じょんのび２００　new course record

When I woke up this morning I didn't say “What a great day for breaking records!”, I said “Listen to that bloody wind!”.

A wind stronger than yesterday!

Today I did the じょんのび200 course with Kitano san. Like Flanders for Roubaix, this is our warm up for Tokyo~Itoigawa every year. A course designed with TOITO in mind and with all that makes TOITO tough.

This is a dress rehearsal. Kit the bike up the same as race day. The same clothes as race day. The same preparation the night before. The same early wake up. The same breakfast. Constantly eating. Constantly drinking. Race pace.

We met at the start at 5:00. Wheels rolling at 5:11. With the ferocious headwind we decided this would be a day for training. Fighting the wind. Going the distance.

Kashiwazaki ~ Arai

The sign on Yoneyama bridge said “wind speed 10m/s”. 50 km to Arai. Time to knuckle down. The head wind was strong all the way to Kakizaki. We took the turn for Arai. I was dreading this stretch. Open. Exposed. Pan cake flat. There can be a side wind here on the calmest of days. The pros form echelons. The amateurs get blown into rice fields...

Luckily it wasn't so bad and we made good speed rotating all the way. At the first CP we were just 2 or so minutes down on the best time we set last year.

Arai ~ Nagano

This is my favorite part of the course. The stairway to Nagano prefecture. Kitano san paced me up the climbs. I paced him through the flats. This is a pattern, though not pre-discussed, we followed for the entire route. It worked really well. We always gel well together but today was exceptional. Hopefully we can ride like that in TOITO too.

Nagano ~ Tsunan

This is the hardest part of the course. Usually the wind is blowing down this valley right at you. But today as we headed back home from the halfway point, the wind was on our back. I've never enjoyed this road so much. We made record time on this section.

Tsunan ~ Kashiwazaki

We rode the pass between Tokamachi and Takayanagi at a sensible pace keeping our energy for the last haul. Saving yourself on the climbs and going hard on the flats and rolling terrain is a good strategy for long distance endurance events. At Takayanagi, I checked the watch, we had a chance to beat last years' time. I ride this road to work regularly so I have time splits for various landmarks implanted in my brain. It was touch and go. I rode as hard as I could. Somewhere en route Kitano san lost contact. As I entered Kashiwazaki the headwind was really strong. Despite the wind, I was feeling strong and good on the bike – a good sign.

Goal

I made the goal with two minutes to spare. Promised myself 1 beer per minute and knocked them back in no time.　　This course answers a lot of questions you are asking yourself before a race such as TOTO. Feel more at ease now....

Kitano san, いつもありがとうね。来週も頑張りましょう！

Start: 5:11 / Goal: 11:41 (6:30)

(Polar HR data: 212 km, 142 / 169 HR av/max, 33.4 kmph, 86 cadence, 19C, 1615 m climbing, 3875 kcal)

course guide

official results