Doing in IM70.3 Zell am see in less than three weeks. Finished it last year in 6:05:50 (S: 37:30 B: 3:10:21 R: 2:06:50).
I feel like I am in much better shape this year and will hopefully easily break through the 6hrs. However, I am still unsure on how to deal with the massive hill at the beginning of the bike course. My FTP is 231 this year and if I am not mistaken, I will end up having to burn some/all of my matches here. The climb is long with a very steep finish. I constantly see people standing up from the saddle and pushing hard on hills and I wonder if this is the way to go. I generally sit down, get my head down and push trying to stay as close to FTP and I possibly can even if I have to go down to 60rpm. I remember last year passing some people pushing their bike up the hill and wishing I could do the same but before I stopped to rest I was at the top but pretty destroyed. I recovered somewhat by not pedalling and letting me go down the hill but I think my run suffered from the bike. I am a 1h43m half marathon runner and doubt 2h07m makes me justice.
I would like to hear some suggestions from those who have been there and found a good balance between cracking the hill and managing a good run.
What gearing do you have installed on your bike?
I Did the race in 2015 (00:32:28 - 02:44:42 - 01:44:41) and installed a 52/36 - 28x11 setup.
That went well for the last part, picking up lot’s of athletes hardly cycling up the steep part.
What gearing do you have installed on your bike?
I Did the race in 2015 (00:32:28 - 02:44:42 - 01:44:41) and installed a 52/36 - 28x11 setup.
That went well for the last part, picking up lot’s of athletes hardly cycling up the steep part.
Slightly different here with a 53/39 - 28x11 setup. Good times, how high above FTP did you push on the hill?
I didn’t had a power meter back then, but I kept my heart beat just below lactate treshold.
At first I was affraid to realy need the 53*11, but in reality I only missed it at one spot in the descent where I could have rode a little bit faster (but I’m quite sure i won more time on the 10min climbing the steep part)
Pacing-wise, for a ride of this length I don’t think you should be pushing above FTP at any point. It’s a long, sustained climb but except for the very end, it’s not so steep. Moreover, it’s only one feature on pretty long ride, and there’s some decent rollers in the last quarter of the ride that you should save some matches for.
Looking at my file from 2015, for the final section I averaged 249W in the race and 238W in the recon earlier that week, which would be about 20W and 30W under my then-FTP. Heart rate also under LTHR. I rode almost all of it in the saddle (sometimes stood up to stretch the legs a bit), lowest cadence around 60rpm. I raced it with a semi-compact (52-36) and 11-28 cassette, don’t feel that I was lacking in gearing.
Pacing-wise, for a ride of this length I don’t think you should be pushing above FTP at any point. It’s a long, sustained climb but except for the very end, it’s not so steep. Moreover, it’s only one feature on pretty long ride, and there’s some decent rollers in the last quarter of the ride that you should save some matches for.
Looking at my file from 2015, for the final section I averaged 249W in the race and 238W in the recon earlier that week, which would be about 20W and 30W under my then-FTP. Heart rate also under LTHR. I rode almost all of it in the saddle (sometimes stood up to stretch the legs a bit), lowest cadence around 60rpm. I raced it with a semi-compact (52-36) and 11-28 cassette, don’t feel that I was lacking in gearing.
Thanks for the reference points power-wise. I guess however it’s easy to stay under FTP on climbs when you have ~270w FTP than when you have ~230w FTP, which is my case. I will certainly give it a go and try to manage under FTP for as long as possible.
Doing the race as well! My current FTP is 263 (see other thread „sick as a dog“) and my plan was to ride up the hill at 80% of my FTP at around 210. For the very last part (1,1km) I probably would need to push 300W for 7 minutes at 50-55 RPM with my current setup, weight and gearing. can‘t have higher cadence as that would mean more watts. less cadence and i probably fall of the bike.
Of course having more power (and less weight?) gives you more wiggle room with power on the climb, but if you have less power to begin with, the worse it is to go over FTP. Try to look into gearing options that will allow you to remain within your power-band at a reasonable cadence. There’s no shame in a compact, or 32t cassette.
Of course having more power (and less weight?) gives you more wiggle room with power on the climb, but if you have less power to begin with, the worse it is to go over FTP. Try to look into gearing options that will allow you to remain within your power-band at a reasonable cadence. There’s no shame in a compact, or 32t cassette.
Didn’t know about compacts. Thanks for the reference. Will take a look into those.