Biking in the North West

On a sunny day biking around on the east side of Seattle is just nice. This is North Bend and Mt. Si

100 hours of training

Time is flying and it is mid March already. I can feel spring is in the air, I have allergy and the next months will be loud and interesting. On days with a lot of pollen I run or bike indoor to make sure I can get the workout done properly. But I am use to having allergy so this is my normal :-)

Training is going OK. Of course I wish that I could have done more, but to be honest I am happy with what I have done so far this year. I just passed 100 hours of training.



 

As you can see my training is polarized.



 

I feel that I am getting better, stronger and fitter. Not only because of my polarized training, but also that I now have several years of consistent training behind me.



 

With the weather getting better I can get some longer bike rides in, but I will try to maintain focus on running. Running is the best training for the endurance engine.

Are triathletes stupid customers?

The definition of a stupid customer is a person that buy everything in hope that it will solve a problem. A typical customer will buy some item that solve no problem, but it looked like a really good buy 3.30 at night on TV after too many beers, or even worse, anything from the Skymall catalog.

What about a fat burning creme.....



Then, what about triathletes. Are triathletes stupid customers? To use a line from the movie Singles, "Sometimes". How can I say that? I can say that after watching triathletes in action. But here you have some products that have been in the triathlon spotlight over the last years, compression socks, Vibram fivefingers, mid/front foot shoes, no gluten, no carbohydrates, ice baths, solid food on the bike, magic bracelets etc. These are just some of the fabs the last years.

But one thing is true about the sport of triathlon. It is a first adapter sport. Nothing gets untested. But not all things should be tested at all and that is my point.

For anything related to the body, trust science. If the product has claims, how can the claims be proven. Do not trust anyone saying; test it and find out. You can say that science does not know everything, and that is true. If science knew everything it could stop. But claims should be backed up by verifiable facts, not stories.

There are no shortcuts or secrets to success. No magic blue pill (doping is cheating, remember), no hidden secret that will make you to a speed machine. A good example is the result of the fictional book Born to run. Many got caught in the wave of minimalistic shoes and had to find out that they were not 10 years old, 80 pounds Kenyans running to schools. Sorry, the running without cushioning is just stupid.

But on thing actual can improve your training and make you go faster. It is also free. Get more sleep :-)



 

 

Training in January, back to the future

I kept moving the months after Norseman, but it was more to keep moving than to get fitter. Fall is also the busiest time at work for me combined with a diet full of cookies around Christmas, January could not come at a better time. And January has been good.

Since I am my own coach now I have the pleasure to find out how I will work out. Should I be the TSS and threshold king, a Strava master or a boring Norwegian. I will be a boring Norwegian and it is a reason for that, it is science. I am actually going back to the way of training that I did when I was young, had speed and hair. I am going to be polarized.

I will follow the structure of polarized training, easy on easy days and hard on long intervals days, two hard days a week. If you wonder how this model works check out this presentation from Stephen Seiler, you get it http://www.canal-insep.fr/fr/training-periodization-deep-root-cultural-heritage-and-innovative-paradigms-2013/ei_13_10_va_pr_stephen_seiler-mov

Also I will recommend the discussion on Slowtwich http://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/Polarized_Training_-_Interesting_Lecture_Video__P4931310



Trying to look smart on the treadmill.

With the polarized model it is important to keep the effort down on easy days, and up on hard days. I am now doing 4x8 both on the bike and running. It is hard, but I know it will work. So how did I do in January? Not bad according to this.



I have start using the training diary from Olympiatoppen. It fits this kind of training better than Trainingpeaks.

 

 

Training and competing is FUN

I have taking part in a discussion about what role triathlon has for individuals. And guess what, not everybody agreed. For me, training and competing is fun. Being a triathlete is not what I am. I am a person who also competing in triathlon. But I am also a husband, a dad, an employee and a geek.



I have a feeling that many of the most serious age groupers newer competed in endurance sports when they were 12 – 20 years old and now are trying to catch up. This is of course just a guess. But I think that if you have trained on a high level before you can relax a little more since you put the sport in a bigger picture. The sport is not the picture.



I like to run in the rain, in the cold and in warm weather. Why? Because I like to run, it is enjoyable. If I did not like to swim I would have done duathlon.

