TIME-TRIAL MASTERCLASS

TIME TRIAL IS A WONDERFULLY AFFORDABLE WAY TO BOOST YOUR TRIATHLON POWER-PLUS THEY'RE DAMN FUN, TOO! HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW...

- JAMES WITTS

Time trial (TT) is known rather formidably as the ‘race of truth’. It’s you and your willpower against the clock.

You may have seen time trials happening near you – usually spotted by fast folk on bikes and lots of marshals but uniquely everyone rides alone and there’s no drafting, either, which sets it dramatically apart from mass-participation rides or ‘sportives’. Which all combines to make time trial superb training for your multisport season. So what is it – and how can you get involved?

Races run regularly from around now through to early autumn, either on a midweek evening or at the weekend. That makes them a practical choice for many. According to the sport’s governing body, Cycling Time Trials, there are two types of event: club or open. “Whichever type of time trial you’re entering, club or open, you must be a member of a club that’s affiliated to Cycling Time Trials,” reads their website, cyclingtimetrials.org, which is also the place to start searching for events near you. “Entry to club events is usually just ‘entry on the line’ on the day of the event. You’ll be required to sign a club entry form, and if you’re under 18, you must show the organiser a Parental Consent Form. Entry to an open event [arguably the next level up], on the other hand, must be by an official CTT Entry Form.”