Team time trials aren’t something I write about often, for two reasons:

1. I don’t do them very often
2. They’re usually not very interesting to read about

But yesterday I raced a TTT with my DIRT Hellhounds team, and it turned out to be the best TTT I’ve ever been a part of. And thus I’ve decided to write about: because I think you’ll find this post both interesting and helpful. Onward!

The Warmup

Zwift Racing League‘s Tuesday events are my priority races each week, so normally I do everything I can to be ready heading into race day. But this week I rode with a couple of buddies on Monday – one of those outdoor rides you just can’t say “No” to. After going a bit harder and further than I typically would on the day before a race, there was a bit of nagging worry in the back of my head that tired legs might impact Tuesday’s effort.

Tuesday I planned a solid warmup routine, coupled with my three favorite race-day products:

1. Caffeine gum – two pieces (200mg), 1 hour before the race.
2. PR lotion on my legs about 45 minutes before the race. More bicarb=less burning.
3. The Nopinz Subzero kit, with freezer packs ready to insert when I had 20 minutes left.

This would also be my first day riding a new rocker plate I’m testing out from KOM Cycling. I had done a bit of setup to dial it in a few days earlier, but I was crossing my fingers and hoping there wouldn’t be any problems I would need to fix during today’s efforts!

The DIRT Hellhounds joined a private Meetup around 35 minutes before the race start time, and as we made our way around France’s R.G.V. route we chatted on Discord, rehearsed some rotations, and made sure our in-game setups were optimized. That meant three things for us:

1. Having the fastest bike possible (most of us were on the Specialized S-Works Venge + Disc wheel)
2. Changing our names in-game to use a number at the start, indicating our rotation order
3. Making sure we each had different headwear, making it easy to spot each rider in-game

Soon enough it was time to hit the start pens. Let’s race!

The Start

It seems a bit silly, given how many thousands of riders participate in TTT’s every week on Zwift – but Team Time Trials are still a “hack” on Zwift. You’ll have a pile of teams in one start pen, but each team has been given a particular time delay by the race organizers. When the event clock hits zero, nobody leaves the pens. Instead, each team’s timekeeper begins counting down, so they can tell their team when to leave the pens.

Zwift really needs to improve this. But before that can happen, riders would need to be lumped together into teams – something which isn’t yet in place. It’ll happen… eventually.

The clock hit zero, and our timekeeper began his 7-minute countdown. We sat and spun our wheels, taking nervous pee breaks, making sure our towels and water were within reach, and chatting on Discord to pass the time.

We each had our Zwift pairing screens up so we could ride without moving out of the pens – then when the countdown hit 1 second we hit the Escape key, leaving the pairing screen and jumping out of the pens at a high wattage. This is the commonly-used “Pairing Screen Jump” used in TTT’s.

Dan, the #1 rider in our rotation, was set to take a 1-minute pull to start. I expected him to sprint hard and be the first from our team out of the pens, but as we exited I was in front! I didn’t ease up much, though – the TTT is all about speed, and if I was ahead of the team they could use my draft to join me as we got into our initial formation.

Soon enough we were flying in fine formation.

A DS and a Plan

Our team actually has 8 riders, giving us two substitutes in case of illness or injury. One of the strongest racers on our team is Tim Hanson, but unfortunately he couldn’t race this week since he’s recovering from injury. fortunately he makes a great DS! He was on Discord calling the rotations for us, and it worked really well.

The basic plan was single-file formation with 30-second pulls. As we neared the switch every 30 seconds Tim would give a 5-second warning to the rider who was about to start his pull, then let the rider know his pull had begun, and tell us who was on deck.

It may seem like a minor thing, but I found it super-relieving to have Tim giving us instructions. I didn’t have to think about my timings with Tim on the horn! Instead, my job was to sit on Dan’s wheel (I was #2 in the rotation), and when Tim said Dan had 5 seconds left I would up my watts to come around Dan, shooting to get my nose into the wind just as Dan’s pull ended. Then I just went hard until the #3 rider (Phil) came around me 30 seconds later.

