CATEGORY 35+ 1/2/3DATE 3/1/2013AUTHOR Jacob Berkman

COURSE DESCRIPTION "12 mile (6 out 6 back) flat and rolling course on G Street (Snelling Road), starting just north of La Paloma Road."

http://www.strava.com/rides-by-country/united-states/california/merced/merco-merced-time-269744

PREVIOUS RESULTS 2012: 60th (P/1/2) http://www.usacycling.org/results/?year=2012&id=282&info_id=45149

WEATHER Beautiful, really warm, not very windy.

TEAMMATES Appel's 808, Hobbs, Oli

GOALS * Execute a better pacing strategy than last year. * Move into top-ten on GC.

RACE SUMMARY I have learned a lot about TT pacing since last year's race, so the plan today was quite a bit different: go hardest on the first climb into the headwind, ride a bit easier on the descent, and then harder again on the climb back. (Still need to write up a post on that...)

Bonehead move of the day was forgetting to pair my Edge 705 to my Quarq at the hotel. The 500 is great because it can remember pairings for different bikes but the 705 doesn't have that feature.,There were too many power meters around when I was on the trainer, so I had to go for a little spin to find a more isolated spot.

From the moment I started spinning on the trainer it was like you read about when guys are having a good day: I just couldn't feel my legs. Did the warm up from allen and coggan and had no problem getting a sweat going in the mid-day sun.

velopromo rick was the holder, and they had a happy little start ramp:

https://twitter.com/MercoClassic/status/307542907047510016

i took off and my watts were great... so i tried hard to hold back and keep things in check until the hill started. tried to push it from there to the top and nearly caught my 30" man, and then eased off on the descent and stayed a ways behind him (and over to the other side of the road lest i be penalized for drafting).

i finally caught him right before the turnaround (at 14:00 flat) and then passed him on the way up the hill. there were a couple of guys ahead and i tried to gain on them over the slow climb, giving one last push over the top.

it flattens out over the last 3k or so and i engaged tony martin mode going as hard as i could into the finish, very glad it was over.

RESULTS 11. Me @ 1' 00" 24. Oli @ 1' 32" 36. Hobbs @ 2' 13"

http://www.topsportcycling.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Masters-35%2b-1-2-3-Time-Trial-2.pdf

GC AFTER STAGE 2 8. Me @ 2' 26" 26. Oli @ 7' 14" 46. Hobbs @ 14' 26"

http://www.topsportcycling.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Masters-35%2b-1-2-3-General-2.pdf

TAKEAWAYS * I've had some doubt about "coach" lately but I seem to be going pretty well. * Looking at raceshape i did pretty well to the first summit but got smoked on the way back. not too surprising really.

my power peaks aligned pretty closely with my pacing plan, although i might've been able to go harder on the first climb:

< 30": start (408 W; 6.58 W/kg) 2': finish (318 W; 5.12 W/kg) 5': first five minutes after turnaround (299 W; 4.82 W/kg) 10': first ten minutes (over the first summit; 289 W; 4.66 W/kg) 20': first 20 minutes (to the 2nd summit; 284 W; 4.58W/kg)

NUMBERS Distance: 19.5 km Time: 26' 56.quot; 360 (official) Elevation Gain: 119 m Avg Speed: 43.2 km/h Max Speed: 59.8 km/h Avg HR: 170 bpm Max HR: 175 bpm Avg Power: 284 W (4.58 W/kg) xPower: 282 W (4.55 W/kg) Max Power: 677 W (10.92 W/kg) TSS: 49 Suffer Score: 48

http://app.strava.com/activities/42716590