When you're out on the road, how do you encourage yourself during the most intensive workouts? Do you picture yourself in a break two kilometres from the finish line as Peter Sagan is closing in on you? Or perhaps you are picturing Lefevere or Madiot behind you in the team car yelling "Allez! Allez!"?
From time to time anybody enjoys a bit of help on the way, right? A tiny motivational voice somewhere far back, whispering words of encouragement along the way. For a recreational cyclist, this voice, if you have heard one, is probably your own swearing or your annoyingly fitter friend you (at the time) would like to go somewhere the sun does not shine. For a professional cyclist it can be just the same (probably not with the fitter friend but who knows). Suffering is equally hard and not depending on fitness level, there is a saying that climbing hills don't get any easier the more fit you are, you're just going faster.
No interference
Some riders, like Dave Zabriskie, doesn't want any feedback at all during his TTs. Zabriskie's suffering takes place internally, according to Allen Lim, who used to be Garmin's team physiologist, said that "When he's in a time trial, he thinks of himself as a superhero".
Not exactly Marc Madiot-style that's for sure. Whether young Thibault Pinot enjoys this kind of encouragement is unknown. As is if he had any choice I might add.
Wiggins' approach
Bradley Wiggins has a totally different approach than Dave Zabriskie. Constant feedback on time gaps relative to major competitors, distance to climbs, any obstacles and so forth. In the interview below where Wiggo speaks about the Olympics TT, (video tweeted by Rich Land earlier today), Wiggins says that Sean Yates, "who's been in the car all year (...) came down for the day." Never change a winning team, it's all about marginal gains, eh?
Next time you're out there on your favourite climb, try saying some calculated words to yourself. Before you take that ride, take a couple of minutes to visualize yourself going up that hill. Imagine what you see, what you smell and hear and above all - how good you feel.
When climbing, grab a second here and there. 30 seconds after you are on the top of the climb, the pain is gone. How do you want to feel like when you are done?
If this doesn't work you can always download Madiot's monologue, it will probably do the trick too.
Let me start by apologize for the few posts I've written during the tour. Blame work, and partly that I have enjoyed watching cycling all day and evening. Instead, I have tweeted more, microblogging so to say.
Today we witnessed Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky winning the 2012 Tour de France. I feel a bit uncomfortable saying it out loud, because the race continues for two more days, three if you count the parade in to Paris. Freak accidents and mechanical breakdowns could happen. We've seen Michael Rasmussen loose a podium some years ago during the last TT, crashing twice and throwing the bike into the woods wearing the climbers jersey. But by the looks of things, Team Sky have this one under control, the same control they have had of the tour.
Some have critisized the tour of being boring and predictable, and that Team Sky "ruined" the excitement by being so strong. I think the reason is not just one, but several.
First of all the route sort of favors the TT specialists, that we've known since the route was unveiled last October, everybody understood that.
Secondly, the crash at stage 6 injured many riders and some even left the race. Crashes the first week is nothing new but difficult to avoid as nervousness and inattention haven't let go yet.
Our expectations to the tour. Fans want to see dancing pedals and furious attacks around every corner as well remembering this tour as the best ever. Preservation of team's goals once its in within reach as well as UCI point system and physical limitations, are some of the reasons our expectations weren't met.
Total domination by Sky is another reason as they are just too strong to combat.
Oiled maschinery in action - "We've trained for this."
Ambitions aside
I have previous written about this issue and all of you who follow professional cycling are aware of this. Sometimes it be painful to watch, as riders setting their personal ambitions, dreams and aspirations aside for the team's decision. Sky have done that this year to the fullest. The tour is one of the very few races, if not the only one in cycling, where 2nd and 3rd are not the first losers.
Today we all witnessed the climbing skills of Chris Froome, he is, in my eyes anyway, the best climber of all the riders in this year's tour. It is hard to watch Froome not getting another stage as "payment" as almost all had wanted that to happen. It's easy to have this perspective, at least when we are not certain of the communication between the two riders in question and the team car. Wiggins said after the stage that he had given Froome the "go" to get the stage win but Froome chose to stay with him. I have yet to see any comments by the DS.
