Velodiva

Today I raced the Altamont 4-person team time trial with Team Webcor/Alto Velo in the Women 35+ category. We placed second of four teams with a time of 42:40. Team Kalyra was first with a 42:18. team Velo
Bella was 3rd with 43:48. The Protech team was 4th. We would have won but for my fall at the turn-around!
Course: Altamont Pass, Livermore, CA; 15.7 miles out and back; 600 foot climb each way.

We had a very strong team, and BTW, we were the combined oldest, the youngest member of our team being 51 (total combined age 223- awesome!!).

Hermes and I did a reconnaissance ride last Sunday and the winds we fought fierce winds from the NNE. I was hoping that today, with an earlier start, that we would be lucky with a light breeze – not so. Those windmills were churning with similar wind conditions. I opted for my deep dish carbon Easton Tempest tubulars, rather than disc and tri-spoke, and they worked well in the wind.
We didn’t have an opportunity to practice as a team before today. We only had about 30 minutes to practice together before the race, and we tried our best to discuss any eventuality figure out what our order should be. Everyone had their strong moments; team mate Phyllis and I worked hard on the up hills and Pam and Linda were killers on the downhills. We hit over 41 mph.

We did have two issues during the ride. I clipped a cone, cutting the turn-around really close, and fell, but was up in a matter of seconds. Luckily it was minor (skinned knee and a ripped leg warmer) and hardly impeded the team at all. Later we found out that the strongest time trialist on the Kalyra team, had also fallen, overlapping a wheel on the outbound leg. That gave me some consolation. On the return leg, one of my team mates got a leg cramp, and in a TT there is no time to stretch it out like one might in a road race. We had to leave her, but it was only a few miles to go. It appeared that most teams sacrificed a rider and finished with 3. Per the rules, 3 riders needed to finish within one meter of each other.

This was a really hard effort and I was glad when it was over! We planned on doing a Wente loop afterwards but it was too windy. Hermes and I did a nice recovery ride on the Peninsula instead. Tomorrow Hermes and I are doing a match sprint tournament at Hellyer velodrome.



Lining up at the start – Pam, Velodiva, Phyllis, Linda



The start

jppe

Excellent!! TTT's are unique as you have to pace off the 3rd rider-and you can't wear everyone out-a lot more strategy than people realize.

We hold one Team Time Trial at the Speedway each year and it is very interesting seeing how the various teams do. We have 40-50 teams and you can tell the teams that have practiced by how they rotate and keep the strongest of the 3 riders to the end. I still recall one team that dropped their 3rd rider and lost LOTs of time as the 3rd rider was just helpless.

Velodiva

That was my big takeaway from this event. This was my first 4-person TTT and I knew going in that there would be a lot of factors to consider during the race. Above and beyond the usual agony of a TT, there was that additional stress. Being attentive to everyone's position (making sure you don't overlap wheels or leave gaps), the wind (echelon or not??), knowing everyone's strengths, etc. We tried to establish who should draft whom (e.g., we had our strongest, bigger-frame woman behind me; and who we thought might the weakest behind the bigger-frame woman). So we had a general plan, but it all plays out different once on the course. (Plus it was so windy, communications were difficult.) We designated our most experienced person as captain and she was excellent in optimizing the situation during the race. The first time we practiced as a team was 30 minutes before the race - and that also served as a warm-up. We didn't have the opportunity to practice together beforehand due to the geographic spread (one team member from the Sierra Foothills, another from Sacramento and two of us on the SF Bay Peninsula area). I am sure with practice we would be a lot faster. I have done 4-person team pursuits on the track and, and while teamwork is still very important, the environment is more structured.

Red Rider

Good job! Congrats on your terrific finish!

Glad you weren't hurt much, and that the bike's okay, too.

Velodiva

Yes, that was Hermes question too! Bike seems unscathed. The volunteer at the turnaround helped me get up quickly but I was still a little unsettled - mainly because I didn't want to lose this race for my teammates. We tried to get too tricky at the turnaround with the lead person going wide and the others following inside to make an exchange. I got a little squeezed. Two-person team time trials on a tandem are a lot easier!!

maddmaxx 

It is safer to ask this question from a slightly greater distance than spouse to spouse...

Good race report.

Hermes

Congrats on a great race.

Some statistics...

Average speed for the team was 22.08 mph with 872 feet of climbing over 15.7 miles.

Top speed on the descent going out was 41 mph and the top speed at the finish was 39.5 mph

Velodiva

Here is link to a photo of our team. It was taken just after the turnaround (and my fall). We are standing on the climb and I am working to catch up after my mishap. This is around where we lost our fourth rider. If I am ever asked during a job interview to discuss a team experience and what I learned, this is going to be my example!!



https://edwardfalsken.smugmug.com/gal...565_BZyd9-A-LB



Linda, Phyllis, Velodiva