Quebec: 2011 World Deaf Cycling Championships

39km Individual Time Trial

My first event at the World Deaf Cycling Championships was the 39km ITT that was held on the Circuit Mont Tremblant: a tough undulating one with a brutal 18% climb that went for 100m. The circuit was 4.2km in length and we had to complete nine laps of it.

Dmitry Rosanov (Russia) warming up on his top-of-the-line Orbea Ordu

The windy weather conditions also added to the difficulty of the time trial for the 19 starters representing countries from all over the world. Since I could only bring one bike due to budget reasons, I had brought with me a Velocite Noir 90-50 wheel-set that would not only serve me well during the time trial but also for the other races. In other words, a versatile wheelset that could go fast! I used my Magnus road bike with Profile clip-on bars and moved the SMP saddle as far forward over the bottom-bracket as possible to try and achieve a reasonable time-trial position. But the fact is, is that I have never been properly fitted to a time-trial position and it is now over-due that I get fitted. I have done too many time trials without the right equipment and fit!

Circuit Mont Tremblant

I wore the UVEX FP2 time trial helmet (the one that T-Mobile used to use) and a very nice black NZL skin-suit that made me feel more aero. I checked out the others on their TT-rigs, and all of the Russians and French riders were on proper decked out, dialed-in dedicated time trial bikes. They truly looked fast and this was backed up with the winning time of Dmitry Rosanov (Russia) with a super slick time of 51.07 for the hilly 39km circuit! That is smoking and makes me wonder how much the disc wheels and “proper” aero position would save you over that distance. I was losing a minimum 30-45seconds per lap to these guys. Nicholaus Schrieber was also lightning fast with a time of 51.42 on his TT-rig equiped with ZIPP disc and 1088 front.

I went out of the gates very fast, like a raging bull. I basically sprinted over the first little hill so can go down the back-side of the course in good time. By the time I had reached the 18% short power climb, I had been averaging 46km/h and once over the hill and the subsequent rollers leading to the start/finish zone. I completed the first lap with a very nice 43.5km/h average, 5min 45 lap time. But it was all down-hill from there as I struggled to maintain consistent lap times. You can see from the table below about my lap-times, I stabilized at between 6.20 and 6.30 for the middle stages. Really needed to be keeping 5.40-5.50 times to have any medal chance. Given that I was on a road bike and my position was too up-right with my UVEX helmet sticking straight in the air like a shark, my time of 58.01 for the 39km was quite respectable!

TT Lap 1 4.1 km 34 m 43.3 km/h 345 watts – – 00:05:45
TT Lap 2 4.1 km 34 m 40.3 km/h 311 watts – – 00:06:11
TT Lap 3 4.1 km 34 m 39.4 km/h 302 watts – – 00:06:19
TT Lap 4 4.1 km 34 m 38.9 km/h 276 watts – – 00:06:24
TT Lap 5 4.1 km 34 m 38.3 km/h 291 watts – – 00:06:30
TT Lap 6 4.1 km 34 m 38.8 km/h 268 watts – – 00:06:25
TT Lap 7 4.1 km 34 m 37.9 km/h 269 watts – – 00:06:34
TT Lap 8 4.1 km 34 m 37.9 km/h 282 watts – – 00:06:34
TT Lap 9 4.1 km 34 m 37.6 km/h 269 watts – – 00:06:37

I finished 9th out of 19 competitors and now looking ahead to the 106km road race which is held on the same circuit – we will be going around 25 times! Enjoy more photos below, to see larger version you can click on the photos.