Quoted post said:Originally posted by zaskar
Anyone have any last minute advice for racing in the wind?
race day saturday forcast has a wind advisory, up to 50mph gust!
most of this is going to be in are face.
I have rode the course several times and was planning my attacks on the hills and breaking away. how ever im sure my
chances of holding off a group is slim to none in the wind.
any suggestions for an edge in the wind? the wind is my
weakness, for example, if i ride with a heart rate of say
150 with slight head wind then ride same heart rate of 150
in the wind it feels like alot more effort in the wind and i cant
sustain the effort for as long?? i dont get it.
50mph (80kph) gusts would be difficult to manage on all points other than astern of you. I would be quite concerned about the projectiles a wind of this force can deposit on you, in your path or knock other riders down.
To deal with a strong headwind you will have to get as aero as possible and use a gear that gives you higher cadence than normal. Don't grind into the wind.
The chasers into a headwind have an advantage as they can sustain a higher speed by rolling over quickly. My experience going into strong headwinds in a group is that there is a greater disparity between the efforts on the front and being in the draft to normal group riding. If they say under normal riding conditions a following rider is only using 70% of the effort of the rider on the front, I would believe this percentage would be lower in very windy conditions.
Your 150bpm comparative heart rate perception maybe caused by you using a slower cadence into the wind. A slower cadence keeps the heart rate down but will eventually muscle fatigue you quicker. A power meter will give you a better understanding.
