Tour de Richmond Park Leaderboard – year to date 2018
This week’s dramatic change in the weather has seen a string of quick laps recorded for the Tour de Richmond Park. Twelve out of the fastest fifteen efforts were completed on 18/19 April. Apart from the sheer pleasure of finally being able to ride in short sleeves, two meteorological factors came into play: higher temperatures and a favourable wind direction.
As noted in an earlier blog, changes in temperature have a far greater impact on air density than variations in atmospheric pressure and humidity. When I completed a lap last week, the temperature was 6oC, but on 19 April it was closer to 26oC. The warmer weather had the effect of reducing air density by more than 7%. Theoretically, this should allow you to ride about 2% faster for the same effort. Using a physics model I built last year to analyse Strava segments, it is possible to estimate the effect of variations in the factors that determine your position on the leaderboard. Based on an average power of 300W and some reasonable estimates of other variables, this rise in temperature would reduce your time from 16:25 to 16:04 (as expected, 2% quicker).
The other key factor is the wind. On 18/19 April, it was blowing from the south or southeast. This was not the mythical easterly that provides a tailwind up Sawyers Hill, but according to the analysis in another earlier blog, it is generally beneficial for doing a quick lap around the park.
I clocked up a decent time this morning, to reach 15th place on the year-to-date leaderboard, but I failed to take my own advice on the best time of day. The traffic tends to be lighter first thing in the morning or in the evening, when the park closes. After waiting until mid-morning for the temperature to rise, I ended up being blocked by slow-moving vehicles on two occasions.
Although it was frustrating having to brake for traffic, the really puzzling thing was an average power reading of 254W. This is much lower than the other riders on the leaderboard. Last week, I did a lap in 16:44 at an average power of 313W, which seems much more reasonable. Admittedly, I was wearing a skin suit today, but that would not have saved 50W. It is possible that I had some drafting benefit from the numerous cars in the park and some favourable gusts of wind. However, my suspicion is that my Garmin Vector pedals had not calibrated correctly, after I switched them from my road bike, before today’s ride.
The concluding message is get on your bike and enjoy the sunshine. And why not try to beat your best time for the Tour de Richmond Park?
Science4Performance 