 

In the end for me competing and training for triathlon is an activity, not my life. So I have fun doing it, I have fun when the pain sets in, I have fun when I pass someone on a race, and I try to get back to the fun zone when someone pass me. Triathlon is not a description of my life, how I live my life is.

 

[caption id="attachment_363" align="alignnone" width="640"] This is how I have been feeling the last two weeks, being in a fog.[/caption]

So how is training going Halvard?

It is almost Thanksgiving and then Christmas. This is the busiest time for me at work and my wife has been traveling a lot this fall for her work. As you can see I have all the excuses lined up already. But luckily my off season training has not been too bad.

I am not reinventing the wheel when it comes to my training. I am trying to build on the training I did with Coach Tony DeBoom. He got me from the sofa to the top of Gaustatoppen in less than two years so it would be stupid to not learn from it.



Here you have my principles:

• Learn to know yourself


• It is about endurance strength


• Have fun

Learn to know yourself

What does that mean? I am trying to get a good understanding of my body and use that as a data point for decisions making. I am not blindly following any measurement devices but try to use them as a supplement to training, mostly to keep the effort down when I have easy training. It will take time, but I feel that I am starting to get to know my body better now.

 

It is all about endurance strength

Let us be real. I am not swimming fast, bike fast or run like a runner during a long distance triathlon. It is not about the speed, but the strength to keep going. So my running intervals are usually 5x5 minutes uphill, I will also do threshold runs. The goal is to build endurance, not so much the capability to run fast with a lot of acid in the legs like a 1,500 meters runner. On the bike I do two sessions of low revolutions a week. I have good experience with those from my build up to Norseman. Swimming – let’s get back to that in 2014.

Have fun

Training and competitions are about having fun. Yes I can have goal, but the most important is the fun factor. If you take what you do too seriously when it comes to sport, being afraid of failure will be the most dominate thought and suck all life out of the experience.

My new coach is: ME

I have now hired the worst and most rude coach ever, myself. Why? Was I unhappy with my old coach? No, I have nothing but good thing to say about coach Tony DeBoom. He is not only a really knowledgeable coach, but he is a good guy. Tony took me from a coach potato to the black t-shirt at Norseman in under two years. And he did it with a lot of time constrains on my side. Best of all, Tony explained why he wanted me to do the different workouts, me made me a smarter athletes.  But for 2014 I do not have a big goal, so I will coach myself.



So what is my plan for this winter?

I have limited of time so I will focus on VO2max training in the week and hopefully some longer rides/run in the weekend. When I know what races I will participate in I can make a more targeted plan. But now my goal is to increase VO2max and then add longer stuff in the spring.

One thing I will do is running hill intervals on the treadmill having this picture in my head. That hill kicked my butt so it is good to use for motivating.

 



 

I will also try to get some swimming instruction. A good swim will always set you up for a good day in triathlon. I will never be a fast swimmer, but I have room for improvements.



But most of all I will have fun. Training is fun. Getting my but kicked in competition is fun. Feeling in shape is a good feeling. And I might even get faster. It is easier now since I have two years of training in the bank.



 

Nice surprise in my inbox

You do not need to win the lottery to become happy. Yesterday I got an email from a fellow Norseman participant, Inge Amlien. He sent me a picture of me on one of the last climbs of the bike leg. His support crew had taken the picture and he had found my name, search for my email address and then sent me the picture. That is such a nice gesture. Big thanks to Inge and his support crew.

In deph analysis: the bike leg

I had a good swim and T1 was ok. Off with wet suit, hood and socks. On with wool socks, arm warmers, reflective west, gloves, shades and helmet. Also the bike was equipped with white light in front and red in the back like the rules required. Ahead of me was 180k/112m of Norseman bike leg. And what a bike leg it would be.

This is the Norseman profile (minus the last hill, it is for the run leg). Out of the gate you climb for 40k, then it is easier to 90k Geilo, the last half has four hills. Overall over 10,000 feet of vertical climbing.

Profile

But before I spill the beans on the bike course, I have to talk about my choice of bike and wheels. Choosing a bike for Norseman is not easy, it has to climb, decent and stop, the same goes for wheels. My choice of bike was a Cervelo S5 road bike but with the seat at a 76 degree angel, I had clip on aerobars but since went for Shimano Di2 I also had shifters on the aerobars. The crank was a semi compact 36 - 52 with a 28 cassette in the back. One of the best features of this set up is the simplicity and conventional breaks.



