TTT - Team Time Trial: some considerations

The author of this article is Mattia Michelusi. Decisions concerning use of the work, such as distribution, access, updates, and any use restrictions belong to the author.

A Team Time Trial (TTT) World Championship was introduced in 1962 and held until 1994. It was a race for national teams and there were 4 riders per team on a route around 100 kilometres.

After a long break a TTT World Championship was introduced in 2012. It's for club teams and there are 6 riders per team.

Team Cannondale during 2014 TTT WC

Last year I had the opportunity as a coach to take part in the TTT World Championship at Ponferrada - Spain with the Team Cannondale Pro Cycling. 

Individual drag area, aerodynamic TT bikes, aerodynamic helmets etc are very important.

The benefits of drafting in terms of aerodynamics and oxygen consumption are well known. It provides benefits for both the drafting cyclists and the lead cyclist. The reduction in drag is greatest when the drafting rider is as close to the wheel as possible, with a significant reduction in efficiency when the drafting rider is 20-30cm from the lead rider. No benefit from drafting when the drafting rider is 3m from the wheel in front. The aerodynamics of drafting is complex, due to the position and equipment of both the lead cyclist and the drafter, moreover outdoor factors like wind, weather conditions can change all.

Several factors can alterate the final time, but in my opinion this speciality demands first of all a good feeling between the six riders in order to keep the same pacing without decreasing the speed when the rider takes the leading position and the ability to maintain wheel spacing and alignment.

In the chart below you can see 2' - 2' 30" of the TTT WC 2014. I synchronized together speed and power of the six riders participating in it. 

Every color represents a rider. It's easy to understand every moment who was the leading rider (the rider with higher power than the others) and the changing moment (when leading rider's speed and power decrease ).

If you compare power and speed you can note that after changing all riders need to output a peak power to take again the wheel of the others riders.
Can this peak power to determinate the rider's changing ability?
Good question, I just need more data to understand it.

Below a video I recorded during the TTT stage of "Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali" with Italian National Team. The video was synchronized by Kinomap with GPS position, power, speed, cadence and heart rate:

The author of this article is Mattia Michelusi. Decisions concerning use of the work, such as distribution, access, updates, and any use restrictions belong to the author.

Dott. Mattia Michelusi
Email: mattia.michelusi@gmail.com
Web: www.coachmichelusi.blogspot.it 

Bibliography:

T Olds. The mathematics of breaking away and chasing in cycling. European journal of applied physiology
and occupational physiology, 77(6):492–497, 1998.

R. A. Lukes, S. B. Chin, and S. J. Haake. The understanding and development of cycling aerodynamics. Sports Engineering, 8(2):59–74, 2005.

CdA - Aerodynamic drag area estimation on the field

The author of this article is Mattia Michelusi. Decisions concerning use of the work, such as distribution, access, updates, and any use restrictions belong to the author.

Versione in italiano: CdA - Stima del coefficiente aerodinamico su campo

If you are riding on a flat road over 90% of the effort needed to maintain the speed is used to overcome air resistance (Fair). So, Fair is not the only factor (there is also rolling resistance and gravity resistance) but for sure it’s the most important:

Fair = 1/2 * Cda * P * s^2

Every factor of this formula is very important:

P - air density

In a previous article I have already talked about the importance of air density (Link: Record dell'ora e condizioni atmosferiche): a lower air density enables the cyclist to pedal faster for the same amount of power output due to the fewer air particles per square meter (the total air resistance to overcome is lower).

s - speed

Higher speed, higher air resistance. So, increasing your speed, the effort needed to overcome air resistance increases.

CdA - Drag area

CdA is the product of the drag coefficient of the system cyclist+bike and the frontal area (the portion of a body which can be seen by an observer placed exactly in front of cyclist):

CdA = Cd * A

Air density depends on the weather conditions, we can't artificially change them (unless you are in an indoor velodrome). If you want to go faster you need to keep an higher speed increasing the air resistance to overcome. So,  If you want to save energies or if you want to ride faster at the same power output, you just need to decrease your Drag Area (CdA). How can you do it? You can change your frame, your helmets, your clothing or your position on the bike. For sure the last one is the easiest and the cheapest.

The are many ways to measure CdA - drag area. The gold standard is wind tunnel testing where the wind is artificially generated from a fan on the cyclist-bicycle system. This technique is very sensitive to wheel type, yaw angle and cyclist position but it's very expensive and it doesn't simulate exactly the real conditions on the filed.

In order to simulate actual conditions, I chose a filed method called "Method of linear regression analysis" and I tried to measure my CdA on the field. This method consists of measuring mechanical power output using powermeter BePro (website: http://www.bepro-favero.com/en/) at different velocity to determinate the total resistive forces. According to the equation of cyclist's motion, the total resistive forces vary in a linear way with the square of the velocity. 

