The CTCT in under 3 hrs - By the numbers

[braamverster]

OK, so, not bragging (much), but I did my targeted sub 3 in the 2020 Cape town cycle race (2:57:12)

 

I am writing this to encourage people who have the ambition to go sub 3 but are not sure if its doable. I am 46 and not particularly athletic. I did my first Argus two years ago after pottering around on a mountain bike for a few years. So I dont exactly want to say that if I can do it anyone can... but I am certainly not a "naturally talented" cyclist.

 

My tips would be:

• Order a perfect day, like 2018 or 2020 - if its like 2019 the tips below will NOT hack it in getting a sub 3.
  

• Get a good seeding ... this year 79% of 1A got sub 3, 59% of 1C, 25% for 1E, 18% for 1H, 10% for 1J, 4% for 2A... So your odds of getting a sub 3 goes down as the capabilities of your fellow riders get lower - I was in group 1G (was 2H last year) so in the "tough but doable" zone
  

• You do NOT have to be at 4W/Kg to do sub 3...I am 84 kg, FTP before race of 270*, so 3.2 Watt/kg -  For me, without my indoor trainer (Wahoo Kickr) and a structured training program (I use Trainerroad) there is no way I would have been able to put in the time (6-7 hrs a week for the last year) to get fit enough - it also helps with motivation somehow. To improve road skills I did a few Cycle Lab (Fourways, B1,2 groups) and ICG morning rides plus I did the 94.7 which perhaps also helped with seeding (who knows?).
  

• You need to be fit enough to do ~4W/kg (or perhaps a bit less) in the 4 decisive climbs. But luckily they are not that long, and any good structured program will take care of that with some hill climbs or VO2 max sessions. See below my splits for key climbs...
  

  Gradient Time Distance Speed Power Power/kg Cadence HR Average 0% 2:57:12 108.9 36.9 184 2.2 95 167  - Edinburgh drive (steepest part) 7% 0:02:38 0.75 17.1 300 3.6 98 185  - Smitswinkel 5% 0:03:41 1.25 20.4 309 3.7 102 179  - Chapmans peak (excl little Chappies) 6% 0:04:59 1.49 17.9 278 3.3 104 184  - Suikerbossie 6% 0:06:47 1.84 16.3 266 3.2 99 185                   Net power           2.27               IF           0.84              

 

• Become a wheel sucker - this made a HUGE difference on the day. Except for the 4 climbs, and a few turns at the front, the rest wasn't that painful, tucked in 30 cm behind the biggest oke I could find. Finding a good (i.e big) guy or tandem to draft behind is especially important after the big climbs and worth expending the energy on. A shoutout to "Dennis" from 1H, you rock...
  
• Train your cadence - spinning faster will leave you with fresh(ish) legs for the last two climbs and help you catch passing wheels
  
• Get nutrition right - everyone is different, but I had 2 bottles of cadence carbo fuel, 2 bananas and 2 hydro gels with caffeine (used before the last 2 climbs)- I also had an extra bottle of carbo fuel that I drank while waiting to start  and I ate normally the day before... no carbo loading
  
• Have a good bike - I have a 2015 Specialized S-Works Tarmac, Corima 30mm profile rims - not the newest, but light and has good handling
  

 

Thanks again to Verandapanda, tyboy0406, Long Wheel Base, Skubarra, Milky4130, Jewbacca for the tips they had in my previous post, it was very useful

 

* Tested on my Wahoo Kickr using Trainerroad ramp test, confirmed by my power meter. Test was done in Jo-burg, where I live, so given 1700m altitude my effective FTP may be a bit more at the coast

 

 

 

Addendum- managed to download the power file to xls and create a chart - surprising how much time is spent in "recovery" (green) being pulled along at 40km/hr - presumably by Pure Savage

 

 

 

 

Addendum 2 - Figured out how to convert average power to normalized power -normalized power estimates the effective "steady" power of a segment i.e. if your power was 100% steady for a segment then Average power=Normalized power, but if there was lots of acceleration changes/sprints then Normalized power >> Average Power, reflecting that would require a higher effective power/fitness

 

This changes 2 things from the non-normalized graph, 1) "easy" segments are slightly less easy due to acceleration changes 2) The first 25 minutes are now all hard - acceleration changes means even the flat bit between Hospital Hill and the bottom of Edinburgh drive is hard. Climbs did not change as its power on climbs are steady so no difference between Normalized and Average power.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 13, 2020 by braamverster

[Pure Savage]

Think its a tour not a race. Otherwise it makes good sense. 

 

We drove the pace down the M3 and into Ocean View, in those KM, mostly the headwind, we took almost 4 min out of the @ group ahead of us. Someone has to do the work at some point

[Shahiem Adams]

Yeah and don't be like me, decided to do a late night fishing trip Friday at 10pm till Saturday 4am to feel real crappy the whole of saturday and so anxious and excited i could not sleep the night before the race.

Great tips there though will be utilising these for my 2021 quest for a sub3!

[Thomo]

Yeah and don't be like me, decided to do a late night fishing trip Friday at 10pm till Saturday 4am to feel real crappy the whole of saturday and so anxious and excited i could not sleep the night before the race.