My position was a little more aggressive than when this picture was taken.

Then the next question was, what about wheels? I was lucky, Lars Finanger and Mavic asked if I wanted to ride on one of their wheel set. I went with clincher since that is what I am used to and the new 40C. These wheels are versatile and most of all, they have stopping power in dry and wet conditions. Overall I am really satisfied with my bike and wheels.

The road to Dyranut

Back to the bike leg. Out of T1 I was surrounded by a lot of athletes. The first kilometers are almost flat and you leave the main road and start biking on the old road. This is a scenic road, but narrow and bumpy. The flats were over and the climbing started. An what a climb. The climb was as brutal as the nature surrounding us was beautiful. Part of the old road is closed so all the athletes had to ride 2k in 8% climbing in a tunnel. That was quite an experience. I felt I had control, I got passed by clearly stronger riders but I also passed others. Half way through the first climb I met my support team for the first time. My brother had everything ready, but I asked for the only thing he did not have. Poor guy, he was a champion all through the whole race. This is the sign I passed at this point, it is for the drivers going down hill.



After this point you stay on the main road up to Dyranut and what met me? HEADWINDS. Yepp, I would battle headwinds most of the day. It was so bad that I had to climb in aero position due to the wind. It started to get quite cold also. I told my brother I needed my west at Dyranut. Dyranut can be beautiful like this picture shows, sadly it was taken on Thursday and not race day.



I had a short pit stop at Dyranut, off with the reflective west and on with my Castelli Gabbe jacket with the arms taken off. Now the plan was to enjoy the ride to the halfway point at Geilo. The only thing in the way was that headwind. I could feel the climb in my legs but tried to relax in the down hills and not push in the few up hills. The kilometers ticked of, suddenly I passed Haugastoel and then Ustaoset. It was really nice to see all the spectators standing in the wind with flags. I tried to smile back. After Ustaoset I could enjoy some nice down hills, I was closing in to the halfway point but it had taken me almost 4 hours. Norseman was really xtreme.





After the halfway point I had four climbs in front of me. My brother asked if I wanted to know my position I was and I said yes. He said I was number 80. I was in shock, had I started too hard? I shouted back that my plan was to spin up the hills and make sure I did not cook my legs. The first hill went uneventful, at the top my plan was to enjoy the nice cabins surrounding Kikut but mother nature wanted to send me more headwind and also some frozen rain. It was cold, and even colder when I went down hill. I was shaking on my bike. When I rolled into the bottom of the next hill I told my brother I needed my neoprene cloves. I got warmer up the hill and it was nice to get warm cloves at the peak. I still had to battle rain and wind, but now I had two out of four climbs behind me.





The third climb went the same way. I made sure I kept my legs spinning and even if someone passed me I did not push. My brother did an amazing job reminding me to eat and also gave me bananas and new bottles. Down from the third climb you have a long downhill. It was cold but I had time to relax a little bit. Ahead of me was the last big climb, Imingfjell.

The last of the climbs is long and grinding. I tried to get as easy ride as possible and got passed by some athletes. It always seamed to be one more turn all the way to the top, but after way to long I was on the top of the climb and was met with rain, headwind and fog. The climb had been hard, the 10k false flat at the top is something I will remember for ever. It was so hard, so bad and so cold.



My brother and dad stood 6 meters from the road and tried to shout to me but I could not hear them. When I reached the end of the "flat" I had a challenging downhill with switchbacks. I was really happy I had the Mavic C40 wheel set. I had breaking power in the rain and even though I hit several potholes the wheels kept performing.

Down Tessungdalen I tried to bike as fast as I could. The road surface is really bad so I hit potholes, had to make bunny hops over gravel and it was still raining. I passed my moms grave and some tears appeared. It was a special feeling.

Finally the bike leg was over. I had used 7.50, the longest I have ever been on a bike. What a bike leg, what weather, but I did good. Overall I am really proud of my performance.

Norseman 2013 Race Report

I did it, I raced Norseman 2013 and I accomplished my goal finishing at the peak of mount Gaustatoppen and get the black t-shirt. Here you have my experiences before, during and after "the race".

