The TT at Cavedine

When I got back home from Italy I found an email from Cycling Australia waiting for me requesting a report of the UCI TT.  Somewhat later I sent it in complete with permission to edit  as they saw fit (I wasn't too sure the  the criticism bit would be welcome).  I got a  reply saying..thanks, a great report..you'll be able to read it in the enewsletter next week.

The enewsletter arrived and while there was a report on the event in general it wasn't my report.  Bugger.  Somewhat miffed. Probably wont bother to waste my time if asked again.
So, FWIW here it it..:

UCI World Masters TT Championships 2013 Cavèdine Trentino Italy

Closed roads, motorbike escorts and above all a tough, tough course...an  epic

A check of the course on the internet revealed that, despite the Italian promo saying that there was a bit of a climb and a descent but this was essentially a flat course, it was in fact the toughest TT course I have raced.  Ever.  Comparing parcourses, this one is probably tougher than the Elite  Women’s World Championship course at Florence later in the month!  

The course could be divided into 5 sections: the first, immediately after the start  ramp and a 90° turn to the right, was a 6% climb approximately 2km long, the second was a glorious downhill hoon. The third, slightly bumpy section was alongside the lake and was more what we consider genuine TT terrain. This was followed by the climb to get out of the valley - a ~3km long grovel with a vicious 11-12% sting in the tail. The 5^th and final section was a slightly uphill grind to the finish.   Given this analysis I was one of many who opted to use a road bike with TT extensions rather than a full TT rig.

I raced the course twice.  The first time was in July as the TT part of the Charly Gaul gran fondo.  I had arrived 5 days before from a wintery Melbourne and, starting at 5pm, had to endure a 35°C furnace complete with a blustery wind that gave me moments of pure panic on the downhill hairpin bends.  My time was, to say the least, pedestrian.

The second time was the UCI World Championships and with a couple of practise runs in between there were no surprises, only the knowledge that the race would be won by anyone who was strong enough to maintain a good pace up the hill and still have the legs to come home strongly. 

This time my start time was early and in fact I was the first off at 10am...consequently our race was less temperature and  wind affected and this time the downhill section, with no blustery wind to contend with, was pure unadulterated fun.... my top speed was  somewhere around 65kph. The climb saw me yet again grovelling at <10kph and wondering if forward motion was going to remain a possibility.  I might have been first out, but was definitely not first back; huge congratulations to Gaye Lynn who passed me earlier than I had wanted...she did a fantastic race.

There were many, many Aussies at the event; it was great to see so much green and gold. It was also an honour to have Tracy Gaudry (now a  UCI VP) presenting us with the medals and jersey in the historic Piazza Duomo in the centre of Trento.

Organisationally there were quite a few glitches......registering was a nightmare.  Standing in a queue for between 2 and 3 hours the day before a race is not ideal preparation and I never did find the portaloos at the event.  The start list time gaps weren’t adhered to and so later classes in the morning session were thrown into confusion both at the start and in the results.  

Other races will fade in the memory but not this one.  This one was an epic and I am sure it will be talked about by those who were there for years to come.

 “I survived the TT at Cavèdine”.