Great tips there though will be utilising these for my 2021 quest for a sub3!

Similar Friday night for me camping on my kid's school grounds.

Not ideal prep but she enjoyed it. LOL

[Andreas_187]

I'm very athletic but totally not an endurance athlete, more of a sprinter. What it actually takes to do a sub 3 is lots of dedication and putting in the hard training, finding the drive and determination to wake up at 5:30am and cycle 50km to work instead of sleeping in and driving an easy 10km.

I've been using the Savages as a bench mark and motivation to get faster (they have no idea who I am!). You just need the inspiration to get out of bed and slog out those extra miles when you don't feel like it and the weather is bad.

After a 3h28min last year I set a goal of 6000km for the year but actually did 7000km. I snuck in with a 2h 59min 28sec and I'm still buzzing from the achievement.

On the flip side a guy I work with runs the comrades, does iron man etc and does 2 laps almost without any training. Annoyingly, it's no big deal to him but it's massive for me.

My next goal is to do a 160km ride.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Andreas_187

[Skubarra]

Well done Braam. Sub-3 is great bragging rights for us weekend warriors. (Although I find my non-cycling friends & colleagues are usually way more impressed by chats about the double lap than sub-whatevers..).

 

Hopefully the first of many!

[The Ouzo]

Well done Braam. Sub-3 is great bragging rights for us weekend warriors. (Although I find my non-cycling friends & colleagues are usually way more impressed by chats about the double lap than sub-whatevers..).

 

Hopefully the first of many!

sub 4 is a great achievement for us weekend warriors, sub 3 is reserved for those that ride more than twice a week.

[BuffsVintageBikes]

Plays down being talented and athletic then throws the entire book of training stats at you

 

Well done, a Sub 3 remains an awesome achievement, the low %'s that make it every year prove that fact

[DieselnDust]

Well done Braam. Sub-3 is great bragging rights for us weekend warriors. (Although I find my non-cycling friends & colleagues are usually way more impressed by chats about the double lap than sub-whatevers..).

 

Hopefully the first of many!

 

 

How did you get on in @?

 

the first hour was a manic ride. wait,......focus on ride report

[Skubarra]

How did you get on in @?

 

the first hour was a manic ride. wait,......focus on ride report

 

I didn't - you guys murdered me... Race report on other thread

[braamverster]

Think its a tour not a race. Otherwise it makes good sense. 

 

We drove the pace down the M3 and into Ocean View, in those KM, mostly the headwind, we took almost 4 min out of the @ group ahead of us. Someone has to do the work at some point

And I thank you - were you the guys in the grey bibs?

[braamverster]

Plays down being talented and athletic then throws the entire book of training stats at you

 

Well done, a Sub 3 remains an awesome achievement, the low %'s that make it every year prove that fact

Thanks - data is shown to give power meter nerds like me a feel for what it could take to go sub 3

[braamverster]

I'm very athletic but totally not an endurance athlete, more of a sprinter. What it actually takes to do a sub 3 is lots of dedication and putting in the hard training, finding the drive and determination to wake up at 5:30am and cycle 50km to work instead of sleeping in and driving an easy 10km.

I've been using the Savages as a bench mark and motivation to get faster (they have no idea who I am!). You just need the inspiration to get out of bed and slog out those extra miles when you don't feel like it and the weather is bad.

After a 3h28min last year I set a goal of 6000km for the year but actually did 7000km. I snuck in with a 2h 59min 28sec and I'm still buzzing from the achievement.

On the flip side a guy I work with runs the comrades, does iron man etc and does 2 laps almost without any training. Annoyingly, it's no big deal to him but it's massive for me.

My next goal is to do a 160km ride.

Well done! Enjoy the buzz. Thinking the same thing for next challenge - either something longer (Coronation double century?) or something harder (?)...

[Pure Savage]

I'm very athletic but totally not an endurance athlete, more of a sprinter. What it actually takes to do a sub 3 is lots of dedication and putting in the hard training, finding the drive and determination to wake up at 5:30am and cycle 50km to work instead of sleeping in and driving an easy 10km.

I've been using the Savages as a bench mark and motivation to get faster (they have no idea who I am!). You just need the inspiration to get out of bed and slog out those extra miles when you don't feel like it and the weather is bad.

After a 3h28min last year I set a goal of 6000km for the year but actually did 7000km. I snuck in with a 2h 59min 28sec and I'm still buzzing from the achievement.

On the flip side a guy I work with runs the comrades, does iron man etc and does 2 laps almost without any training. Annoyingly, it's no big deal to him but it's massive for me.

My next goal is to do a 160km ride.

Glad we get someone out of bed, this morning there were only 5 people at coffee! 

 

Massive congrats on your sub 3! Pull through for a stage or two of tour de bootlegger. Someone who can do a sub 3 will easily hang on.

[Pure Savage]

And I thank you - were you the guys in the grey bibs?

Hope not, if the black bibs go grey they a little old! 

 

 

This was us

[Thomo]

Well done! Enjoy the buzz. Thinking the same thing for next challenge - either something longer (Coronation double century?) or something harder (?)...

One Tonner is a good challenge (maybe even more so than DC).