Yes good point.Interesting analysis Del but I think you are missing one logic step. Improving your start will come at a cost. For instance, yesterday I averaged 327W for 2 minutes at the start - and was still in 100th place of 344 riders (all cats). I then had to drop into just above threshold to stay with my group. In other words, the harder you go at the start, the less you have for the rest of the race and it becomes a balance.
I'd suggest if you practice harder starts, you add on some hard VO2 followed by some immediate threshold - if you want to simulate racing.
Anyway, great going getting to B - and you'll just get stronger![]()
I did watch your video yesterday and was surprised how much power you were having to put out to hold your place. As you say, it's impossible to stay at the level you were riding without having to back off and keep yourself out of the red. I need to find some workouts that follow the pattern you suggest.
Yesterday was really odd. To get blown out the back that early was really frustrating. As I said before, it was then like riding a 34 km time trial. The one thing I was happy with was that I didn't back off and kept riding, so at least that's something to build on.