NVSO 20 KM Time Trial Race Report

This race was originally scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m., an hour after the 10 km race. But, due to the delays in the previous one, it was almost 9:45 a.m. before the first rider started. My experience with the course now paid off as we completed two laps of the 10 km loop. I quickly settled into an aggressive 42×13 gear and keep my pedaling cadence over 90 rpms.

As I began the second lap, I started to pass riders who had started ahead of me at 30 second intervals. On the hilly back stretch, I must have passed six riders, all on the uphill sections. After safely making the second to last corner, I shifted into my big chainring and started to drive to the finish line, passing another 5-6 riders in rapid succession. You will see from the replay below that I was doing over 25 mph until I crested a small rise heading to the finish line. I crossed the finish line at almost 35 mph. I wasn’t going to be denied first place in this race. Official time: 0:35:01.797 (21.29 mph average) for the win and a new course record.

Race replay: NVSO 20 km Time Trial

The old course record was 0:36:54.1. It was set last year by the guy who came in second at 0:36:43.781 (20.30 mph average). My 20km time was also the second fastest of the day. Only the winner of the next younger age group 20 km race, who also won his 10 km race, was faster with a time of 0:33:08.734 (22.50 mph average). In any event, I had a gold medal.

left: start of the 20 km TT, center: finish of the race at over 34 mph, right: 1st Place podium finish