I had a damn good TT to the top of Wintergreen resort this year. I wish I could say so good as not to get passed by Paul Buschi (I did hold him off for 10 mins – and kept him at about 15 seconds for another 10), or so good as not to get passed by Ted Michaels (I forget when that happened, but at least it was over quickly), or even good enough to beat Hosang (he had an “off” day, which for him means only 2:00 faster than me) but I did pass 2 guys in my group, and came within 5 seconds of my PR for the race (despite being about 3 kg heavier).

Some pertinent facts on the TT course:

• 6.75 miles long, with 2,625 feet of elevation gain (7.4% overall average grade)
• Gradients for each mile: 2.6%/4.3%/8.2%/10.9%/9.7%/7.5%/7.3%
• Several sections at 13.5-15% grade

Compared to last year, which was a debacle at 48:00, I was 5:40 faster, with a 42:20. That was good enough for 6th place this year (which is exactly where I finished last year – heh). I didn’t go to win, though, I went into this TT with the intent of putting in a hard effort for the first 20 minutes and then see what I could do for the full 45 minutes (a bit shorter than the typical winning time for the State Championship TT course). So here is the “damn good TT” part:

• Peak 20 minute average power: 367 watts (+19 W compared to last test)
• Average power (& normalized power) for entire TT: 350 watts (359 watts)
• Watts/kg for TT: 4.43
• Estimated FTP: 335-340 watts

Needless to say, I am very happy with the numbers, even if my time was not a PR. Being able to still hold 335 watts for the second half, after averaging over 365 for the first half, is a huge confidence booster. On the flats, 365 watts for 20 minutes is a strong solo breakaway attempt. If I can drill it with enough juice to get a gap, that’s the kind of power I need to win or place well in the crits. And 330 or more watts on the TT bike… well, let’s just say that would be icing on the cake.