September 6th was the 5th gravel time trial this year. We had a good turnout of 19 at the start at the outlet (with I think 2 or 3 joining mid ride or at the TT start). Form that group, a handful headed out to the cheer section, while about a dozen of us did the TT itself.
Conditions were not quite as bad as I feared. The wind seemed to die down, and felt to be SW to WSW. I think most of us noticed the change at corner #3: turning from Lavery onto Lawson felt nice.
It looks like Daryl B’s recording stopped/got cut off with about 15 seconds too early so the segment didn’t register. The portion that got recorded was ~21:44 and adding the “projected” remaining time you get about 21:59.
Agree on the wind. What threw me was how steady it was – on the leg out, I hit my target HR (I don’t have power meters) and was a bit dismayed on my pace. I’m not sure I realized how much of that was the headwind as it was just steady and easy ignore. I probably pushed harder into the wind than I should have; it was nice to get the relief after the turn, but I was already more fatigued than I should have been by that point.
The art of the gravel TT seems to be both pacing and form – staying low and out of the wind. For me, getting the pacing a bit wrong tends to mean my form goes to hell too as I get tired!
It’s an interesting challenge, though, as it’s just you against the course.
Agreed @TonyF , it wasnt really noticeable going into the headwind, but one it was gone you realized how bad it had been.
I find that first hill after the start is tricky. It’s far too easy to go to hard and into the red. It’s steep, and you’re full of motivation at the start.
@JimDaley knocked off about 1:30 from his PR last night. He had watched the video on aerodynamics, and made sure to do the “aero on the tops” position.
