Time Trial Cycling 101

Time trial (TT) racing can be an exhilarating activity and a great way to reach your fitness goals. Here's a breakdown of how time trial cycling works and tips to boost your own time trial performance:

What is Time Trial Cycling?

Time trial (TT) racing is a world of its own in competitive cycling. You're just one rider against the clock, with no peloton and no pacers to pull you as you draft to regain strength.

The isolation of the sport is a huge factor that can allow you to create big separations between yourself and your competition. They can't follow you like they can in a group race. There's also no way to reference how the competition is doing. You just have to put your head down and book it.

Time trials can be a stand-alone event or part of a stage race, where your TT time is factored into your general classification (GC), which is the accumulated time for a rider throughout each stage.

One of the best resources on the topic of time trial cycling is Jim Miller, V.P. of Athletics at USA Cycling. He coached Kristin Armstrong during her 2008 Olympic run to a TT gold medal, and he oversees USA Cycling's world championship and Olympic teams. He's also in charge of USA Cycling's National Development Program, whose goal is building the next generation of American professional cyclists.

More: 10 Common Time Trial Mistakes

Time Trial Cycling Vs. Peloton Cycling

Miller emphasizes the diversity of skills required to succeed in time trial cycling. "It (time trial cycling) is an acquired skill -- you don't just know how to do it," Miller says. "It takes a lot of practice just understanding the physiology, biomechanics and aerodynamics."

Also, "You can produce the most power in the world but with a poor setup or positioning on bike, it doesn't matter. You'll get beat," Miller adds.

More: 3 Elements of Faster Time Trialing

Mental Preparation for Time Trials

The key to mentally tackling a time trial course is to break it down and decipher the best way to attack each section -- then push yourself to the limit within those parameters.

Miller explains: "If you're looking at a total course as 35 minutes, but you're going to do an 8-minute effort up a hill with a 3-minute break downhill, that can be all you need [to do well]. If you work for those eight minutes at your limit, you can do it."

According to Miller, the key is to know when to push your intensity level. "If you think of it as 35 minutes of pushing it at your limit, it's like drinking from a fire hose."

More: Time-Trial Tips From 6 Experts

Training Differences

Some cyclists train for time trials in groups, doing all the work by pulling their partner along in the draft, but Miller doesn't recommend that.

"A lot of the training for time trials is focused on being able to produce the power on your own," Miller says. "You need to start mentally focusing on that effort and be able to harness it."

He also believes you have to incorporate intervals in your training. These can vary anywhere from a minute to 30 minutes. Although it depends on what phase of training you're in or how close to you are to the event, at some point you should cover the gamut and do intervals off all those lengths.

More: Time Trial Debate: Steady Power or Steady Speed?

Overcoming Obstacles

Two challenges in cycling you must overcome are gravity, if you're going uphill, and aerodynamics, if you're riding flats or downhill. If you reduce aero drag, then you reduce the amount of aero drag you need to overcome and can improve your speed.

For this reason, it's important to get all of your equipment as streamlined as possible, from your helmet to your handlebars and wheels. Whatever you can do to shave off precious seconds of your time will make a difference.

More: The Race of Truth: Training for a Time Trial