InTheAttic wrote: » I dunno. I've been (I'm sure like many in A4 in this day and age) coached for months and have not peaked through coaching. In fact, my fitness has gone backwards as I spent too much time training on the turbo instead of out on the roads. Nothing compares to getting out on a long endurance ride with a few hard drags where you are willing to put the hammer down. Just remember to keep the power on when you come down the drag. If you can do that, it's a good start. I think data analytics is a bit overrated in the cycling game. I'll leave that stuff to the pros.
837897 wrote: » Any tips for a newbie to ras lumni a4 race on Sunday?
Seadin wrote: » Stay out of trouble and go up the road. I don't want to scare you but the circuit is lethal for crashes etc A4 field. In the 2015 race there was about 10 crashes in the race and good few of them happened in the last 1km of the race.
InTheAttic wrote: » There is no handy setting off. These races go from the gun and you'll be sawing your nuts off. If you're not, then you're straight out the back. It's a shock to the system. Just checked strava there and the first 21km of cycleways, I averaged 40km/hr and 276 watts and I couldn't get on to the breakaway. I tried. It mustve been that TCR numpty from earlier driving it at the front!
InTheAttic wrote: » That's enough to put me off this race so! Being in the bunch for the first few kilometers at newbridge last weekend gave me a sense for how lethal being in the bunch is. But damn... it was fun!!
dahat wrote: » That bad a circuit? Is it narrow or just on bad surfaces?
harringtonp wrote: » Haven't done it in a few years but from memory surfaces were good and it wasn't too narrow. Section I never liked was the last one which is the R513 from Hospital and this is mainly because it is a busy road and with riders not staying on their own side of the line there is a lot of the concertina effect. May well do it this Sunday
Miklos wrote: » This might seem like a dumb question but if you've got your numbers pinned on and it starts raining can you stick on a gilet or jacket if they're covering up your numbers?
InTheAttic wrote: » But damn... it was fun!!
dahat wrote: » Normalised power came back at 323 watts from a Stages power meter, a bit shocked tbh.
CramCycle wrote: » Well done dahat, that is what A4 racing is meant to be all about, giving it socks and going off up the road. Staying away for 13km with only one other person, has to be said, a good start.
Inquitus wrote: » Watts/Kg is a big deal, if you can hit close to 4W/Kg then you'll do very well in A4 and end up in A3, don't know what you weigh.
dahat wrote: » So today was the day I made my A4 racing debut at Ras Luimni and boy was it hairy at times. An early crash maybe 5km in then a few more through out with one particular nasty one very near the line, hope the lad is ok as he was motionless when I skipped past. At 40km of 62km I had enough of a stop start pace in head and crosswinds so I went up the road with another lad for mayne 10-13 km which I enjoyed and if we had maybe one more it may have lasted longer. Overall a messy race with 137 A4 around narrow roads. Normalised power came back at 323 watts from a Stages power meter, a bit shocked tbh.
Kaisr Sose wrote: » Second that! You are a man of your word. You don't happen to have a TCR attached to that Stages...?
harringtonp wrote: » Good stuff. I remembered today why I decided to give the race a skip. Nobody hit the deck in the A3 as far as I know but on the last leg of the first lap the speed suddenly picked up over 50 km/hr. Something happened further up the line and there was mad braking and skidding. Went into the rear of the bike in front and even though somehow managed to stay on the bike, bust 2 spokes and that was end of race. The same happened a foreign (polish) guy further up the line in the same incident: he bust a front wheel spoke but also stayed on his bike.
