Rebel TT Series (Event 1)

Yesterday was the first of a three race TT series organised by Triathlete Magazine. Billed as a "triathlete vs. road racer" event, I think it is fair to say that road racers won this one convincingly!

The route was a flat 28km loop starting at Boswell Wilkie Circus, a venue which hosts a number of events including the Midvaal Vet's Tour. The major variable at this location is the wind, which was a steady breeze (10kph Northerly).
For me, this was a great opportunity to try out new equipment that I plan on using in the Tour de Mauritius. I will be riding a HED disc/trispoke combination, and an SRM wireless powermeter instead of the powertap of the past. I've opted for the SRM in order to give me more wheel flexibility, and have spent the last couple of weeks making sure I know the quirks of the device and ensuring I get good data from it. One the SRM website, there is a warning that the solid TT chainrings can affect the slope calibration of the device, so I checked that out and everything was fine.
The TT bike (Trek TTX) still has a few missing pieces from the puzzle - the FSA Vision TT bars are very heavy, and the Race seat post is also very heavy, but those will be correctly after other higher priority items have been sorted out!
The turnout was a bit disappointing to say the least. Even though the organisers had provided the same prize purse for male and female, no female elite riders bothered to attend. I find this a bit strange, because competive road TT's are few and far between in this country, and it is an important discipline to be good at! This on a weekend when no other major races are happening as well!
For me, the ride went very well. The wheels felt very quick - having gone to the effort of putting the best TT tyres I could get on. I completed the 28.4km course in 38m50s at a speed of 43.9km/h and average power of 345w. This is only 5w below my current threshold, which means I am no sacrificing much power in the TT position!
This time was fifth fastest on the day, but since I had entered in the Vet's category, I won the Vet's prize and not the open men's fifth prize. Anyway, I was happy with my performance, being 1:21 down to the winner - Andrew Mclean - who is also a Vet, but had entered the Elite category.
The next event in the series is out at the Cradle of Humankind, on the same course that we do a weekly training TT on - looking forward to it!

Photos curtesy of http://www.kingofbling.co.za