Looks like I'm first "to the punch" here. Must be the SoCal weather.
1/9/21 Fiesta Island time trial series (FITT), 20k men's P/1/2/3, 2nd place out of 2 starters in this category. I rode 27:54 and that was good for the second fastest time of the day, following Alex Gustin at 24:14... yeah.... He's on another level. My time was good for 26.7 MPH, with full aero kit, however I have yet to do optimization. I know my helmet choice needs to be improved for my position.
My goals for the day were merely to get in the groove of ITT and set a benchmark for TT's later in the season. I'm happy with my ride and produced 280w for the duration, which is 10-12 more than what I targeted in the first half based on training efforts. Looks like I had some race motivation. My (Zwift/naked) body weight was a hair under 145 lbs this morning.
I am new to ITT and this is a different ride than the TTT's that I've done, which are a bit more technical in the ride execution and kind of scary, given the higher speed we are trying to hold. I really liked the individual headspace on this one and how much more all of the positioning, smoothness and general aero stuff matters. I think I could have taken 15s off my ride today with the same equipment and power and better execution.. For example, I got out of aero four times on the first lap since my helmet kept sliding forward over my eyes and sticking up in the back, and my power would surge significantly when passing other riders or near the start/finish. So newbie kinda stuff.
Come April, I should have stronger legs and some optimization done. Also, as with the rest of us, the conditions will be better, warmer air (sub 50F at the start today) and less dried/caked on mud and dirt sapping speed on various parts of the island. I'm looking forward to the next one and I think that I should be able to put up a greatly improved time.
Good times! Looking forward to Valley of the Sun, more FITT's and possibly some Piru TT's as well. I'm liking this stuff.
my apologies for the low quality photo. im obviously on the left