Originally Posted by
Allegheny Jet
Quick race report. My wife and I drove from OH to Seattle over 4 days taking some extra time for sightseeing. I raced the Scratch Race and Sprint as throw a ways just to get used to the track and my legs back. In the pursuit I raced the last heat and went for the win. First kilo was where I was where I planned, in the 58 degrees temp and windy conditions, at low 1:19's. Second kilo was really slow at 1:24. I just could not spin the 101" gear back when I had the wind at my back. Average watts for the effort was 421 which is where I trained for.
The 500 TT was warm and windy enough that we did one ups. I believe I did everything well except drifted up to mid lane on the last turn. Averaged 847 watts for the 38.8" effort. Images I have seen of me on the bike suggest my fitter and I have some work to do. I got got in early July and made the adaptation prior to Nats. I did
PR by .5" so it wasn't a lost cause.
It was great meeting and riding some laps with Hermes. Great job on podiums Hermes!!!
Back to blackout at sea. Please continue riding and racing while I get drunk and fat.
It was a pleasure meeting you and your wife.
I agree...your position needs revision and measuring power is interesting but not a great metric for the track. The average power looks impressive but with your back angle, the wind load was monstrous when you came out of turn 3 into that strong wind and headed toward the finish in your 500. I have found that I am pretty sensitive to small changes in back angle and there is definitely a sweet spot for power production, aero efficiency and forward visibility. I do not think that fitters per se can actually find it. IMO, it takes racers months and years of practice to get it perfect generating maximum power in the best aero position for their respective body type.
Also, 101 gear inches is a monster gear for pursuit. My racing buddy who won the 60 to 64 age group a couple of years ago did it in 2:38 in 91.6 (51/15). I did a 2:46 last year in a 90. I rode a 90 this year and did my fastest laps were my last two. Gearing is similar to bike fit. Experimentation and testing is key to finding the right gear. However, max power will generally favor big gears but at the track, power fluctuates as your go around the track. I used the technique where I use the banking and went from the red line to the black line as I entered the turn and picked up a couple of seconds of recovery. My speed held but power dropped. I then re-engaged the power through the apex and drifted up to the red line going for max aerodynamics (head turtled) setting up for the next turn. A couple of seconds of rest per lap makes a big difference for me. Then having the smaller gear allows acceleration of the pace in the final laps. My second kilo was 7 seconds faster than my first kilo.
And there are the racers who ride the 2K like a kilo and go out hard and just keep it up until the gorilla jumps on their back. They then suffer immensely but still perform better than if they try to negative split the pursuit. YMMV.