People have speculated if Froome can win a tour himself in the future, and I have no doubt he will, if he's got the same support as Wiggins. It's also important to remember that Froome knew what he signed up for, he's newly renewned his contract, and is paid to help Bradley win. This is the objective perspective of course. Froome will be a giant in the years to come, he's been struggling with sickness the last couple of years but is back now. Imagine where he will be in two years of solid training by Kerrison in Sky?
I have written about Wiggins and Froome earier this tour, you can read that here.
Edvald Boasson Hagen who was free to go during two stages early in the tour, after that he has set his own ambitions aside selflessly. Towing an insanely amount of kilometres at the front, today he even pulled the main group to the bottom of the last climb, loosing several climbers in the making. What could he have done if he was not destined to work for Wiggins? Froome said in an interview today that he though EBH could win the yellow jersey one day and that he was totally blown away by EBH's capacity.
Same goes with Mark Cavendish, the reigning WC, the best sprinter of them all, reduced to a mere shadow of himself (or his capacity). Seeing carrying water bottles and being supportive of Wiggins is fine and he's got one stage so far.
It is easy to say that "yes, this is what they all should do." That is correct, but these guys are not just anybody. It takes a certain mindset to be a professional cyclist, and it takes a certain mindset to be as good as these guys are.
It is a bit ironic that Radioshack-Nissan lead the team competition. Today we saw Klöden riding past Zubeldia without helping him, Zubeldia being #5 GC prior to today's stage but dropping quicker than the US interest rate. So much for that, team competition is obviously more important. So Radioshack-Nissan is on track to win the best team competition for being a bunch of individuals. Lovely.
Danish dynamite
Who else but Chris Anker Sørensen? Trying hard for almost the entire tour to succeed in a brake, today he tried to fetch a newspaper out of his spokes in-flight, cutting three spokes in the process. The result was visible for all. Florence Pommerie, one of the tour docs, changed his dressings three times, claiming CAS "didn't have any pain, it just bled much." As of now, it's uncertain whether CAS will begin tomorrows stage as he undergoes surgery as we speak. Riis was quoted saying that CAS didn't have much flesh on two of his fingers left.
Swede Kessiakoff deserves a mention too, fighting for the KOM jersey for two weeks, only to be bypassed by the clever Voeckler the last two days. Today's KOM battle was almost more interesting than the GC.
Summary
One could say the 2012 tour de France is over, but we've got a couple of stages left. The design of the very tour, incidents and injuries during the tour, the fans' expectations and the Team Sky domination are some of reasons this year's tour have been quite predictable.
Always nice but at the same time frustrating to see good riders giving up their own ambitions to meet a "higher" goal set by the team. Payback will come and hopefully everyone will be happy. After all, this is teamsport.
The tour de France is soon over. But fear not, the Olympics are soon here as well as Il Lombardia and the Worlds.
Today we were once again reminded how wonderful cycling is. A stage packed with all the drama you could possible imagine. Celebration, sorrow and pain. Emotions in sports meeting the cynism of professional sport. I have no doubt that this stage will be remembered and debated for a long time. To me, it was one of the best stages in years.
Now, which hat to wear, the objective one who refers to professional sport and the business point of view or from a fan perspective?
Froome tows the GC contenders - doing a mighty good job too
Photocredit Joel Saget (Afp/Scanpix) downloaded at Procycling.no, here
The frame
Race director Jean-Francois Pescheux had set up a stage which energised "attack". Being only 148 kilometers long it is rather short but the climbs makes it a monster and a giant. It seems ASO have looked to RCS when deciding the parcourse of this year's tour. The stage today was great, and provided a frame for fireworks, and as promised it was. Race favourites Nibali and Evans trying to attack, only to be reeled in by Sky. The battle at the front of the break was equally interesting and entertaining.
The battles
There have been so many domestic battles in cycling, probably more than most of us know to. That is one side of cycling I truly enjoy, the personal sacrifice riders make. Giving up own chances for others is special in today's society, call me a romantic but that's how I feel. Every now and then leadership within teams gets questioned or challenged if you like. Bear in mind that being a successfull cyclist is demanding, being a professional rider is an indication that you probably pocess more of certain abilities than most don't. Being a star or a star in the making isn't making things easier. It can even split a nation, like it did back in 1940 when Fausto Coppi was brought on the Legnano team by Eberardo Pavesi to ride for Gino Bartali. Bartali representing the traditional and rather conservative south part of Italy versus young Coppi from the modern and industrialized north.
