NBRC Cranfield '10' 2nd July 2025

I was rather pleased to have more moderate weather for this event - rather than hitting the 30 degree mark, we were in the low 20s. I looked at the weather and decided it was sufficiently blustery that I needed to take care with my front wheel choice. In the end I think that my decision to ride the P3C with its Hed trispokes was wise. In any case, I want to get some rides on on it to do any fine-tuning before the Duo Normand (if they ever open entries).

The opening section along the bumpy University Way ends with a left turn onto the road to North Crawley and Newport Pagnell (we turn just after the 'civic amenity site'. Much of this leg is downhill, but the expected speed didn't really materialise because of the haed wind. Additionally it was quite difficult to see the many road defects in the evening sun. This particularly bad as you approach North Crawley.

Once at the turn, I went round the roundabout fairly cautiously and set off back up the road. I had been a bit concerned that my average power was a bit lower than I'd hoped for. Maybe this was because of the downward gradients coupled with having to concentrate on stability with a slightly twitchy headwind.

I tried hard to get the effort up for the return leg. I don't think that made much of a difference!

One of the things I've been interested to check up on is my L:R power balance. I've recently resolved a long-standing foot pain which I think has led me to favour my right leg. Indeed, some of my recent rides have show a really concerning L:R balance of 70:30 or worse. I don't often time trial with a power meter able to measure that: the P3 has Favero Assioma pedal dual sided power meters.

By the time I finished, my normalised power was only 242W, about 15W lower than the last time (and only other time) I had ridden this course. In fact, I went about 15 seconds faster than last time, coming in third place and first place on veteran standard. Of course, I really need to compare the Favero Assioma pedals with the Powertap hub I used with the P5. Maybe the pedals are reading low?

 I'm quite encouraged by this ride, if not by the normalized power. Here is the chart of data from the race (click on it to enlarge). It's followed by an overview of the weather during the time trial.