Pro Rider Secrets - Part one

This is not a drugs expose and will have no reference to dogs, wifes or dentists magic sweets. I am going to try and bring to light things that make the 'Supermen' of the peloton seem a little more human. I don't know how many of these I'll be able to do in a series but this one is about shorts.

PRO Teams always have a a clothing sponsor who will provide the Team with all their togs for the season. Unlike many sports, cycling is open to all elements from snow to the crazy heat of the Alpine slopes. Contrary to popular belief 'the one short for all seasons' does not exist.

Slowly we are seeing the emergence of the Roubaix bib short. I am aware of three Brands that are selling this product at the moment, Hincapie Sports, Northwave and Santini (although I couldn't find it on their website but I have seen them). I am sure there are a few more companies producing them for sale, but nearly all make these shorts for the Teams.

I have had chance to test some recently, and frankly they are nothing short of a revelation. It is rare that a full tight or a 3/4 can offer the fit of a good pair of bib shorts paired with either knee or leg warmers. Of course there are some exceptions to the rule but generalisations exist for a reason. Many people will never quite get the concept, but trust me when I say this, they are incredibly useful in conditions from 12-0 degrees.

My three favourite short brands don't make a pair of these shorts, probably insisting that the 3/4 bib or a pair of bib tights would fit the bill. In my experience (and of course that can change with new products) I am yet to receive a truly excellent fit.

What it offers the racer or sportive rider is a pair of shorts that can tackle the coldest mornings before a ride or competition starts. Pair them with a good pair of Belgium Knee Warmers and you are onto a winner (don't know what they are see here).

I tried getting some responses from PRO riders and the best I could get was 'that they used them in training', but hey that is better than nothing. It seems that on many subjects that surround the life of a professional rider this is still to remain a secret of the peloton.

 

 

Posted via email from Sprinting for Signs's posterous

Cane Creek, Angle Set

This product has been designed around suspension bikes to adjust and tweek the angle to make sure that you get the exact ride dialed in. This got me thinking, could the same process be applied to road bikes?

So often Teams are required to make slight changesd to stock bikes for certain races, normally those that feature in the Northern Classics, where altering the wheel base has a massive effect on the handling of the bikes. Typically these days it is made possible by lengthing the fork blades and adjusting the trail on the dropout to give a slightly longer feel to the bike. A similar proccedure is carried out in the rear. Another possible application is in the use on TT bikes where a Team mechanic could adjust the head angle to suit the rider or course.

So what does this mean for the rest of us. Well I think potentially there are some interesting advantages. One being choice, many times a manufacturer will choose a head angle, and you may or may not like it, too twitchy, too laid back, but with this headset you should (theorectically) be able to change the handling of the bike. This also opens up a host of fitting options for the consumer. Where a steeper head angle may not suit a Sportive rider this adjustment opens up te performance of a high end frame but with angles that would be more long distance friendly. Not being an engineer these are my thoughts rather than a sound tried and tested approach, but it'll be interesting to see if they are employed anywhere in a pelotoin near you.

Gent-Wevelgem - Video and Roundup

Gent-Wevelgem used to be branded a 'Sprinters Cobbled Classic' and although Eisel is a Sprinter he is more in the older mode pre lead out trains and uses his brain as well as brawn to get the result. The racing over the weekend has been exciting, and frankly I live for this time of year. Every since Feb 28th we have been treated to a fine spectacle of racing at the highest level. Next weekend will be a ding dong at Flanders and anything less would be a great disappointment after the last few weeks.

So enjoy the vid's catch up with the detail and get yourself ready for Sunday.

Matti Breschel, rising star

Great video from today's race. It has been a long time in coming as he's shown over the last two seasons what he is capeable of. Many dismiss semi-classics as being none events, but the only reason they are called semi-classics is due to the length of the race, not it's toughness. Congrats to him and the Team, so far the Belgian big Teams are yet to score, maybe we'll see a change when Gent-Welvelgem comes round.

Monte Paschi Eroica, from Sportive to Pro Race

The Monte Paschi Eroica, or for many the Eroica is the only Pro Race that I know of that has come from being a Sportive to a Pro Race. Mind you it wasn't an ordinary Sportive or Fondo as it has it's heart and soul steeped in retroism. For the Pro Road Racing circuit to take on these tough and demanding roads was an initial shock to me. The first edition was run at the same time as the Fondo which is always around the late September early October time. It had a great timing in the season, starving off the long gap between the stat and finish of the Northern Classics.

The first Pro event was held in 2007 and when the 2008 season was announced I could see that it had moved to it's pre Northern Classics slot. I can see as a race organizer or indeed a Pro Team itself how they would benefit from the move as it serves as a good tester of form. But in doing so has it resided itself to being a semi-classic and only ever hoping to be a warm up event to the main objectives in April. I would have preferred that Italy had taken hold of the end of season races in the same way that Belgium dominates the beginning. For a whole bunch of riders the Worlds holds little appeal as the course can be varied and one year it may suit and the next not. Whereas the Monuments are there set in stone for generations to tackle again and again and the riders can compare themselves against the great names of the past.

Does it bode well as a form tester. The answer has to be YES, as in the first year it made the switch Cancellara had a fantastic season, from start to finish. Bizarrely no Italian or Belgian has won it, but if it had been run in the days of Andrea Tafi I am sure he would have wanted to dominate the podium steps as much as he did in the Northern Classics, being a native of the area.

Although personally I have little interest in riding the Fondo in the Fall (due to the retro theme) I would love to ride this the day after of before the Pro's, and I am surprised that the organizers of the race have not capitalized on this and taken a few pointers from the Ronde van Vlaanderen. I doubt whether we'd see 18,000+ people of on the White Roads but the sense of occasion to an event hosting a amateur version at the same time is not to be under estimated as a draw to the tifosi.

