David Millar spent 20 years racing time trials at the professional level. This episode of the Roadman Cycling podcast pulls the actual system he used and breaks it down for amateur riders training on less than 8 hours a week.
Key Takeaways
Millar's first point is that most amateur TT riders are chasing the wrong things. Thinner tires at maximum pressure, massive gears, eight numbers on the computer screen. He says 23mm tires are fine, 25mm on the back is acceptable, and the only metric that actually matters during a race is speed. Not power and heart rate combined. Speed. It took him years of racing to learn that, and most club riders never get there.
The six-week plan he outlines has three core sessions: position training so you can actually pedal in your aero setup, pace control intervals because even WorldTour riders get this wrong, and speed endurance work to overload the body before race day. Get those three things right, add a consistent test course you can repeat, sort your skin suit and clip-on bars, and Millar says you will go faster. That's the system. It's not complicated.
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If you want to understand the training principles underneath this, the episode on why riding slower makes you faster on the bike covers the zone 2 side of things. And if your fitness has plateaued despite consistent training, the seven fixable reasons your VO2 max is low gives you a practical checklist.
KEY QUOTES
“the fastest position is the best position you want to find the fastest position for you not the fastest position full stop”
“another one is the big that big gears are better this is something that kind of was something that I I had to learn the hard way isn't true that's what I think people forget they think that the bigger the gear it's the faster they're going to go it's not it's how fast you pedal that gear”
“the third thing is a speed endurance be able to kind of train your body to handle the high workload by overloading it in the training so when it comes to actual race day it's not a surprise”
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Hi and welcome to the David Miller four-part time trial program where you're going to learn how you can massively reduce your time trial times off less than eight erors training per week I'd like to really kind of share what I've learned in the last 20 years which I think is quite a lot I mean that's not just through learning through other people but everything I learned through my mistakes and my own learning curve so what's your Reon to the top five things uh we can do as a you know an amateur TT year you have to the first one is you have to work with what you have so don't think that you're compromised and you're not going to go any faster unless you go and buy a a faster bike as as it's advertised and that leads into number two if you like of the kind of five myths I'd like to break which is the fastest position is the best position you want to find the fastest position for you not the fastest position full stop so what's the the sort of Tain guys can do it's it's still something that I hear a lot even from top level riders that they need the thinnest tires possible at super high pressure yeah and I can tell you that that doesn't because your best is slightly wider almost the same that you used in the road um but 23 23 is is perfect you could even go 25 on the back cuz you're not worrying about air resistance on the back what's our our next uh our next Big M that's back um yeah another one is the big that big gears are better this is something that kind of was something that I I had to learn the hard way isn't true that's what I think people forget they think that the bigger the gear it's the faster they're going to go it's not it's how fast you pedal that gear that's kind of probably leads into the fifth thing is the most important thing in a time trial is speed yeah and and it takes a long it takes a lot of time trials to kind of learn how to read speed so instead of having power and heart rate and kind of the distance and all like eight different things all it's about is actually the speed so we're going to get deep into some of this stuff but now we're going to get Ked up and we're going to go out we're going to hit the RO you're going to show me show me how to become a decent iron trialist like the old days let's go all right dve it's great to get out on the bikes spin the legs uh so I want to talk to you a little bit about your system so there's five very clear points to this system five areas that people can work
Done and they can just expect to make massive gains if they can implement the suggestions they're talking about so you're we're talking about position straight away yeah I mean obviously because this is the race of Truth and it's you on your own against the clock the most important thing is to make yourself fast and that means getting an aor position is a position you won't use in the road normally not necessarily the fastest possible position but the fastest possible position that you can ride in it is shrinking down your frontal area so you got to make yourself as small as possible and that's how get our bar arms in this position narrow get your hands like this then the little trick is pull your shoulders in so you're making yourself narrower and shrink your head in and then you really do kind of disappear it's class you have disappeared yeah and that's it it's as simple as that the next part of your system we're talking about we get pretty in detail about equipment and Equipment choices but again just one or two for the listeners give me a couple of you know me and you heading down to the