Cycling will ever forget the 1986 Tour de France where Hinault had publicly stated he would support LeMond but that didn't turn out the way anybody expected, least LeMond. Hinault broke free and got a five-minute lead on his teammate. LeMond got the lead back eventually but Hinault never stopped attacking. On stage 19 Hinault was brought back by his teammates Hampsten and Bauer with LeMond as the race leader. That said, the two shared leadership in the La Vie Claire team but the lack of leadership/guidance from the team manager the tone, quickly became umistakenable.
More recently we've have the 1997 battle between Ullrich and Riis, where Riis was leader and Ullrich was supposed to work for him. It didn't take long before Ullrich realised that Riis was in trouble as he couldn't take the tempo set by Pantani and Virenque. On stage 10 Riis was dropped again and Ullrich dropped back to the team car asking for permission to attack and leave Riis behind. Ullrich got the permission and went ahead to win the tour.
Possible today?
When is it allowed to attack the team captain and the yellow jersey? Today we saw Christopher Froome blowing the tour up with his superpowers. It was just amazing to see him and his performance. He made many proud today, including himself although it might take time to realise. However, it was clear he was stronger than Bradley Wiggins, tour leader and team leader, today anyway. I tweeted earlier that this is a part of professional sport, not just today but that's how things have always been. Team Sky was created to put a Briton on the top of the podium in Paris, they even presented a timeframe when they established the team, within five years. Yes, Froome is Briton too so that can apply for him as well, but the team is build around Wiggins.
Will Froome get his chance in the tour as the lead character? No doubt, and it can even happen next year while he's on Sky. This year's course fits Wiggins better than anyone (besides Froome..) and next year we will have Contador back from his doping ban, making the competition better. Wiggins have five riders designet to help him win the tour. After that, anything can happen. One should also remember that this was just one stage so it's impossible to rule out that Wiggins had a "bad day", if you can call it that. That said, I believe Froome is the best climber in this year's tour without a doubt, but what can you do? It is not abnormal to see people more clever or doing a better job than their boss, but this is totally different or at least totally different rules. This is sports and we link so much emotions to it. At the same time it feels so wrong to see a rider who has been sacrificing so much through the years, having trained, slept, ate and dreamed about achivements and when his finest moment is within reach, he's not allowed.
After the stage Froome took the wrong way down from the mountain, when he finally realised, Norwegian TV2 was there and got some interesting words from him, here.
"Sean Yates said stop, wait for Bradley." "So it is important to follow team orders?" "Yes, if everybody did their own thing it might as well be an invidual sport." "So no mutiny?" "No mutiny, not now." "But you will get your chances?" "I'm certain I will get the chance some day, I see the big picture and know my work will get noticed."
Conclusion
The objective part in me says that this is something Froome probably had foreseen. At least if I was his mental coach I would prepare him for this. He may not like it, but he's there with one purpose, to support Wiggins. That he's doing so well is great, also for Sky because they have one more card to play if their leader for some reason falls through. If there is any comfort, Froome won many fans' heart today. He has just performed the best job application possible, both internally in Sky and for other team owners.
Can Froome do what others have in the past, attack their team mate to possible win the tour? I doubt that, because he could find himself on a flight back to Monaco the next day. Froome is a professional athlete and would never come to the tour with another purpose. He is #2 in line and he is very much aware of this.
But, if he continues this way, arguably he can finish the tour knowing himself as well as proving to others that he is the moral winner of the 2012 Tour de France. Remember, Paris is still far away.
Yesterday we learned that Edvald Boasson Hagen (EBH) ends his professional relationship with his personal coach over many years, Fredrik Mohn.
Earlier today, a gentleman named Peter, asked me on twitter if I could comment on the importance of coaching, something I can try to do now.
Relationship
Fredrik Mohn and EBH have been working together for a long time, the last seven years, Mohn has been working closely with Edvald.
