Race report Georgia 24 Hour TT race 2026 (3/3) Being on the road I targe…
Race report Georgia 24 Hour TT race 2026 (3/3) Being on the road I targeted to see if I could improve enough to make sure getting 7 laps of the 29.2 miles in the books before switching to short 6.4-mile laps. OK some think that’s easy and what’s the big deal. The big deal was … I am still limping and suffer from a bit of muscle issue on left thigh. I did not race on upright bikes for over 5.5 month and training on the regular bikes was limited. It was like a new start racing again like I did first race in 2022 and restarted after accident in 2023. On lap six I noticed clouds getting dark and the rain came down hard. I made sure the Garmin screen is locked to avoid issues. Technically standard for me but I did not expect issues on a sensor. The sensor error was announced every minute and caused that I could not see speed and distance and map was half hidden plus it kept beeping on me. I ended up ignoring it waiting for rain to calm down. Used the moment and turned off the faulty sensors. I still like data after a race or after a ride but prefer in a race to only use the map, speed and distance. Other data are only distracting while I need to focus on traffic and surroundings. Rain stopped within lap seven. Good thing that the road dried off fast. Unfortunate I had to pay attention on bike lanes due to water pushed dirt on it. Lap seven done in time before dark. First 204.4 miles done in about 12 hours and 45 minutes. Was hoping for 350 miles again even I knew power level could be an issue. Started shorter 6.4-mile laps and realized that on those short laps I could keep speed steadier. Wish I had switched after lap six, but rules are rules to me even if race organizer mentions its ok. Second short lap done and unfortunate light rain started. I did realize some of the 24-hour racers must have given up. Soon as it starts getting dark it rained again. In the dark its tricky with vision. Rain drops on my glasses caused me to get blinded by oncoming traffic. Easy trick was to look down on the road in front of me to avoid getting blinded. Some portions of the road had a bit debris from rain but since it was a 6.4-mile lap it was ok. After lap seven I had one short lap added and I started with 5 short 6.4-mile lap sessions (32 miles). Roads dried off again. Unexpected was that after a few long laps I felt like endurance was bad. After sunset, I was able to pick up a bit speed and keep it steady, so I think my endurance is kind of ok while power is lacking. Nothing extreme but I was able to change strategy again and was targeting 370 miles or more. Paid attention on other racers on the road and noticed partial two more on the lap. It was motivating for me since it kept me pushing a bit harder. In middle of the night, I had three close calls with cars passing me inches away only. I kept holding my line as clean as possible. After a few short laps I got used to them and knew how to best ride them. Hardest was the U-turn at end of the lap. Not because of a U-turn but speeding up on section until finish line was a bit tough. Afterall, I completed the race after 23 hours and 35 minutes with distance of 375.7 miles. Acceptable result for me compared to last 3 years.
