there is no difference between a 12 mi tt and 4 mi uphill tt on partial dirt roads? are you serious? that completely changes the race, and apparently for the worse for the op. i get it, the organizers probably had their hands tied, but the htfu bs around here is pretty annoying lately. and for the record, i am not doing this race, but i would certainly fair much better on a 4 mile climb tt than a 12 mile flat tt.