Traveling

My Norseman adventure got off to a great start. I got upgraded by Icelandair and could enjoy good legroom and nice service from Seattle to Reykjavik. I took this as a good sign for what should come.

Before the race

I landed in Oslo Wednesday and was met by my brother. We drove over to his house only 25 minutes away and I could start putting my bike together and get some food in me. My bike had survived the flight and everything worked, but to be on the safe side we went for a short ride to tightening the bolts with a torqued wrench at a local ski and cycling store. On the way my front wheel got a flat. No panic, the tube got changed and all the bolts torqued. I used the rest of the day to catch up with my brother, his family and to eat, eat and eat.

On Thursday we packed the car and drove to the beautiful town Drammen to pick up my father. I am not sure if I was more happy to race or to be with family, but this is the essence of Norseman, you can do both. We drove up beautiful Uvedal so I could take a peak of the last climb up to Imingfjell. That climb looked long and steep. Then we drove the rest of the bike course in reverse. The three climbs after Geilo (91k) were all long and hard, but I did not feel that they were intimidating. We had a stop a Dyranut, the highest point of the bike course, it is after 40k. This was the first time I could see that Norseman was happening, cars with bikes and skinny people in lycra with logos on it. The drive down to Eidfjord is beautiful but also scary. The first hill of Norseman is LONG, STEEP and HARD.

Since I got my spot late, the only rooms I could managed to find was not what I would call hotel standard.



The rest of the day was used to walk around and to just enjoy being in Eidfjord. I was getting ready.

Friday before the race

The morning started with the classic Norseman swim a 9 in the morning. The water was beautiful, flat and not too cold. As always I think everybody is swimming so fast, so everything was normal.



It was fun meeting all the Americans. I tried to give them some advice about the course since I knew it a little bit better. I also had people coming and talk to me based on my posting about Norseman at Slowtwich, I guess I sparked some interests for the race :-) Of course I spent money on Norseman gear. I need to look good for my next sprint triathlon.

At three o'clock the race meeting started, now it got real. The race meeting mostly went through safety and looking back on race day I understand why. Norseman is extreme, but it is extreme with focus on safety, kudos to the organizers. I used the rest of the afternoon to organize the equipment, food, eat dinner and went to bed early for a bad nigh of sleep. And yes, during the night it started to be rainy and windy.

Race day

I woke up 1.45, this was it. I could feel it, the day I had for so long prepared for was finally here. It was scary but also a happy feeling. Now it was time to get to T1.



At the dock the Norseman ferry was saying good morning to me. The place was full of nervous athletes and really tired support crew. My bike got checked, you need working lights and a reflective west at Norseman due to riding in tunnels. It was time to get the last good lucks and enter the ferry.



The mood on the ferry is special and just like what you see in the Norseman videos. When the ferry has found its right position and stops we all waked towards the opening gate. The jump was ahead. This was it, this was NORSEMAN.

Norseman 2013

The swim

The jump was easy, the water was not too bad. I was swimming with a neoprene hood, ear plugs and neoprene socks. After the jump I swan to the kayaks and find a position close to shore. After 10 minutes the ferry blow its horn and off we went. The first thing that hit me was a wave followed another on and another one. The swim was not too choppy but breathing could be challenging. I focused on staying calm and was trying not to swallow saltwater. Personally I felt the swim went slow. My goal time was 1.10 with ideal conditions so I was surprised when I exit the water in 1.15. Of course I had a big fall when I was trying to get out of the water, at least it was entertaining for the crowed.

T1

Wetsuit off, wool socks and arm warmers on. Not a speedy transition but ok.

The bike leg

Luckily you have some kilometers to get warm before the first climb starts. Norseman uses the old road when possible, it is narrow but the scenery is stunning. Then the climbing started and it was steep, steep and steep. I was using 36 - 28 and just focused on spin my legs. The minutes started to tick along faster than the kilometers. After a while I got to Voringsfossen and my first meeting with my support, my brother was shouting EAT, something he shouted a lot that day. The rest of the climb up to Dyranut was not pleasant. The combination of steep hills and hard and cold headwind made the first 1/4 of the bike ride something to remember, and it was just an introduction to the rest of the leg.

At Dyranut I needed to put on a jacket, it was cold. My brother was prepared and we had a fast pit stop. Finally I could enjoy the flats and downhills towards Geilo. But what met me, more cold headwind. The few times I got sidewind it felt so easy. But it was nice to get some speed on the bike and the downhills gave me a chance to fuel and relax a little. I understood that managing the legs was the key for getting the black t-shirt.

