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| All kitted up and ready to rock and roll |
Simon made it to the startline with his shiny new... updates(?) with minutes left, and we waited for the showdown to begin.
60 seconds.... starting spinning the legs
45 seconds.... starting to bring up the gears for that initial burst of power
30 seconds.... wait, WHAT? ..........What the AF?!
Everyone, well the majority, had just taken off en masse with 30 seconds left on the clock before the start, and I was left there with 3 other statues. Power showing on the screen , but my digital man not moving. Minutes passed. I got lapped. I got lapped again. Swearing happened. I checked things. More swearing. I got lapped again. Finally, Mr Muscle Twitch Fibre got going, approximately 5 minutes now on the clock, 35th on the leaderboard, the leaders just shy of 4km ahead of me.
I put the hammer down, and my emotional rollercoaster begun, veering, from "what is the bloody point", to relishing the challenge of chasing down the pack, to realising the pack was by definition A PACK and nothing i could match for pace with no draft benefit, to relishing the the prospect of catching the back (one letter makes all the difference) and seeing how much I could climb the field from there. The pack did indeed lap me for the 4th time during my first lap - no hope did I have of latching on then, as i was just figuring out my pace.
The Canary Wharf course is basically a long rectilinear lap, of which we had to do 30 laps today. On each of the long stretches there is a dip on the road, meaning on the exit of the dip, the smart trainer properly upped the resistance to replicate the incline, and my little legs - already trying their bestest to catch the
I passed one or two stragglers and saw Julian on the leaderboard, about 500m ahead. I caught up to and passed him, but saw his power was at 0 - I later found out he was having connectivity issues - a virtual mechanical. About 5 or 6 laps in, I saw Shane Storrow about 1km (or a lap ahead), and I tried gaining on him. It was about this time the lead pack lapped me (for the 5th time i think). This time I managed to latch onto them. This made things .... easier? No... different... I was still working my ass off, but was getting more from it. Laps that were 1:36ish became 1:24ish. I got caught up in this dance with drafting. Getting nice benefit in the middle of the pack... then being shot out into the front and completely floundering, then ease off too much to fall into the pack only to be left behind, and sprint to catch up, and start the dance again. Somewhere during this dance I passed Shane... on lap 10 I think... it was hard to focus on anything but getting my steps right.
I held onto the pack for about another 10 laps. I weighed up trying to pull away and catch up a lap on them, and immediately dismissed it for the ridiculous notion that it was. It's amazing the false sense of confidence you can get drafting in a pack. Virtually. From your conservatory. Instead I decided to use this benefit to climb the rest of field, which admittedly even in the pack was not being climbed that quickly. But remember that false sense of confidence? Yeah, I still had that... I was thinking, "hey, I've been able to hold this pack for at least 15 laps (half the race). If it wasn't for that stupid stall at the start I'd be in the running here...."
WELL
It was like they, the pack, all of them, through the laptop, through my head phones, right through my brain, had read my thoughts and heard me, and on the 1st corner of lap 21 they just left me. That simple. Off they went. All of them. Their 3.5 to 4 W/kg that i was foaming at the mouth to keep up with just became 5 w/kg and that was that. The violin kicked in. I got some weird flashback of being 5 years old and losing grip of my parents hands in a crowded shopping centre and being left to fend for myself in this big bad world (that might not even be a memory, but you get the picture). The head dropped But then I saw something on screen and the violin stopped.
On the leaderboard, 3 places and 1.2km ahead was Simon. 10km (10 laps) left of the race. Could it be done?
Eye of the Tiger became the backing track. I got through the first 5 laps via montage alone. 600m ahead.... was I gaining enough per lap? I was trying too hard to focus on working out the maths, but i didn't seem quite on.... Somewhere in the midst of this I saw James finishing on the leaderboard. 150m from Simon with a lap to go. Aaargh!
Ultimately it was not to be. The great chase was over, and I crossed the finish line 25 seconds after Simon, in 22nd place. I didn't see my RGT time but Strava had me at 47:10, which had me in 11th place (not that it mattered - only points for the top 5, but I wanted to know nonetheless), and somewhere in the red mist I had also set a new FTP. It's amazing the motivating effects of having a hare to chase down!
https://www.strava.com/activities/3320204732
Despite the initial setback and properly starting the race on the back foot, I really enjoyed it. The draft dynamics in the pack was good fun as well as the thrill of the chase. It was amazing how much you can get sucked into the screen and how the time flew by.
Stage 2 will be in 2 weeks time on the iconic climb of the Passo Dello Selvio in Italy, and the Pembrokeshire Triathlon Club contingent are all neck and neck in the series on zero points. ;)
Let's see how how the next 18 stages develop!!
HAVE A SMART TRAINER OR POWER METER & WANT TO JOIN IN THE FUN?
To
join, get premium and register for this race, please follow the steps below.
1.
Go to https://www.rgtcycling.com/ and download the
computer/ laptop app AND phone app
2.
Set up a FREE user account.
3.
Send a blank email, from the email address you set up the account to,
to rideitout@rgtcycling.com
. They will confirm your premium membership by email.
4. Note: RGT cycling is an up and coming app and has experienced a surge in users since announcing its free premium membership. Remember to be patient with any glitches and there is a “RGT cycling - users” Facebook page where there is a very helpful community to help you troubleshoot any issues. On this note it’s good to get onto the program early and get used to it in advance of virtual race day.
On the 11th of July, in the unfortunate absence of the Pembrokeshire Coast Triathlon, we will be having a virtual race on the Pembs Coast Triathlon Bike course. Once you are on premium, click the link below (from your phone) to find and join the event!
