Le Col SpeedFesTT 2023 — Roadbook of Cycling

Since moving out of London to the countryside, I have missed training with my teammates — who pushed me harder than I can alone. That's why I had been targeting and looking forward to the Le Col SpeedFesTT (a Time Trial and Circuit race series at Thruxton Race Circuit) — it gave me a purpose to ride through the pain barrier in the absence of my sparring partners.

I signed up for the individual time trial, men's team time trial and mixed TTT.

As a puncheur, a virtually flat 19km TT is not my race... I need at least 100km of rolling hills to be effective as a competitor — so this challenged me to mix up my training and try and develop as much repeatable 30min power as possible before race day.

Individual Time Trial

I finished 8th. Although I crossed the line content with my fitness and physical preparation (given the time I have to train, the full context of my life, etc.), there were two clear ways I could have gone faster:

Course recon:
I have never ridden Thruxton Race Circuit before, and riders couldn’t enter the track before the race, so I was going in blind. The wind was causing havoc, so a few recce laps would have helped me figure out how to pace each section. I lost time on the first few laps while learning the course and wind directions, but I made up as much time as possible on the last three laps.
Gearing:
There is a slight downhill on the second half of Thruxton (clockwise) and there was a powerful tailwind blowing down it. I was spinning out my 53x12 and couldn't get any power down. Before the race, I met Xavier Disley (director of AeroCoach) and noticed he was running a 55t chainring on the front. Obviously, Xav knew exactly what he was doing.

Next year, I will run bigger gearing to help apply some power through this section.

That's it, really. Two key learnings to help shave off a fair amount of time and nudge me closer to the podium next year. Otherwise, I dialled all other aspects of my preparation, training, nutrition and equipment, left no stone unturned, and gave it my best. So, I am glad that I can identify some areas for improvement.

Equipment:

Skin Suit:

I raced in the Le Col McLaren suit, which, as you would imagine, is the pinnacle of today's technology. I could really feel its effectiveness while riding into a headwind during the first quarter of each lap. The race number pocket on the rear was also very convenient when switching numbers for different events throughout the day. Otherwise, my skinsuit would have looked like a pin cushion.

When every second matters, you can't deny how fast and effective aero socks are. The Le Col Aero Socks feel far more premium and are better made than any other aero socks I have tested — because the actual sock/foot section has a unique construction/weave that creates just the right amount of compression. The fabric is high-quality and wicks sweat, which is vital for all-day comfort.

Lid & Sunnies:

I have a pair of sunnies for every occasion. So when speed matters most, I pull out the POC Propels — which were designed using computational fluid dynamics testing. They sit close to your face, push air away from your ears, and have a trailing edge on each side to manage airflow over the shoulders. Combined with my POC Ventral, I had the most aerodynamic setup for a road bike TT (no TT Helmets, disc wheels, aero bars, etc.). The same setup as you’ll see EF Education racing this year.

Power:

When you ride Campagnolo five-arm (because you find four-arm chainsets unpalatable due to spending a lifetime idolising the likes of Merckx and the bikes he rode), choose Speedplay Pedals because for me, they are the best system, and have multiple rear wheels — there are very few power meter options… The Wahoo Powerlink is the answer to my prayers. Dual-sided power that can operate on any road setup. Genius.

Riding with power helps me train and pace solo efforts.

Also, thanks to Wahoo for setting up the warm-up area at SpeedFesTT with a stable of KICKR ROLLRs. I took my Kickr Core for a rather long and unnecessary car ride…

Cockpit:

Yes, integrated bar stems with flat tops are faster than my round drops and traditional stem. I contradict myself here, but I choose classic style and comfort over aerodynamics in this instance. However, I run an aero Silca Chisela titanium computer mount — which the EF Pro Cycling Team challenged Silca to create. The T-shaped design was inspired by the underfloor of a Formula 1 car and saves 3-6 watts compared to a standard mount. So, you win some. You lose some.

Wheels:

Road bike TTs have an 85mm rim depth limit. The deepest and fastest wheels I have are the 60mm Campagnolo Bora WTOs (wind tunnel optimised) which are just incredible. The British Cycling Team often opt for Campagnolo wheels on the track due to their exceptional build quality and speed.

Tyres:

Weighing the pros and cons of tyre choice is a fine art. You have to balance: speed (low rolling resistance), handling (grip), weight, and puncture protection. If you have the fastest tyre in the world, but it offers no puncture protection, you could lose more time on the roadside than if you had a slower tyre with more protection. That is why I choose to ride Michelin Power Cups for 90% of all riding. It is a fantastic all-rounder that offers excellent puncture protection, is low weight, grips well, and has low rolling resistance when paired with a latex innertube (or if you run tubeless).

I have been riding the Michelin Power Cups for over a year, and I have not had a puncture yet (touch wood). This is due to prevention as well as protection. I regularly check my tyres for damage, flint, wear, etc., and I use the Silca Pro Tyre Pressure Calculator to ensure I am running the correct PSI.

