Heart rate tells you where you were, not where you are, and its not helpful early. It will also float upward on longer efforts. And people tend to freak when they see high numbers. Has a lot of usefulness, but more as an analytic tool or in training where you don't have other tools.
That's a less simple TT course, lose elevation heading out and there's often wind. So "ride hard" won't yield the fastest time, but learning how to ride hard has to start somewhere.
My advice would be start out in the gear she thinks she can push then shift to 1 or 2 gears easier. Keeps her from going immediately into debt. 4-5 mins in start going harder till she is breathing hard but not ragged. Keep it there, and try to be smooth. Don't chase people in front of you. Go like hell when you see the line. Simple.
Power meters are a great tool, both during rides and especially after. Need to know how to use them and the data they provide though. From the coaching side it gives you a complete snapshot of what went on during a ride or race. Assign a work out and you can see if it was done right, or if a correction needs to be made.
Layer this on good RPE feedback, and you can get places pretty quickly.
Last edited by Racer Ex; 12-22-15 at 03:29 PM.