No Hobbits On Sight – Tips for WTRL TTT #100: Out and Back Again

My passion for cycling started in a hotel bar when I was 49 years old. At that time, I tipped the scales at 120kg and never exercised. Three years later I’ve lost the weight (down to “almost” 75kg) and I’m on Zwift most days! I climbed real-world Ventoux twice in a day, and I everested Alpe Du Zwift.

I love the WTRL TTT, and each week I publish a recce filled with a course profile, bike recommendations and even some target times. You can find me on YouTube here.

This is The Big One: TTT #100. I have been riding for half of them – my first was TTT #51 on Sand and Sequoias last April with CICC. It almost killed me! 

Greater London Flat recap

Greater London Flat is a regular fixture on the calendar… so regular that when I created the target times for this week I missed the most recent. I have updated that below – remember my prediction time tries to hit 11th place, since the top 11 teams in each class receive a Premier League invitation:

I put together another highlight reel of my team – the R&K Vixens… I hope this captures a flavor of what the TTT means for all of us… hilarious hard-work! 

Of course, the Vixens were just one of over 1000 teams out there. As usual, I have a couple of other ride stories – one written by a German, one by an Englader. I’m always looking for more ride anecdotes and stories – reach out in the comments below, or via Facebook Messenger.

France-based CICC (who still don’t have a website… come on guys it’s 2021 😃) now have 4 teams, and even had a lady-rider last night! Jan, “the German”, rode in CICCs top-flight vAmos team. 

Déjà-vu: Big news today for CICC: The first week with 4 teams in race (vAmos, Blast, Crew, Dyno) and the very first female CICC Zwifter participating (Sherpa’s note… no it isn’t… there was a lady rider a while back).

It’s the course where CICC vAmos delivered their masterpiece in early February: Their first top 100 in the TTT general classement. No need for extra motivation: All the CICC teams started in the same pen setting up perfectly for intra-team rivalry. 6 vAmos riders on the start line, 4 Brits, one Irish, and one German as only one today riding in and representing the French town (Paris Saint-Germain) that gives the club its home. 

A good start, quick formation with our British powerhorses (Sherpa’s note: they were trying to escape Europe… Brexit all over again) taking the lead. A bit of chat over voice reveals that vAmos is not yet delivering their 110%. But this changes a few kilometers further. Kudos to Nicky and Alex taking most of the pulls. At the end of the first lap, a risk to split but quickly corrected thanks to Jason and Nik. At the Mall sprint, we see Blast ahead and just after the banner in our rear-view mirrors. We also pass CICC teams Crew and Dyno, keen to improve our February result. And what intense last kilometers. Heart rates peaking with the final sprint and 6 riders pass the finish line almost in parallel – excellent, consistent teamwork! Another great race is over, all eyes on the results: 6 seconds slower than in February, a close one, but we still made it: The second top 100 in GC for CICC vAmos!

Our second team story comes from London-based Giant-Camden… on home turf! This report comes from Kat Milward, riding with the well-tailored Holy Roller Mocha team.

I donned the Giant Camden Holy Roller’s iconic Alienware jersey tonight for the first time in months. It’s been a while since the Holys have Rolled together and I’d forgotten how much I’d missed them. An hour before the start we were down from 6 to 4. No pressure on the tech then! We settled on a loose plan of rotation: Binni, me, then Kirsty, with a w/kg range that would be manageable for three of us. The second part of our plan was to support Daniela to stay in the group, practicing her draft technique. As a new rider and a new Zwifter, this was her first TTT.

How did we get on with our plan you ask? Well… no tales of tech woes, no heroic sacrifices, just good workmanlike Discord comms. This was one of our best displays of teamwork for a while. We stuck together, everyone took their turns and all four crossed the line within 0.3 seconds of each other. And newcomer Dani? She was a star! Let’s hope the experience was positive enough that she’ll be back next week. Team Giant Camden’s best-dressed team is back! 

6,391 TTT riders means 6,391 stories… these were just a few!

Thursday 24th September – Watopia Figure 8

If you can’t ride, or even if you can ride, but want more action, don’t forget to tune in to the live TV show on Zwift Community Live’s YouTube Channel at 6:15 (UK time). I am working through the glitches on my nascent livestreaming attempt so if you want to watch my TTT you can do that on YouTube here starting at 6:15 UK time also. 

Back to Watopia next week for a single lap of Out and Back Again (not There and Back Again… a book by Bilbo Baggins). This is a harder route than in the last few weeks, so prepare yourself for a good hour’s effort. Along the way we will tackle both the Volcano KOM and the Reverse Hilly and a whole bunch of flat. 

Starting in the desert we head to Saddle Springs, up the Col then down into the undersea tunnels. Through the Jarvis Tree, out of the tunnels, past the fishing village and up the gentle hill. From here you head down through the Italian VIllas, veering right to the Esses (which you hit at 13.4 km) and across the sky-bridge to the Volcano. At the top of the Volcano you have ridden 26.2 km.

