currand

Anyone care to guess what w/kg it would take to win 40-44 this year? As I understand it the course for 2011 is the same as the Elite course for 2010.

gsteinb

Don't know. But if anyone can keep Roger Aspholm from repeating bless them.

Homebrew01

About double whatever my w/kg is.

MDcatV

is this a legit ?

Homebrew01

Must be, that's why I gave a legit answer.

rkwaki

Is that in Oregon for 2011?
In answering your question as I don't train with power (yet) I don't think I can give you a magic number that will assure victory - too many other factors to consider.

currand

MDCatV, yes. I went searching for any references to it. Tried to find references on the intarwebs, etc. If it was Elite Nats I wouldn't be asking. But I have no concept of 40+ and the requirements. I'm assuming the winner will be "Cat 1 power" but a Cat 1 at 40 is not a Cat 1 at 19. Also, having never seen the Bend course, I'm not certain how much the hills come into play. So let me restate:

Thoughts on what it will take to podium this year for 40+?

The answer can be expressed in w/kg or tactics or whatever. Thanks in advance.

rkwaki

To be on the podium you will have to come 1st, 2nd or 3rd.








J/K - just being a jerk. Let me ponder this one for a while as I have not been at that course. I know when Michael won last year's Elite's he simply rolled off the front and stayed there. I'll have to thing a little.

BTW a Cat 1 at 40 is the same thing as a Cat 1 at 19 - they all produce results just often based on brains and power rather than just sheer power.

Hida Yanra

strength+smarts+luck... the amounts vary widely.
(whether or not "you make your own luck" is probably a reasonable discussion)

consider the current US road champ - he doesn't have the power of some other guys in the field, he doesn't have the experience and race-smarts, but he sure had some luck (and a good team-situation)
Sure, that doesn't happen very often, but this year was a good reminder that sometimes it does.

Hida Yanra

it's not like I'd know first-hand, but I've heard from a few guys around here that the difference between being a cat1 & a Cat2 is "smarts and persistence"... everybody's already strong.

again - that could be totally off, but I've heard it from multiple cat1s in this area.

Homebrew01

Explains why I'm not a 1 !

Anyway, whomever has the highest average speed will win.

gsteinb

The 40+ winner from last year regularly wins pro 1 2 races. So the answer is a lot.

rkwaki

I had said elsewhere (don't remember which thread) but imho you are correct at that level fitness is fairly close though some are stronger than others but 'smarts' definatley plays a much larger role. There are few guys that would have the strength to pull off the front and stay there. So much of it comes down to finding the right group to jump with or the right climb to go on. Timing is everything. I never try to jump with the first group. What you have to watch is when the group is catching a break the second they catch them there will be a counter attack. "Smarts and persistence" is a neat way to look at it. As I have said earlier I think the difference also includes mental strength and experience.

rkwaki

Who won 40+ last year?

Racer Ex 

3luck/6smarts

Of late I don't know anyone who's won that age group (or the next few above) who weren't very strong riders (several are here in TX or CA). But none of the courses they won on were purely "strongest wins".

When they've failed to repeat it was inevitably "missed the one break" or "no one was willing to chase".

Those fields are always strong enough that they can bring back a guy if they are fully committed to bringing him back, but that always the issue.

esammuli

The course is a 16 mile rolling loop. The first 10 miles have a few sharp bends and short kickers, but nothing that would be considered a legit launching pad. Around mile 10 there's a winding descent followed by a 3 minute climb up to the feed zone. The next 3 miles are false flat and most people are still gassed from the climb. It's a good place to get a gap. Around mile 14 there's a sharp descent followed by a the hardest climb on the course. It starts with a 15% kick (but you've got momentum coming off the descent) then drops to 6-8% for .75 miles then kicks up again over the top. From there it's mostly downhill (with one roller) back to the start of the loop.

The race won't be won by a pure climber, there will be lots of bigger guys who won't get gapped and it would take a bigger motor to power away after the final climb. It will be a race of attrition with the winner likely attacking out of a small group of 10-15. I also wouldn't be surprised to see a small bunch kick from a select group.

gsteinb

Roger Aspholm

Grumpy McTrumpy

I will send him some Spanish burgers gift wrapped in plastic

wfrogge

Yep.... 4.9 w/kg +

Crash716

Does Thurlow do the 40+?

Grumpy McTrumpy

Thurlow is 50. The Nationals are 5-year age brackets.

currand

Thanks for the answers guys. I realize it takes more than power to win a race. But all the smarts in the world won't help you if you can't stay in the group... I especially appreciate the course description esammuli.

gsteinb

**** him. I'm really not going to like him anymore.

jrennie

The guy who got second(and won the previous year)is north of 5w/kg and very slippery.

jrennie

from what i have heard it will change slightly from the elite TT. Also computrainer will have the masters tt course as a file.