IME: people aren't as interested in those as they used to be either.

I enjoy both mass start and TT about equally.

But I don't agree with the notion that skill isn't immensely important in TT. TT is a craft that you can spend years honing, with never-ending avenues for exploration. If people want to reach master-class and go sub-50 over 40K on less than 300W like some here can, they'd be well-suited to treat the craft with respect. (when racing in the real world...on Zwift just pedal hard).

I don't think we're talking about the same type of skill.

I'm referring to the technical and tactical skill necessary to race well in that discipline.

Not the ability to hold an ungodly position while producing a lot of power, which isn't so much a skill as it is a neanderthal-esque sadistic brutality.

As someone with a good amount of the former, I wouldn't underestimate the latter.

yeah, agreed.

I could never rail corners as hard as could on my road bike, and i think the chance of me learning how to rail corner properly goes down as i get older. Descending on TT bikes? also takes quite a bit of cajones

I did my first TT this spring... rode well (I thought) good power, averaged a shade under 25 mph over 14 or so miles... a really good ride for me. And I got absolutely smoked by a bunch of masters dudes.

TT was a blast, I am hooked. I I don’t know why the same folks I ride with in my tri group that insist in turning our weekend rides into pissing contest don’t jump into more TTs, but I also haven’t been able to get them really bought into zwift racing either.

To me, TT just cuts out all the bs... just you vs the clock.

Should be a much bigger thing imo.

Certainly the skills are different, but I think there's a lot more to it than that. There's a lot to bike handling, insane cornering, reading the wind and conditions to strike the balance between the shortest-distance racing line and wind-shielded positions on the road. Pacing. Adjusting position to the conditions. Getting the most out of legal draft.

Also Tejay's position is hardly "ungodly." And a good TTer is a comfortable TTer. (Generally speaking - there are some Obree-esque exceptions)

Seriously, thank you everyone for your comments, interest, and support. What an unreal experience!!

As Sean H clarified earlier, I raced on my 2010 Cannondale Slice and Flo wheels because I was told Dimension Data didn’t have enough TT bikes with them for me to take one....disappointing, but I do know my bike well. Dimension Data didn’t even have team cars here with their logos—they just rented cars and put racks on the roof. Learned being a European team in a big US Stage race makes it hard to get that stuff lined up! Another thing that fell through is I was supposed to be in a Bioracer TT Speedsuit, but they gave me a Bioracer Road Skinsuit (jersey pockets in a TT?? Not full sleeved?!) Oh well, looked badass still!

Course:
Got into Morgan Hill on Tuesday with my dad and immediately drove the course. Coming from Iowa where our TTs are out/back and flat as a pancake, the course blew me away. First half is all either false flat or climbing on winding roads. Starting the second half, we would get one good downhill, then another short climb before starting an extremely technical set of 3 hairpin, 180° turns. Reflector bumps in center of road made me dial back my speed on these corners because hitting a bump laying sideways at 30mph sounds like a broken collarbone to me. After that descent, the course was a false flat for 9 miles all the way back to the finish. Road surface throughout was not great—pot holes, asphalt that needs to be repaved, gritty roads, then a handful of stretches were fresh black asphalt and were amazing.

Pre-race:
We had a “TT Strategy” meeting before the race lead by....Kristin Armstrong (3x Olympic Gold Medalist in ITT). She basically said “harden the fuck up” and “the sooner it hurts, the sooner you know you’re doing well”. Honestly so inspiring to hear from such an insanely talented athlete. She then went over the course and how she would break it up mentally and wind conditions,tough corners.

After the meeting, I had 90 minutes until I started so I sad down and relaxed. With about 30 minutes to go, the Zwift team had me kit up so they could nab some photos—they asked me to cover my Cannondale logos with tape (I declined...15 minutes before starting a TT isn’t the time to ask that) because I’m pretty sure that’s the only major company they don’t have a partnership with. They took some photos then got in their van and headed down the road to get ready to follow me after my start. I headed to the start house and lined up.

Race:
On my bike, being stabilized with a UCI official giving me the countdown from 0:15 was where the gravity of the event really hit me. Was about to ride down the ramp and through the chute to start possibly the biggest TT of my life. No nerves, just an immense about of excitement to go smash it.

Rolled down the ramp and it was 100m until a right hand turn—I rode out of the saddle gaining speed before positioning myself to carry my speed through the corner. Got through it and immediately got into aero to hammer out the course. I looked back and saw the Zwift van following about 20m back. Through the first 100m and first 3:30, I was going a bit too hard (375ap/385np) but my legs still felt amazing. Just then I hit a minute long downhill recovery into a hard right turn—I need to work on my cornering, I scrubbed too much speed here. The turn went right into a hill where I needed my speed—I hammered up at 385ap/407np for 1:30 to recoup my lost speed on that corner.

One more right turn and I was on the back section of the course heading north to San Jose, spending 3:30 at 370ap/376np before hitting the first of the two climbs on the course. The course had a hard, 100° left-hand turn straight into the climb, so almost all speed was dropped. I pushed the climb for 1:40 at 415ap/440np, out of aero but not sitting up fully.

