Friday’s stage of the Tour of Britain was a 200km jaunt from Bath to Hemel Hempstead. A few categorised climbs along the way, but the conventional opinion was that it would be a day for the sprinters. But, although professional cycling is often predictable, today the cards were turned upside down as a small three man breakaway stayed out in front for nearly the whole day, finishing two minutes ahead of the peleton and putting British Movistar rider Alex Dowsett into the leaders jersey. It was really an epic stage and a privilege to watch – both in the flesh and on TV (BTW: The Eurosport commentary at ToB is really top notch)
Alex Dowsett centre, Matthias Brandle far left, Tom Stewart, right
I’ve never seen a stage in the Tour of Britain, but with the recent experience of watching the Tour de France in Yorkshire I definitely didn’t want to miss the race go up my local hills. Yesterday I was training up Chinnor Hill – five interval efforts. Hard work, but a completely different kettle of fish to a 200k stage race. Still it was nice to see the pros suffer just as much as anyone else.
There was a good crowd on Chinnor Hill with many spectators around the quaisi hairpin bend. I stood nearby and waited for the race to come.
I’ve never been a particular fan of watching live professional cycling, but my experiences this year have made me change my mind. It really is worth the effort of going out to watch the riders go by.
an early breakaway
First up was the news that the breakaway was over 8 minutes up on the peleton. This caused a ripple of excitement as 8 minutes is a lot – especially with not that far to go. I was also pleased to hear there were two British riders in the break – Alex Dowsett and Tom Stewart (Madison Genesis). There were riding with the Austrian Matthias Bramble (IAM) who won the previous stage.
Chinnor hill is a local hill I use for hill climb training. It’s roughly 1 mile long, averaging 7-8%. In the middle section it is fairly steep at around 15% and a tight mini-hairpin halfway up where you turn left.
Chinnor Hill in winter. This is the mini-hairpin and will make a good point to watch the race.
It is a gradual ascent as you leave the town of Chinnor. I usually start an effort just after the railway bridge and beyond the new mini roundabout. This makes it a classic hill climb length of 0.8 miles and this is the steepest section of the hill. The gradient never gets really steep, and is fairly consistent. But you will be out of the saddle on the steepest part. The climb is covered by trees and so the road is often shady and damp.
It is a reasonable approximation to Pea Royd Lane and many other hill climbs. It reminds me a bit of Nick O Pendle because the gradient is fairly constant.
From the top of Chinnor Hill, you can go left back down Bledlow Ridge towards Princes Risborough. If you go straight on, you head in the direction of West Wycombe. Whichever way you go there’s plenty of more hills to have a go at.
Chinnor intervals – Thursday
Today, I did five hard intervals up Chinnor hill, with fairly short recovery in between. It’s like doing a 25 mile TT you get a lot of acidosis in the system and a feeling of sickness / nausea. The first interval is always the fastest. But, the second fastest was the fourth. Because the third I had so much acidosis I couldn’t get going. I took a little longer recovery and then did better than 2nd or 3rd. There are benefits to both short recovery and long recovery. Long recovery enable you to go faster. This kind of session must be really good for 25 mile TT training.
Chinnor Hill (Tour of Britain)
On Friday, the Tour of Britain will be going up Chinnor Hill as part of the stage 6 – Bath to Hemel Hempstead. It will come through Chinnor at about 14.22 (see map and ETA of Stage Six)
Shortly after Chinnor Hill, the route goes to Princes Risborough and up Kop Hill – to reach the top of Whiteleaf Hill.
Chinnor Hill will be a good place to watch. The road is wider than Kop hill and at the steep part, the peleton should be slowed down quite a bit.
It’s pretty cool the Tour of Britain is coming to Chinnor Hill – especially after ascending the A40 climb (Aston Hill) to Stokenchurch and descending down Kingston Hill. I’ve used that combination of hill so often in training. It’s excellent territory around the Chiltern ridge if you’re looking for 4-5 minute steady climb.
Even though I’ve done a lot of cycling around Yorkshire and Oxford, I still love to spend time looking at map trying to find the steepest possible hills. I know it’s probably more efficient to google and search Strava, but in my mind, it can’t beat the fun of looking at a real map and all those contour gradients. Any double arrow always raises a little excitement, especially if you haven’t been up that hill before.
At the moment, steep hills make great training for the hill climb season and the national championship in particular. But, even if I wasn’t training there is some attraction of battling against the steepest gradients. In one sense it doesn’t make sense to seek out the steepest hills, but there’s nothing like looking over your shoulder and seeing the road snaking below you.
Robin Hood climb near Silsden
Another kind of benefit of going up really steep hills is that you can get magnified power figures. For the life of me, I couldn’t do 450 watts on the flat, but when it’s 25% + it’s kind of hard not to!
