In 2008, members of the MetLife Pro-Am Cycling Team left their mark in nearly all the stage races they competed in. The success of the MetLife team in stage races this past season is in part due to the technology they are using. MetLife’s recent successes have come in the time trial portions of stage races rather than the road stages. At the Tour of New Jersey in June, two MetLife cyclists finished in the top 10 while other teams struggled to get one rider into the top 10. At the Fitchburg Longo Classic, Charlie McCarthy stunned the Cat 2 field by winning the opening time trial by over 20 seconds, at the Working Man’s Stage Race, Corey Masson took the race leaders jersey by dominating the individual time trial. These results are not surprising if you take note of the fact that at the MetLife cycling team posted solid time trial results all season long, highlighted in the New England Bicycle Association’s “Charlie Baker Time Trial Series” where Corey Masson, Brad Sheehan and Chris Coutu took the top three spots in the second event of the season. Taken together, these recent successes affirm that the MetLife Pro-Am Cycling Team has acquired some of the most talented individuals in New England, but these results also reveal that MetLife team members are paying close attention to details during time trial events.

Powertap powermeters, standard equipment for MetLife cyclists

An important piece of technology that gives MetLife an edge in the time trial events are the powermeters that they are using. Members of the MetLife team use powermeters to improve and fine tune their efficiency by objectively measuring physical exertion during training and racing. The “Powertap” powermeter made by Saris www.saris.com , offers these athletes real time information about how much power is being generated by the athlete during both training and racing. The data is recorded on a cycling computer and can later be uploaded and analyzed on a PC or a Mac. Team members have learned some important lessons from the data acquired during training and racing.

Brads uses the Ultra Aero Trek TTX for time trial events

Lesson #1) Aerodynamic equipment makes a difference in time trials. To illustrate this point, Brad Sheehan, Chris Coutu, Graham Garber and Nick Bennette compared data after the Tour of New Jersey time trial. As expected, Brad Sheehan at 155lbs. clocked the fastest time of this lot while expending the least amount of energy (he averaged 320 watts for just over 21 minutes). The fact that Brad was the lightest out of the group may have helped him get more bang for the buck, so to speak. However, what is surprising about this data is that Nick Bennette (at 175lbs, the same weight as Graham and just a few pounds heavier than Chris) put in a superb effort, averaging 376 watts – over 40 watts higher than Chris and Graham – for 22 minutes, yet recorded the slowest time out of the this group. A closer look at Nick’s data reveals that his choice of equipment (a traditional spoked wheel over a disc and traditional jersey over an aerodynamic skinsuit) lead to losses in efficiency during his time trial effort. If you compare Brad and Nick’s data you can see that Nick’s top speeds never rival Brad’s because at higher speeds, when aerodynamic drag is at its highest, Brad is creating less drag than Nick. Thus, even when Nick is pushing harder (then Brad) on the pedals during the downhill portions of the course (where his weight is not a handicap) he is losing time. In simpler terms, Nick’s choice of equipment is what handicapped his time trial results, not his physical performance.

Brad doses his effort at the Charlie Baker time trial

Lesson #2) There is a time to “hit it” and a time to “quit it.” When comparing power data from a single athlete on the same course during similar weather conditions one can finally get an insight into how changes in riding/pedaling style influence speed and efficiency. To illustrate this point, Brad Sheehan and Graham Garber used the 10-mile long Charlie Baker Time Trial course as a testing ground for pedaling technique. Brad and Graham performed two race efforts on the course during very similar weather conditions to see what it took to maintain over 28 miles per hour on the course. In Brad’s first effort, he maintained just under 320 average watts and averaged just under 28 miles per hour. In Graham’s first effort he maintained 340 average watts with about the same speed. In Brad’s later effort he upped the average wattage to 340 watts (a 20 watt increase) and upped his average speed to 28.3 miles per hour (a formidable increase in speed on this course – Brad came within seconds of former US Pro Champion Mark McCormack’s course record that stood for over five years). Brad’s results are not a tremendous surprise because they suggest that an increase in physical effort translates into increased speed.

Graham is too steady in his effort

However, Graham proved that an increase in effort doesn’t always result in an increase in speed. Graham increased his effort when he averaged 392 watts (over 52 watts more than he did during his first effort) while barely increasing his overall speed. At first glance this seems to defy the laws of physics; how is this possible? Graham’s second effort was far less efficient than his first effort. If you look closely at the data you will realize that unlike Brad’s power which is never constant during his TT efforts (Brad pushes harder on the pedals when he’s climbing and recovers when he’s descending lowering his average power output and increasing his efficiency), Graham’s power output stays at a relatively constant 400 watts, the end result is that Graham losses momentum over the rolling hills while Brad maintains his momentum by varying/dosing his efforts. Ultimately Brad isn’t working harder, he’s just working smarter.

Sometimes the wind effects the outcome

Lesson #3) Sometimes you can just blame it on the wind. Two efforts by the same rider (Graham) using the same equipment were recorded on the same eight mile course under different wind conditions. The end result was a difference of speed of almost 2mph and a difference in time of over a minute. This fact shouldn’t be overlooked in New England cycling events because the weather is subject to change very rapidly. The fact that wind direction during the opening stage of the Fitchburg/Longsjo Stage Race can impact finishing times by over a minute is pretty remarkable (for data on this see the gallery associated with the article), as the weather conditions at this event have been known to change very, very quickly. Unfortunately, MetLife’s Brad Sheehan has yet to catch a break on this often windy course where, historically, he has competed in extremely unfavorable wind conditions over the last three years. We are hoping that the wind is more cooperative this year so that he might apply some of the lessons learned over the past year.