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10 steps to your best ever time-trial

A time-trial is bike racing at its simplest � just you, the bike and the clock. But don�t confuse simple with easy. There are no wheels to follow, no pack to hide in, and it hurts from the moment the starter shouts �go!� to the moment you cross the line.

In return, the TT offers a different kind of satisfaction to bunch racing. Nobody sits on your wheel then jumps out to beat you in the last 100m. Barring a mechanical or a sudden change in the wind, the best rider wins. It�s a pure test of your ability to ride a bike fast. Finish your first time trial and, when you�ve wiped the sweat from your eyes, most riders will have the same thought: �I want to go faster!� 1 Pole position

All the bling kit in the world won�t make you go faster if your body acts like a giant air brake. �The rider makes up over 80 percent of the frontal area,� says Chris Boardman, arguably Britain�s best ever TT rider, �and at any reasonable speed 90 percent of the energy you produce goes into overcoming wind resistance.� Cut that resistance and you�ll go faster.

Keen riders can head for a wind tunnel for guidance, or you can put your TT bike on a turbo or set of rollers in front of a full-length mirror. �Making your silhouette smaller is a crude but fairly accurate way to reduce drag,� says Boardman. �Triathlon bars bring your arms in and round off your shoulders. Dropping your body also has a significant impact for every centimetre lower you go.�

But, he says, don�t have too great a drop to the bars. �If the front of the bike is too low you have to stick your head up to see where you�re going, which makes the silhouette bigger.�

We explore this issue further on BikeRadar tomorrow in 'Aerodynamics made easy'.

2 Trial, no error

A full-blown time-trial bike, or even a modified road bike, will have a more extreme riding position than most roadies are used to. Riding with your head down, backside in the air, and elbows close together doesn�t look comfortable, and to some extent it isn�t. However, a rider can use stretches or yoga to improve their flexibility. Professor Greg Whyte, head of cycling performance at 76 Harley Street and author of Get Fit Not Fat, recommends that time-trial racers should stretch their lower back, glutes (your backside) and hamstrings (the back of the thigh).

The following stretch for the bum and hips is particularly effective. �Lie on your back on the floor with both legs bent,� says Whyte. �Place the ankle of one leg on the knee of the other. Place your hands behind the bent knee and pull it in towards your chest. Hold for 20-30 seconds. Repeat with the other leg.� Nothing beats time on the bike though.

According to Dr Simon Jobson, a research fellow at the University of Kent�s Centre for Sports Studies, �the big thing is habituation to the position�. He recommends training regularly on your TT bike so it doesn�t come as a shock come race day.

3 All the gear

The first job of go-faster frames or tri-bars is to get you out of the wind before cutting through the air themselves. If you plan to use the same bike for your road riding and time-trialling, pay attention to the head-tube length, says Boardman. �A shorter headtube will make finding an aerodynamic position easier because it makes the front end of the bike lower and so helps you get out of the wind.� Consider swapping the stem for one with a downward angle and removing any spacers, to make clip-on bars even more effective, making your body lower as well as narrower, and your silhouette even smaller.

You don�t have to spend a lot. Lowering the front of the bike (which might be as simple as flipping the stem), fitting some tri-bars (from as little as �30) and an aero helmet (around �100) could make a big difference to your speed. These changes offer the most bang for your aero buck � Boardman estimates that a TT helmet alone saves the rider 10-15 watts of power at race speeds. From here you can start to add deep-section wheels, skinsuits, overshoes, aero drinks bottles and even a full-fat TT bike. But spend money on kit that gets you in a good position first.

We explore this issue further on BikeRadar on Thursday in 'How to buy speed'.

4 Faster fitness

We asked Professor Greg Whyte, who coached Tony Gibb to a silver medal in the 2008 National 10-mile TT Championship and trained comedian David Walliams for his cross-Channel swim, to take us through the five key sessions he uses with his athletes to transform them from keen cyclists into TT speed merchants.

Tolerate this

   How: Warm up 15mins including 5x30secs sprints and 2mins flat out Workout: 2x(6x30secs) flat-out with 30secs recovery/ 5mins spin between efforts/ sets, 5x1min flat-out holding pace with 1min recovery between efforts Warm down 10mins
   Why: �These sessions improve your handling of lactic acid [it�s hydrogen ions � H+ � created from the splitting of lactic acid into lactate and H+ that actually causes the �burn�]. Fatigue means you will slow down but these sessions are as much about psychology as physiology, so concentrate!�
   When: Twice a week for three weeks prior to TT

Strength builder

   How: Three hours of riding in the hills including: 10x1min seated over-geared, 3x2mins out-of-saddle steep hill, 1x5mins ascending fast
   Why: �Cycling-specific strength is a key performance determinant. For the novice with limited strength I would suggest gym-based strength work initially before tackling these strength sessions to avoid injury. This session does what it says on the tin � you should focus on working against a very hard resistance over long periods. It should be hard but if it hurts, take a break.�
   When: Twice a week pre-season

Maximum attack

   How: Warm up 15mins including 10x10secs sprints Workout 5x3mins very hard riding, 5mins recovery Warm down 15mins
   Why: �Generally believed to be the most important determinant of endurance performance, VO2 max (the highest rate of oxygen consumption during exhaustive exercise) is genetically set and takes a great deal of work to improve. Focus on working as hard as possible for the entire three-minute effort.�
   When: Twice a week pre and early season