Back in the day EBH was recognised as a talent quite early. Like many other talented riders, he was good while being young, something that can easily tip both ways as the years go by.
At the age of 17 he was a part of the junior national team, trained by Gino Oudenhove, now team manager of Joker-Merida. He was still improving, but suddenly the results didn't came as easily as before and EBH felt sick. Several riders rode him straight off their back wheel; something was not right. Gino Oudenhove had a good impression of Mohn already back then. Mohn wasn't carrying a degree in physiology, he didn't even had a career as a top athlete he relied on, but still brought out the best in many young riders from different clubs. Mohn is actually educated as a goldsmith, something people have joked respectfully with over the years, as Mohn indeed has turned some riders into gold.
Oudenhove felt EBH needed new impulses and gave Mohn the job of bringing young EBH back into shape. Mohn, who is known to be thorough and very methodological in his work, changed some of Boasson Hagen's program and EBH began to respond to training once again. "It got a lot to do with communication. I tell the riders to write detailed training diaries I, in return I read everything and give them feedback", Mohn says in this article in the newspaper Nettavisen. In addition to this, Mohn surrounds himself with the right people with background from physiology, nutrition, and medicine.
Later EBH joined Oudenhove at Joker-Bianchi (now Joker-Merida), the season before T-mobile bought him was special, as he really made himself a name by winning many races internationally.
Change is (almost) always good
In addition to be a slogan for paid-by-the-hour consultants, this has also been the foundation for all physical training the recent years. Always shock/surprise your body, always vary your intensity etc, you know the drill.
On top of this it is no surprise a team like Sky, or any other team for that matter, want more control over the training. After all, the team have paid millions of € and want to have ROI. Will it work? That is the million dollar question and one that only time will tell. EBH is surrounded by some of the best coaches in the business, Sky is known for combining science and training. Their focus on detail, which perhaps was too much their first year, seems to be more relaxed these days yet still very high on a positive note.
According to procycling.no, EBH will be working with Tim Kerrison, who is known for his outstanding job with Wiggo the last couple of years. Also in the coaching team is Kurt Asle Arvesen, fellow Norwegian, who bring experience and perhaps some mental coaching to the table.
Will it be another success story? It all depends on if the rider himself believes in the concept and if the communication is present. It worked for Wiggo, Julich works fine with Froome and Nordhaug, but chemistry is mighty important in sports. Either have a very good chemistry with your coach, or an extremely good sense of professionalism, coping with bad chemistry but still believing in the concept. Oudenhove says it right, if a rider need new stimuli, it is the right time for a change.
Summary
Team Sky want more control over their assets and their ROI, but changing a coach can go both ways. It all depends on whether the rider believes in the concept. To have the upper hand a rider need to continue develop him or herself, making sure the opponents are left behind. Maybe a change of coach from time to time is good? Either within the existing team, or on a brand new one.
Last Saturday we witnessed the first monument of the season unfold, la classica di Primavera. Just taste the word for a while, it carries memories from a past and promises to the future. It is a magnificent race and as the longest of the calendar as well as being a monument, it is a prestigious race to win.
Much have been written about Mark Cavendish, Team Sky's primary hope, since he got dropped 90 kilometers from the finish line. Almost too bad since I feel we all should write about Simon Gerrans and his brilliant win. His win was nothing short of impressive, Gerrans win proved he was the smartest rider, smartness triumphs strength any day.
Questions to ask
Over the years I have learned that "one never questions decisions taken in the heat of battle". One can bring them up when the timing is adequate, to study and to learn, but since we didn't have the shoes on at the time, who are we to judge?
However, the things we can question are tactics and strategy. Those are made prior to the race, making is easier for the roadcaptains and riders to act and react without always checking with the team car. Act upon intention, if you like.
Tactics are meant to maximize the team's strength and possibilities while at the same time reduce risk. Giving the riders and staff the comfort of having the upper hand is crucial. Tactics and planning should identify key terrain, address the team's advantages and make a systematic approach to gather and present the information surrounding a race. Another important issue is war-gaming or what-if's. Take a look what Petter Northug, x-country WC and Olympic champion said after winning the Worlds:
When the start signal goes, I feel prepared because I have done those 50 kms several hundred times before, going through every scenario possible in my mind.
