You know you've done a time trail right if you're worried about choking on your own vomit in the last 200m.
I think I got it right today.
We (Team AminoSTRONG-BDOP-CKT) did our first TTT today and got spanked by those who should have spanked us but walked away feeling good about the effort none the less.
The course was a dog-leg course that was 3.5km long and we did 3 1/2 laps which came out to just over 30km. That means there were 7 180 degree turns in wet conditions that were unnerving at best. Because the course was so short it was really hard to settle into a rhythm. You would get one or two pulls before setting up for the 180 and trying to group back up again.
We had never practiced a TTT as a 6 man team before and we had about a hour to work on it before our start. This did give us a good chance to warm up but the lessons just learned we not so easy to remember when the vision blurred.
The technical nature of the course favoured the 2 Continental teams and the National team that beat us by 1 to 2 minutes over 30km. I'm sure we lost 5 seconds at each turn and that adds up pretty quick.
The teams started out at 1 minute intervals and we caught our minute team after less than 10km. Since we started second that put us in first position on the course. Personally, I find it much easier to dig when I am focused on reeling in the rider(s) just up the road. It's much harder for me when we are being chased.We were caught after about 15km or so and managed to hold them within 10 seconds for the remainder of the lap. By the next lap the eventual winners (on TT bikes with full gear) passed us. Were were on regular road bikes but, even with TT bikes, discs and aero bars these guys should have caught us or given up their Continental licenses.
The last 3km was a 3% grind into the wind that lead to the last wet 180 turn around and then 1.5km to the finish. The rider in front me lead through the turn and then I moved to the front to lay down whatever was left. I nailed it as best as I could and then the other guys came around me a few hundred meters out from the finish. Since I was the fourth guy (of the 4 of us left) the time was on me.
The guys pulled around me and headed for the line. I got gaped and dig as I might I had to growl or yelp or making some kind of horrible sound for the 3rd guy to back off enough that I could get on his wheel for the finish. This was about the time I started to worry about the chunks.
He only had to tap his brakes once or twice but I'm sure we lost a few seconds there, too. We would have lost much more if they had ridden away from me and left me there to spit out chunks 200m from the line so it may have worked out for the better in the long run.
The lesson learned today is that we need better technical prep for next year. By this I mean we need to work on the technical aspects of out TTT: smoother transitions, better turns and we need to understand better when it is time to jettison a rider as opposed to letting a cooked rider continue in the rotation.
Also, I hope out cockpit sponsor (KORE) will have TT equipment available to us for 2011. Not that this would have changed the outcome this time but it will help us when we are better prepared for next time.
All said and done it was an immense amount of work in a short period of time and I'm glad it's over and we managed a podium spot.
We also managed to snag a post race interview that should be up on the web soon. It was a great chance to plug our sponsor's products and certainly a bonus.
