ZZRC TT Team Griffins head to France

This week, Team Griffins headed to France for a Time Trial on the R.G.V. route, a 25-kilometer journey through the beautiful French countryside.

Seven Griffins lined up at the start—a full squad, essentially—consisting of the two Kevin's, Nigel, Ben, Jack, Jacob, and myself. Jacob had already logged 350 kilometres this week, so kudos to him for still joining the team!

The first half of the course was completely flat, making it perfect for everyone to take turns at the front and put in some work. The draft was so strong at times it felt like we could go even harder! That feeling wouldn't last, though. After crossing the aqueduct with all seven riders, we hit the bumpy road toward the finish. The constant 1-2% undulations were a true test, and the group started to show its first cracks. When Kevin S is pushing 7w/kg, you know he's having one of his "good" days.

The group dynamics were a bit unusual today. At one point, we split into two groups: four riders on the right and three on the left. Kevin R closed the gap but paid for it a bit later. With just three kilometres to go, six of us continued, huffing and puffing to the finish line. We crossed it with a great sprint in 31'25".

For a brief moment, with the WTRL website in shambles, we thought we had snagged a top 10 finish! Sadly, the results were restored overnight, and we finished 20th out of 327 teams. Still an amazing result for a team that runs solely on oatmeal and a pinch of creatine.