The steepest hill I’ve been up is Hardknott Pass in the Lake District, a definite 30%, with the additional challenge of coming at the end of a pretty challenging hill in its own right.
Other really steep hills that have been quite memorable include Park Rash, Wrynose Pass, Bushcombe Lane to name but a few. I keep meaning to go over to the North York Moors, where 30% gradients seem to be a speciality.
Today I was in Menston, West Yorkshire, and there’s plenty of steep hills to choose from. I decided to go over the moors to Silsden. Where just a couple of months ago, I was one of millions lining the side of the road for Le Tour de France.
It’s hard to believe. But, yes this really did happen. Silsden closed down for the day to welcome Le Tour!
Le Tour didn’t go up the steepest hills in the district, the roads would have been too narrow and awkward for the Tour caravan.
On Strava, Robert Gesink is the quickest with 13.59. An average speed of 8.2mph. 399 watts average. A VAM of 1,694.0
The interesting thing was watching the climb unfold on Eurosport. At the bottom Valverde attacked, gaining a 20 second advantage. Froome was dropped from the main contenders and slipped away. But, as the climb unfolded, Valverde blew and Froome came back in contention. Picking off the favourites who had gone hard from the start; on that climb it was Froome who was the best of the GC contenders.
At 12-13 minutes, it’s quite a long climb. Also, at an average speed of 8.2mph, there is much less aero benefit from sitting in the wheels than usual. Therefore, there is less downside to getting dropped and going at your own pace. Froome likes looking at his stem and power meter, but bbviously sometimes there must be a benefit to looking at your power meter in a climb. Or at least be very confident in your ability to pace a climb.
I would say a power meter can be helpful, but it is important training to learn the art of pacing, without looking at a computer.
Blowing up on a climb
Everyone knows that awful feeling of getting carried away on the bottom of a really steep hill and then having to grovel all the way to the top. It happened to me this summer on Bushcombe Lane – with 25% gradient. It takes a certain patience to ride within yourself and make sure you can go all the way to the top at your best pace
Yesterday, after the race, I did some hill efforts, but purposefully kept to a lower power than usual for doing hill climbs. It was a nice feeling to be able to go all the way up the climb, knowing at any stage you can pick it up if necessary.
It all depends on the climb. Take a traditional British hill climb 3-4 minutes, and it requires a very different pacing to a 13-14 minute climb. But, even on a three minute climb, you can still blow up badly, if you get pacing completely wrong. Chris Boardman in his hill climb tips, always recommended riding a hill climb leaving a little for a sprint in the last half.
But, that doesn’t necessarily work for everyone. I dont really have a sprint to speak of. If I wait for a last minute sprint, I would never do my best hill climbs. I need to ride close to the limit for as long as I can.
The only real way to learn how to pace hill climbs, is to experiment and do real hill climbs in practice. Forget intervals on turbo, go out and find a suitable hill and do a few efforts. If you can measure your time, power and heart rate, it gives even more data to work with. Try your favourite hill in different ways. One day go like a madman from the start, another day pick it up after half way.
Pacing long hill on Saturday. Photo Ken Norbury.
Thanks to Ken Norbury for this photo from yesterday. (album on Google Plus)
In time trials aerodynamics are very important. Small changes in your body position can make a big difference to the drag you create and therefore has a big effect on your speed and time.
Professionals will spend hours in wind tunnels to refine their position, trying to gain small marginal gains. Even if you don’t have access to a wind tunnel, many people can improve their position, just by following some principles.
Bradley Wiggins in 2010 riding for Garmin Slipstream
A few points worth bearing in mind
Some positions may be very aerodynamic, but compromise power.
Roughly 10% of aerodynamic drag is your bike. 90% is your body. So you might want to spend money on improving your position before a new bike!
Aerodynamics is not just about air hitting you from the front, but how it leaves you afterwards.
You might assume that going lower will improve your aerodynamic drag, but it doesn’t necessarily go faster.
You can get some great ideas by looking at other riders who have spent time refining their position, but it is quite individual – depending on your body type. Some people like Chris Boardman could ride with a flat back, but others would struggle to get that position.
Michael Hutchinson (July 2010) then comp record holder for 10 mile TT (17.57) Michael Hutchinson at BTTC in 2010. Hutchinson was for many years, Britain’s top domestic time triallist.
Improving Position on Time Trial Bike
The basic idea is to present the smallest frontal position to the wind.
Note: there comes a point when lowering the tribars can start to decrease power because breathing is slightly restricted. It becomes a trade off between aerodynamics and power.
In the picture above notice how much lower the tribars are compared to the saddle.