Back down the Volcano, back across to the mainland using the causeway, up the gravel path to the Italian Villas, swing right and continue on to the Hilly KOM Reverse – the same hill we did a couple of weeks ago on Figure 8. Down the Hilly KOM (don’t forget to supertuck) and then its flat-out for 4.8km to the end. 

In total this is 42.4km with 303m of hills.

What to ride?

This route is an interesting one. Miles and miles of flat, with two decent hills. My head says Tron, my heart says Venge/Super9… so I asked Eric because he actually has what it takes to get the answer right! He recommended the Venge/Super9, since it matches the Tron on the two climbs, and is just a bit faster on flats and descents.

If you don’t have the Venge/Super9 or Tron bikes, here are your fastest setups by Zwift level.

As always, the Zwift Insider reports on frames and wheels are superlative for research, so if you want to find the perfect bike and wheel combo for you, check them out. 

Every week i give the same message about the Tron, which can be summarized as “get it”. A couple of rides for Tron Hunters out there: First is Zwift Insider’s own PRL Full ride on Saturday – there are thousands (2650 as of right now) already signed up for this monster ride. Second is the Team Giant Camden Tron Hunter series on Sunday. This week it’s on Royal Pump Room 8 in Yorkshire – sign up here. 

Route recon

This is a long ride 40km with hills as well. If you want to ride a recce there are a few rides to choose from this week – check out the event listing on zwifthacks.com. Of course you can always create a Meetup like I did (although “Johnny No Mates” here had to ride it solo)

Check out the video recce… my hour of pain cut down to a (hopefully) entertaining few minutes:

What to look out for on the ride

The ride starts with a nice flat intro across the desert. Use those first 10 kilometers to get sorted before heading up Col Du Saddle Springs.

Col du Saddle Springs to Volcano

You exit the township of Saddle Springs at 10km. The Col is a small rise that comes right after the futuristic building you pass on your left (it’s a copy of the LAX Control Tower). After the long flat this is a perfect opportunity for your lighter, stronger climbers to jump ahead and create a split! Rein in those riders and keep everyone together. This little hill averages just 2% for 900m before you head back down and into the undersea tunnels.

Exit the tunnels and head past the fishing village on mixed surfaces, then up the winding false-flat hill and down to the Italian Villas. Through the sprint and over the Esses. 

The Esses undulate four times times over 2km so make sure you hold together. The first hill of the Esses in this direction is the worst.

The Volcano KOM

The Volcano climb starts at 22.4km but the ride so far hasn’t been too taxing if you have paced yourself. In many ways, how your team handles this segment will define your result… it’s that important. 

This is far from a steady, “whoever has the highest w/kg wins” effort. Rather, it’s a low-grade climb which can be ridden strategically for maximum results. On average the climb is 3.2%, but it is far from a steady climb, with ramps up to 6%, some flats and mini descents.

For a TTT team there is one key piece of information… the hill is draftable all the way up except for a short steep section towards the end. I break it into four parts:

1. 1.3km to the flat: A rollercoaster of ramps and short descents. 
2. 500m flat: the longest flat section of the climb, going through the heart of the mountain. Regroup here so you can tackle the final section together.
3. 1.5km variable climb: Draftable climb. Undulates but not as much as the first section.
4. FInal effort: Kicks up to 10% in places. Heavier riders dig in… short sections here will have no draft.

For the most part this isn’t a steep one, but it’s variable throughout – so staying together and getting group-draft benefit will take good situational awareness, particularly on the part of lighter riders. 

The descent is an opportunity for heavier riders to recover a little for the second half of the ride, and then you cross the land-bridge, head up the gravel hill to the Italian Villas then continue up to the Hilly KOM Reverse. 

Reverse Hilly

By the numbers the reverse KOM barely exists… it’s 1.8% for 2.5km… a false-flat, right? Well the truth is we have four ramps separated by easier segments and even some downhill rendering those numbers meaningless. And the first of those bumps up above 10%!

When we did this 2 weeks ago your legs were pretty fresh, but this time your team will have the Volcano KOM in them. Take this steady and make sure you regroup after the first bump. And DSs, watch carefully for the riders that are spent. 

The first time I did this route as a TTT I got dropped by the stronger lads in CICC B in exactly this spot. Heartlessly they carried on without me. 

If you come over the top together you’re in luck – gather momentum on the descent and there is even an opportunity to supertuck for a few seconds – just look out for the flatter section around the bend where your supertuck will break. Stay together here and power through to the desert. 

Homeward Bound

The rest is easy enough. Whoever you have (at least 4) surviving together at the bottom of Hilly KOM become your finishing team. It’s all flat/false flat to the finish line. 

Targets

Last August was generally slower than last April. I am going to put that down to outdoor summer riding in the Northern Hemisphere and bump up my predictions to a little faster than #55. 

Wrapup

I have TTT’d it twice. Once getting dropped on Reverse Hilly as mentioned above, and once where we only had 4 members. Both times it was a hard route. 

This route is a good test of a DS, or of team decision-making. The mix of flat with challenging hills is hard enough, but the magic will happen if you can get some of the larger riders over Hilly for the long flat home. 

Good luck racers!