Oh man, me too. Same race, helmet, wheels, and power. Imagine that. hah.
Iām 178cm (~5ā9") and currently closer to 79kg.
I think my best was just under 56:30 at just over 270w in 2012. I had a few other good 40k tt results that year, but no power data to go with it.
Last 2 years have been shittier after going through hernia surgery in May 2013 and then messing my back up in 2014 (nagged on until I found a physiotherapist that actually did something more than ultrasound treatment). I lost power (and gained a few pounds), but I still managed 58:47 on 246w.
My FTP is finally back up to above where I was at in 2012. ā¦Now I just need to lose a couple of kgās by the spring of 2016!
So thereās my n=2 bits of anecdote;)
For the first time in my life I signed for Oly distance (already did a 2 IM and 4 70.3) in Abu Dhabi, so just wandering about the times over thereā¦
Last Olympic i did no one went under 1h on the bike on what i measured as a pretty accurate 40k and the winning time was 1h53 (non draft)
Just curious, what sort of road chip are you guys riding on that are breaking 1hr on 250 - 280w? We have fairly rough chip where I live and I donāt think Iād get anywhere near to breaking an hour on the watts many people are doing it on. Iād say my position has a lot to do with it, but I was wondering how much the road condition plays a part?
Just curious, what sort of road chip are you guys riding on that are breaking 1hr on 250 - 280w? We have fairly rough chip where I live and I donāt think Iād get anywhere near to breaking an hour on the watts many people are doing it on. Iād say my position has a lot to do with it, but I was wondering how much the road condition plays a part?
My old Polish coach used to say bad road costs 2kmh, new road adds 2kmhā¦that is just old eastern European intuition though.
We have a 1/2 mile blacktop cycling track here in PGH where I did the 56min 25mi TT which has pretty much pristine road surface. I also road 58min at AGNC on 217w which has pretty crappy road surface but that day it was pretty windy so not a great estimate.
My mentor has gone sub 1 hr in 25TT with approx 220-230 watts. It all depends on your CdA as others have mentioned.
I would guess ~300W or a tiny bit less at your weight on a flat course, but you could also use BestBikeSplit as a reality check.
Iāve gone sub-hour on ~230W (6ā2" 165lbs)
Wow, nice. Would you mind posing your equipment and position? My questioning it, just like to see what others are doing that I might be missing.
Nothing special, just cumulative marginal gains:
Trek Speed Concept 7.5 (2014), size largeHed Jet+ 6/DiscContinental Attack/Force, latex tubes (sometimes 23mm GP4000s in pace of the Force)BTA (I switch amongst a few different ones)Scott Split aero helmetIn the pictures below Iām wearing a Virklon speed suit that I was experimenting with last year but I have a PI Octane that I think is faster (from field testing). This year Iām going to a two piece setup. First picture really doesnāt give a true sense of my position as the camera was tilted. It makes me look much slacker than I really am. Iām pretty narrow up front which you sort of get an idea from my second picture. My current position is just a touch lower than pictures 2/3 and I have a very slight mantis. Also, I ditched the mono ski bend extension for s bends.
Thanks for sharing, how do you like the sportscrafters omnium trainer? Iāve been thinking about making the purchase for warming up and would be interested in hearing some additional feedback other than the few reviews Iāve read.
I absolutely love the Omnium. Itās one of the best purchases Iāve ever made. I originally got it to travel with and warm up but Iāve found myself using it in place of my computrainer for longer rides indoors because the slight side to side motion considerably improves comfort. As far as resistance, thereās plenty there so long as you donāt plan on doing hard out of the saddle sprints.
I am 5ā11 and 170lbs and can do 40k/HR on my TT bike at around 240w, sometimes less. I am at 5500ft of elevation, so that is a factor.
I absolutely love the Omnium. Itās one of the best purchases Iāve ever made. I originally got it to travel with and warm up but Iāve found myself using it in place of my computrainer for longer rides indoors because the slight side to side motion considerably improves comfort. As far as resistance, thereās plenty there so long as you donāt plan on doing hard out of the saddle sprints.
Awesome, thanks for the quick reply. Thatās an interesting note about preferring it over the computrainer for some of the longer indoor rides and thatās the kind of insight I value. i imagine Iād be keeping itās use similar to you. Warm-up for TTās or possibly some of those longer rides. Biggest appeal is not having to mess with the rear wheel prior to races and it looks like it travels for races/other trips much better than other trainers. Thanks again!