bike shop what's the first couple of things I should get for want to get faster number one try bars like you've got on your bike I mean this is obviously a full specialist bike but you can just have a road bike like yours and if you just buy those clip-on bars that's kind of that's what's going to put you in your position and the second thing probably the second most important thing really is the speed suit or the skin suit whatever you want to call it the one piece cuz your body is the biggest part the biggest thing you got to punch through the air and if You' got baggy clothes on or it's just you're going to be causing so much drag brilliant okay so the third point on the five part system that we're covering it's it's strategy so I'm talking strategy you know what do I do on the day of the race and what do I do when I'm actually in the race yeah I mean that's the thing you've got to have your you got to try and control as many variables as you can and that's where the strategy comes in and that is even in the pre-race protocol the buildup your checklist and then during the race actually knowing the course having done your reconnaissance knowing how you're going to apply what your tactics going to be in the ride it's not just a simple go out and sit on one power you got to be able to know exactly how you're going to ride that race so one of the things that you talked about that I thought was brilliant on the fight point it's the importantance of having a test course
Yeah and another constant can you talk us a bit more through that yeah I mean you got to remember this isn't just about numbers this ISS ultimately about a race and you have to choose your race choose you're kind of the one that you're going to aim to beat it's not just about going out there and increasing your power you want to get faster and the only way you can really Pro prove your faster is by having a course either it's one that's a local time trial that's already mapped out that is semi-official or you can just go out and do yourself and the last thing and it might seem common sense but so many people are getting it wrong how do I try for time trust well this is I mean we' started off quite simple a system for the kind of beginners is are three elements to it it's kind of training yourself to write in the position so it's position training and making sure you can be effective in your position so it's all very well having a super fast position but if you can't actually pedal then it's useless yeah you can't be holding a home on so you have to be position training that's number one number two is Pace control so we have an interval session within the system that basically teaches you to Pace control because that's probably the biggest thing and even at the highest level got get that wrong all the time and it's something you really need to practice over and over and the third thing is a speed endurance be able to kind of train your body to handle the high workload by overloading it in the training so when it comes to actual race day it's not a surprise so they're just three of the sessions from this 6 we TT plan we put together so it's for guys you know if you have a Target TT if you're looking to be friends and stuff if you can get this six we plan into action but then if you can add in all the other steps like we're talking about like if you can get equipment if you can get your strategy down if you can have that constant course and if you can get some of the positional changes it just it ends up revolutionizing the TT Rider make sure you watch video 2 coming soon where we're going to cover David's TT system in further detail we're going to show you how to develop a testing course where you can learn to implement and refine David's system and how putting all five points together will guarantee you a PB in your next Target event so make sure you watch it
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the most important factor for going faster in a time trial?+
David Millar argues that position is the single most important factor, but not in the way most riders assume. The fastest position is the one you can sustain for the full effort while still pedalling effectively, not the most aggressive or aerodynamic position on paper. A position that causes you to fade or lose power in the final third will cost more time than a slightly less aerodynamic one you can hold throughout.
What tyre width is best for time trialling?+
David Millar recommends 23mm or even 25mm tyres on the rear, directly contradicting the common belief that narrower, higher-pressure tyres are faster. Wider tyres at lower pressures reduce rolling resistance and absorb road vibration more efficiently. The idea that skinnier and harder is always quicker is one of the most persistent myths in time trialling.
Should I focus on cadence or bigger gears in a time trial?+
Millar is clear that pedal cadence should take priority over pushing bigger gears. Grinding a large gear typically leads to early muscular fatigue and a sharp power drop before the finish. A higher cadence keeps the effort more aerobic and allows you to sustain output across the full duration of the effort.
How do you pace a time trial correctly?+
Pacing strategy is one of the four pillars in David Millar's time trial system, and the core principle is avoiding going out too hard. An even or very slightly negative split is faster than a hard start followed by a blow-up, even if the first approach feels more committed. Millar stresses that most amateur riders lose more time in the second half through poor pacing than they gain through any equipment upgrade.
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