Tour of Bright: Another Step

Well I am no mountain goat, but at least I didn't embarrass myself completely. Final result from the Tour of Bright was 9th for the three stages.

Check out the link for a photo of me out of the saddle on the time trial bike.

Time Trial Photo

After a few hills on stage 1, a time trial for stage 2 and another climb up Mt Hotham for stage 3. I was down by a fair amount of time and most of it was on the first stage.

The time trial was an improvement but still I have such a long way to go. The numbers on the power meter are getting better and from what I understand are really quiet good, but the biggest issue I have is my drag factor(CdA). At this stage I am seeing how difficult it is to stay aero and even find a position which allows me to travel fast enough to be really competitive.

After the tour I enjoyed two days of training with some of the other cyclists from the VIS etc. We also did another TT with the Bright cycling club on Monday night which was great as it gave me a chance to practice. This time I was more consistent on the out and back course.

Right now the game is about increase power if I can over the duration. More important is how I can become much more aero which we will be testing at the track tomorrow. On top of this we are working now to bring my weight down about another 3kgs which would make me 77kg with a target power of 450w+ for the 40km which will see my average heart rate around 175bpm. This won't be easy and if we can't find a better aero position like a CdA of 0.265 then I will be working hard and going ok but it won't be near fast enough compared to the top guys in Australia.

At this stage I am getting loads of feedback about everything we are working on and many great people are supporting me to reach the many targets we have set. Time is counting down to the Australian Time Trail Championship in early January. Bright has given a boost but has also shown we still have a lot of work to do.

The time trial is a race against the clock and this preparation is becoming very much about doing everything we can with the time we have to be ready to at least put up a respectable performance. I have loved the process and yet realise that even in January I will be so far from getting the best out of myself.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Sounds like fun, Bud