24 Hours Time Trial Tips?

Needed some training tips for an upcoming 24 Hours Road Time Trial which is in 8 weeks time. Also looking for some race strategies. Would appreciate insights from those who have attempted one in the past. Cheers!

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Never done it myself, but 3 of my club members just completed the Mersey Roads 24hr in the UK. They didn’t mention any specific pacing strategies, but I can say that one thing is important above almost everything else: your support team. For moral, psychological, and practical support, they’re absolutely vital.

I’ll ask one of them and see if they have any greater insight…

Nutrition-wise, this is what one of the riders ate. No “proper” food on top. Just carb load, and rely on bars / gels and your own glycogen and fat during the race.

The other tips are, try not to stop unless you absolutely have to. And, like I said, the more support you can bring, the better.

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Never done 24…only 12. But we’re usually riding the circuit with the 24hr competitors.

One bit of advice you should for sure consider is selecting a riding posture that you can hold for the entire race. I can’t tell you how many people I saw on expensive time trial bikes with aggressive geometries riding 85% of the time on the horns because holding a pos’n on the aerobars was too uncomfortable. I think you’re much better off setting up to ride in some sky high aero bar position than spending 6 of your 24 hours riding on the horns.

Oh! Another bit of advice: know your batteries! Don’t just let the battery go dead somewhere out on the course. Go charge it up now…hook up the light…turn it on…find out how long it will last. My light went 100% dark on a descent. Scary.

Thanks guys for the tips! I have recently made changes in my position and made it little more aero (uncomfortable) just for time that I’m training. But for the race I’m gonna raise the bars higher to make it more comfortable as I know I cannot hold the more aero position for more than 6-8 hours.

Regarding the batteries, that’s a great tip. I’m gonna test all my lights right away!

The biggest thing that I’m worried about is my pacing. I really don’t wanna screw up my pacing strategy! Should I target 55-60% NP for the whole ride? Should I go with positive splits for the first 12 hours and negative splits for the last 12?

I only have ride 24h in MTB. Basically you have to consider the workload to prepare your body to all those hours. I’d use to do once a week at least 12 to 16h.
Set a steady pace that you can keep for that time and avoid acelerations unnecessary. Focus on wahthever may make you pass those hours and don’t forget a good and regular carb ingestion. Try to pedal without stopping or stopping only once or twice in the 24h period if you have to eat something more than gels and bars like pasta for instance.