I was quite shocked when I got the message that I was number 80 at Geilo, had I open too hard, it did not feel that way. But I decided to take it easy the next four hills. I did not want to blow my legs apart by racing like an idiot. After Geilo Norseman has four long climbs followed by some challenging descents. And on raceday it was windy. I keep my heart rate down on the climb up to Kikut, looked at all the nice cabins and rode into some freezing rain. Yepp, now I did not have just headwind, I had frozen rain also. The descent was cold and tricky. The road condition was not good so I could not cost down. I had to stay on top of my game.

At the beginning on the next climb I was met by my brother. I told him that I needed my neoprene gloves. As always he said take it easy in the hills and EAT, EAT and EAT. I let my legs spin up the hill. For some reason the hills at Norseman are harder to ride than they look on the race profile. At the top I got new gloves and it felt good. Two climbs done, just two to go.

Next climb I followed the same recipe, I kept an eye on my heart rate and kept it as close to zone 1 as possible. Due to the weather and the fact that I had been out for many hours I could feel that my body have had to work. But I was within myself and had control. After the third climb it was a long descent. The road conditions were not good so I could not relax at all. But I had been riding 125k and just had the last climb left, and it was a monster.

The climb up to Imingfjell is 10k long. It is not too steep, just grinding. I was following my plan and let some other athletes pass me. The top of the climb was not getting closer fast enough, but suddenly I was in the last turns. At the top my plan was to smile and enjoy the 10k false flat. But now the weather was really bad, strong headwind, fog with 20 feet visibility and heavy rain.  I had to ride 36 - 28 on the flat to keep going. My brother tried to yell something to me from the side of the road but I could hardly see him, and I did not hear him at all. I will remember those 10k at Imingfjell for the rest of my life. A little side note, I was biking in a trishorts the whole way so it got sometimes chilly on my leg.

After Imingfjell I managed to get down the switchback without any big problems. Those were tricky and I talked to one athlete who did not see one of the turns due to fog and went off the road. The last 20k is following the river down the valley. The road here is so bad the resurfacing was planed for 2013, sadly for me it will happen is September. I am not sure how my wheels survived some of the potholes. But it was bumpy. Close to T2 I passed the church where my mom us buried.  It was special and I choked up, but it was a nice experience. Bike split 7.50

T2

Getting off the bike was nice. Getting new and dry socks even better. My brother was there as always and gave me one last advice before the running, EAT.

The run

When I ran out of T2 I got the message that I was number 80. This was crazy. I knew then that if I did not do anything stupid I would mange to get the black t-shirt. That was a nice feeling. I rand out with a box of Coke, it was helpful to keep the speed down and it was nice to get some calories. I was jogging along and the kilometers ticked off. I actually did not feel too bad. I was of course starting to feel tired, but I also had a feeling of control. The run course is 20k flat, 5k false flat and steep climbing the rest. I took some strategic short walks between 20 and 25k, my brother had to fix his car and of course that is when I needed more fuel. But this is Norseman and some of other athletes support teams gave me some thing to drink. During the race my brother had done this to other athletes.

One of the things you remember from competing in Norseman is the first time you see mount Gaustatoppen on the run. It is unreal. The mountain is so high and so intimidating, but you also know that the only thing you want is to get to the top. I made it to the bottom of the hill in ok shape. I now knew I would get the black t-shirt and could stop racing and start enjoying. The last hill is 16k/10m and has the name zombie hill, it turns fit athletes into zombies.



The hill starts at the bottom of the valley by the power lines and finish at the peak, it is hard.

The walk

For the rest of the run leg my plan was to walk. Zombie hill is 10% so you climb a lot. My brother walked with me and we talked and talked. He was carrying all I needed and some more. I switched my tritop to a wool sweater, that was nice. How steep was it? My kilometer/mile time was 12.30/19 minutes. The first goal was to get to 32.5k, this is where you get the message if you can finish at the top. When I got there the race director told me;"good news, you can finish at the top, bad news, the elevator is broken so you have to walk down". This was Norseman.