Sink and Sprint + Slingshot

This 5-second “slingshot” was a new tactic for us. And it seemed to be working really well. Remember, the big goal is to keep the speed high, and that speed is determined by the front rider.

We didn’t want the 2nd rider slowed by the sticky draft if the front rider easedup before the 2nd rider came around for his pull. So the front rider’s job was to keep their power/speed up while the 2nd rider hit the watts hard to come around, benefiting from a bit of a slingshot. Once the 2nd rider had come around, the front rider would ease up dramatically to “sink” to the back of the line, putting in a quick sprint once they reached the back so they could grab onto the wheels again.

We caught our first team – the Vegans – just over halfway through the race as we hit the Aqueduc KOM. It always feels good to catch another team in a TTT! The pass was clean, and as we descended and took a bit of a recovery we all knew this race was going really well.

Far From Perfect

Still, our team formation was far from perfect. Generally the problems occurred when a rider would be sinking from the front to the back, and some teammates would get stuck behind that rider. It’s really a tough balance to strike, because as the sinking rider you can’t just stop pedaling – you would get dropped from the pack with no chance to get back on. So you have to ease up on your power just enough to sink back but not so much that you are dramatically dropped.

It’s easy to “overpower” your sink, which causes riders behind to get stuck on your wheel instead of coming around. It’s also easy to “underpower” your sink, so you can dropped off the back and have to sprint extra hard to catch back on.

It’s a team effort, really: every time the rotation changes, the back 4 riders need to be paying attention so they don’t get stuck behind the sinking rider. That means bumping up your wattage a bit just before encountering the sinker, so the sticky draft doesn’t grab you.

It’s fair to say each of the Hellhounds probably messed up a rotation here and there, but we recovered well. This was feeling good, and we were almost done.

The Finish

The R.G.V. finish is always tough, because you’re on the curvy rollers of Les Intestins, which make it impossible to hold a single file formation. Still, Tim was calling out the rotations, and I think this was good – it meant there was always at least one rider pushing hard to be on the front, even if they weren’t on the front. This meant the overall group speed stayed high.

As we began Les Intestins we passed a second team, DZR. Our #4 (Roger) had been struggling to hold on, and our acceleration through DZR was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He let us know on Discord that he was off the back, and we pressed on. 5 riders left.

Over the top of the climb portion of Les Intestins, Scott (or resident climber) pushed hard, keeping our speed up in that crucial section. It was too much for our #3 (Phil) though, and he announced he was dropping off. 4 riders left, with just 1.8km to go. This was it! DS Tim took it all in stride, calmly calling out the rotations.

With 1km left our #1 man (Dan) just in front of me was struggling to hold high power in the wind. Hard to blame him – we were all on the rivet! But I rolled past him on the slight descent, and decided to just keep the power high. I’ve learned from other TTT’s that I seem to often have a bit more in the tank for the final minute than other riders, and if I could stay on the front and lend a draft to the other three I wanted to do that.

800 meters left, and I was all in. But the watts were far from impressive! The other three came around me as we turned onto the main road before the start of the Marina Sprint, and I shifted, stood up, and began the final effort. I couldn’t even break 600 watts, but I was able to get back in the front and pull the team over the line. That always feels good!

Our final time: 33:24.313. This was the 4th fastest time of any B team in ZRL! Unfortunately, our division is super-strong, and that time got us 3rd place. Still, we were very happy with the result. In season 1, our team finished this same race in 34:28.375!

As I saved the ride, I was greeted with an FTP increase popup:

Woohoo! It’s been a long time since I got one of these.

See activity on Zwift >
See activity on Strava >
See race results on ZwiftPower >

Watch My Race Video:

(Sorry the Discord audio is too quiet, but at least you can hear my heavy breathing loud and clear!)

Watch the Race from DS Tim’s Point of View:

Takeaways

Two big takeaways from this race:

• A good DS is a big help. Having Tim calling the shots allowed us to focus on holding formation and keeping our power up. For me, at least, this narrowing of focus helped me perform better.
• The 5-second slingshot works well. We’ll be doing more of this.

