There was virtually no wind early in the morning, which was also the reason I started so early. Later in the day it would be windier and I knew from the training that with too much wind the balance becomes very difficult.
I remember that you were concerned about the wind (we met at the Tien Procent Club event). How was this later on the day? Or do you have perfect wind-balancing skills?
I was concerned about the wind, but between 6AM and 1PM the wind force was 3 where when we talked it was expected to be 4. I’m very stable with 3 and getting unstable, but not impossible, at 4. I already did 175KM before the wind picked up so that was great.
The course is a loop, but it’s basically two long sides with 2 relatively short sides. I had crosswind on the short sides, which is very good because crosswind is much more unstable than head or tail. One of the short sides was really well covered by trees and houses behind those trees so the wind was totally fine there. The other short side was more windy, but I proactively sped up for more balance on that side, which was doable because it was just a short bit.
Ultimately I got super lucky with the weather. It was dry, warm, not too much wind and from the right angles. The days after it was very windy and rainy here and I would not have gone so far or even managed to break the record.
I also slept relatively well before the event (where I was stressed and exhausted on thursday I was pretty good on friday) and had what cyclists call ‘good legs’, which you sometimes have and sometimes don’t, so I feel incredibly lucky that everything came together so well on the day itself.
Congratulations, Vincent!
262.5 kilometers, that’s a LOT!
I remember that you were concerned about the wind (we met at the Tien Procent Club event). How was this later on the day? Or do you have perfect wind-balancing skills?
Hi Imma, thanks!
I was concerned about the wind, but between 6AM and 1PM the wind force was 3 where when we talked it was expected to be 4. I’m very stable with 3 and getting unstable, but not impossible, at 4. I already did 175KM before the wind picked up so that was great.
The course is a loop, but it’s basically two long sides with 2 relatively short sides. I had crosswind on the short sides, which is very good because crosswind is much more unstable than head or tail. One of the short sides was really well covered by trees and houses behind those trees so the wind was totally fine there. The other short side was more windy, but I proactively sped up for more balance on that side, which was doable because it was just a short bit.
Ultimately I got super lucky with the weather. It was dry, warm, not too much wind and from the right angles. The days after it was very windy and rainy here and I would not have gone so far or even managed to break the record.
I also slept relatively well before the event (where I was stressed and exhausted on thursday I was pretty good on friday) and had what cyclists call ‘good legs’, which you sometimes have and sometimes don’t, so I feel incredibly lucky that everything came together so well on the day itself.