Season Opener 20k Individual Time trial
Posted by FLATOUT JIM in race report, racing, Time trials
Well, it was the season opener for me. Let me set up the conditions. The temp was about 12 degrees C when I drove to the course, and steadily dropped by the minute. By the time we finished, the temp felt like 2 or 3 degrees C. The wind was 40kmh gusting to 60. For me, wind is a problem. I don’t slice through the wind very well. It was a headwind on the way out. And it was tough.
Now let me describe the course. We start on a hill. Only in most ITT’s the start is on a downgrade so the cyclists can get rolling. But our course starts uphill for about 500m, and then stays on an upgrade until about the 8k mark where it levels off for a while until we climb to the top of the overpass at the turnaround. So that’s a first half in a 40k headwind gusting to 60, going uphill.
The return leg was a little nicer. Downhill, and with a tailwind. After averaging about 20kmh out, my average was about 48kmh home. So at the end of the day, my time was 42 minutes and a bit. I was really hoping for a little better, but the conditions were really bad for a big rider like me. Hopefully next one will be better.