Oh, and if you’re wondering: the rocker plate worked great. Good feel. More on this in an upcoming post where I’ll write a full review!

Your Thoughts

Did you race in yesterday’s TTT? Got any rotation, DS, or other tips to share? Comment below!

The Crush of Speed

It was different from the first dash out of the pens. It was more horsepower from more big engines roaring to the rev limiter from the opening meters. I quickly realized I wouldn’t be getting a sniff of any of the KOM points I had considered targeting on the opening climb only 3 minutes into the Reverse Richmond course. The speed was too high and while I scrabbled towards the fore at 10 w/kg, the real puncheurs took off for the line and the bonus points at 12-14 w/kg.

For the next 10 minutes it was like being tossed around in a washing machine full of rocks, moving from the front to the back and up again and taking hits all along the way in the form of surges into the “orange numbers” of 8w/kg+. It was my first race in the Premier League with the newly upgraded Finesse Rockets team and in the words of Dave Towle “It was on like Donkey Kong”.

The pace eventually settled slightly and more importantly I started to find the rhythm of riding in the faster pack and conserving energy where I could. You can never lose focus though – it will cost you. I have felt this strangling level of baseline speed before in the real world at the World Tour races in Quebec. It is like driving along the highway at 120kmh: you know you are moving fast but you are under control. But, if you open the window though and slide your hand out into the open air you feel the real weight of the resistance you are up against. You know you can only brave that crush for a short time before crumpling and that you had better stay inside the draft as well as you possibly can.

My Attack

I couldn’t be of much use on the KOM or points sprints, my power profile will never be sharp enough for that. So I switched to plan B: a late attack. This tactic became more clear-cut when we lost our sprinter to the infernal pace and another fast finisher to an Internet dropout.

I was never going to sprint into the top 30 in the final to get league points so there was nothing to lose. With an attack at least there was the potential of drawing out other riders and either making a go for the line or at least allowing my teammates a free ride while other teams responded.

With around 4km to go and directly after the last points sprint of the race I hit out. The pack was already stretched by the acceleration of the sprint and I figured I could capitalize on that. I hit my aero powerup and within a few hundred meters I was in clean air.

The problem was I was alone.

The pack watched and I cranked away at 7-8 w/kg to establish and hold a 6-7 second gap. There was no going back though, no point in regrouping to sprint for 50th, so I kept going and hoped for either a reaction or a moment of hesitation. 3km left, 2km then 1km and the finish line in the distance. I began to think “if I get to 500m I can kick one more time”… and then they were there, rushing past with 700m to go. I limped home, our sprinters sprinted and that was the end of my first Premier League race. I was empty but I was smiling, I came for a hard race and I got it.

• 

• 

Impressions

It was a tough outing for the team on that first event. We scraped together a few points in the sprint with Matt Usborne and Timmy Bauer but finished well down the order. That’s fine though, a learning curve is expected and we have already bettered our season position by finishing 8th in this week’s TTT of the 21 teams.

After so much anticipation and hard work to get to this level I definitely had some thoughts after our first outings.

More than anything, I am struck by the scale of it all. Even on a Monday, over 24,000 people watched that first event live, and more people were cheering on my solo effort than at almost any IRL race on the North American calendar. It’s a big opportunity for all of us and I am grateful for that.

It does make me wonder why there isn’t more aggression in the men’s field even if it has a low chance of succeeding due to the blob physics. I didn’t make my move for TV time, I made it based on game theory (and limited options therein!) but I sure got some of the former. It’s striking that teams and riders don’t try attacks more often if only for entertainment and a small chance at glory. Points are important, but entertainment and exposure are too. The entire field is looking for sponsorship, and sponsors love that stuff.

The women’s field, to their credit, seem to take on these attacking tactics more readily. It makes for an exciting final product.

Maybe we will see a little less of the “conserve, optimize, and sprint” game as this season goes on. It’s not that I don’t respect that approach, or even that I want racing that gives me more chances to win – I just think the sport benefits from an unpredictable racing narrative.

