If you’ve ever wanted to give time trialling a go but were worried didn’t have the right kit, you’re certainly not alone.
The UK has seen a rise in the number of road bike only TT events as riders look to take the aero arms race out of the equation, with coaching and aerodynamic experts at Aerocoach now launching their own national series of road bike time trials.
The Aerocoach Road Bike TT National Series 2020 is a calendar of around 50 events across the UK with rules that level the playing field for experienced and beginner time triallists.
Director of Worcestershire-based Aerocoach, Dr B Xavier Disley, said he was inspired to set up the series through his own love of time trialling and the decline in entrants to regular open and club TT events.
He told Cycling Weekly: “It’s my opinion that there is a perceived barrier to entry to time trials, where riders think that they need to have a super expensive all singing all dancing bike to take part.
“However TTs are much more inclusive than this and you can race on pretty much anything, for only a few quid at a time in locations all round the country.
“This year we’ve gone all in and decided to promote a full series – I really think that this will open things up to new demographics and be a real boost.”
The aero restrictions for entering the road bike-only time trials may differ between events, but the general rules include no aerobars, clip-on bars or aero extensions, hands must be on the handlebars at all times (no resting forearms on the bars), wheels must have 12 speaks each with a maximum rim depth of 90mm, helmets must have no visor and must not cover the rider’s ears (no TT helmets).
Aerocoach was involved in its first road bike-only club event two years ago and promoted the race on social media, attracting a huge amount of attention. The following year the event was held as an open TT (requiring pre-entry), this year developing into a full series.
Dr Disley said: “In the past TTs were one of the few competitive outlets for people looking to test themselves on a bike, but these days you have demographics from triathlon, sportive, cyclocross, et cetera, who all might want to experience a TT at some point without necessarily thinking they need a new bike to do so.”
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Racing kicks off on February 29 with the Sotonia CC Leg Loosener 14.8mile TT in the New Forest, with events held throughout the season until the finale on September 26. See the full list of events here.
The series is being run through Cycling Time Trials (CTT), the national governing body for TTs, which means you will need to be a member of a CTT affiliated club and will need to enter in advance.
