My 12th race of 2019, and the third race of the week, was the Return to Cherry Valley (IL) 20 KM time trial. The course was an out-and-back route over local roads starting outside a recreational area.
The weather was pleasant under partly cloudy skies. Temperature at my start time was 59 degrees with 81 percent humidity. The wind was from the east at 7 mph, creating a crosswind over the entire course.
Since I was unfamiliar with this particular course, I rode the entire length during my warmup, starting about an hour before my start time. The crosswind was a particular concern. My 42-minute warmup got my heart rate and power level up to just below race pace.
When I actually started my race, the wind seemed to intensify and shift to a headwind/crosswind which reduced my outbound pace to 20.50 mph average. On the inbound leg, I took advantage of the slight tailwind and increased my pace to 23.63 mph average.
I finished in second place out of four competitors in 0:34:25 (21.87 mph average). I was only 31 seconds slower than the winning time of 0:33:54 (22.21 mph average). The times of the third and fourth place finishers were 0:39:41 (18.97 mph) and 0:46:21 (16.24 mph) respectively.
Race replay: Return to Cherry Valley 20 KM Time Trial
My next race is a 4-person team time trial on Saturday, September 14, covering 37.5 KM in Harvard, IL. I am joining three of my fastest age-group competitors for this event.