I Need to Get a Tux…

IL State TT Championships
September 1, 2007 – Harvard, IL
Masters 30-34 – 1st – 48:06.66
257 watts – 25.1 MPH

But I think this IL state champ jersey looks pretty snazzy.  Unfortunately, I don’t think it qualifies as “black tie”.  That’s right.  I’m sporting yet another (and my first) championship jersey for the XXX team.  I’m saying it’s luck, but friends and teammates have been telling me not to undermine all of the work I’ve put in during the year.

The IL State Time Trial Championships kicked off the month of September on Saturday the first out in Harvard.  The course was the usual Harvard loop course (approximately 32K).  It doesn’t have any significant rollers, but it does have enough terrain change to break your momentum.  Still, it’s a very fast course if you are smart about your pacing.  The weather was near perfect…sunny, 70s, and just a light breeze.  Could things be any better?

After witnessing the carnage of the WI TT championships, I was wondering how the IL champs would go for competition (especially by having the race Labor Day weekend).  Preregistration showed the usual suspects from the MATTS series, as well as some road race regulars itching to go against the clock during a crit-free weekend.  However, you never know who’s going to show up day-of-race.

I was happy I registered in the Masters 30-34 group, because some non-road race studs (aka, tri guys) showed up to dominate the Cat 4/5.  That’s where I’m suggesting luck was a factor.  Over 150 riders competed, but the fastest times weren’t where you’d normally expect them to be.  As Andy Daley pointed out, his time in Pro/1/2 would have only had been 8th in the Cat 4/5.  Yikes!

I was pretty happy with my speed (25.2 MPH) considering my lack of sleep the past week and night before (work has sucked lately).  Ironically, I only got 4 hours on Friday night because I was getting excited about the cyclocross season.  Yep, that’s bad mental preparation when you’re not anxious about the race the next day, but rather about racing that’s coming month later!  My mental concentration during the race was great.  I went out harder the first half than I normally would, because I knew the slight tailwind would help me on the way back.  And, it did!  I pushed 270 watts out (~105% my aero LT) and about 250 watts (~95% aero LT) on the way.  This was probably the deciding factor between my first place finish and the second place finisher that was 12 seconds behind.  Plus, I also attacked the corners, which saved me a few seconds.

North Branch did a great job by stepping up to host the race.  Registration and results were smooth and there were marshals at all the crucial turns.  When it comes to TTing, the one thing that sucks about having and early start time is having to wait hours for everyone else to finish.  However, the weather was nice, so everyone who stuck around didn’t seem to mind.  They had the podium set up, but the kids were the only ones to take advantage of it (the rest of us old farts seemed too embarrassed).  I was pleased to see a couple of other XXXers (Tim and Eric) at the race, since we always seem to represent well at the USA Cycling road and track state championships.  So, dust off those aero bars or just go Eddy Merckx and let’s get a few more riders out there against the clock!

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IL State TT Championship Results

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