To that end, Zwift Racing League Season 2 has a calendar of courses that are undoubtedly harder and less predictable than Season 1. There is even a mountaintop finish next week where hopefully I will be the one sitting in for the finale and others will be going off the front to try to steal the show. Maybe the same top riders will still win on these courses too, but it should show off their power in a more compelling way.

Overall, I am excited to be a part of it. It’s a unique situation to be competing at the top of a sport that is still evolving so quickly. We will all need to analyze and adapt while staying at our physical peaks and still taking on as much suffering as we are capable of. Sounds like fun to me.   

Watch the first race on Richmond’s UCI Reverse:

Game theory is the science of strategy, where the outcome for each participant depends on the actions of all.  I am a big believer in Game Theory as it relates to cycling tactics. For example: do you chase down a breakaway (e.g. Alaphilippe at the 2020 World Champs) and risk bringing with you someone that can beat you in a sprint?  Or do no work, let the sprinter lead the chase, and hope for second place?

Watching the Zwift Racing League premier divisions and then commentating on APAC region, I realised that most races along the Richmond UCI Reverse course were ending in a big bunch sprint. 

We decided at the end of our race to put some game theory to the test through a fakey sprint effort, with one rider (myself) putting in a fake sprint attack with 800m to go.  Check out the video:

There is always risk with any strategy employed in a cycling race, but using Game Theory you can minimise the risk or at least know what it is and mitigate it on the fly.  With the fakey sprint here were the scenarios:

1. Fakey sprint draws out our competition and forces them into a chase, bringing up our teammates who can sprint over the top, our team wins
2. Fakey sprint does not fool the competition, they stay with the bunch and ride wheels to put in a maximal sprint at the more opportune time, our team loses
3. Fakey sprint does not fool the competition, they stay with the bunch but don’t catch, our team wins

So looking at the above there is a 33% risk that we will lose the race with this strategy, but a 66% chance that we will win the race.  Therefore, it was an easy decision to make… go for the fakey sprint.  

The alternate is obviously that we don’t fakey sprint at all and take the risk with a bunch sprint at the end.  But with 5 of our riders in the top 9 this only equates to a 55% chance of winning, still lower than 66%.  I have found that the odds always seem to be better when you are the team making the plays, being proactive rather than reactive. 

These strategic decisions are also faster and easier to make the better you know your competition and the more familiar you are with the course.  So: do your homework!

What About You?

If your team has pulled off something amazing in a race, or you’ve seen something tactically great, shoot me a message (or comment below) and I’ll do some analysis on why and how it worked.

Have you heard the story about finishing a Zwift Gran Fondo with only two gears? No? Well sit down, make yourself comfortable, and get ready for the ride!

The supporting cast

Having ridden the Bambino and Medio Fondos the last couple of months, I had decided to ride the full Gran Fondo for January’s event, totaling 97.5km and climbing 1,196m.  Having completed the Rapha Festive 500 Challenge (which was riding 500km in 8 days), I felt that I would have the endurance to have a strong ride. 

To accompany be in this adventure, I had Michael, the Dutch Ironman athlete. He had ridden with me on the previous two fondos as well.

Setting the scene

There were 1920 riders signed up to the Gran Fondo alone.  A huge field, which meant that it was imperative to be at the very front of the pen otherwise it would be impossible to get into the front group.  35 minutes before the event started, I logged into Zwift and my avatar was sat at the side of the road, in Watopia.  However, so were about 50 other people! I immediately realised these people were also waiting to join the event, as soon as the option allowed. 

Sure enough, as soon as the “Join Event” button appeared, these riders suddenly disappeared and soon we were all decked out in the same grey jersey and at the front of the pen, for the start of the race.  Despite not being the “fastest finger on the button” I sat about 3 rows from the front, in a good position. 

With the first task achieved, I went about getting my supplies ready for the race.  Soon the table next to my bike was decked out like a kiosk, full of fruit, sweets, chocolates, gels, water and sugary drinks. 