Here’s where I really tactically miscalculated my race. 11:00 of false flat and winding roads before the main climb. I couldn’t remember my best bike split speed estimates here. In this section, I averaged 26.7 mph, and kept looking at my speed and thinking “YES!! I’m crushing this section”, misremembering my BBS speed estimate here at 25 mph. I held back thinking, “I’m banking time on my goal here, and I can hammer the return trip more if I keep at the effort.” Went 320ap/325np for this section, which is 40W lower than I had planned.

For the main climb, I stayed in aero for as long as I possibly could since I could carry speed into it—1:55 at 375ap/395np.

The next 5:00 were descent, one sharp right turn into a short kicker, and hairpin turns on downhill. 245ap/310np. Those hairpin turns did not allow me to recoup my lost speed on corners and climbs, because I absolutely lack the skill to corner at high speed like the pros.

Coming out of the final hairpin, the road straightened and there was still 100ft of straight descent and 1.5 miles of straightaway with a headwind before turning back towards Morgan Hill for the final stretch. Into the headwind I held 370ap/380np.

After that final turn towards Morgan Hill, I had 6 miles of straight road, false flat, with a tail/crosswind. I got to work but didn’t really watch my power too much, just found a rhythm and checked my speed periodically. For 12:15 I held 335ap/337np, and averaged 29.4 mph. I should’ve been going harder but I was focusing on keeping my head down, riding smooth and trying to play the tailwind as best as I could on the road.

The course zig-zagged to get us onto the final straightaway to the finish making us execute two >90° turns which had me lose more speed due to my lack of skill on corners. I came out of the final turn towards the finish and knew it was time to fully empty the tank. I got low, and went to work. 1:47 at 427ap/428np, averaging 33mph here. I had started the race pretty late, so by this point there were a ton of spectators lining the finish awaiting the pro race. I kept the hammer down and flew through the chute, stopping my Garmin at 46:05. BBS has estimated me at 45:57 (on more watts), so I was immediately so stoked with the result.

Whooo! Shit, that was longer than I intended, if you read it all, thanks! Also of note, I passed a shit load of people, which was awesome—we had use of the entire road, so it was easy to get around. Every rider had a lead moto that would go up and tell a rider to get over by whistling as I approached.

Result/Numbers:
TP File: http://tpks.ws/...XB6WHGNU32SIVXUVJKEQ
Average Power: 334W
Normalized Power: 350W
Cadence: 95rpm
Speed: 28 mph (rounding up from 27.9, because 28 sounds much better)
Elevation gained: 600ft
Weight: 157lbs
Gear Setup: 2010 Cannondale Slice, 2014 Flo Disc/90, Conti TT 23mm w/ latex tubes, Bioracer Road Skinsuit, Oakley Aro7 aero helmet.

Pretty happy with my numbers, though I know I have 25 more watts in me—but being 10-days post 70.3 St. George, I’ll take it! Would’ve been 85th / 116 pros that made the time cut, on considerably less aero/heavier equipment. Unreal!

Photos:
The Zwift team and my dad were in their van, following closely and pulling up alongside me a ton of times to snap photos and yell things at me. It was absolutely incredible and so much fun. They snapped some great photos and videos.

So awesome-- nice work!

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I wrote this, you should read it:
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...n_Swimming_6700.html

This is one of the coolest things ever - congratulations and you really killed it!

Keep up all the hard work!

 

I give that race and recap a Ride On!

While from the side it does not look crazy, Tejay does roll his shoulders really well and makes himself very narrow when looking from the front. That stood out to me watching the TT versus many of the other riders, even from riders that had flatter back.

What became of the (road) speedsuit and helmet after the TT?

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Amateur recreational hobbyist cyclist
https://www.strava.com/athletes/337152
https://vimeo.com/user11846099

For some reason, they wanted the helmet back (nasty!) and I got to keep the skinsuit!

And TJ would get crushed in a crit.

Anyway, point is, tts suck and crits are a lot more fun and require you actually be good at racing a bike. :D

Awesome job and experience! Thanks for sharing it.

More photos. Long story short: bike racing, TT, triathlon, competition, whatever your game—is just plain fun.










Bonus photo w/ Jens!:

very cool, bonus points because the kit and the Slice were a match

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

You should have mentioned that you'd cover up the Cannondale logo as long as you could also cover us the Deloitte logo. Nice ride man! Those photos, especially the 2 with the lead bike in front of you are awesome.

Except the Criterium du Dauphine!

Hahaha my dad requested that. Our family has owned an audit firm for almost 55 years. I suggested just crossing a line through their name with sharpie. He tweeted something at them about me wearing a rival’s logo, but they never responded hahah.

Lawson Craddock's ride in Strava. 31.0 mph, 385 W.

https://www.strava.com/...688/analysis/27/2526

Why the hell didn't they give you a Superslice, instead of that old model.... ;)

/pink ?

No, not in the least.

That's just silly. Maybe he isn't a top pro crit rider, but he'd have no problem crushing most of us wankers in a crit.