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Yes, I think I'm gonna have to be dull and do a bit of a Froome-Dawg, and ride to a pre-determined power for at least the first half of the week so that i can save something back for the latter days.
Then at the end of the week, it will probably be a case of going out in full power, balls-out glory!! (read: minimal remaining power glory)
jim1985-
If you're in a group everyone else will be going balls out at the start because that's what people do. It's very satisfying letting them gloat about the first days 'victories' while you make some excuse about warming up to the climbs and then fucking crushing their feeble carcasses for the remainder of the trip. Particularly effective when the group is full of Aussie dudes with no pacing skills or foresight.
hippy
I changed roles at work around 11 months ago now, and as part of that change I had to be in Europe quite frequently, and America every now and again - at times I was in (say) France for three out of every five days, then back for a week, then in Germany etc.
Whilst I took my running stuff with me I did not take my bike, and my riding fitness plummeted.
This means that I have actually, for the first time ever, paid attention to pacing strategies and stuck to them*, and used my powermeter properly whilst on the bike to help me meter out effort.
The good news is that when I've stuck to my plan I've performed well beyond my expectations (PR's for things etc).
It's worth tempering your competitive spirit a little, if only so you'll go faster.
*When I was spending a lot of time on the bike, doing structured workouts on the turbo etc I had a much, much higher FTP and used to just charge off at top speed, and damn the consequences.