Round 3 of the RTTC TT Series was the classic Buxton CC MTT (Mountain Time Trial), an event I have always wanted to do, but in previous years it had always clashed with other events. For the TT Series, the vets wouldn't do the full 3 laps however, we were "lucky" enough to get away with just 2 laps.
Now I knew it had a long hill in each lap, around a 12-13 min climb for the faster riders, and I knew that I perhaps would be lacking when it came to the power to weight ratio. With Julian Ramsbottom also enter I deep down knew I was unlikely to win this event as the climb wouldn't play to my strengths.
I drove up on the day, surprisingly only a 3.5 hour drive and arrived nice and early to get a recce lap in. Feeling good I thought the climb although steep in places not too bad, and was feeling good for the race. I spent most of the morning chilling and just slowly getting ready. I also decided that a 23 sprocket wasn't the best option with a 39 ring, so fitted a cassette with a 26 sprocket on it. I felt in race conditions that would be more than sufficient.
Race time came and I still felt good, the first part was a downhill section followed straight by the climb, I managed to pace this pretty well, and over the first part there was a section where I could get aero and try and pick up as much speed as possible, before the road kicked up again, this time a little bit steeper. Up the hill in under 13 mins I was pretty pleased and settled down to ride the roller section along the A53, this was aided by a tailwind and this section was despatched in swift order.
The ride back to Longnor was a fast road with a nice technical descent, but also with a couple of leg sapping kick ups. I was catching slower riders on their second laps and unfortunately a few cars who were caught up behind these riders, this meant I was held up a little on one of the faster downhill sections, but nothing in the grand scheme of things. Once the car was past the rider I was able to power on to complete the first lap, I was pretty happy with the time, and I was hoping that the second one wouldn't be too far off.
As I started the second attempt on the long hill, it was if all energy just sapped right out of me, this time getting the power out seemed so much harder, and I just felt as if no matter how hard I pushed the speed just wasn't there, this was evident on downloading my data of how slow the second time up the hill had been, about a minute slower. When I got to the A53 this time, apart from feeling the effort a lot more I decided to just hammer along it as best I could and try and make up for any lost time. This section went OK, and now on the return leg to Longnor I pushed as hard as I dare on the descent, and although faster this time with no cars holding me up I felt as though this was going to be a good lap. The last few miles felt a real struggle though and it was a massive effort to keep the power up to where I know it should be. I gave it everything up the last hill to the finish and slowly made my way back to the HQ (all of a 100 yards LOL).
Looking at the times I was a bit shocked that Julian Ramsbottom had beaten me by about 2 mins, and that I had also been beaten by a couple of others as well. Finishing 4th on a course that I really didn't suit should be pleasing, but I thought my ride was just shocking. Although getting a power figure from this course is not a true reflection as a lot of it is spent freewheeling, the power was shockingly low for what I know I am capable of. I did spend a lot of time going over things in my head, what happened, what did I do wrong, was I still tired from training, did I got too hard on the first lap, etc etc. I went home a bemused and disappointed man. The event itself is fantastic though and certainly one to go back to and see if I can do better.
Luckily I had a phone call with my coach later in the week, and as ever she looked at the performance slightly differently to me. Although it wasn't the best performance, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was and yes the course was unlikely to suit me. At least I can take some inspiration from the event, I know I have to lose a bit of weight for the Hever Castle Bastion, this has given me the shock I needed really, every cloud and all that.
Now it is onto something new, this weekend sees my first triathlon, the 7Oaks Triathlon. This really is going to be an unknown in all honesty, I know the bike course very well having ridden it lots in the last few weeks. I know I can go very well on the bike, and I know where I will be roughly with the swimming. It is the run afterwards which is really the unknown I suppose, I have decided to ride the bike course as a standalone TT and then just go as fast as my legs will let me on the run, it could be a bad decision, but I know I am not as fast as other guys on the run, and I feel I may as well make up as much time as I can on the bike and see what happens. I will admit to be just a wee bit nervous, though with it being my first event I should have no real expectations, and the real aim is to really enjoy the experience. I look forward to writing a report next week of how it all went.
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