Average power as a function of average speed (hoods and drops position)

I found a flat road segment where I performed with my road bike five several trials at different velocities in hoods and drops position. For every step I recorded the average speed and power, and I estimated the air density considering the pressure, temperature and the realative humidity.

On the chart It's easy to see how keeping a drops position the output power is lower at the same speed than hoods position. It means that aerodynamic coefficient is better .

Anyway the purpose of this examination was to estimate my CdA, so with an algorithm I calculated the linear regression between total resistive forces and the  square of the velocity, estimating my CdA changing the position:

CdA hoods position: 0,363 m^2

CdA drops position: 0,314 m^2

So, keeping a drop positions my CdA decreased of about 13,5%.

What does this mean? 

It means that the final time to ride a 40km TT at 300 Watt with the same conditions (flat and straight road, no wind, same air density and Crr - Rolling Resistance) would be:

Hoods position: 1h 02' 42"

Drops position: 0h 59' 52"

The final time would be 2' 50" faster just changing the position.

I know that cycling is not just a mathematical algorithm, many factors can alterate the performance, but with this simple test it's easy to understand the importance and the advantages of keeping a more aerodynamic position.

The author of this article is Mattia Michelusi. Decisions concerning use of the work, such as distribution, access, updates, and any use restrictions belong to the author.

Dott. Mattia Michelusi
Email: mattia.michelusi@gmail.com
Web: www.coachmichelusi.blogspot.it 

Bibliography:
Capelli, C., Rosa, G., Butti, F., Ferretti, G., & Veicsteinas, A. (1993). Energy cost and efficiency of riding
aerodynamics bicycles. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 67, 144–149.
Capelli, C., Schena, F., Zamparo, P., Dal Monte, A., Faina, M., & di Prampero, P. E. (1998). Energetics of best
performances in track cycling. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 30, 614–624.
Di Prampero PE, Cortili G, Mognoni P, Saibene F. Equation of motion of a cyclist. J Appl Physiol. 1979 Jul; 47 (1): 201-6
Di Prampero P. E. La locomozione su terra, aria e acqua. Fatti e teorie. Edi-ermes Milano 1985
Di Prampero. Cycling on Earth, in space, on the Moon. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2000 Aug;82(5-6): 345-60
Martin, J. C., Milliken, D. L., Cobb, J. E., McFadden, K. L., & Coggan, A. R. (1998). Validation of a mathematical model for road cycling power. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 14, 245–259.
Olds T.S., K.I. Norton, and N.P. Craig. Mathematical model of cycling performance. J. Appl. Physiol. 75 (2): 730-737, 1993

Nazionale Italiana - Ritiro cronoman a Gabicce Mare

Si e' concluso a Gabicce Mare (PU) il ritiro della nazionale italiana dedicato alla cronometro dal 13 al 15 maggio 2015.

L’obiettivo di questi ritiri è quello di preparare al meglio gli azzurri della disciplina in vista dei prossimi appuntamenti internazionali.

12 gli azzurri che hanno partecipato al raduno convocati dai CT Cassani in accordo con i CT di categoria, Amadori e De Candido:

NAZIONALE U23

Filippo Ganna (Gsc Viris-Maserati-Sisal Matchpoint)
Matteo Malucelli (Team Idea 2010 Asd)
Emanuele Onesti ( Aran Cucine)
Giovanni Carboni (Unieuro Wilier Trevigiani)

NAZIONALE JUNIORES

Paolo Baccio (Secom-Forno Pioppi-Pippo Caruso)
Alessandro Covi (Cc Cremonese 1891 Gruppo Arvedi)
Francesco Di Felice (Vini Fantini-Nippo-Free Bike)
Loris Gentile (Bevilacqua Sport Pescara)
Filippo Mori (G.C. Romagnano Guerciotti Luni)
Federico Orlandi (Sidermec-F.lli Vitali)
Edoardo Sali (A.S.D. Team Franco Ballerini)
Matteo Sobrero (S.C. Verbania - Bustese Olonia)

In queste tre giornate di lavoro i ragazzi hanno potuto provare e apprendere quelli che sono tra i principali allenamenti importanti per la cronometro.

Link file selfloops: http://www.selfloops.com/share/activity/61102?key=01221e56fd2c6e74342fafe03f706cb17fe14ea9 

Ho così registrato un video dell'allenamento sincronizzandolo successivamente con i parametri di potenza, RPM, velocità, posizione GPS e altitudine.

Ripetute ad alta cadenza di pedalata con TT bike:



Lavori di forza con TT bike:

 

Link file selfloops: http://www.selfloops.com/share/activity/61307?key=b9382e797251a48cbf8887cdd11506e9db906ae1 

Doppia fila ad alte RPM con TT bike:

 

Ecco il link ai tre video se non si visualizzano bene in questa pagina blog:

http://www.kinomap.com/watch/j3q9sf
http://www.kinomap.com/watch/3jzngq
http://www.kinomap.com/watch/gutu6w

Dott. Mattia Michelusi
Email: mattia.michelusi@gmail.com
Web: www.coachmichelusi.blogspot.it

Video training with TT bike

Here some video I did during a training camp with Italian National Team.
Videos are synchronized with GPS, speed, power, cadence and heart rate by Kinomap.

