staging

Racing Your First Time Trial

When you get within the last 1.2 miles (2K), you should be at high suffering, approaching your max HR (more on max HR in Part II). With that said, you can forget about HR at this point—it's now all about going hard as possible (what the pro's call full gas) to the finish line. You should finish with absolutely nothing left.

When it's Over

It takes many TT's to get this right. When I started out, I always felt like I had something left afterwards, which means I didn't go hard enough and did a bad job measuring effort. It takes a lot of focus to be a good time trialist. If your mind wanders even for a minute, your result will be 30 to 40 seconds slower than you could've achieved.

More: How to Prevent the 6 Most Common Cycling Injuries

After you finish, get back on the trainer and do 10 to 15 minutes of light spinning to cool down and bring that HR back to normal. Make sure to drink and maybe have something to eat as soon as your stomach can handle it.

Write down in a journal how you felt during the warm up, during the race and afterwards. Where did you struggle? Where did you excel? Keep good notes. This will help you to build for future performances.

Next: Part II—Getting Faster

More: 8 Cycling Hand Signals for Your Next Group Ride

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About the Author

Dan Dodson

Dan Dodson

Dan Dodson is a USAC Category 3 road racer and a USAC level 3 coach. Dan was the Category 3 2010 American Bicycle Association Time Trial State Champion and a two-time podium finisher at the Tour of Galena. For more information about Dan, visit him at EternalCat3.com
Dan Dodson is a USAC Category 3 road racer and a USAC level 3 coach. Dan was the Category 3 2010 American Bicycle Association Time Trial State Champion and a two-time podium finisher at the Tour of Galena. For more information about Dan, visit him at EternalCat3.com

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