I moved the turbo trainer closer to the monitor to get a better view and repositioned the fan.

I had left nothing to chance… or so I thought.

Michael was soon in the pen. We were ready to go.

Start with a bang!  

“How ironic!” I thought to myself as I endured a start to a race like no other. You see, I had only just written how the start to November’s Medio Fondo had been sedate by Zwift standards. But not this one!  The first comment I read was “OMG” followed shortly by “Wow”. I did want to reply, but I was pushing over 450 watts and holding the handlebars with a vice-like grip as I desperately tried to keep pace. 

Within seconds of the start, I had been swamped and was down in 125th place.  I pedaled hard and was pushing well over 300 watts for the first few minutes. 

I got a message from Michael indicating he was near the front and by that time I was in 33rd position so replied “Me to” – I was too focused on pedalling and my position in the group to write any more, a theme that would continue.

I have never been in a start where changing position was so fluid.  One minute I was second, then 22nd, then 122nd, then 22nd again.  It was as if I was on some kind of weird ride where the position of my avatar kept changing amongst the melee of riders.

Hang On

“Hang On” Michael wrote as we approached the Zwift KOM.  He wasn’t wrong.  The melee of riders turned into a line as people were stretched by the pace.  I was pushing 6.9 watts per kilo and just holding my position. In the Head-up-Display unit I was able to see riders and their watts per kilo were exceeding normal parameters as they turned orange.  I wasn’t surprised, as I was on my limit and we had probably only been going for 15 minutes. 

Soon we were over the top of the climb and I had somehow survived in the front group, and so had Michael.  The descent was rapid and at the bottom we were joined by the second group.

To give you an indication of how insanely quick this was, as we approached the Volcano I remember seeing 18 minutes next to 15 kilometres and thinking “What?”

Too hot for me

As soon as we hit the Volcano, the pace got quicker and it was too hot for me.  I wasn’t going slow – pushing over 5 watts per kilo up the climb – but the front 50 riders had this power and pace that I and other mere mortals didn’t possess.  I reached the top in 6:44 and was already 40 seconds down with the top time being 6:04. 

There was some consolation as I think on the climb I passed Bryan Coquard, a French pro cyclist who rides for B&B Hotels-Vital Concept. He was a silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Omnium. 

I didn’t have too much time to think about Bryan as I was on the descent and in a good group, which now sat 2nd on the road.  We were joined by another group and we now occupied positions 56-89. 

Michael was in the group behind.

The intermission

During the descent, I refueled from my homemade kiosk and got to the front of the group so I’d be ready if anyone decided to attack near the base of the reverse Epic KOM.  Fortunately, no one did, so off on our Jungle trek we went.

Carnage in the Jungle

We had been cycling hard now for about an hour.  The change in surface in the Jungle makes this part of any Fondo the most challenging, yet somehow, despite now being a little tired, I was able to sit comfortably in the middle of the group.

The kilometers ticked over and I was able to get some form of recovery, that was until some ‘bright spark’ went to the front of the group and started pushing the pace on the exit to the Jungle!  I’m not sure what their plan was, as the group was working well and it seemed pointless to try and start attacking with such a long way to go (45km).  The pace upped and people were pushing 5 watts per kilo and then as I changed gear to keep pace, there was a loud crunch and my rear derailleur shifted to the smallest chainring and the gear shifter went loose. I knew instantly that the gear cable had snapped.

I watched in pain as the group eased away into the distance. 

In an instant I had gone from riding my Trek Madone with all the gears in the world to a single-speed bicycle. Well, it wasn’t quite that bad – my front derailleur worked so I did have two gears!

Honestly, I hate the Jungle.

Decisions, decisions

Any aspirations of a strong finish disappeared with the group ahead of me and for a moment it was quite depressing.  It wasn’t like I had just 10km to go, or even 20km, I had 56kms including an ascent of the Epic KOM and that was a daunting thought.  There was no way I wasn’t going to finish the race, quitting hadn’t entered my mind, it was more the question of “How am I going to do this?” 