The second most important thing is bringing in the arms. On a road bike they are about 42cm apart. But, using tribars you can bring the arms closer together and reduce the wind resistance. If you watch Tony Martin on a TT bike, his arms are almost touching. Be careful, if you bring your arms in too much, it can be more difficult to steer, but also may not even be more aerodynamic as it can push your shoulders out.
Me in British Time Trial Championship. This was not such a good aerodynamic position. When I came out of wind tunnel, I had reduced by head to leave less sticking into the wind.
An early season TT – hence leg warmers. But here head is quite low but still looking ahead.
Tribar – arm position
I’ve seen more extreme examples of the praying mantris than this. Some have bars at 45 degree angle so there are hands are up to their face.
The UCI stipulate the tribars have to be in a flat horizontal position. If you try lift the tribars, most riders will find it more aerodynamic. When I was in a wind tunnel, lifting the hand position to be like a V, helped reduce aerodrag. It may not look more aerodynamic, but it was. If you ride CTT or triathlons, then it is worth experimenting with this aero position.
Graeme Obree – The Best Time Trial Position?
Note how low the head is up, but eyes are looking forward.
Graeme Obree in the Superman position. It is called the superman position because his arms are stretched out. Notice how flat the back is and hence how aerodynamic position
The Tuck Position
In this photo, Graeme Obree is showing another very aerodynamic position because his arms are tucked in like a skier. Graeme Obree was one of the world’s greatest time triallist. He was world champion twice and broke the world hour record twice. He was also an innovator, creating these unique riding positions. These positions were later banned by the UCI.
Time Trial Position and Wind Tunnel Testing
To try and gain optimal time trial position I went to a wind tunnel. This tested aerodynamic drag in various positions. This helped to find a position which considerably reduced aero drag. As a result, my times for time trials dropped.
See: Review of wind tunnel testing for time trial position
Time Trial Position and Power Output
When finding the optimal time trial position, it is not just aerodynamics that is important. Some positions may compromise your power output. However, there is also an element of getting used to positions. I do a lot of training on the time trial bike trying to hold a good position, so that when I race, I’m not suddenly straining my neck muscles.
It’s easy to get a very aerodynamic position for five minutes in the wind tunnel – it’s another matter holding it for 4 hours in a 100 mile TT.
Time Trial Position and Distance
For short time trials, it is possible to go for a more extreme position. For long time trials, it is more important to be comfortable. Also, your arms can be a conduit for reducing lactic acid in legs, therefore, it is important to keep them relaxed for long time trials to help reduce lactic acid in legs.
Time Trial Position UCI Legal
If you do UCI races, you have to keep to quite strict parameters about what is legal.
Distance from vertical line of bottom bracket to end of tribars should be no more than 75cm (80cm for tall riders)
Tribars must be horizontal
Equipment must have 3:1 aspect rule (length no more than 3 times depth)
Even if you don’t do time trials, it may be worth thinking about your position on a road bike. Comfort is more important than on a time trial bike, but, maybe a few changes can decrease wind resistance with little negative effect.
Helped by the Olympic success of female cyclists, women’s cycling has been on the up in recent years. The great thing about the Olympics is that a gold medal is a gold medal. Whether you’re a £250,000 a week professional footballer or a privately supported amateur, one Olympic gold medal is the same value as another gold medal – that is a wonderful equalising force. For many years, the Olympics didn’t allow women to run in events longer than 1,500m – though that kind of ‘perceived wisdom’ – all seems a bit embarrassingly outdated now. In cycling up until 2012, there were fewer Olympic events for women. Often situations, such as this are for no particular reason, except that is how it has happened in the past. But, the Olympic movement has moved on and has perhaps unwittingly become one of the strongest forces for promoting equality in sport between men and women. It has certainly helped boost professional women’s cycling in Britain.
I’ve been cycling (mostly time trials) for the past 8 years, and never really given much thought to women’s cycling. Women are generally a minority in time trials – perhaps making 10% of the field on a good day. But, this year I’ve noticed a shift to reconsider certain things. And it generally seems a progressive change.
Placings
One of the strange things about the time trials is lumping results of men and women together. 1st, 2nd and 3rd women deserve more appreciation than mid table anonymity of 45th overall or something. For me time trials are not just about time. I do like to see how I compare against my peers. It would be a big de-motivation if my placing in the final results felt rather random. This is particularly important for national championships. e.g. National Hill Climb Championship 2013 results. The Women’s champion Maryka Sennema (Kingston Wheelers) is listed only in the middle of the overall (63rd). In my blog, I did try to pick out the top women. It should be like this 100 Mile 2014 Women’s results. Hopefully, the CTT will do this for future hill climb championships.
Today was the Trevor Yeoman memorial Buxton CC Long Hill.
Long Hill is a steady long climb. Fairly constant, averaging only 3%. The wind direction can make a difference.