Sessions like these are important to athletes. Being mentally prepared can make the difference between success and failure. Knowledge of training, nutrition and technology have been researched thoroughly over the recent years and information about these matters and training methods are merely a click away. One could say that this has levelled the battlefield for the riders, and the main difference that remains, is mental coaching.
Team Sky Saturday 17th of March
Two favourites for the race, how plan and create tactics to match both? As Steven De Jongh said to procycling.no after the race, the team was supposed to ride primarily for Cav, if there was a minute or less gap at the Le Manie, the team would drop back and help Cav getting back to the bunch again. To me this is a strange tactic. Yes, the MSR was one of Cavendish' main goals for the season. Yes, Cav is lighter than last year and has shown good shape, but tactics are supposed to exploit possibilities, not minimizing them.
Eisel and Cav at ToQ - Cav, the season's long with many possibilities
EBH, Sky's second favourite, was left with Löfquist, who did a good job bringing EBH to the front over the Cipressa and near the front on the Poggio. But still just one man in support.
To order the whole team back to help a rider showing weakness with seven more climbs 90 kilometers left, kind of limits your options, doesn't it?
I'm not in any position to say things would have been different if EBH got more support, I usually refrain from if’s and maybe’s, but I think it's a strange tactic by Team Sky. Eisel, Cav’s wingman explained what the team tried to do when bringing Cav to the peloton failed (via Velonation):
“After speaking to him it was me who originally made the call for the guys to stop riding on the front of that chase group,” he said. “But then we changed our mind because if we got back on then it meant some of us could work for Edvald instead, so that's what we tried to do.”
One would expect Sky to learn from last tdf where the whole team was set up to bring Wiggo to the podium. We all know what happened to Wiggo, who unfortunately broke his collar but Team Sky had a great tdf without him. This shows the potential in this team. EBH nabbed two stages, G in white for days (losing it when the whole team waited for Wiggo), Uran in white for days too.
Cav was humble enough to let the team know he wasn't feeling too good on stage 3 of the Tirreno-Adriatico, giving EBH the chance to sprint for the win, so I believe Cav has a clear understanding of his capabilities and he has shown leadership before, taking care of his teammates.
Question is, to what extent do the management provide sufficient resources to other riders? Team Sky is a British team, with roots all the way back to BC and track. Is it more difficult to divide resources to others when you have the reigning WC onboard? As far as we know, Cav felt good right upon the beginning of the race, but tactics need to cover all aspects and be known in advance.
Norwegian cycling experts have questioned on procycling.no how much influence Brailsford and Ellingsworth had on Saturday's tactic. Of course, one could say Norwegians are biased in this matter as nationality goes, but questions like these do have a rightful place.
Summary
I hope to see a different set of tactics later in the season. Team Sky has such a strong roster that they have many cards to play. If a rider is given a protective status, perhaps it is better to have more than just one man in support. How will Team Sky solve tour de France?
There is nothing wrong in having options, to have the eggs in different baskets, you never know when you'll need them.
This afternoon, the media got informed of Edvald Boasson Hagen's rash. Seems a bit strange that a rash would get so much attention but I found myself gutted, as well as thousands of other cycling fans.
Herpes-zoster or shingles, is something everyone who has had chickenpox, can get. The virus remains dormant in the nerve roots, awaken when it decides to. So now, it was EBH's turn, again so to speak.
Injuries are a normal part of any athlete's life. Edvald has had his share the recent years. Two years ago he got an achilles problem, keeping him out on the entire classics season. This season, it was his attempt to floor a tree, using his own body, which led to broken ribs. Having returned, in great shape, one can start to wonder, why him? This incredible talent, stepping up when cycling is in desperate need for new, fresh blood and again he's stopped.
As mentioned, I'm gutted. Not only because he's Norwegian, but also because he could do so well this year. He is in great shape, won the Norwegian TT again, destroyed the likes of Ivan Basso in the Dauphine uphill(!) and sprinting very good lately.
