I’m doing a two up time trial next week, of between 15-22km (distance still to be confirmed).
I’ve not done one before, and whilst I’ve ridden long distances in tight peletons at high speeds, I’ve not done a short-distance effort like this with just one other person.
Anyone have any tips?
It’s going to be unusual for me in that the other chap is the same size as me (6ft8”/203cm), so I will actually have a huge draft to take advantage of.
It’s on road bikes, so speeds won’t be so high. Solo, I’d be at about 42kph on this course, at an average of about 425w. I’m wearing a skin suit and overshoes, but not much else in terms of aero aids. I’m not as strong on the flat or in an aero position as I am climbing.
My initial thoughts are to do 1 minute pulls, at about 480-500w, in anticipation of saving about 150w in the wheel.
Any advice for transitions, power targets or anything else? My FTP (according to intervals.icu) is at 448w currently, after an 8 minute effort at 511w earlier this week on the third large hill of a hilly ride.
Quite high stakes for me on this one, so I am keen to get it right.
Any advice on a mini taper into it would be appreciated too. Next week looks like this for me:
Monday - gentle 3hr low zone two
Tuesday - 20km course recon/warmup ride, then 16km individual roadbike (10 mile). Target time 23:30-23:50.
If solo you’d be riding the 22km in about ~30 min. Without considering the drag benefit of somebody behind you and the rest time, thats ~15 swaps at 1 min each. Can you do that 480-500 15 times with only 60 seconds of rest?
I’d personally prefer something a bit longer with the understanding that the front will turn in, take 10 seconds to recover, then the new leader can surge and continue riding for something like 2 min before swapping again.
This gives each guy a tiny recovery window after being on the front before hitting it hard and getting dragged.
Executing on that is probably much harder… I’ve also never done this and i’m much weaker than you
I’ve done quite a few 2 man TT’s. The biggest advice I’d give is to do as many practice runs with your partner as possible. It should help answer many of those questions about pacing and length of pulls, particularly on a hilly course (I assume it’s pretty hilly or into a headwind if you only expect to go 42kph on 400+ watts). Sounds like this is a last minute partnership based on the question? Any time together you can get will make a much bigger difference than worrying about taper, pacing, etc. If that means burning a few matches the morning of the event for some test runs, it’s likely worth it. Make sure you have a plan for communication, have very clear/short signals to let your partner know they are going too hard, go harder if possible, etc.
I’d also suggest you not go with a firm ‘time’ based approach, you need to talk regularly and adjust as you go. In almost every course there are changes in elevation and wind that make time on the front highly variable (drafting going downhill, or with a headwind you recover much faster than uphill/tailwind).
The ideal swaps should be based on feel rather than a clock ticking over. If you’re dying in the wheel (or vice versa) you need to talk. Pulls go longer, not harder, etc.
Definitely try if you can. And don’t be afraid to do an extended race-pace effort, you’ll gain more from getting a feel from your partner than you will lose in your legs for such a short race. Call it a proper warmup. Good luck. 2 man TT’s are kind of like riding a tandem that isn’t attached, basically a divorce dynamic squared.
For the 2ups I rode, we did about 30seconds after coming through and then my partner would come through and do about 30seconds, traffic allowing. This constant rotation worked better for us than longer pulls as it was a constant rhytham, we found with the longer pulls that it was easier for gaps to form and then we’d be easing up or having to work harder to get back on.
Also, make sure you have a few agreed calls/signals sorted, when you’re on your limit you don’t want to be wondering what your partner is trying to tell you.
Good luck, I found that having a partner that I didn’t want to let down made me race harder than I ever did on my own, quite often we were both sick after we crossed the line.
Good advice above already. Definitely do your 5-10 km ride in formation - practice is critical. Communication is the most important factor when on course. Finally, my experience is to roll slightly longer turns (~2 mins each) as you lose a lot of efficiency when changing in a 2-up … exact length can change during the race and should depend on how you’re each feeling, and therefore, what you can give.
I had a good test run for the 2 up TT today, doing an individual 10 mile (16km) TT.
I rode it on my Canyon Grail with Hunt Carbon 35s and 32mm Pro One Evo/GP5000 AS TR. So not especially quick, but no slouch.
Finished 2nd overall, 23:00, 426w. For rolling terrain, that’s a decent power output for me. I can do quite a bit more standing whilst climbing, but this wasn’t the day for that.
Cant offer much pacing advice as at 59kg & 165cm, I always end up with heavier partners & sit in the draft for almost all of the TT except for hills where I can offer some shielding.
But I wouldnt go for 1min pulls. British courses as you’ll be aware are quite technical, pot holed etc so keeping steady is already difficult. I would not want to add 60 second changes into the mix.