Long Hill from Whaley Bridge
Distance – 4.44 miles
Average gradient – 3%
Height gain – 195m – 425m (approx 230m)
I first did Long Hill in 2010, I set a course record of 12.26, there was quite a helpful tailwind that day. Since then I’ve ridden a total of 6 times in competition. Each time, I’ve tried a different equipment combination. My first record was set on a road bike, no tri bars. This year, I went for full time trial bike with discwheel. It was an opportunity to use the Trek Speed Concept before putting it away for the year. It’s probably the heaviest bike I’ve taken to Long Hill.
The only downside to taking TT bike was no power meter, but sometimes it’s good to remember what it is like to ride on feel. If anything I rode rather conservatively, not wanting to really blow up too early like last week at Snake Pass. I took it fairly steady all the way up, just around the threshold level which is close to what is tolerable. It was only on the last horseshoe corner that I increased effort a little. For a short while there was a mild headwind, before the final last minute and half to the top.
I was happy to hear it’s cycle to work day. I saw some signs advertising it near Rawdon, Leeds a few days ago. I didn’t notice any difference on the commuting roads of Oxford today, but hopefully a few people were inspired to dig out in the bicycle from their garage and cycle to work. I’ve been cycling to work for the past 13 years (I used to be a teacher starting at 8 or 9am. But, these day I call work – going to a cafe for 9am to write some economics). Even though I work from home, I still like to create a cycle to work in town.
I’ve only ever been late once (when I fell off a slippery manhole and lay on the ground for 15 minutes. Perhaps I also got a puncture once and had to go in by bus, but that is a very distant memory. The bike is very reliable – ust avoid those cheap tyres you may get on a £100 bike from Cycle King.
In those 13 years, I’ve saved a lot of money. An alternative is the bus. Roughly the bus costs £3 return 13 years * 200 work days a year = 2,600 days. 2,600 * £3 = £7,800.
Beat the queue – cycle to work
£7,800 – Wow, that is nearly enough to buy a new bike. In those 13 years, I’ve had only two commuting bikes. (one got stolen). My current commuting bike is quite low maintenance. Every year, I spend about £70 for service at Reg Taylor cycles to get a new cassette, chain and brake blocks. Overall, I must be in profit by about £6,000.
By the way, if I’d driven into town, I would have faced a car parking charge of over £10 a day before even petrol and all the costs of a car. I’ve never tried working out how much it would cost to drive into town. I’m a great believer in expensive car parking charges, but that’s another story.
I bought a Specialized Allez in New York from Bellitte bike shop, Jamaica Avenue in New York. I was looking for a good value entry level training bike. My only specification was something that would replicate size and basic performance of my road bike home. The Specialized Allez is in a very different price bracket to my top of the range Dura Ace, Trek Madone – so it’s interesting to be riding a bike at the other end of the spectrum.
I was a little surprised at how good this relatively cheap road bike was. It was an eye opener to the fact you can pay a lot of money for a top of the range road bike, but the improvement in quality is not as much as you might expect for the higher cost. Or looking at it the other way, you can get a pretty good road bike for close to £500.
The Specialized Allez replaced a very old 1980 steel Trek I had been riding in New York. It’s was a big step up from that so I was really happy in that sense. It replicates the ride of my road bike back home reasonably well. For the money ($820), I’m very happy. It is an excellent value road bike.
It looks good and I like the smooth lines and integration of frame, fork and other components. Specialized certainly do smooth well – I real bonus on a £500 bike. No internal cable routing, but you can’t expect that for this price. It looks like it might pass for a much more expensive bike.
When I went into the shop, I was determined to buy the cheapest road bike. The cheapest road bike was $500, but I really didn’t like it. You could just tell by looking at it, that it wasn’t going to lastThe Specialized Allez was standing out and looked like a proper road bike. That’s the one I wanted to get. I ended up spending $820 (in UK RRP is £550). If you’re lucky you may get the 2014 model for under £500.
I definitely I’m glad I spent that extra $300 (even if my bank manager isn’t). There is probably as much difference in ride quality between a a £300 road bike and a £550 road bike – and the difference between a £500 and £5,000 road bike. I don’t know if that makes sense. But, the absolute cheapest road bike didn’t feel good at all.
As I mentioned yesterday, after Snake Pass hill climb, I joined Paul and Ben for a lap of their efforts to ‘Everest’ Snake Pass.
Ben emailed me to say Paul Talbot successfully completed the challenge on Sun 11.30pm after 14 hours ‘moving time’. 16 hours after he started. That’s 181 miles at an average speed of 12.8mph. 27 times up Snake Pass.
Ben says he retired after reaching 5,360m (approx base camp). Everesting is even tougher if you’re the better side of 86kg).
