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.
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| 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:
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:
Dott. Mattia Michelusi
Email: mattia.michelusi@gmail.com
Web: www.coachmichelusi.blogspot.it
Bibliography:
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R. A. Lukes, S. B. Chin, and S. J. Haake. The understanding and development of cycling aerodynamics. Sports Engineering, 8(2):59–74, 2005.
