldn't cause any problems.

512 W for 3 minutes? Hmm, that's some wattage!

 

[Rob3rt]

I am planning to have a go at our club's HC in two weeks time, which given the shortness of hills down here will take place on two hills. One a short sharp explosive (sub 2 minutes) and the other shallower and longer (5 minutes). Time intervals that should suit me, but we'll see. I'll just go off flat out and not even bother taking the PT wheel - save a few grams. I've been doing those kind of interval durations all year, so it shouldn't cause any problems.

512 W for 3 minutes? Hmm, that's some wattage!

I think it may have been a power PB for me, the taste of blood in my mouth afterwards will indicate how hard I was pushing it, if the finish line had been an extra yard ahead, I'd have fallen off at the finish! Waiting for another rider to send me the footage he caught to see how ragged I looked, lol!

Been coughing like an old chain smoker since ~2:40pm yesterday.

 

[VamP]

I just posted 620w for 1 minute PB last week - and literally felt like I was drowning at the end of that. Some of these short sharp hill sensations are way too intense

 

[Rob3rt]

The short ones do hurt a lot, but are also a good experience, the short course makes the small number of spectators seem much more Can't wait for Monsal Head next Sunday! Live commentary over PA

Hill climb events are excellent IMO, the atmosphere is great. Very friendly and social.

 

[VamP]

Had to go back six pages to dig this up again

Found this interesting statistic and thought I'd share. Kona Ironman take an exit poll of all the equipment their participants used, and these are their findings up to and including this year.

 

[jowwy]

has anybody tried the stages power meters yet - i'm interested but want some real world feedback

 

[VamP]

I think DC Rainmaker's comments as valid as ever. It's just too close in price to REAL power meters, to spend it on a glorified toy instead. If it was maybe half-price then it could make sense. In a few year's time.

 

[400bhp]

Had to go back six pages to dig this up again

Found this interesting statistic and thought I'd share. Kona Ironman take an exit poll of all the equipment their participants used, and these are their findings up to and including this year.

View attachment 34171

what would be more interesting is seeing a distribution which included competitor placings.

 

[Rob3rt]

what would be more interesting is seeing a distribution which included competitor placings.

Not sure that would yield anything particularly interesting tbh. The effect of using one brands PM vs another's is unlikely to have any meaningful effect on the outcome. The decision on which unit will come down to price, sponsorship, availability etc

The fact many ride Quarq units suggests to me, not that Quarq are likely to be the best performance wise, but that they have struck a good balance between a number of individual needs. Also, it suggests that maybe Quarq/SRAM/Zipp are big into sponsoring athletes :P

 

[400bhp]

Not sure that would yield anything particularly interesting tbh. The effect of using one brands PM vs another's is unlikely to have any meaningful effect on the outcome. The decision on which unit will come down to price, sponsorship, availability etc

The fact many ride Quarq units suggests to me, not that Quarq are likely to be the best performance wise, but that they have struck a good balance between a number of individual needs. Also, it suggests that maybe Quarq/SRAM/Zipp are big into sponsoring athletes :P

Of course not.

Just be interesting that's all.

 

[jowwy]

Had to go back six pages to dig this up again

Found this interesting statistic and thought I'd share. Kona Ironman take an exit poll of all the equipment their participants used, and these are their findings up to and including this year.

View attachment 34171

you see this a lot in golf - which driver, irons, putters are in play the most - you still have to hit the ball with it, the same as you still have to ride the bike

it all comes down to the person - not what their using

 

[Rob3rt]

you see this a lot in golf - which driver, irons, putters are in play the most - you still have to hit the ball with it, the same as you still have to ride the bike

it all comes down to the person - not what their using

Only to a certain degree.

However, I think you may have missed the mark on why the plot @VamP posted is interesting.