Peak practice

   How: Warm up 15mins including 5x15secs sprints Workout 3x(6x10secs) at max power, 2mins recovery between efforts, 5mins rest between sets Warm down 15mins
   Why: �The power you can sustain over long periods will be underpinned by your peak power. During these sessions you are trying to apply as much force as you can as fast as possible. You don�t need a heart rate monitor, just go as hard as you possibly can.�
   When: Once a week for three weeks prior to TT

Spin to win

   How: On rollers or turbo� Warm up 10mins including 5 spin-ups to max cadence Workout 10x1min efforts with 1min recovery (5x1min 120rpm, 3x1min increasing to 140rpm+ for final 10 secs, 1x1min increasing to 140rpm+ for final 15secs and 1x1min increasing to 140rpm+ for final 20 secs) Warm down 10mins
   Why: �Cadence is crucial in producing optimal power in terms of both economy at sub-maximal speeds and peak power at maximum. These sessions focus on your ability to develop a fast cadence as economically as possible.�
   When: Once or twice a week for two weeks prior to TT

5 Fuel your fire

Some cyclists use carbo-loading for an event as an excuse to fill their faces. �For races like 10 and 25-mile time-trials,� says Tim Lawson of sports nutrition company Science in Sport, �eat a carb-rich meal the night before, such as a rice or pasta dish, but don�t overdo it � 200g should be enough. Avoid foods high in fat.�

In the morning, the emphasis should again be on carbs. �Toast and jam with a high fruit content is good,� says Lawson. �If you prefer cereal, make sure it�s low in fat.�

On the way to the event, sip an energy drink and take up to 200mg of caffeine, Lawson advises. �Continue to drink throughout your warm-up to replace lost energy and take a caffeinated gel when your warm-up has finished.�

Don�t bother with a bottle for a 10 or 25 as time lost drinking outweighs the benefit of taking on more fluid. But do have a recovery drink ready. 6 Confidence tricks

Riding with elbows tucked in and your hands a stretch away from the brakes can be intimidating. �At first TT bikes can be tricky in the tuck position, especially if you have disc or deep-rim wheels,� says Team Raleigh pro Matt Jones, �but the more you ride your TT bike, the more natural it feels and the more confident you will get.�

He advises getting into and out of an aero tuck one arm at a time, in case of a strong gust of wind or hitting a pothole, so you still have control of the bike. �If you are worried about riding in the aero tuck position, just ride in the position on a turbo at first, then find a quiet road to practise on. Once you feel confident, go and rip up the local TTs.� 7 Pace cadets

Conventional wisdom is that you ride a TT at a tough but even pace, holding a steady power output throughout. But the latest research suggests that advice needs to change. �Going harder on hills or into the wind can be quicker,� says Simon Jobson, �and a power meter can be very valuable.� If you don�t have a power meter or heart rate monitor though, you can learn to pace yourself.

�Practise riding the distance you will be competing over flat-out,� says Greg Whyte. �If your pace drops towards the end, you�ve gone too hard. If you finish feeling fresh, you haven�t tried hard enough. Keep practising until you know what a tough but sustainable effort over that distance feels like.� 8 Ready to ride

Arrive at the start without having warmed up adequately and you won�t get the most out of all those hours of training. �Many riders don�t warm up hard enough,� warns Jobson. �Some hard priming efforts trick the body into functioning at a higher level.� One warm-up strategy that Jobson recommends is riding easily for 15mins, then performing 3x10secs hard efforts with 2mins of recovery in between. �I wouldn�t put in a maximum effort during the sprints,� he says, �but I would be sprinting. I tend to call them �bursts� rather than sprints. In total a warm-up should be at least 20 minutes and could be as long as 40.� 9 Think fast

You might think that getting psyched up before a race is crucial to putting in a great performance. However, Rob Hayles, a professional with Endura Racing and former world champion track rider, would disagree. �Stay relaxed,� he says. This calm approach applies to the choices that you make before the start, as well as your mental approach to the race.

�Err on the side of caution with your equipment,� says Hayles. �If you have a choice of different depth front wheels and it�s windy, go with the shallower one. If you�re not happy with the bike�s handling you�ll lose time.�

Hayles adds that it pays not to be too aggressive, even for a short race. �You can go out too fast, even in a 10-miler. Be in control of your effort. Go too hard in a time-trial and there�s no chance to recover.� Related articles

   An introduction to time trialling

Related links

   Time trialling week on BikeRadar

10 Nervous recce

It really helps to know the course beforehand. You�ll be sent the route with your start sheet, which usually arrives four or five days before the race. If you don�t want to wait until then, enter the course code into a search engine (UK time-trialling�s governing body, the CTT, gives a code for every course) and you�ll soon find a description of the route.

Even on well-marshalled courses, riders sometimes take a wrong turn in the heat of the moment, so on the most basic level, riding or driving the route beforehand means you�ll know where you�re going. A course recce will also show you where the course is toughest and help you to spot hazards like potholes in advance, rather than having to react at the last moment.

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