From 32k and to 37k when the trail begin I was walking quite slowly. I was tired and just wanted to keep going. Then I saw the gate and the flags. This is where you are leaving the road and walk the last 4.7k on rock. It is not a trail, more a bad path on rocky rocks. Before I entered the trail one of the race organizers check my backpack. Due to safety you need to carry warm cloths and a flashlight. I got a burst of energy and even though I now walked with really tired legs the last kilometers did not feel too bad at all. I guess I was on a Norseman high.









And finally I crossed the finish line with my brother and my dad. I had done it. Right there it all made sense, all the pain was worth it. I had been focused the whole day and now I could relax and yes I cried. What a race, what a journey, what a support team.

At the top you get tomato soup and a blanket. Right there those were gifts from God. I looked at my watch. I had used 6.30 on the run and remember that I rand the first 21k in 2.02. The last hill is hard.

But this is Norseman and now me and my support crew had to walk down again. Yes my tired legs had to get off the mountain and yes it started to get dark. But everything was perfect after a perfect day. And now I am wearing black

Norseman equipment: clothing during the bike leg

You never know what kind of conditions you will face during Norseman. Most likely you will face several since you start biking in a fjord landscape, than bike over a tree less mountain area and then you go up and down from valley to mountain in true Tour de France style. If it is warm, the choice will be simple. I will race in my Pearl Izumi two piece tri kit.

 

Helmet

I have taken inspiration from the American Olympic champion in time trail Kristen Armstrong and will race a Catlike Chrono Aero WT. It is comfortable, easy to adjust and not too heavy. The helmet comes with a visor; most likely I will not use it.



Jacket

After this year’s Giro d’Italia the choice for a bad weather jacket/west was easy. The bad weather in Italy made most of the team scrambling to get a hand on Castelli Gabba jackets. The jacket is nice, you can take off the arms and then you will have a nice west.



Warmers

I will use Castelli Nano arm and leg warmers. These are almost water proof easy to use and will make it easy for me to adjust during the race.



Gloves and shoe cover

I easily freeze on my hands and will use gloves during the race. If it is warm I will use a pair of old Specialized gloves. If it is raining I will use special raining cloves from Castelli.



 

Norseman equipment: the bike

Go to any triathlon web site and you will see that the bike plays an important part of the triathlon brain. Most triathletes will never get tired of discussing, arguing and thinking of bikes. Why? Bikes are fun, they are mechanical, you can upgrade, change parts and most of all like with wheels you can buy speed.

 

The Norseman course is different than many other triathlon courses. At Norseman I will climb, time trail, go downhill, the surface will constantly change, it can be windy, you will need good breaks. Actually it is hard to find one bike that can do it all.

 

This is my setup:

Frame: Cervelo S5

Gruppo: Ultegra Di2

Crank: Roto compact

Clip on aerobars: Profile Design with Di2 shifters

Wheels: Mavic 40C

Bottle chases: some plastic



 

Norseman equipment: the wheels

During Norseman I will spend a lot of time on my bike. The bike course is not flat; it goes up, down, twist and turn. Even though Norway is raking in money from its oil and gas business, hardly any goes to making sure the road surfaces are good. So I will ride a challenging course on at time bad asphalt during potential bad weather (remind me why I am paying for this again…..)



Picking out the perfect Norseman wheel is not easy since the wheel has to be able to, climb, break without overheating, aero, tough, reliable and light. No wheel is all of those, so my goal was to find the closest best match. My choice is Mavic Cosmic Carbone 40C.



Mavic is not the first brand to be discussed in triathlon circus. But is you are following professional cycling you know the brand very well. Most likely you have gotten some Mavic training wheels on your bike when you bought it, you have trained on them and if you are honest they did perform excellent. Many triathletes have good experiences with Mavics training wheels, but are not familiar with the racing options. Mavics racing options are bomb proof, well made high performance wheels. Even more important, the wheels perform under all kinds of conditions, not just on a flat , dry course with no turns.



Why the Cosmic Carbone 40C for Norseman? I need a wheel set that first of all is clincher, which can take the beating from the road surface, which can climb and race TT, but on other factor played an important role. Carbone clinchers have not been famous for their ability to break; actually they have become infamous for overheating. Mavic’s 40C is the first carbon clincher with the same stopping power as an aluminum wheel.



Conclusion: For Norseman Mavic’s 40C is the best overall wheel for me.