Race Winners

2007  Alexandr Kolobnev (RUS)             Team CSC
2008  Fabian Cancellara (SUI)                Team CSC
2009  Thomas Lovkvist (SWE)                Team Columbia-High Road
2010  Maxim Iglinsky (KAZ)                   Team Astana

And so it begins, the cobble season is upon us Het Nieuwsblad

It many respects it may seem cruel to start the cobbled season so early when the area is cold, wet and grim. It truly is the strongest that win. Ironically these early winners do not always flourish when the big days in April (but many have), but it is always a good indication of where everybody is at. Various Teams have been out on the course today, checking out the roads to see what this year's harsh weather has done to the surface. Cervelo today have been testing some wheels and playing with tyre pressures as they are now on the 320tpi version of the Pave tyre.

According to http://www.hln.be/ Boonen is the favourite, followed by Boasson Hagen and Gilbert. I think that's a pretty good bet and all three will have enough fire power to deliver something at the end of the gruelling race. Maybe though there could be a surprise and like last year when Thor Hushovd won, we may have another blossoming Classics star take the first cobbled win of the season. Outsiders would have to be Haussler, Hammond and Flecha.

Het Volk (as it was) has been traditionally a Belgian affair. The first none Belgain to win it was a one Seamus Elliot in 1959 when the race was contested over 209km and run out at a mind boggling speed of 40.965 kph. The 70's where very unusual in that it was won by four riders twice (Verbeeck, Merckx, Bruyere and Maertens) and only broken up by Peeters and de Vlaeminck.

The next none Benelux winner was Andreas Kappes in 1991, so its a pretty small list of names that go onto the list of people who have won it and are not from the area. Since then the only other none Belgian winners have been Ballerini (1995), Bartoli (2001), Pozzato (2007) and Hushovd (2009). If Gilbert wins he will enter the exclusive club of three time winners which is occupied by Joseph Bruyere, Ernest Sterckx and Peter van Petegem.

King Kelly

Sean Kelly is one of the few PRO's that I have ever got star struck over (along with Eddy Merckx). I met him a few years ago and like a star struck groupie I managed to say hello and that's about it. Irony is that he's one of the more approachable guys out there, according to those who know him well.

As a PRO he rode through three decades and saw many changes in both the technology of bikes (and equipment) and how racing changed. I bet 1/2 a hour with him would provide many useful soundbites and thoughts on racing then and today. It's difficult not to like Kelly, as a rider we won many of the important races, and some more than once. I like him because he's earthy, hard working and even today still loves to ride his bike.

AN Post may not be the biggest of Teams but you have to respect a guy who is busy with commentating and charity duties while at the same time being involved in the team. On the subject of the Team, they will be using CRAFT baselayers (or underwear if we are thinking Euro speak) for next season. The CRAFT kit is excellent and are currently my favorite for moisture management.

Some of the UK magazines have been talking about Cavendish as the greatest Sprinter of all time. This maybe true, but it is difficult to compare generations to one another, although we can't help ourselves. Is he the fastest, probably Yes, but this season will see many of the famous lead out train on different teams and this will no doubt influence the speed he is delivered to the last 250m.

Kelly is harder to pigeon hole. It would be easy to call him a Sprinter, winning the Green jersey four times (and the Vueltas Blue jersey 4 times as well) and Milan San Remo twice. But is Kelly the last of the 'Great Ones', able to win Classics (Paris Roubaix, L-B-L and Tour de Lombardi), Grand Tours (Vuelta) and short stage races (Paris-Nice and Tour de Suisse). I am unsure if we'll see this kind of rider again. For me this is a shame as the true all-rounder is what lifts riders such as Merckx, Hinault and Kelly into that 'Great arena'.

I'm not going to waffle on about his results but these great clips shows more than I can say in words. Hopefully at some point I'd like to interview him, then I'll have something to write about.

Home and Away

When Cervelo Test Team turned up to the Tour de France team presentation it wasn't the first time a Team had changed it's kit prior to the start. In the last few years it has become the norm (and mainly for the American Teams) to announce new sponsors and turn up with a modified version of the kit. This is great for the Team and the sponsor as it guarantees maximum exposure. Team Once were different in that every year you would expect them to turn up in their pink version of the normal kit, which ended up being as famous (and maybe more sought after) as their regular yellow kit.



What was different with Cervelo is that the kit change came about because of the weather! Cervelo has justly deserved the badge of the best kit this year, and world wide sales would back this up. But to then make the bold move based on riders heat management is a first as far as I am aware (and possibly risky due to those sales figures).



This led to many discussions with friends and colleagues, 'Why don't cyclists have two kits, like in football a Home and Away strip'. This in essence wouldn't work but what we are really looking for is a kit for the Spring and Autumn Classics and another kit for the Grand Tours. Colours and fabrics would reflect the chosen season and no doubt the psychological benefit would be appreciated by the riders.

Columbia Highroad (as was) used this to a small effect in the Spring Classics by having a short with a black bum and groin area. Lets face it, it's no bad idea if you are racing in the Flemish Spring time when you can see four seasons in one race to at least give the riders a small piece of dignity when battling hard against the elements.



In the current climate where so many teams use the sales of merchandise to supplement the Teams budget, a second kit may be welcome. It could also allow shared title sponsors to equally have their companies colours unleashed unto the public at large. I don't buy lot's of Team kit, but I maybe more tempted if there was a colour way I liked.



Let's hope that the UCI open it up and make some things less rigid. If we are wanting to globalise our sport more we need to look at the success stories in other sports to see if they are worth adopting in ours.