I seem to have neglected this blog over the last couple of months, which have seen a series of mediocre perfromances and a couple of abandoned events.
This event was run in yet another heatwave, and that definitely affected the performances! Riding my Cervelo P3 with Hed trispokes, I set off for Astwood in temperatures in the mid-30s, and unfortunately suffered a front wheel puncture just over halfway to Astwood. I replaced the tube (a RideNow TPU tube with a Clik valve adapter) with the only spare tube I had with me (a Tubolito TPU tube with a regular presta valve) in absolutely scorching conditions of about 38 degrees in the sun according to my Garmin. Annoyingly the replacement tube went straight down. I was contemplating abandoning the race and calling home for assistance, but I tried pumping it up again and screwed down the valve as tightly as possible - and it held pressure. Well, as much pressure as I could get in with the tiny pump I had with me.
It was a bit of a relief to get moving again: I'd had sweat pouring out of my helmet while sorting out the puncture. I reached the meeting point in time to get a number pinned on. I had decided to use one of my NBRC road suits instead of the long sleeved skinsuits in view of the heat. A wise decision. I had a swig of electrolyte drink, topped up the front tyre again and decided to take the pump with me for the race and stuffed it into my road suit pocket.
It was about 33 degrees when I started the race - but this didn't seem to affect me too much as I seemed to be going fast enough to generate some cooling air movement. I was actually feeling quite good, though my mouth was instantly dry with the heat. As for the race, it seemed to be going quite well, but I lost the pump onto the middle of the carriageway about two miles from the finish. A bit annoying, but I declined to stop to pick it up!
On to the finish climb and over the line in 25:09. Not quick but quite good in the conditions I think - good enough for second place (third place rider was only a second slower). Report at the NBRC website.
Crossing the line!
After a couple of km easy spinning, I handed back the number and all the riders plus timekeeper retired to the pub for some nice cool 'energy drink', before heading home.
TT bikes!
Energy drink!
As regards my data, I think I've basically dropped to an FTP of around 230W, presumably due to the passing years and the ageing process! But overall, i think I rode the event well, staying on the aero bars almost all the way round.