TORQ Performance Track Team member, Mel Sneddon records a Lifetime Best over 10 miles on the road…

Over the past couple of months, I have been trying to sort my Time Trial position out.  How aero is too aero and how much power do you lose as a result?  With such a large percentage of your power being down to aerodynamics, I felt this was a good investment of both time and finances – at this point, I need to thank Scherrit at The Bike Whisperer for his patience!  The experiment is still very much on going.  However, what has also interested me is the time needed for your body and legs to adapt to a new and more aero position… about 3 to 4 weeks it seems!

With my new ‘two week old’ aero position, I arrived at the HQ to ride the F11/10.  This course is considered by most as one of the faster 10 mile Time Trial courses in the South, with its ‘gift’ hill.  However, on this particular day, when I arrived, the rain was hammering down and the conditions were far from ideal.  I stood on the bridge above the dual carriageway and debated the road conditions for a good while, before deciding that the rain was clearing and conditions weren’t as bad as I had feared. 

Once underway, I was soaked in a matter of seconds and in my enthusiasm to be aerodynamic, I hadn’t put any bar tape on my start-bars….error!  This meant that I couldn’t hold on to the brakes without my hands slipping off! As a result, I had to back off the speed whilst coming into the various roundabouts, as any sudden stopping would have seen my hands slip off, which could then have automatically sent me straight over the bars!

Despite all of this, I was delighted to have recorded a new all-time PB of 21.24 which is 4 seconds faster than my PB of eight years ago.  I missed out on 1st place by just 5 seconds in a race that was won by Rachael Elliott. 

Older and faster it seems!

Thank you very much to Paul Thomson and his team at Hemel Hempstead CC for organising the event in some very wet conditions!

Thank you also to those that support me: