Worlds TT

The question of "special circumstances" has come from a couple after my brief post just after the TT. I could dig up the link for the UCI rules as to what a bicycle is, but it is as clear as mud and ever changing. The long and short of it in my case (pun intended) is that there is a legal limit for the length of the extensions on aero bars. The limit is 75 cm from the center of the bottom bracket to the end of the extensions, with a morphological exemption allowing up to 80 cm. Mine were 85 cm and I made the decision after getting passed without question last year not to cut them down. They were being strict about it this year. . .

I went through the normal routine for warming up out here with a morning effort to open up, heading up towards Hochfilsen. After that, I had hours of sitting and waiting until my start time at 3:56.30. At 2:30 I headed out to the venue with Mike Carter to roll to the start area for official measurement and getting the nod that although my bars were long they didn't really care. Yeah, this year they cared and weren't letting people start for a variety of violations. I went back and forth with the French UCI official, he asked me to get on the bike and although my position wasn't to any extreme, I wouldn't be able to ride my bike unless the bars were shortened. Unfortunately, my bars are not adjustable and have to be cut (cables included) to shorten them.

I went back to the car and put on my skinsuit while pondering the options for plan B. I rolled back to where Mike was waiting and told him they weren't going to let me ride my bike. Paul Humiston is about my size and he was still hanging out after finishing 6th in his age group. Without much delay, we switched pedals and adjusted his saddle to the correct height and off I went to warm up on a 56 cm Cervelo P3 instead of my 58 cm Felt. The position was ok, but a bit cramped up top. If I brought my hands back at all, I could hit my elbows on my knees. Paul also had a 56T chainring whereas I was used to a 55T. I completed my warm up and went back to the start house. They measured Paul's bike and almost made an issue of the seat post violating the 3:1 rule, but sent me on my way.

I did what I do in TTs, tried to maintain focus, keep passing people what started in front of me, and ramp the effort to max, leaving nothing on the road. I did a little gear hunting because of the 56T but tried to stay comfortable. I went slower than last year and finished 7th. It could have been worse by far. I am not one to freak out simply because something isn't going as planned and expected. I knew there was a chance that something like this might happen because of my decision not to cut my bars. At least I got to ride something and put in a decent effort. Mike Olheiser continued his winning ways, beating last year's winner by .93s. Now we have some time to kick back, relax and get ready to race again in a few days.