Fastest Method to Ride a TTT

[Crank Yanker]

It seems to me the fastest way for a small group to go is a double rotating paceline, basically
"through and off", yet TTTs appear to be more often than not basically ridden as a single paceline
with each rider taking a 30 sec. to couple minute pull on the front.

Is this because of the TT equipment compromising handling so that through and off just isn't
practical or is it really the fastest way to go?

(or is there some other factors I haven't considered?)

 

[Jeff Jones]

"Crank Yanker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> It seems to me the fastest way for a small group to go is a double rotating paceline, basically
> "through and off", yet TTTs appear to be more often than not basically ridden as a single paceline
> with each rider taking a 30 sec. to couple minute pull on the front.
>
> Is this because of the TT equipment compromising handling so that through and off just isn't
> practical or is it really the fastest way to go?
>
Depends a bit on the strength/size of your team. With a double paceline, your turns will end up
being quite short but you "lose" more bike lengths than with a single paceline. With a four man
team, I always used to use a single paceline with the second rider having to come through for his
turn, rather than the lead guy pulling off (without overcooking the pace of course). Also the
strength of each individual rider would dictate the *length* of their turn, rather than the pace. It
is critical to train together to work this out, otherwise you end up blowing up your fourth rider
too quickly, and in some cases the third rider. Then you can forget it.

I've done a TTT where there were only two of us working from the beginning, with the other two
sitting on, doing a total of four turns in 60 km. We just managed to keep it together, still won
the silver medal (Uni Games), and passed Robbie McEwen's one-man-band team, which was rather
gratifying

Even with more riders in the team, e.g. nine like in the Tour, I'm of the opinion that a single
paceline is better. I'm pretty sure (but I can't be bothered to check at the moment) US Postal used
a single paceline during their winning TT this year.

Jeff

 

[Warren]

In article <[email protected]>, Jeff Jones
<jeff@cyclingnews-punt-com> wrote:

> Even with more riders in the team, e.g. nine like in the Tour, I'm of the opinion that a single
> paceline is better. I'm pretty sure (but I can't be bothered to check at the moment) US Postal
> used a single paceline during their winning TT this year.

Actually I was quite interested to see them using a single line sometimes and a double line at
other times.

-WG

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <[email protected]>, "Jeff Jones"
<jeff@cyclingnews-punt-com> wrote:

> "Crank Yanker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > It seems to me the fastest way for a small group to go is a double rotating paceline, basically
> > "through and off", yet TTTs appear to be more often than not basically ridden as a single
> > paceline with each rider taking a 30 sec. to couple minute pull on the front.
> >
> > Is this because of the TT equipment compromising handling so that through and off just isn't
> > practical or is it really the fastest way to go?

> I've done a TTT where there were only two of us working from the beginning, with the other two
> sitting on, doing a total of four turns in 60 km. We just managed to keep it together, still won
> the silver medal (Uni Games), and passed Robbie McEwen's one-man-band team, which was rather
> gratifying
>
> Even with more riders in the team, e.g. nine like in the Tour, I'm of the opinion that a single
> paceline is better. I'm pretty sure (but I can't be bothered to check at the moment) US Postal
> used a single paceline during their winning TT this year.
>
> Jeff

Someone (Dr. Ferrari?) had an article on the cyclingnews website during the Tour in which he
indicated that the single paceline was clearly the best choice on a non-windy course. Certainly it
was the universal choice of all the really good TTT teams, including USPS. Some of the teams that
did poorly did a double-paceline, but they also did things like drop riders, break up every time
they went around a corner, and so on. They looked like...my TTT team.

I think the advantage of the single line are that your time in the wind is halved for each rider.
You can't do variable pull lengths with a double-paceline, either.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

 

[John Forrest To]

"Crank Yanker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> It seems to me the fastest way for a small group to go is a double rotating paceline, basically
> "through and off", yet TTTs appear to
be
> more often than not basically ridden as a single paceline with each rider taking a 30 sec. to
> couple minute pull on the front.

One problem with through and off is it means all the riders are doing the same length pulls -- which
isn't good if some are stronger than others.

I think that roughly 10-15 second pulls are appropriate in a TTT of about an hour with four or
five guys, with some guys pulling shorter if needed (as short as through and off) and others
pulling longer.

JT

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[Kurgan Gringion]

"Jeff Jones" <jeff@cyclingnews-punt-com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Even with more riders in the team, e.g. nine like in the Tour, I'm of the opinion that a single
> paceline is better. I'm pretty sure (but I can't be bothered to check at the moment) US Postal
> used a single paceline during their winning TT this year.

With 9 it depends upon the direction of the wind.

Headwind, go single.

Crosswind, go double, echeloning both lines slightly.

 

[Tom Kunich]

"warren" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:250820031815025398%[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, Jeff
Jones
> <jeff@cyclingnews-punt-com> wrote:
>
> > Even with more riders in the team, e.g. nine like in the Tour, I'm
of the
> > opinion that a single paceline is better. I'm pretty sure (but I
can't be
> > bothered to check at the moment) US Postal used a single paceline
during
> > their winning TT this year.
>
> Actually I was quite interested to see them using a single line sometimes and a double line at
> other times.

Riding on a winning TTT team is a hell of a lot more fulfilling than winning a race by yourself. Not
that I've experienced winning a race by myself on a bicycle. But I did pretty well on motorcycles
for awhile.

 

[Voltaire]

"John Forrest Tomlinson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Crank Yanker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > It seems to me the fastest way for a small group to go is a double rotating paceline, basically
> > "through and off", yet TTTs appear to
> be
> > more often than not basically ridden as a single paceline with each rider taking a 30 sec. to
> > couple minute pull on the front.
>
> One problem with through and off is it means all the riders are doing the same length pulls --
> which isn't good if some are stronger than others.
>
> I think that roughly 10-15 second pulls are appropriate in a TTT of about an hour with four or
> five guys, with some guys pulling shorter if needed (as short as through and off) and others
> pulling longer.
>
> JT
>

I just rode our state championship 40K TTT last Sunday on a rolling, somewhat winding course. With
no practice together before the race, the 4 of us managed to finish second, in an older Masters
Fattie category, riding a single paceline. We were fairly evenly matched so we each took
approximately 1 minute pulls. What seemed to work well for determining when to change, was for the
second person in line to watch the speedometer very closely. When the first person slowed by about 1
kph, it was time to pass him, even if his 1 minute or so wasn't up. Oh yes, one other tip. On a
winding course with no serious wind, it worked well if the lead rider took the sweeping corner far
enough toward the appropriate side of the road to let the group pass to the inside of the curve,
i.e. cutting the corner.

Good luck on your TTT.

Vol