A beginners guide to time trialing

An introduction to Time Trialling by Kevin Humphries ( Coach4Bike )

Master of the TT
Chris Boardman

Time Trialling or, as the French would say “La Contra Le Montre” The Race of Truth! Man, or Woman, and machine against the elements and the clock. A race in which teams or individuals cover a set distance or time and the winner is the rider with the quickest time or furthest distance.

So why is it called the race of truth? Well, unlike road racing there is no slipstreaming, no sitting on the wheel of another rider and saving as much as 30% of ones energy. One of the greatest appeals of time trialling is that more often than not it is the strongest rider who wins.

One of the most famous time trials is “the hour record” and this record was held, up until recently by one of Britain’s most famous time triallists and Olympians, Chris Boardman MBE. The hour record is achieved by riding around a cycle track (velodrome) unpaced for 1 hour to record the maximum distance one can. The man who’s hour record Boardman broke, was Belgian legend and reputed to be the greatest cyclist who ever lived, Eddy Merckx.

However, a typical time trial is either 10 or 25 miles and probably the most popular, is the “25 mile time trial”. Just like the magic of the 4 minute mile on the athletics track so to has the “25” got a certain amount of mystique to it. Getting under the hour for a “25” is seen by many club cyclists as the ultimate achievement. However, the record today stands at 45 minutes and 57 seconds and this was done by Chris Boardman in 1993.

In a typical time trial riders set off at 1 minute intervals, head out to the turn and return to close to where they started and their time is recorded by an official time keeper. Drafting or taking pace is not allowed. When all the riders are finished, times and positions are calculated, the rider with the quickest time is the winner.

Time Trialling is an ideal form of competition for the rider who normally trains alone. The vast majority of racing cyclists normally start out riding the “club 10” and then get hooked. Trying week after week to get their time down.

Specialist Time Trail Bike
Notice Tri Bars, Disc Wheel and Aero Frame

Pioneer of the TRI-BAR - Greg Lemond used
Aerodynamics to beat Laurent Fignon to the
1989 Tour de France by 8 Secs
Notice Skinsuit - Aero Helmet and Disc Wheel.

And so, what do you need to ride a time trial? Well you can actually ride on any bike. Most cycling clubs organise weekly club events and these are open to anybody to try. Once the time trial bug hits you though, be prepared to start dipping into your wallet. The kit available to upgrade your bike in order to “go faster” is endless.

One of the most important things to consider when riding time trials is aerodynamics! Riding along on the flat at 20 miles per hour can take as much as 80% of the riders physical output. The idea is to lower the frontal area of the rider and therefore reduce the wind resistance.

One of the biggest advantages that can be gained is from the use of tri-bars or aero-bars. These can save you as much as 2 minutes in a 25 mile time trial.

The bars were developed in the late 80’s by triathletes and were first seen on the international cycling scene when ridden in the 1989 “tour de France” by that other famous American cyclist Greg Lemond. 3 times winner of the “tour” Lemond, rode the tri-bars to his famous victory over French rider Laurent Fignon on the Champs Elysee in the final time trial stage of the race and came from behind to win the race by 8 seconds.

After the tri-bars, the next upgrade for most cyclists is a pair of light wheels or even a combination of carbon disc wheel on the rear and tri-spoke wheel or deep section carbon wheel on the front, again with the sole purpose of reducing both wind resistance and rolling resistance. Tubular tyres are the choice of most top riders to cut down on rolling reisitance and these are pumped up to a pressure of 140 psi; the average car tyre has around 30 psi.

Other areas for improvement are clothing and aero helmets. Cyclists use an all in one lycra skinsuit and wind tunnel developed helmets to cut down on wind resistance and drag. There are also time trial specific bikes available now, which aim to get the rider lower at the front end. Also the lightness and stiffness of the time trial specific bike means the power produced by the rider is not absorbed through the frame or components, but put straight through the drive system and therefore helps the rider to go faster.

	If however you want to go faster, one of the biggest aids you can get is a quality structured training plan by a suitably qualified cycling coach! At Cycle1st we recommend COACH4BIKE as an excellent way to successfully improve your performance.
	No1 for Time Trial Bikes