Give me a great TTT, or give me death – Tips for WTRL TTT #81 – Richmond UCI

About this Series

Since March I have become obsessed with the weekly Team Time Trial… so I asked Eric if I could share my obsession with you all, in weekly doses.

Each week on a Friday I will give you a profile of the upcoming route, guidance on bike choice and some target times if you want to aim for the Premiere League (top-10 in each coffee class get to be in a special race televised on YouTube). 

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). 

Review of TTT #80 Watopia’s Waistband

After a week in Austria we headed back to Watopia for a single lap of Watopia’s Waistband, a flat, fast 30km. I thought we had a flying lap in the Hyenas, but turns out we didn’t do as well in-class as I would hope. Never mind… there’s always next week. Anyway…

I am hanging my head in shame… my virtual teams were awful… I have no words here.

Thursday 5th November – Two laps of UCI Richmond

Richmond has seen a lot of action lately. Not least, the ZRL #3 scratch race was there last. As I’m sure everyone knows by now, this is the route Sagan immortalized in his 2015 rainbow jersey win… but that was an individual break that would have netted nothing were it a TTT!

The route for the TTT isthe UCI circuit, which was last raced in the TTT format in WTRL TTT #47 in March. The course is two laps of 16.2km – if you include the lead-in that’s 32.9km total. The route is split into two segments… the first half is flat, and the second half has three very challenging bumps. It’s like Innsbruckring if there were three legbreakers! 

Here’s the fantastic VeloViewer segment view along with a map. If you haven’t used VeloViewer I highly recommend it. It shows you all the obvious stats for the segment, and it also connects to your Strava account so you can look at how you performed.

What to ride?

Bike recommendations are “riders choice” to an extent. The route is split 50% flattish and 50% sharp, steep hills (up and down). On the flat aero rules the day, but the hilly segments are steep enough that all the weight costs dearly. The lap times for Tron versus Venge/Super-9 are identical – but for me, Tron wins the day because while it is a touch slower on the flat, it is much faster on the hills. For me, Tron will allow me to keep up with my lighter team-members when the road pitches up.

The recent changes to the performance of the Canyon Aeroad do make a difference in Richmond, but its still an excellent all-around bike here. Here are my recommendations: 

• Level 6 Zwift Aero frame and DT Swiss ARC 62 wheels
• Level 10 Canyon Aeroad 2021 and DT Swiss ARC 62
• Level 13 Canyon Aeroad 2021 with Zipp 808s
• Level 33 S-Works Venge with Zipp 808s
• Level 35 S-Works Venge with Zipp 808/Super9
• Level 45 get those 858/Super 9 wheels and pair them with the S-Works Venge

I know I say it every week but it is doubly important this week. Get the Tron! Someone on one of the Zwift Facebook groups asked “what is the one thing you wish you’d known at level 1.” The answer is I wish I’d know how important Tron was! So, I cannot stress highly enough that if you are racing you need to be working on Tron. It’ll take a while, but just set the Everest Challenge and forget about it for nine months… like having a baby. On this course, no bike beats the Tron. 

Route Recon Rides

A few places to go for information – a race-focused recce from Zwift can be found here. If you want to read about how a certain Mr. Sagan handled things, here is a great profile piece.

There are races galore in the next week on Richmond UCI – one lap, two lap, Clydesdale laps, and more! As always, Zwifthacks has the up-to-date events listing – all you need to do is click here!.  

For a gentle recce I like the look of ZHCC’s Sub-2 on Saturday which would be a perfect little spin!

If your team wants to do some paceline practice remember you can always set up a private group Meetup in Companion!

Race breakdown 

Here’s how the ride breaks down for me:

• 8 ½ km flat 
• 8 ½ km hills
• Do them again!

8 ½ km flat

Not quite flat – but nothing over a percent or two. Get into your groove and go! It’s not flat like the desert of Watopia, but for an experienced TTT team you will just truck on.

8 ½ km hills

The second half of the route starts with a decent downhill. Just over a kilometer straight down E Main St. It averages 3.3%, but ignoring the false flat at the top and the bump in the middle it’s more like 5%. There is a possibility of supertuck, but watch where it flattens ⅔ of the way down. The downtown downhill Strava segment gives a nice view of this, and here is the Veloviewer profile view of the descent. The first time around it’ll be a nice respite from the flat-out flatness of the first 8 ½ km… second time around you will need a break before the trials of the last three hills!

The terrain flattens again as you head straight down Dock Street, do a U-turn and then you’re back on E Main Street going the other way. The first big climb starts 12.5km into the lap – 630 meters averaging 6% as it winds its way up Libby Hill.

Libby Hill is a grind, especially the second time around. It’s far enough from the finish that you’d rather not leave riders behind – but it is long enough (630 meters) to split your team, particularly when they have tired legs on the second time around. At the top, at least you have a little time to recover before 23rd Street.

From the top of Libby Hill the road flattens, giving you time to regroup. But those 400 meters will be gone in a flash, and then you head downward first on Franklin, then on 25th Street. The descent is 400 meters at around 5% – just enough to supertuck for a few seconds. Take care to stay together on the descent – you will need teamwork for the 23rd Street ascent.

23rd Street is short but it is steep – this is where Sagan made his move in 2015, and it will be decisive for you as well. Averaging 10% over its 250M, it pitches up over 12% in places. After Libby Hill this is a most unwelcome bump and heavier riders will really struggle here. Many teams will lose a member the first time around – but by the time you hit this on the second lap your decisions will be much easier. You’re near enough to the end that jettisoning slower members might make sense. Here is an interactive view of the KOM

Richmond UCI only has 2 KOMs but it has three significant climbs… which makes 6 climbs for you guys. The last climb of the lap is another long drag. After the 23rd Street KOM you head into a short descent before hitting the Governor Street climb which actually starts on East Main before turning on to Governor. It runs 500M at an average of 6%.

The hill proper ends as you turn onto East Broad St, but in reality it just softens to a false flat averaging 1.3% for 500M. A false flat like this wouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things but after the tough hills don’t underestimate what this will feel like. 

Wrap up

This race will be won or lost on how many riders you get through the first lap. If you can get your heavier riders through to the long flat on lap 2 you can gather momentum and speed for 8 ½ km of flat. 

Do you have the team discipline to hold your lighter riders back? We will see in a few days.