Yeah it was hot out there today, coming from a fairly cold winter the body isn’t really enjoying the heat a great deal at the moment but its getting better each day. Glad you have enjoyed my blog, really set it up to help gain exposure for the race and to help people out who are wanting to compete here. I’m happy someone has been able to get some useful info from it.
Now for the power/speed difference. First off on the Bodenburg with out seeing you power profile its hard to be sure but im going to guess and say its the way I rode the climb compared to you. From memory I had a fairly high VI on the climb though attacking the stepper sections and getting on top of a gear asap once it flattened out. Coming from cycling I was used to doing those types of efforts even in a TT. So with my background and my size it was more beneficial for me to ride it like that. Something I would really focus on to hard come race day as if you haven’t trained to do it, you will burn matches very quickly.
For the downhills, weight plays one role in it all. There are a few others. Firstly I have the ability to get into a fairly aero position on the bike and pretty much try not to break it while descending, especially once you make the right hander at the bottom of the Bodenburg. Another is being able to ‘soft pedal’ while maintaining speed. Its something thats taken me years to learn but involves being very smooth through the pedal stroke. The final is the same as on the climbs, I try to get up to speed asap on a decent.
I’ll be at the pre race meeting wearing a green and yellow nike t-shirt, come up and say Hi.