MATTS Team Apache 40K Time Trial
June 23, 2007 – Paw Paw, IL
Cat 4 – 4th – 1:00:49.53
261 watts – 24.5 MPH
The great things about weather on the internet is the ability to get a live radar update for anywhere in the country. That way you’ll know what the weather is going to be wherever you’re going to be.
Waking up on the morning of the Team Apache TT, it was mid-60s and partly sunny at Lake Michigan. Loading up the regional radar though showed a different story out in Paw Paw. A large green blob had situated itself over much of north central Illinois, however winds off the lake kept it from raining there. This was not good news at 6 AM. By the time I got out to Paw Paw, it was 59 degrees F with 10-20 MPH winds and nice steady rain. Great, but at least everyone had to race in the same conditions.
The start of the race was further complicated by road construction between the staging area in Veteran’s Park and the actual race start. This meant you either had to ride 2 miles to the start on pea gravel roads, or drive to the start and park. Most racers opted for the latter, however, there were no bathrooms at the start.
I don’t think many riders got in a warm-up, preferring to stay in their cars until just before their start time. I followed this same route, which might or might not have made a difference. I got about a 3 mile warm-up in to raise my heart rate, but the first part of the course was mostly downhill with a tailwind which would allow me to warm-up.
At this point in my report, I’m going to jump right to the results. I placed fourth in Cat 4, but only 10 seconds separated me from second. In a 40K TT, that’s nothing. I’ve raced against the two riders ahead of me several times. They are often faster, but realistic we were probably all about the same in fitness. We all had aero bikes with skin suits and aero helmets. No one was going to get much of an advantage from their equipment. Looking back at the race, I determined a few things that could have gotten me 10 seconds:
Practice cornering in the rain. The cork pads on Zipps did squat to slow me down, which meant I had to sit up and slow down way before the corners and turnaround. This cost me precious seconds that likely amounted to 20 seconds in the race. If I had used regular Zipp pads, it might have helped; however, it would have been easier to just practice cornering in the rain
Drive harder mentally. The combination of uphill finish, wind speed, and rain really demoralized me. I’m sure it did the same to most riders, however, this can turn into your competitive advantage if you did a little deeper in order to go for a faster time. Normally, I’d have a more aggressive mind, but sometimes not everyone can have Lance’s head.
Use a hold at the start. Not many races have someone to hold you in place by your seat like the pros. I was a little paranoid and started as usual with a foot on the ground. One of the ABR guys was right on, when he said I’ll eventually have to do that in order to get a few seconds. Just look at the placings. Get someone to practice holds with you to boost your confidence.
Despite my shortcomings, I was extremely happy with my race. I was definitely faster than I was earlier this spring and I made headway on a lot of other Cat 4 guys. With better conditions, I might have broken 60 minutes.
The best part of the race were the volunteers. The course is one of the hillier TT courses we do in IL and there are several busy intersections. Team Apache had put someone at each corner in addition to the roads we weren’t supposed to turn onto. Plus, they even had a tent at the turnaround. Given the conditions, I’m extremely impressed with the volunteer turnout. Thanks, Team Apache!