Stage 3 of the Nature Valley Grand Prix featured a 4.5 mile time trial. The course was flat and smooth and finished with a nice steep climb to the finish. The riders' data for this race is strikingly similar in shape, clearly showing each place on the course where the riders had to slow for a corner or a turnaround and the point in the end of the course where the terrain started climbing upward.
The first thing to note about the riders' data files was that each rider rolled out of the start house at a pace that was much higher than what they could maintain for the duration of the race. After about a minute, their effort settled into a manageable pace. Jordan reported: "...when I first started to roll, I didn't believe my PowerTap because the numbers were so high, and it seemed so easy. Of course, after the first minute the effort started to set in, and I held a pretty steady pace from there."
Second, you don't even have to know that the course was like to guess that there was some sort of obstacle within the two minutes of the race (a chicane), and you can clearly see where the turnaround was about halfway through the race. It is also possible to make out the point in the race where riders took two quick corners and headed up hill -the power has two low peaks in a row followed by a significant increase in power and torque and a significant decrease on speed.
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Jordan, who weighs 155 pounds, averaged 392 watts for the first minute of the race, but his overall average for the effort was 324 watts. Also note, his heart rate behaved exactly as we'd expect for an all-out time trial effort - it very slowly and steadily progressed throughout the TT.
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Steve, who also weighs 155 pounds, averaged 467 watts for the first minute of the race, while his overall average for the effort was 357 watts.
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Throwing down the largest numbers for the team, Matthew (a 155 pounds rider) averaged 556 watts for the first minute of the race, and his overall average for the effort was 405 watts. A very impressive ride for his first time trial ever!
Tonight the race heads to Minneapolis for a flat and technical crit. Wish them luck!