‘IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BIKE’
“The chances of hitting my targets have had a push in the right direction”
Over the last month, the easing of the coronavirus lockdown has made the prospect of a
TT racing season much more realistic – time triallists have always been fond of social distancing, after all. My Giant Trinity frame has been sitting in a workshop gathering dust since racing was suspended, along with the striking
Cadex aero wheels and Aerocoach extensions that I’d hoped would save me those additional watts I’d need to go under 20 minutes for 10 miles. But now was the time to get things rolling, so I opted to build the bike up myself – a career first and a daunting task.
When asking our tech writer James Bracey how hard it would be to build a time trial bike, he said: “If you can build that, you can build any bike.” Over the course of two or three weekends, the machine slowly came together, and after a bit of fiddly internal cable routing and a nervous bottom bracket installation, it almost looked like a bike.
After visiting my local bike shop (Seabass Cycles in Peckham) to cut the steerer tube on the forks, I had a Giant Trinity ready to ride, complete with the additional pride that comes from a successful DIY project. The next big step in my preparation was a visit to my coach and aero-guru George Fox, at his bike-fitting studio tucked in the loft of Veloelite in Woodford Mill, Northamptonshire.
George, who runs George Fox Cycling Solutions bikefitting and coaching, got my position on the bike perfectly dialled, shifting me forward on the saddle and getting my aero-tuck looking sharp and mean. Thanks to George, I’m now race-fit and fitted to race, so it’s time to hit the roads. Frustratingly my first time trial entry, a 10-mile event on the F2A/10 near Cambridge, was rejected, most likely due to oversubscription as it’s one of the first Cycling Time Trials Open 10s of the re-started season. With the CTT National Championships set for 6 September, my window for qualifying is closing with every passing weekend, so I’ve now signed up to three back-to-back racing weekends in the hope of claiming a spot at the Nationals.
Training has ramped up too, including a gentle nudge in the first Cycling Weekly Club 10 TT on Zwift, and a new FTP test that put my 20-minute power at 375 watts. The final step in my racing return is gluing tubular tyres to my Cadex wheelset – another first for me – which may end with some adhesive-plastered hands.
The chances of hitting my targets have had a push in the right direction in the last few weeks... as long as I don’t glue my fingers together first.