Paceline training at high cadence with TT bike:



Strength training with TT bike:



High cadence training with TT bike:



The author of this article is Mattia Michelusi. Decisions concerning use of the work, such as distribution, access, updates, and any use restrictions belong to the author.

Dott. Mattia Michelusi
Email: mattia.michelusi@gmail.com
Web: www.coachmichelusi.blogspot.it  

Date: 13/05/2015

Video TTT - Team Time Trial race

Team Time Trial video of the Italian National Team during the first stage "Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali".

The video was synchronized by Kinomap with GPS, speed, power, cadence and heart rate of one rider.



The author of this article is Mattia Michelusi. Decisions concerning use of the work, such as distribution, access, updates, and any use restrictions belong to the author.

Dott. Mattia Michelusi
Email: mattia.michelusi@gmail.com
Web: www.coachmichelusi.blogspot.it

Date: 27/03/2015

Analisi cronometro mondiale Richmond categoria prof

Si dichiara che l'autore esclusivo del presente articolo è Michelusi Mattia. A quest'ultimo sono riservati tutti i diritti sull'opera quali l'adattamento totale o parziale, la diffusione e la riproduzione in qualsiasi mezzo in quanto frutto di ricerca e di elaborazioni personali.

Article in english: Men Elite ITT WC: pacing analysis

Vasil Kiryienka ha vinto a Richmond il titolo mondiale della chronometer individuale percorrendo i 53,5 km in 1:02:29 davanti all'italiano Adriano Malori, che e' giunto con 9 secondi di ritardo. Il francese Jerome Coppel e' giunto terzo con un ritardo di 27 secondi.

Chart 1: ritmo dei primi dieci classificati

Ecco i primi dieci arrivati:

1 - KIRYIENKA Vasil BLR

2 - MALORI Adriano ITA

3 - COPPEL Jerome FRA

4 - CASTROVIEJO Jonathan ESP

5 - DUMOULIN Tom NED 

6 - DENNIS Rohan AUS

7 - MARTIN Tony GER 

8 - BODNAR Maciej POL

9 - BIALOBLOCKI Marcin POL

10 - MOSER Moreno ITA

Nel grafico e' rappresentato il ritmo mantenuto dai primi dieci classificati considerando l'andamento della velocità media nei tre intertempi e all'arrivo.

La velocità di Vasil Kiryienka e' stata di 51,37km/h, e' stato il piu' veloce sin dal primo intertempo , ma Adriano Malori e' riuscito diminuire il distacco durante la cronometro. 

Chart 2: velocità media erogata in ogni segmento dai primi dieci classificati

Infatti piu' interessante e' analizzare la velocità media in ogni segmento di gara dei primi dieci classificati (chart 2).

Vasil Kiryienka ha effettuato il tempo migliore ma non e' sempre stato il più veloce durante la cronometro, infatti nel secondo e terzo segmento il più veloce e' stato Adriano Malori.

Nell'ultimo segmento il più veloce e' stato il polacco Bialoblocki, ma Malori ha confermato anche in questo tratto il trend positivo rispetto Kiryienka.


Ottima seconda parte di cronometro dell'altro italiano Moreno Moser che ha affrontato l'ultimo segmento della cronometro allo stesso ritmo dei migliori.

Il favorito Tony Martin e' partito veloce (secondo tempo nel primo tratto) ma poi non e' riuscito mantenere il ritmo adeguato. In un'intervista a cyclingnews.it ha affermato:

"From the start and in the first eight kilometres I felt okay and that I had the power but when I entered the tailwind section I quickly lost my rhythm. It was too fast for me and I couldn’t handle the RPM and I didn’t expect this. Then on the uphill sections I couldn’t find my rhythm and I lost morale. I couldn’t get it back and it wasn’t my day. For the second half of the race it was more of a mental problem than a physical one."

Quanto detto da Tony Martin conferma l'andamento riscontrato nel grafico (chart 2). Si nota infatti  che dal secondo segmento il suo ritmo non e' mai stato a livello dei primi classificati.

Si dichiara che l'autore esclusivo del presente articolo è Michelusi Mattia. A quest'ultimo sono riservati tutti i diritti sull'opera quali l'adattamento totale o parziale, la diffusione e la riproduzione in qualsiasi mezzo in quanto frutto di ricerca e di elaborazioni personali.

Dott. Mattia Michelusi

Email: mattia.michelusi@gmail.com

Web: www.coachmichelusi.blogspot.it 

Data: 24/09/15