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Interesting. This is the obvious back-up event if you don't get into TCR. Last year Ian Walker solo'd it to win. But allowing drafting completely puts me off from wanting to do it. It's a bit of a shame as, for the most part, it would make no difference, but it would really undermine my motivation if I was slogging away on my own somewhere and I knew that others were drafting.
frank9755-
it would really undermine my motivation if I was slogging away on my own somewhere and I knew that others were drafting.
This.
Hello 2015 World 24hr Champs.
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Interesting point, how does it feel different from TCR where the pairs can draft? I guess they’re in a different classification and are restricted to their original pairings. It definitely reduces the psychological aspect of the event, being able to ride with others. When we caught up with Bruno at a petrol station, he actually hung around waiting for us so he could he have some company. At the finish, those who finished solo in front didn’t seem to resent people riding together - I think they knew that they were still travelling faster solo anyway.
It’s definitely a much much less competitive event than the TCR, having talked to people doing it who have ridden TCR before. It’s deliberately billed as not being a race, though there’s still a fair few trying to put in a good time. I think there were also fewer people ‘racing’ it than last year, given the larger spread of finishing times this year.
I wouldn’t recommend it as a back-up for TCR if you’re after something really competitive, it’s more of an alternative to it. I went into it with a schedule I wanted to achieve for my first ultra-distance event, then found that I could do more miles in the second week than I’d expected. Riding with others definitely helped this as someone new to it. Also watching the dots when you’re in the moment is pretty good motivation.
As an event in itself, the main plus point was the route - Sweden and Norway were spectacular, and the fixed track was pretty well done. Main downside is the poor organisation/ crap trackers they used this year. I think the concept is great, but they reeeally need to sort out the little things (for example, they had listed a bunch of bike shops near the airport at the finish so people could find boxes, but didn’t actually contact said bike shops to let them know the event was happening).
hippy
CowHen
It’s a bit weird, it’s unsupported externally but they allow riding together/ drafting. It makes it ride a bit more like a regular bike race (ie. alliances made on the road, riding tactically) and means the advantages of riding solo are diminished. The two first riders actually rode together all the way from Oslo and crossed the line together. They’d also got the ferry a day before everyone else though, and actually lost time over the last week - their original lead of 24 hours went down to around 18 by the finish.