the red one looks faster

The day before Tsugaike and its time for those final bits of preparation:

The rest:

Early dinner and beer last night and in bed with Luke by 8:00. The first Saturday morning with no asaren in a good while. A lie in till 6:30. 10 hours sleep.

The bike:

Over breakfast I was still milling over which bike to use.

I thought back to some of my best rides: a win in the age class at Yunotani, 2nd in the age class at Norikura, 1st at Oze hill climb (30 kmph!)…. All done on the VITUS.

I checked Andrew’s blog and noticed his best time at Tsugaike was also done on his old steel machine

I asked my 10 year old niece for her advice, “I like the black one but the red one looks faster!”

Right, the red one it is!

The test ride:

I often ride Komura Pass the day before a hill climb.

I rode out on VITUS. What is it? The compact geometry? The saddle set back? The long crank arms? It just feels right…

Minor annoyances such as magnets, sensors, pedal tension, that would all be a pain on race day, are all put right.

Nice speeds approaching the pass. One dig to get the heart rate up to 170. Just to remind the legs that I’m a racing cyclist The rest of the climb at tempo pace.

The strategy:

As always at this race, I expect to go faster in the latter stages. It’s important to focus on your strengths, rather than your weaknesses. I’ll try to limit the damage on the first kilometre or so of steep road. After that try to draft a bit through the village and then go full gas. I’m stronger on the lesser steep sections. This is where I want to make up time. I’ll go with aero wheels for this reason.

Saturday’s training: pre race bike check, Komura Pass x 1 (30 km, 310 m climbing, 29 kmph)

Another early night tonight...