I did that race, was a cool event. Will need to up my fitness to compete better next year. Not sure how hard he rode, but I was surprised Rudy was beaten by 5ish other cyclists in total. I'd have taken the under on that beforehand.

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

Oh, yeah, I should have included you on the list!

I'm sure at the very least Rudy was on very tired legs.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

How many were on tri/TT bikes? LH to Jamestown is fairly mild, I wonder what bike would be faster.

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

Most of the faster folks were on TT bikes, TT helmets, some in long sleeve skin suits.

TT bike is definitely the right choice, especially since you usually have at least some headwind for most of the rise.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Ok come on guys. A 6'5" Rudy with a swimmers body is not someone you would imagine to be a great uphill rider. I think it is a testament to him to have done as well as he did, no doubt during a big training period, and carrying an extra bowling ball or two up the hill..

Be fun to see his and the other top finishers power files, kind of think Rudy might have won that one... (-;

He may not be a natural climber, but he has some KOM descents in the area that are at a suicidal pace, IIRC.

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

I'm not trying to say I think he should have gone faster. I just think these situations where you have a triathlete who is a super accomplished TT rider end up in Cat 5 against a bunch of beginners is kinda amusing.

Rudy laid down a super solid time on what I'm sure we're very tired legs.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Sam Long has the strava KOM for the segment.

https://www.strava.com/segments/616222

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

oh dang, that jimi sendrix guy is top ten on that leaderboard ;)

That guy probably just drafted the #8 and #10 guys on the same date :)

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

A slight majority of the 200 participants were on TT bikes. Most struggled to beat 30 mins (15 mph) but there was a strong headwind at various places in the canyon that aerobars could have helped with.

7.44 miles at average 3% grade.

Personally, I wouldn't advise anyone to ride a TT bike on the course unless they spent most of their riding time on a TT bike. Very hard to put out sustained climbing power unless very well adapted.

I was situated near the end and the riders (apart from elites) that were strong at the end were on road bikes - a lot of TT riders were just struggling.

Best times were dominated by power riders. Of the strong riders I know that did well, it was the bigger guys with the best results. Two teammates on road bikes both with identical W/Kg - bigger rider was 3 mins faster. Of course being lighter helps but you have to have good power.

Thought it was a very good course to bring out every type of rider. 3% grade isn't steep enough to put off non-climbers and people rode the bike they were most comfortable on. Most importantly, the promoter didn't lose money.

Rudy started with the P12 field and rode the course twice. Presumably the second was for training. I'm assuming he doesn't have a USAC license so was put into the cat 5s by default. I can find out if anyone is particularly curious.

Makes for an interesting discussion - what grade would you switch from TT bike to road? For me 2% is TT bike and 3% would be road bike. Might put a set of clip-ons on road bike if there are windy or flattish sections. Assuming that TT bike is about a kg heavier and ride is longer than 15 mins - also I find that shorter cranks on TT bike are just not as good for sustained climbing.