You see, with no cable tension to hold the rear derailleur in place it was stuck on the smallest chainring, which is only really used for descending at speed or sprinting.  It was the worst gear to have.

The irony was that in my well-prepared kiosk, I had every food and drink beverage but I did not think to include a gear cable and multi-tool.  It just goes to show that despite planning for everything, there are always surprises that can trip you up.

Faced with few options I just pedaled on. Fortunately, I still had two pedals, which was more than I had a few years ago.

A brief interlude – Col du Galibier on one pedal

Several years ago, I was cycling the big mountains in France and on the ascent up the Col de Télégraphe, the carbon plate in my right Look Keo Blade pedal broke, leaving me to pedal the Col de Télégraphe and Col du Galibier with effectively one pedal, as it had no tension to keep my shoe in place!

Back in Watopia

Back in Watopia, the next 56km’s were just painful.  With a strong finish all but a distant memory, I was in “survival mode.”  I knew that my best chance to finish was to get in and stay with a group.  If I could “sit-in” I would save an awful lot of energy and time.  The problem was, how could you do this with two gears?

The first group that approached me, I got the timing all wrong.  I was in the small chain ring, which gave me a high cadence but a low power.  So when the group was on top of me, I shifted to the large chain ring and started putting the power but they sped past me.

I watched the map for the next approaching group and this time my tactic worked.  I shifted from spinning to all out power and managed to not only get in the group, but overshoot it.  They easily caught up to me and I was able to settle in. 

Staying in the group over the next 30km involved some of the most bizarre cycling I have done.  Left with a meandering, rolling route to the Epic KOM, surviving in the group meant paying close attention to the terrain and using it to my advantage.  As soon as we hit a slight incline, I changed to the small chain ring and span my legs like crazy.  This momentum would take me up the short rolling climbs, then I would change to the large chain ring and pedal as hard as I could, resulting in me passing through the group and up the next set of rolling climbs, where I would need to change to the small chain ring and repeat the whole process again.  This worked well until the rolling hills were in short succession and I didn’t have time to change gear, resulting in me grinding at 40 rpm up the second climb, pulling the pedals with all my force. 

I honestly wondered what the people in the group thought, but unable to let go of the handlebars to message them, they were now witness to the bizarre sight of me shooting through the group, only to be caught again. I prayed for the flat.  Ironically, it was during one of these efforts to keep in the group that I achieved the quickest time on a sprint near the Roman Villas.

Epic by name, Epic by nature   

As I approached the Epic KOM, I got a message from Michael who had a technical issue and had slipped down to 800th. He had worked himself to 400th position and was making progress.  I, however, was sitting around 130th position, and I knew I wouldn’t stay there for long.

I realised it would be near impossible to climb the Epic KOM competitively without shifting the rear derailleur into an easier gear, so I made the desperate decision to get off my bike and try and pull the gear into position.  I knew that without any cable tension to hold it in place, it would be impossible, but I needed to try. 

Predictably, without tension from the cable, the derailleur would not hold in position and slipped back to the smallest cog. 

I reluctantly got back on the bike, put it in the small front gear, and just started spinning up the mountain. With too little resistance I was only generating 3 watts per kilo.  I did consider changing the trainer difficulty setting, but the purist in me would not allow it, so I sat and spun and watched as riders streamed past me as a slowly climbed the mountain.  The climb up the Epic KOM was a stream of riders, like a conga line without any fun music to accompany the sight.

There was no swashbuckling finish, just a slow crawl to the finish in a time of 2:35:29, in 193rd position, nearly 30 minutes behind the leader.  My legs were in bits from the 45kms with two gears and I was exhausted. But at least I had completed my trilogy of Fondos. 

The Epilogue

My Gran Fondo experience just shows that cycling really is a metaphor for life.  There are thrills to have, mountains to conquer, and despite the best-laid plans and preparation, there is always something that comes along and changes them.

Ultimately the key is to not give up, but to “get round” the best you can. In the end, just to finish is the achievement, and at least there is a story to tell!

What About You?

Did you ride in January’s fondo events? Share your experience below!