Caveman’s South African Time Trial Champs 2012

Caveman finishes 6th at South African Time Trial Champs

Time: 51.18. 38 Seconds behind the winner, Reinardt Janse van Resnburg. But only 4 seconds behind Darren Lill, who a year ago won and  beat me by a minute, and 18″ behind SA cycling legend Robbie Hunter.

Speed: 46.77 km/h (28.5 mph)

Position: 6th Elite man

Normalized power 411W. Average 397W. What IS normalized power? Because of the serious rolling hills in the course. I had a 55×11 gearing but still spun out at 72km/h(45mi/h)- so I tucked and saved the powa for the climbs on thee way back.

I was happy with my ride- considering the TT was only 4 days after XTERRA Grabouw – from which I had some seriously sore quads for 3 days.

For the geeks, here is the power file:

http://www.trainingpeaks.com/sw/KVEQMHS27LBP3YZHZRKLMQVOLA

As you can see on the graph, (Click on the image above of follow link below to Training Peaks power file) the course in Nelspruit was very hilly. Big rollers, losing altitude on the way out and climbing the nasties on the way back. The course had a whopping 347m in elevation gain over 40km or 38.49- depending how you feel about GPS measuring distance and speed over hilly terrain…

The key to this undulating race was 2 fold:

1) Power to weight. Small guys climb better and also has less frontal size on the super fast downhill sections where wind resistance gets exponentially more. (Even though they lack sheer power)

2) Good pacing. Because of the above mentioned fact that wind resistance get exponentially more- esp at higher speeds, the tactic would be to “take it easy” on the really speed downs, and really hammer the climbs, where wind resistance is almost negligible.  ie. going from 50km/h to 60km/h takes a lot more Watts than going from 25-35min/h. This being a time trial, (cross finish line blown to smithereens) and me being a triathlete  (save energy for the run) , I didnt have the experience to know exactly how “easy” the downs should be and how hard the “ups” should be. I pre rode the course once, and Ian advised the following; go for 380W on the downhills- freewheel when rpm goes over 110 and then hit the uphills at 430-460, depending on how long they are and of course, “to legs”…

IN hindsight- looking at my heart rate, (it gradually creeps up and it took 7km to hit 153, 20km for 160 and it peaked at 173) from I probably could have gone A LOT harder on the way out, but then, would my legs have been able to take the punch?

Experience is the key. More time trails, more trial runs, finding the balance between aerodynamics and power output- time trialling is a lot more technical than most people think. One thing is certain- its one of the most painful things you’ll ever do to yourself by yourself…

Results. South African Time Trial Champs 2012.

I’m happy to be close to the “real” cyclists.  2nd, 3rd and 4th were 3 seconds apart. Out on the course no one knows that- it shows you , never think till the race is over. I lost a bit of time with some traffic on the one roundabout,(lost maybe 5 or 10 seconds) maybe could have gone a bit harder the 1st 10km, could have worn overshoes, more specific training, had I not raced XTERRA 4 days before… But the TT- the race of truth- does not lie. through this whole exercise we got the TT position dialed, some much needed time on the bike, (I usually train on a Roubaix road bike with MTB set up) a good number of power files-  I’m looking to try some 5150 (non drafting road tris) in the US this summer. On my completely ILLEGAL 2012 Specialized SHIV…

Its amazing how such an important event as Nationals did not have a single photographer or TV camera present.  Compared to XTERRA, which had the course swarming with press aboard a helicopter, quads and bikes. I wish that these sports too, esp at national level, get the exposure and professionalism they deserve. So thats why you are spared the image of the Caveman in a tight, red skinsuit and woody woodpecker helmet on a flat bike.- there is no photographic evidence.

The marshals, making sure my bike is UCI legal…

Specialized SHIV TT. Its the UCI legal one without the “nose cone”, the saddle back and bars cut, 3-1 tube dimensions, as per the rulebook. Yes, those are MTB bar ends mounted on the flat aero bars- a stylish Caveman touch where MTB and TT collides…  I took this pic on my last training ride the night before- the closest road to my parents farm.

Bumped into Nick Bester- endurance sport legend. As a you schoolboy I watched him win Ironman (the canoe variety) events at Hartebeespoort dam, later when he won Comrades, and later raced duathlons against him. He was supporting his sons at SA Champs- they have some big shoes to fill…

Thanks to my mate from Nelspruit Lammert, who helped pin numbers, mix drinks, get ice and keep it solid in the 34C heat, lugging the home trainer and a quick ride to the airport right after the race.

You may remember from the previous blog, my 3rd race for the week was going to be the Argus MTB race.

But the day before I went on a group ride for Bobby Behan’s bachelors breakfast ride. I fell, going up a rocky single track climb at 0km/hr. One of those little tumbles. No alcohol involved- promise!

But my wrist started really hurting after an hour. Off to Xrays. No bones broken. So I strapped it, iced it, took pain pills and got my stuff ready for race day.

On race morning first thing I did was go hold the handle bars, but it hurt too much and my hand looked like a boxing glove. So Kevin, Burry and Susi had all the fun to themselves.