pacing a 40km TT

topsychlist

I am having an SRM Pro installed on my bike early next week (Tuesday,
August 3). It is my first on-road power meter (although I have a
computrainer and have done some power and lactate threshold tests).

I will be riding a 39km TT on Sunday, August 22. I've ridden the course
once before (using heart rate to pace myself) and will have the
opportunity to ride it again on Saturday, August 7 and possibly again on
Saturday, August 14.

Any advice on how I should determine pacing based on wattage? I'm a 41
year old male. My last tests in March 2004 showed a maximum power of
890watts with 300watts at lactate threshold (180bpm), but I think my
strength and fitness have improved since then.

My initial thought is to ride the course on August 7th and use the SRM
to record data, just pacing myself by perceived exertion and heart rate
as I have done in the past. I figure then I'll have some data to help
determine a wattage-based pace that I can try to fine-tune the following weekend before the race.

If anyone has any other suggestions or advice, I'd appreciate it.

Shibumi

Depends whether you just want to do your best in the TT, or whether you are aiming to beat a certain time. eg I'm trying to beat the hour for a '25'. On a particular course I race on, I reckon this means I need to produce an average output of 303W, so if I had a meter on my bike, I'd be trying to ride to this value, and then adjusting the value up or down in future races depending on the first trial.

This site can give you a guide as to what power output you need to hit to achieve a certain speed:

http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm