Post race analysis: M&DLCA J2/3

Today’s race was the M&DLCA Invitational. The weather can be summed up simply as HOT! This did mean however the air density would be at least a bit lower than the cooler evening club time trials I’ve been racing. The J2/3 is not known to be a quick course, with the finish 14 metres higher than the start. However, with a South Westerly wind and an Easterly finish, just as we had today, it can offset some of the positive elevation gain.

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Aero Check, what was my CdA?

As usual post race, the first thing I look at is my CdA. I left my Garmin running from the start of my warm up, which was actually mostly trying to keep cool, so I need to select the race from the Activity Navigator [Learn how to use the Activity Navigator].

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Once I’ve selected my race lap or segment, my summary stats including CdA are recalculated. But the average CdA number can sometimes not give the full picture so it’s always worth viewing the CdA graph. [Learn more about finding a race CdA]

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As you can see, highlited line has a small step down. This is usual with an out and back course as the loop that controls the CdA line starts reading opposite on the road to where the ride finishes to complete the loop. So we ignore that first bit of the line. The line reveals I had an average CdA of 0.202.

Since starting back racing my CdA has been much higher hovering around 0.215-0.220. So I am happy to see it going in the right direction with a small saddle tweak and a helmet change.

Author: Ben Norbury

Ben Norbury is four times Manchester & District Middle Distance and Best All Rounder Time Trial Champion from 2016-2019. During this time he developed software to eliminate uncertainty of the weather conditions out of his pre-race preparation.