Road Bike Racing - I suck more than I originally thought I did

Why the Hell can't I do a halfway decent time trial?
MF'ing 90th place today at Nationals, I knew I wouldn't be all that impressive, but that is awful.

Every single time trial I've ever done, I've put too much effort into the wind and not even had enough energy to burn for the final sprint. I'm pathetic. Seriously pathetic.

Specifics:
20 kilometer time trial, 29:28.20, 25.84mph average, 4:07.36 behind 1st
1st place specifics:
25:20.84, 29.589mph average

Just to put this into perspective; I'm in the 17-18 age group. the winner of the 13-14's average speed over 10 kilometers was 25.78mph compared to my 25.84mph, which would have barely let me win (if all were proportional)




P.S: Just to let people know, Davis Phinney's son was in my age group, and placed on the podium. I wish I had good genes.

im nowhere close to going to nationals in anything so you beat me there :o

If there's a national competition for being dumb and lazy I'm in.

Congrats on making it the dance!



im nowhere close to going to nationals in anything so you beat me there :o

Nobody sucks worse than Pcad kid.

Just be grateful you don't have MY genes.

The important part is...
90th out of ???

Why the Hell can't I do a halfway decent time trial?
MF'ing 90th place today at Nationals, I knew I wouldn't be all that impressive, but that is awful.

Every single time trial I've ever done, I've put too much effort into the wind and not even had enough energy to burn for the final sprint. I'm pathetic. Seriously pathetic.



Using phrases like "too much effort into the wind and not enough energy to burn for the final sprint" when talking about a time trial is a big answer to your question.

Chances are that the answer is not lack of genetics (though there may be a training issue) but a lack of understanding of the TT discipline and specifically PACING.

Rules for doing well in a TT

1. Train in the TT position on the TT bike (most of the emphasis on TRAIN).
2. Know your abilities. Whether you base things on RPE, HR, or Power, know what you can do for the length of the TT.
3. PACE yourself according to your abilities.
4. Suffer

It also helps to know the course, try to obtain a bare minimum of equipment (aero bars and possibly a helmet), and know how to do turnarounds.

Nobody sucks worse than Pcad kid.

Just be grateful you don't have MY genes.

But you have nice stuff...

So you got that goin' for ya...:D

As a friend of mine told me, "I ride slower so everyone can get a nice look at my bike."

:eek: :D

Why the Hell can't I do a halfway decent time trial?
MF'ing 90th place today at Nationals, I knew I wouldn't be all that impressive, but that is awful.

Every single time trial I've ever done, I've put too much effort into the wind and not even had enough energy to burn for the final sprint. I'm pathetic. Seriously pathetic.
Specifics:
20 kilometer time trial, 29:28.20, 25.84mph average, 4:07.36 behind 1st
1st place specifics:
25:20.84, 29.589mph average

Just to put this into perspective; I'm in the 17-18 age group. the winner of the 13-14's average speed over 10 kilometers was 25.78mph compared to my 25.84mph, which would have barely let me win (if all were proportional)




P.S: Just to let people know, Davis Phinney's son was in my age group, and placed on the podium. I wish I had good genes.

This tells me it's a question of understanding technique.

You don't have enough left, most likely because your HR is too high when in the wind, probably due to your gear selection...spin more...also maybe it's fitness...in other words when you spin your HR goes up too much.

Bottom line, you need to know how far you can ride at what HR to finish. Then work to get faster at the HR, which is a real simple explanation and it's a lot more complicated.

im no TT expert, but if you have enough energy for a sprint, didn't you pace yourself incorrectly? and as for pacing with HR, i heard from someone a while ago back when i didnt have a PM, that it should take a couple minutes at the start of a TT to work up to your lt HR, and by the end of the TT you should be a few beats over. the Dr should be able to clarify this, our local bikeforums TT legend.

Nobody sucks worse than Pcad kid.

Just be grateful you don't have MY genes.

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

The important part is...
90th out of ???

Everyone at Nationals in his age group... plus everyone else in the country who didn't even qualify for Nationals - such as riders like myself when I used to race. Seriously, I hated racing in the Juniors category. I was a skinny little climber who would get beaten up and have my lunch money taken at local crits by George Hincapie, even though he was younger than me. I felt like I should have given my entry fee to him directly, since there was no chance of me even getting in to the prize money if he was there - I was more concerned with just finishing! :)

As a Senior, I was a decent local racer, but not the next LeMond or Hampsten. Just getting to Nationals is awesome, and something that many of us will not experience. Oh well, I'm already in training to kicking ass at the Masters 90+ age category in about five decades... On the bright side, you still have room for improvement. If you won Nationals at your first shot, there'd be nowhere to go but down - unless you won the Worlds too! :)

And as far as being Phinney's kid goes, that's a pretty deep gene pool when both parents were Olympic medalists! But can you imagine the pressure to be a good cyclist, even if it was all self-imposed? Those are some pretty damn big shoes to fill!

Put things in perspective. You've competed in Nats and you've got years and years ahead of you. When that comes to light, maybe in a few years who knows, just don't get cocky. ;)

https://www.usacycling.org/forms/2007%20USA%20Cycling%20Road%20National%20Junior%20TT%20Results.pdf

I'm in the Junior Men's 17-18 category. Super fast times- then mine.

https://www.usacycling.org/forms/2007%20USA%20Cycling%20Road%20National%20Junior%20TT%20Results.pdf

I'm in the Junior Men's 17-18 category. Super fast times- then mine.

And there are how many USCF register Juniors in your age group across the country?

Beating yourself up won't help anything, unless it makes you take action to improve things. Moping and posting about how much you "suck" isn't going to help you get better either. You can focus on what's "wrong" (and I use that term loosely) or focus on what's right and how you can make it even better. Guess which one will yield the better results?

Man, congrats on making it to Nat's! Keep it up. You have YEARS until you peak!

if i remember correctly, this is your FIRST RACE SEASON. chill out kid.

I was in your shoes last year. Went from 0 races to qualifying for nationals in 6 months. Then I broke my clavicle in a sprint. I realized even though I qualified, I wouldn't do well at all. The 17-18 year olds i'd be racing against have been riding for YEARS and probably all have coaches and huge budgets from parents/sponsors.

Since you started later in life, focus on college racing. Get yourself a coach and think about college nats and U23 racing.