Yeah, you definitely donāt need 300 watts to go 40k in an hour. Most of the amateur 4-5 race fields complete 40k TTās in 56 to 58 mins and most do not have FTPs that high. Body positioning is key, but if you have that covered, you can get away with an FTP in the 280ās and still be under an hour.
In what world are āmost of the amateur 4-5sā doing 56-58 minute 40Ks?
Get out of here with that.
I won our state 40K TT in Cat3 with a 56:00. Only 2 of the 22 Cat 4s were under 58:00 (57:38 and 57:51) and there was exactly 0 Cat 5s under 1:00:00.
Back to the OP. Iām 6ā and race at about 160. On the flat TT course this year, I went 56:00 on 292W. Last year was 273W for a 58:12.
In our cat 4ās, of the 16 riders, 10 were under 59:00. Even in the old guys, 50+ cat 4 you would need to be under 54 to win.
Would you mind sharing what size Virklon you are wearing (I am 6ā2 ~175)? When you say you think the PI Octane is faster, what is your best guess on the differential between the two?
Thanks
I wear a size medium but I have a somewhat big upper body (edit: deceptively big). The material is very very flexible and I have virtually no wrinkles when I wear it. I could probably wear a small which would work for the upper body but the suit would probably be too short. I would guess the Octane is 2-4w faster assuming the same fit but that comes with a whole host of caveats. Standard disclaimer: the only way to know what works best for you is to test.
In our cat 4ās, of the 16 riders, 10 were under 59:00. Even in the old guys, 50+ cat 4 you would need to be under 54 to win.
Yes, we triathletes suck, a lowly cat 4 is stronger than 95% of us. Very good that you put this out there to keep some perspective.
Yeah, you definitely donāt need 300 watts to go 40k in an hour. Most of the amateur 4-5 race fields complete 40k TTās in 56 to 58 mins and most do not have FTPs that high. Body positioning is key, but if you have that covered, you can get away with an FTP in the 280ās and still be under an hour.
In what world are āmost of the amateur 4-5sā doing 56-58 minute 40Ks?
Get out of here with that.
I won our state 40K TT in Cat3 with a 56:00. Only 2 of the 22 Cat 4s were under 58:00 (57:38 and 57:51) and there was exactly 0 Cat 5s under 1:00:00.
Back to the OP. Iām 6ā and race at about 160. On the flat TT course this year, I went 56:00 on 292W. Last year was 273W for a 58:12.
In our cat 4ās, of the 16 riders, 10 were under 59:00. Even in the old guys, 50+ cat 4 you would need to be under 54 to win.
Thatās impressive. What state?
No prob. She is 5ā8" 130-134. We both use good old powertap rear hubs for training but perceived effort for races. If you do enough long hard intervals you donāt need a pm to tell you how hard to go in a 40k imo. I use best bike split to figure out what kind of time we should both shoot for and it is usually pretty accurate as far as power required for each course to get a certain time.
I am an old, fat and slow, marginal cat4 roadie. 6ft and 178 lbs on race day. In June of 2014 at 58, I went 57:33 on 281w at Church Creek, MD. Itās flat, but can be hot and windy. Not hot that day, but a little windy. Shiv, Reynolds RZR92s, Vittoria EVO CX tubies, older LG helmet, Castelli 3.0 skin suit, gloves and shoe covers. A lifetime PR for me.
Oh, and it was good for 7th out of 21 in the 55-64 age groupā¦
Nice position
.
Iāve gone 57:22 on 268w on a flat out and back course that has some wind, but I think it was a beneficial wind as it was mostly a cross and may have got benefited with my disc cover compared to no wind at all.
Iāve also done 57:47 on 281w the next year with slightly windier conditions (everyone was slower, but I was closer to the OA win this year even though I was slower).
Iām 5ā6", about 160, and while I use good tires, latex, aero helmet, skin suit, and 404/disc coverā¦I think my position is pretty shitty. Granted though, the year I went 57:22ā¦I beat out a buddy of mine who was using a road bike, bibs/jersey and a Giro AA helmet. He did have 55 mm wheels and decent tires, but no latex. I think he went 57:35ā¦but his FTP is something like 340. Heās about 6ā and 200 pounds. I wish I was exaggerating his FTP, but even though heās 40 pounds heavier than me, he drops me like a bad habit on climbsā¦even the really steep stuff.