WTRL #148 - Douce France

WTRL #148 – Douce France

Course Notes – 1 Lap – 24.2km (108m elevation)

This course is made for a TTT with a long stretches of very flat, especially in the 2nd half of the race, where efficient team discipline and following a plan (see below) will pay dividends. There is a single big effort climb at the Aquaduct, that most teams should be able to get over with some real digging in. Caution advised early on, when teams might feel excited and end up hitting the 3 little ‘undulations’ a bit hard. Stay calm early on, and be prepared to really hammer the 2nd half. Also, be brutal on the Aquaduct! If a rider struggles on the way up, go without. Perhaps even agree to burn them in the run up.

Details below. Distances are full race distance, starting from the pens. Use the PRINT button for a simplified print out.

Don’t Forget to try my TTT Time Predictor and Power Planner – complete with DS Call Sheet. This course is perfect to nail those turns!

Distance	Feature Length	Elevation	Notes
LAP 1
0km	600m	0%	Flat Start, time to get out at P2 (sub threshold power) and group up, don’t worry about turns just yet!
0.6km	500m	2% Av	First of 3 small inclines. At early stages, stick to a P1/2 power target near threshold for each rider in the group, based on the Power Planner and picking an average. Watch for splits on descent, but keep pressure on as a team.
1.6km	500m	2%	2nd of 3 : As above, stick to a blob for the moment, all pushing at just below threshold, keep an eye out for gaps and have front runners east off if necessary.
2.6km	400m	2%	3rd of 3: Rotations will be tricky to maintain, so stay in a solid blob for now.
3.6km	4.4km		A sawtooth of a profile, with no significant inclines, but not flat either. Here it is worth starting to work a rotation, as long as all parties stick to their numbers by position, no incline should be significant enought to break things.
8km	2.4km	2-3%	Beautifully flat – hit those rotations hard and keep driving forward. If you have a stronger rider who is heavier and may struggle on the Aquaduct – now is the time to consider burning them on the run up.
10.4km	800m	3-5% Av	Aquaduct Climb starts here, there are a couple of ‘steps’ along the way, but now is the time to switch to an agreed watts per kilo. BUT, if a rider is really struggling, or has been burnt on the run in, go without them. The final time lost from dropping one rider here is likely to be less than waiting for them on the other side.
12.6km	11km		12km of lovely flat riding, perfect for high power turns. As you get closer to the end, check which riders can do more/longer pulls, vs those who are struggling. If necessary, get riders to sit in. COMMUNICATE and use what you have left well, building the effort over the last 5km. Anyone dropped now – Dont wait!