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pedalmasher
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There is a scientific word/explanation for the phenomenon that a out and back course in a cycling time trial race can actually be faster than a flat course. For example, in Cherokee Park in Louisville, there is a 10 kilometer course that starts on the flats, then has a pretty good downgrade where speeds of over 30 mph are attained. When the upgrade is reached the momentum more than assists that climb only to be followed by another down grade. The only part of the course that bogs down is on the return trip climbing that final hill which was the first downhill on the outbound leg. I proposed to a physics instructor at the University of Florida two years ago, that the course was actually faster than had the course been totally flat. He gave me a name for the phenomenon, and I can't recall what it was having never previously heard that term. Can anyone help me with this through either an explanation and/or the name of the term? Thanks