***Devin and Josh rocketing around a lap at the Willow TT
Devin Winton’s Willow TT: The Willow Time Trial has been a baseline for winter fitness and race season preparation. Because it is like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, you never now what you’re going to get. It could be bright, sunny, and in the 60s or cloudy overcast and in the 30s. Saturday, April 25 was cloudy, overcast, and in the 40s.
I arrived to the race venue a bit later than anticipated, which meant that I got about a ten minute warm-up before reporting to the start. Without a dedicated time trial bike, my goal is to settle in to a good rhythm and suffer. Six laps and it would be over.
The most significant change this year was using a compact crank. Using the compact allowed me to settle into a big ring gear that was comfortable and maintainable. I used two primary gears: one going into the wind, and one with the wind. Did I mention the wind? That’s one thing you can always count on at Willow – the wind!
After six laps of controlled pain, I finished in just under 35 minutes; about where I’ve been the past two times I’ve raced Willow.
Enjoyed riding with teammates Dan Wolin, Josh Haas, and Matt Wright. Thanks to our sponsors for making the race team possible!
Danny Wolin’s Willow TT: Ah Willow. I love it and hate it. The Willow TT is never the same race due to weather and wind conditions. The last two years it was warmer and a bit windier but my times were faster than this year. From 2nd the last two years to 5th and about 45 seconds slower than last year. Still averaged over 25 but I was hoping to be in the same range as I have been.
Not really sure what happened this year but it was colder at the start which made warming up more difficult and the wind, while not horrible was more variable. Usually a good tail wind is available for at least half the course but not so much this year. Training has gone well so I will chalk this up to an off day. I think I am still where I need to be but will be tweaking some things.
Matt Wright’s Willow TT: This was my second year competing at Willow. The weather was decent: partly sunny, 45 degrees, and only moderate wind. I raced the Eddy Mercks Category this time since I no longer own a TT bike. I placed a little better in this category finishing 12th out of 18 riders with a time of 39:00:02. I averaged 20.3 MPH. I felt pretty good about the race and look forward to competing again soon!
Josh Haas’ Willow TT: My 2nd year at Willow is in the books. My goal was to improve my time from last year. Technically I did that, but only by seven seconds so it wasn’t the window of improvement I was hoping for. But I still felt pretty fast and averaged 23.5mph which I’m pleased with for the end of April.