rruff wrote:
Ohio_Roadie wrote:
Do you know what the wind is projected to be? If it's slower on the way out, I would push just over threshold on the way out and then completely empty the tank on the way back in. If it's a head wind on the way back, I would ride at or just below threshold on the way out and give everything on the way back. Check this out https://www.bikeradar.com/...to-a-headwind-46946/That's actually pretty misleading. When the thing making you slow is a headwind, there is very little to gain by going over pace. It's just physics. Plus if the headwind lasts for half the race you can't be more than maybe 3-5% over, and that would make sense only if the headwind was really extreme.
You can gain a significant amount by varying power on hills, but that's because power/speed to overcome gravity is linear versus being ^3 for air resistance.
You know...I always thought a little more power going into a headwind was beneficial net/net, but I did the math with cycling power lab, assuming you put out 3% more power into a 10 km/h headwind and put out 5% less power with the tailwind and it's pretty much a wash. And only going 5% lower with the tailwind is a bit optimistic, especially in a 40k. Usually if you go 3% over goal for more than 30 minutes, you're going to pay a much bigger price on the other half...probably closer to 6-10%. I mean...103% for 32 minutes or so is borderline all out for most people's power curve.