from now on we shall call them
CHRONO ATTACK
instead of ‘time trial’
there is no TRY in ATTACK
.
I’ve had six Sammy Adams’ and I still don’t know what that means.
one more and youll be on board with my plan
.
Sober ----thus I get it!!! 
We just need to go with the French translation, “Contre le montre.” Against the watch. There is your enemy for you. The watch. Time. Time is the enemy and you must grind it under your rubber.
Trials are things imposed on you that you have to endure. It’s all about the action.
Chad
Well, speaking of my experience in Northern California, there just needs to be races (every other Wednesday doesnt count).
This is like the Hydrogen car problem-----no cars therefore no fueling stations, but no fueling stations and no one will buy the cars. Catch-22.
I think some big bike companies should throw some money behind this—it will only help sales of Cervelos and the like.
for a 2 hour CT workout on sunday night, i foolishly watched ST:Generations. god, what a terrible movie. but anyway … from that i recall the line “time is the crucible in which we all burn” which strikes me as a suitable tag line for some TT marketing campaigns
Have you ever noticed that the same folks who dis’ TTs as not being “real races” (mostly roadies) will consider a hill climb, either mass start or TT style to be somehow “legit”?
Why is it that racing someone on a W/kg basis is deemed OK, while racing on a W/CdA basis is not??
BTW, I like the “contre de montre” moniker
TTs have become my preferred race over the years… no T1 logistics, body marking, and all that early-morning overhead; relatively little worry about wheel-to-wheel sprint mishaps; and best of all, no goddamn running!
Tom…Please enlighten me! I have experienced the same thing here. I had an injury that took me out of running for the entire season but could still bike so I’ve done all styles of road racing this summer and had an absolute blast. My favorite discipline by far is the TT and, not surprisingly, it’s also where I’ve gotten my best results. So after having full fields at the TT’s in all the stage races. I make the State TT championships my “A” race for the season and there’s hardly anyone there??? What is the deal, I don’t think there were even 10 Cat 1’s. Are TT’s considered a necessary evil for roadies? Is it the red-headed stepchild of the stage race?
Oh, and put me down for “Contre de Montre” as well. Fun to say. Think how irritating I can be running around butchering that in my best French accent!
Have you ever noticed that the same folks who dis’ TTs as not being “real races” (mostly roadies) will consider a hill climb, either mass start or TT style to be somehow “legit”?
Why is it that racing someone on a W/kg basis is deemed OK, while racing on a W/CdA basis is not??
Honestly, I haven't. Around here, there's only one race less attended than the State TT: the State Hillclimb....
I’ve always felt we wuss things up a bit here in America.
Yeah, keep it simple—against the clock. Well, it’s also against others…so any votes for:
“Contre le montre et d’autres”
(pronounced: contrah luh montrah eh doughtrahs)
It’s actually kinda’ sing-songy and feels nice…
We just need to go with the French translation, “Contre le montre.” Against the watch. There is your enemy for you. The watch. Time. Time is the enemy and you must grind it under your rubber.
Trials are things imposed on you that you have to endure. It’s all about the action.
Chad
Have you ever noticed that the same folks who dis’ TTs as not being “real races” (mostly roadies) will consider a hill climb, either mass start or TT style to be somehow “legit”?
Why is it that racing someone on a W/kg basis is deemed OK, while racing on a W/CdA basis is not??
Honestly, I haven't. Around here, there's only one race less attended than the State TT: the State Hillclimb....
I wasn’t referring to how well they are attended…I was referring to whether or not the “typical roady” considers the event, or the winners of the event, “legit”. I have friends who seriously state that TTs are *not *“real bike races”, yet have the utmost respect for the winner of the Everest Challenge (AKA “California-Nevada Climbing Championship”).
gotcha. that’s even less the case around here! I bet if you asked 50 local 1/2’s ‘who won last year’s hillclimb’, fewer than 2 would know the answer! you could add me to that list…
OTOH, the state TT almost always won by a strong ‘roadie’.
wheel to wheel racing is always going to be more compelling than CHRONO ATTACKS but thats ok
who cares about the damn roadies? just hang onto their wheels as long as ya can and get a good workout.
“Contre le montre et d’autres”
(pronounced: contrah luh montrah eh doughtrahs)
I can hear Bob Roll now:
“Contray lay montray eat doughnuts”.
I think there are several different factors that influence how roadies view TT “specialists.”
First, I’ve never sensed any disrespect. Not towards me, anyway.
Relatively few race weekends have a TT in this neck of the woods. For the few that do, many of the roadies either try to TT on their road bikes with predictably poor results, or they borrow someone else’s bike, or they slap something together on a budget. Or, they skip it and their omnium results are based on two races instead of three.
Few find any thrill in it. I mean seriously. When you break it down, it’s really hard to put a finger on what’s to like about it. It’s an awful lot like beating yourself over the head with a hammer so you can enjoy the relief when you’re done. Few are the times when, five minutes out from the start house, I’m saying to myself, “man … do I feel good tonight … I’ve got great legs … this is fun.” But those few times are enough to keep bringing me back (like the one great shot in a round of golf that makes up for the 20 shanks). And there’s the endorphin high afterwards. That seems to come along with every race. I think road racing and crit racing are more fun by their very nature. I know they’re as painful, or worse. But there are more ways to accomplish something in a road/crit race than merely by time on a clock. Plus, TT specialist are more geeky … into the technology.
I know quite a few TT “specialists” and I also know a number of roadies who like to TT. The best TTers are always the roadies who like to TT. That’s just in my little world where I get to compete.
Well, speaking of my experience in Northern California, there just needs to be races (every other Wednesday doesnt count).
This is like the Hydrogen car problem-----no cars therefore no fueling stations, but no fueling stations and no one will buy the cars. Catch-22.
I think some big bike companies should throw some money behind this—it will only help sales of Cervelos and the like.
I thought we were rolling in TT riches in Northern California. At least in the Sacramento area: every other Wednesday in Davis (with a bonus round thrown in occasionally). Every other Thursday on the opposite week in Freeport. And every Wednesday on Folsom South Canal.
Rik
The best TTers are always the roadies who like to TT.
no surprise then that:
… the best road racers are roadies who like to race road
… the best crit racers are roadies who like to race crits
the misnomer about TT’s + Pro1/2 racers revolves primarily around cash
most TT’s have no prize list … however, throw some cash in there and you’ll get this http://www.sequoiaclassic.org/results.htm
then there are the guys who just like to suffer and go really fast and have nothing else going on Sunday mornings 
An another thought…
For a Cat. 4 road racer looking to upgrade, no time trial will help him or her out. For a Cat. 3 or a Cat. 2 looking to upgrade, only time trials that are part of a stage race have the potential to help you out. So, regardless of whether you like time trials, if you are trying to score some upgrade points, you aren’t likely to go to a standalone TT over a road race or a crit.