Interesting Tidbits on Albany Race Weekend

I was studing the Georgia Cup Albany Race results from last year. They did the same TT/Prologue course as we are doing this year... the first place Cat4/Cat5 guy rode the 1.94 mile course in 3 minutes and 34 seconds. The 10th place guy- 3:47. That puts the winners average at 32.6 mph, the 10th at 30.8 mph and the 26th guy (halfway/midpack) at just shy of 28 mph for average speed.

So, of course, I must go to my trusty speed/wattage converter...

http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm

and determine what I must put out to win the event... place 10th... place mid-pack...

I have found this calculator to be off a little, but it is due to the difference between my position and the assumed frontal area it uses based on weight and height... my natural position is a little more aggressive than it assumes which returns a higher wattage at the same speed when compared to actual testing.

Anyway, when I assume...

• I will race in the drops on a road bike and
• The course is flat with no wind

I find that I must average 550 watts to average 30 mph and come in 20th. I will need 600 watts to come in top 10 and I will need 700 watts to win the event. Looking at my mean max power chart... things dont look so good. Add in the fact that I must also negotiate 11 corners and a roundabout...

All I can say is that I will redefine my MMP chart in two weeks... my 3.5 minute power is currently resting on a svelt 365Watts... whoa...

The good news (as there always to seems to be good news in my world)... I have never tested this time/distance and it is really too long to show up from group rides. The times I have tested... 1 min and 5 min... I have only done interval sessions. I can repeat 8 intervals (so far) 1 minute intervals at 475 watts. I think I could probably do 630-650 Watts if I tested just one- one minute all out effort. My 5 min max effort also has not been tested, but I was doing 5 repeats at 335 watts and think I could do 360 Watts for 5 minutes or something like that. So, where does that put me for this type of effort? It is hard to know... the graph is steep when you go from the anaerobic system to the aerobic system. A three minute effort, in my mind, is right at the edge. I think everyone would agree that a 2 minute effort is closer to anaerobic and a 4 minute effort is closer to aerobic. It is really a very interesting thing to consider.

The other question... if you are riding at 30 mph, can you help not being on a TT bike... even if you are taking 11 ninety degree turns and a round about? I dont have a choice... I just sold my TT bike and my new one will not be in for a couple of weeks... but it makes one wonder...

I love this stuff...