Altamont TTT Race Report

Below is BP's report from the inaugural Altamont 4-man team time trial. It was a furious but fun 30+ minutes of coordinated super-threshold riding on a rolling, windy course.

Pic of the team while rotating
Official Results

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Altamont 4-Man TTT
April 4, 2009
Team: BP Buchholz, Rand Miller, Rob MacNeill and Ryan Parnes
Result: 1st Team of 4 Total Teams in P/1/2 Category and Fastest Overall Time of 15.7 mi in 32:44 at 28.78 mph.

Rand got this crazy idea to do another mini stage race last weekend, given all the good racing in the Bay Area. We started off the weekend with the 1st Annual Altamont Team Time Trial (TTT). Teams of four signed up to tackle the rolling and, obviously, windy sections of Altamont Pass Rd. To those of you who have raced Patterson Pass and Wente, I'm sure you're very familiar with the wind, rollers, etc.

The course was essentially a 7.8 mi out-and-back. The course started with a 3% roller and false flat section, followed by a steeper downhill, then some nice, swoopy flat sections and one little punchy roller before the turnaround. The main obstacle on the way back was the 4-5% hill we just descended about 2 miles from the finish.

The wind was blowing from the Southeast which made for a significant crosswind the entire race. The crosswinds seemed to pick up more on the way back which, combined with the steeper hill, meant that we needed to conserve more energy for the final climb.

We started at the base of the short hill at a tempo pace and began rotating through at 15 - 20 second intervals. We gradually picked up the pace through the descent and swoopy sections and Ryan and I stayed at the front for "maximal wind blockage." Ryan and Rob did great jobs of negotiating the flat sections and cornering to ensure that we kept the pace super high.

Into the turnaround, the main goal was to exit smoothly and pick up the pace in an organized fashion. We approached the first of some medium-sized rollers and realized that the wind was playing a larger role in slowing us down than on the 'out' section. Rand set some seriously good pacing up the rollers and kept the power to the pavement in an impressive display.

At the major climb we faltered some, with our pacing not being as smooth as it could be. This was my first time doing the TTT and I must admit that the pacelining/rotating piece is super difficult especially in the aero bars, up a hill and with a crosswind.

The descent into the finish was super fast and a little sketchy since the centerline rule was in effect and we passed another Team right at the line.

Overall, a strong Team performance and a great way to kick off the weekend of racing. I think that the Redlands racing definitely helped us fine tune our legs and we are benefiting from the fitness.

I just wanted to add that this is a really well-run event and the Organizers are super cool and motivated to do more such events. It's not everyday you get to do a TTT and I would strongly encourage more Club Members to go out and give it a try. This group is also sponsoring the Calaveras ITT on May 23.

Thanks for reading!

BP