My tyres were, however, quite worn after a year of use. The tread was cracking, and the side walls were starting to give in. I could see my pink latex innertubes peeking through thinning splits in the tan walls. Still, a year is a good inning. So I put on a fresh pair for maximum speed and protection.

Drivetrain:

As you may know, I am a big advocate of chain waxing. Silca's Hot Melt Wax is the fastest formula out there and an essential marginal gain. Hot Melt Wax increases the life of your drivetrain ten times and repels water and contamination — meaning you'll spend less time maintaining your chain.

For more chain waxing insights, check out my blog post.

For the Le Col SpeedFesTT, I used a new Silca chain waxing prototype... I can't wait to share this new product release with you later this month.

More GAINZ:

I removed my bottle cages and taped over the holes to save some weight and improve aerodynamics. No, I didn't bend my levers inwards. I channelled my inner Campag Kid, and replaced all of my bolts with titanium counterparts, such as my brake cable clamping bolt, brake adjustment screws, saddle rail bolts, stem face plate and steerer clamp, etc.

Training:

For the six weeks leading up to SpeedFesTT, I focused on holding my top-end VO2 Max/Zone 5 power for longer periods. Starting with 8x2min intervals and building up to 5x5mins until I became (relatively) comfortable holding this effort. I trained at VO2 Max twice a week and tried to stay at Zone 2 or below between sessions to ensure I was fully recovered. Of course, I got carried away during a few road rides with friends when I should have been sitting up, but “there is no such thing as overtraining, just under-resting”, right?

Nutrition:

Nutrition is about making good choices every day. It’s not an on-bike, off-bike situation. It’s also about variety and balance. You don’t need to always be perfect — you just need to make good choices consistently. As the creative director of Veloforte, nutrition is "my thing". I focus on eating real food, avoiding ultra-processed food as much as possible, and eating enough quality protein to help recovery, cell regeneration, strengthen joints, ligaments, etc.

Regarding training and race day, I am for 80-90g carbs per hour and hydrate with plenty of fluids and electrolytes — as they help maintain mental focus and replenish lost salts through sweat.

SpeedFesTT Food Diary:

04:00 coffee time. It’s a 3hr drive to Thruxton, so I pre-prepared some overnight oats for breakfast, which I ate rather unromantically from a Tupperware box at a petrol station with a baby spoon at 05:30.

Throughout the drive, I sipped Veloforte Solo electrolytes to keep on top of my hydration. When I arrived at Thruxton at 08:00, I started snacking on a Veloforte Avanti energy bar (40g of carbs), which is packed with calorie-dense, delicious, award-winning goodness, while I built my bike up and signed on to get my race numbers.

Then I got dressed and headed to the Wahoo warm-up area to spin out of my legs after 3hrs of driving. I snacked on some Veloforte Mela chews — which are full of fast-acting, light carbs to fuel my ITT. They taste sensational — I highly recommend these between races, intervals, etc.

30mins before my start time, I threw back a Veloforte Doppio gel. They taste like syrupy coffee and are 100% natural — so don't cause the stomach issues associated with synthetic gels and have a mellow kick of caffeine from guarana which focused my mind on the task ahead.

Nutrition is essential during back-to-back races. After my ITT, I cooled down with a cocoa-rich Veloforte Nova recovery shake, which has a 3:1 carbs to protein ratio to replenish your glycogen and kick-start recovery.

I had an hour before the men’s TTT, so after my cool-down, I went to swap over my race numbers and tried to take it easy before warming up again for round two.

Men’s TTT

Unfortunately, the men's TTT did not go to plan... but we had a good laugh…

We assembled a last minute team, as my original team had some cancellations, as did Matt, Max and Andy (the Sportful squad), so I jumped in with them.

Matt and I went a bit hard… and despite sitting up to wait for a third rider to rejoin, it happened again… and again. So I called the shots, and we exited the race to make sure we weren’t disrupting other teams (and so I could save my legs for the mixed TTT).

How wrong can it go? Well, see for yourself:

Then, my good friend, and Le Col Ambassador, Johan Museeuw turned up, which gave us all a few extra watts of morale out on the track. It was great to see my old Twickenham CC clubmate, Jess, on the podium. Nice one 👊.

Our mixed TTT was cancelled due to an emergency plane landing in the centre of Thruxton... This was a bit gutting, as we had a stellar lineup and could have made it to the podium. But we were all just glad that the pilot landed safely.

After accepting that the plane landing had stolen my final race, I changed into my trackies (accidentally exposing myself to a group of plane spotters while towelling myself down in the car park with a Crud Cloth…) to enjoy a well-earned pizza and a few rounds of Lucky Saint in the sun with friends.

The 2023 Le Col SpeedFesTT was a fantastic day out. I hope that it comes back in 2024, as I have unfinished business and thoroughly enjoyed a day of racing in the best company.

A big thanks to Tara and Le Col for organising, LC_CC Captain Sam for handling swanny duties, and Phil and Tom for capturing the day.

G