I've been dissecting the race to pin down its winningness.
First and foremost, obviously, is two
strong riders with fixie traffic skills.
Next is
two bikes. This meant that when mechanical problems occurred (a drop on Kat's and five spokes on Charlotte's) they were fixed during that bike's downtime.
Then it's light, nippy
bikes that were (by happy coincidence)
suited to the course.
Then it's the
ninja pit crew.
I'm not just blowing my trumpet there, as Phil's errand-running for water and magic juice and such outside the pit lane was just as important. We make enthusiastic Igors.
And of course there's
good luck: nobody crashed out directly in front of them, and nobody got body-czeched into a barrier. You make a lot of your own luck but the fuckup fairy was definitely visiting someone else that day.
I haven't yet sussed the relative importance of
the race strategy. The other teams were riding longer and a bit more measured - I think I heard half-hour spells - with less elegant changes. Both riders recovered well, with their final set splits barely different from their initial sets, though each definitely needed resting (Kat was self-managing before she flagged; Charlotte requested management so she could surrender to the red mist). I
think that a half-hour rigid strategy would have seen Kat slow down to a fast cruise, and Charlotte start to make fatigue errors. They made smart calls before we started, and we stayed adaptable to exploit the situation.
