Racing with Calfees, again: Bikefanclub.com

http://www.ncvc.net/modules.php?set_albumName=album40&id=cxa&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php

That link gives the best shot of the finish (of a different race) that I have available. You can see in the distance that there is a downhill. If the race was run in the opposite direction, then the elevation gain would have been a decisive factor in the event. But in a race where the riders make the race (pro1/2/3) and there was a lot of speeding up and slowing down, a disc wheel would have been a bad choice, and indeed, I used it in that event and it was a hindrance.

Yes, my jump was good, and my position into the lead-up to the sprint was ideal. And I wasn't taxed because the race was pretty easy: steady at about 90 percent of max for most of the race, and I didn't waste any energy chasing stuff down because I had the Cat 3 season-points-winner working for me. The guy on my wheel, I picked him off of me when I went around my leadout man, and my jump was good enough to pretty much ride him off my wheel. At this point, the disc isn't really decisive. But when that hill ends and you're on flat ground, and you're going 40 miles an hour plus in a 53x11, the last 150 meters look like a long way to go, and your legs are on fire. I passed the 200 meter sign and was like, ah, that far? If you slow down, somebody is going to get you. I planned that I'd be in the lead, at that point, and already going maximum speed. So, under those conditions, a disc is an aid. Also, in a crosswind, it acts like a sail, and I mean in the slightest crosswind, which there almost always is. Assuming I have the lead there, and have reached maximum speed, all I have to do there is maintain my speed to the line and nobody can pass me, even if they did get on my wheel when I jumped. Also, a disc will increase the maximum possible speed, assuming I don't run out of gears.

Here is a link to Zipp's section on aerodynamics: http://www.zipp.com/tech/aero.shtml. I can't pretend that I have understood it all, much less gone to NASA's site as they suggest. Clearly, it is more current than Wilson's (not Walker's) book. But, extrapolating from the chart here: http://www.zipp.com/tech/documents/AeroOverviewData2.pdf you can estimate that the drag on my rear wheel was about 1/10th of that compared to those riders on Kysriums (somewhat similar in drag to a 2004 Zipp 303 for purposes of comparison). I don't have the math to translate this into added watts, but I think it is significant. Again the guys I beat are all real strong, have won races this year, so it was a good idea to seek any legal technical advantage.

And thus, the bottom line is that it was a competitive advantage. I'm sure I would have won the race anyway, because I made the right moves, I was highly motivated, and I was very fit. I had won a race on the same course ten years ago so I had a good idea of what would work. I had won my last mass start race, so I was very confident. But in the 1995 race, I hit the front much, much later (on a pair of Zipp's old 440s), right at 200 meters. I also won that race by a similar margin, about two bike lengths. But I mostly pulled away from the rider on my wheel in the last 200 meters, instead of taking a lead into that part of the race (I had faster wheels, a better jump, and a 54x12, he was 53x12). Somebody videotaped that race, and I've probably seen it 100 times, so I really knew the finish. In this race I just know I looked to my left at 300-350 meters and somebody was jumping, and my teammate was fading, so I went for it, because my experience suggests that on that course, once you hit the bottom of the hill, you have reached maximum velocity, and at most you can make up about half a bike length on someone, and often times you get boxed in, so it is better to take the lead early, and never let it go. Also, as people noted, having the disc was also a psychological advantage as well as a competitive one, in those last 150 meters where the road kicks up just enough to make your legs burn, knowing that I had that advantage helped me to gut out that last kick. That, and one of my teammates on the sideline, and my best friend, screaming at the top of their lungs to go, and knowing that my wife and baby were also there.

If you look at how close the finishes were in this race, it doesn't follow to say that equipment only matters to the pros. Even amogst highly trained amateurs, equipment makes a difference. The margin of victory that I had suggests that the wheel made some difference, although without doing the math, you can't really say for sure how much of a difference. And yes, the faster you go, the more aerodynmics matter, and that sprint is so fast, the disc certainly helped. Without doing a whole lot of math, with data I don't have, there is no way to say if I would have won with or without it. All I can say is that I took it for a test ride that morning, and I was amazed at how much faster it felt as compared to my normal wheel. And on a rolling course with no sharp hills, that is another factor, lesser rider fatigue over the length of the event, leading to more power at the finish. This is why a team like CSC is using a very aerodynamic setup in all but the most mountainous races, almost always using 404s, and the Soloist Carbon, because even while drafting in the peloton, wind resistance is still a significant cause of rider fatigue. You might have noticed that Discover finally got a deep rimmed carbon wheel into service at the Tour de France this year, so I think they have also realized that aerodynamics matter greatly in cycling.

I intended to win this race, and I wasn't going to let anything stop me. Not even the wind!