By Michael Bello
Published 01/24/2023; Updated 01/24/2023

For the fourth week of the NCC Zwift Winter Hill Climb/Time Trial Series, we went to Paris.

This week, the challenge was a two-lap time trial of the Champs-Élysées. In total, that was 8.22 miles with an average gradient of 0% (224 feet of climbing).

It was only fitting that Zinj was snacking on a croissant as we started warming up in Paris today.

Dusty maintained his dominance by winning again tonight. He even broke the 19 minute barrier for his two laps! He claimed he could feel Jonathan breathing down his neck,, which the peloton chuckled at as he won by 23 seconds. Jonathan took second, while Zinj completed the podium. This is even more impressive considering Dusty went skiing this morning.

Kevin was our only solo rider today. Our podium finishers used his time as motivation.

The natural order was maintained as Henry II finished ahead of Henry III for fifth.

Despite not having power last night due to the storm and the countless excuses that go with that, Tim overcame the adversity and finished ahead of Melissa. Melissa only had the snow-blowing excuse.

Everyone else rode solo to the finish.

We had a number of riders with negative splits: Dusty, Henry II, Henry III, Andy, and Chris. With my ERG workout, I had the rare but predictable matching lap times.

Congrats to Henry III and Chris for PRs tonight.

Here are today’s results:

1. King, Dusty; Time: 0:18:58; 25.8 mph; Splits: 0:09:24|0:09:34; 12 points
2. O’Keeffe, Jonathan; Time: 0:19:21; 25.5 mph; Splits: 0:09:32|0:09:49; 11 points
3. Guo, Zinj; Time: 0:19:36; 25.2 mph; Splits: 0:09:40|0:09:56; 10 points
4. Weinman, Kevin; Time: 0:19:38; 25.1 mph; Splits: 0:09:46|0:09:52; 9 points
5. van den Broek, Henry; Time: 0:19:39; 25.1 mph; Splits: 0:09:55|0:09:44; 8 points
6. Wheaton, Henry; Time: 0:19:41; 25.1 mph; Splits: 0:09:54|0:09:47*; 7 points
7. Downey, Tim; Time: 0:19:54; 24.8 mph; Splits: 0:09:56|0:09:58; 6 points
8. Warwick, Melissa; Time: 0:20:14; 24.4 mph; Splits: 0:10:00|0:10:14; 5 points
9. MacDonald, Andy; Time: 0:21:49; 22.6 mph; Splits: 0:10:56|0:10:53; 4 points
10. Wysk, Steve; Time: 0:22:17; 22.1 mph; Splits: 0:10:57|0:11:20; 3 points
11. Stratton, Chris; Time: 0:22:26; 22 mph; Splits: 0:11:22|0:11:04*; 2 points
12. Bello, Michael; Time: 0:25:04; 19.7 mph; Splits: 0:12:32|0:12:32; 1 points

*Strava PR

Here are the series standings:

1. King, Dusty; Event(s) 4; Points: 51.5
2. O’Keeffe, Jonathan; Event(s) 4; Points: 43.5
3. Guo, Zinj; Event(s) 4; Points: 43
4. van den Broek, Henry; Event(s) 4; Points: 38
5. Wheaton, Henry; Event(s) 4; Points: 34.5
6. Warwick, Melissa; Event(s) 4; Points: 32
7. MacDonald, Andy; Event(s) 4; Points: 23
8. Downey, Tim; Event(s) 3; Points: 19
9. Weinman, Kevin; Event(s) 2; Points: 17
10. Wysk, Steve; Event(s) 4; Points: 15
10. Cunniffe, Lauren; Event(s) 3; Points: 15
12. Krause, Ross; Event(s) 1; Points: 12.5
13. Stratton, Chris; Event(s) 4; Points: 10
14. Streeter, Keith; Event(s) 3; Points: 7
15. Bello, Michael; Event(s) 4; Points: 4

Next week, we will climb the Volcano KOM in Watopia.

Participants in the Hill Climb/TT series may ride any time during the day or participate in the group ride version at 6:00 PM. Please visit the NCC Zwift page for the series rules.

Here is the NCC Zwift schedule:

  • Tuesday 6:00 PM – Time Trial / Hill Climb
  • Wednesday 8:00 PM – Social Ride
  • Thursday Evenings – Road Race (times will vary between 5 PM and 7 PM EST)
  • Sat 9:00 AM – Social Ride

Join the NCC Club on Zwift or select the link in the discussion board/calendar for invite-only rides.

Check the NCC calendar for full details on all events. To learn more about the NCC and Zwift rides, please visit our Zwift page.