Luckily, EBH is a pro cyclist. This means he's trying to stay positive and keeping his edge. After all, no reason to think and rethink why this happened.
Let's hope that the medication work. I've heard people get well in six days, the normal period is from what I've heard six-twelve.
Like Twisted Spoke wrote today, Bradley Wiggins, apparently in super form, is probably not interested in having an infectious rider living closely with him. I don't think Brailsford can or will take that chance. Shingles is very contagious and precaution has to be made.
This will be a race against the clock, and time is not on EBH's side.
This morning I woke up to the news that Cav's going to Team Sky, receiving impressingly £1,5 million a year.
Not a new rumour, according to different media outlets and Brailsford himself, Cav has been on the wish list a long time. Cav also enjoys a close relationship with his personal coach, Rod Ellingworth, who also happens to be a performance coach at Team Sky.
I'm coming home
What will this mean to the riders?
Team Sky has from the beginning said that the team is all about getting a Brit to the top position on the tour de France podium. Does this indicate a shift in their focus? Many would said so, history shows that it is very difficult to win the tour while nailing the green jersey, at least with two different riders, which has been the case the last 20 years or so. The last years we have all seen the domination of HTC. Cav sets some premises and demands much of his team, that's why he has dominated GT sprints the last three years.
On the other hand, HTC has, at least the last year, had many different riders wining. Goss, Greipel, Degenkolb. Is this an indication that Cav is willing to let other team members win? The real question is; will the focus be stage wins or GC in GTs as well, and if it does, will the other riders in Team Sky be happy winning other races?
I don't think a Brit will win the tour as long as Contador's around, so perhaps has Brailsford accepted this and shifted the focus towards stage wins? After all, Team Sky is a team for Brits and Cav will have a natural place there, I'm just wondering if he will take too much room.
Team Sky has many great talents amongst the riders, EBH, Geraint Thomas, Appollonio, Kennaugh and Dowsett to mention a few. How will they react to Cav's return to Britain? After Renshaw's head-but, Cav showed he's not that dependant on a train as people have said.
Summary
I'm left with many questions, but if the rumour's true, the fastest man on the planet is coming home, and there is not a team around who'd not want to sign him, if they had the money. What the other riders will think, that's another important question. Will Team Sky now be a Skytrain or will they have several opportunities to go for victory. And, will Team Sky have focus on building talent?
The Classics season is all over us. Milan-San Remo took place last weekend, and now the hardest week of the entire season is due. Some 500km over treacherous cobbles in two days. I bet the riders are happy there is a mere week between the two, giving them just enough time to recover.
The Ronde van Vlaanderen or Vlaanderens mooiste (Flanders finest) and the Queen of the classics herself; the Paris-Roubaix are without doubt my favourite week of cycling, two of the very Monuments of cycling.
How do the different teams prepare? If you're doing one of the sportives right before one the two races, you might have asked yourself the same question. The recipe for success in the race as well as in the sportives is in the preparations. You might not do exactly like the pro teams but some similarities are there still. Few have the financial means to do so, fewer have the insight.
To find out more how teams prepare, I sent a request to Jonathan Turner, website editor of Team Sky, to interview one of Team Sky's mechanics. Team Sky is a team known have a good look for details, some says that eagerness to continually try to develop an edge destroyed their first season. There will always be a thin line in doing so, every team try to get that edge, in equipment, in training, in routines. The list goes on...
Jonathan was helpful to hook me up with Igor Turk (IT), one of the mechanics on duty during the cobbled classics this spring.
PTR: Hi Igor, what is your background and how did you end up in Team Sky?
IT: I started my cycling at age 11 as a junior rider and continued to ride up until 1995 (age26) when I become mechanic in the team where I was racing from the begining (Krka-Telekom/SVN team).
The team asked me if I was interested in being a mechanic and because I was not a real good rider, I accepted. I needed to learn a lot and was also working alone as I was the only mechanic for all kinds of riders on that team.
In 2001 I went to the team Gerolsteiner where I was until the end of the team in 2008. While I was there with the team, it went from small team to a UCI ProTour Team. Again I learned many different things, especially in the first year.
PTR: What differ Team Sky form other teams you have worked with?
IT: In 2009 I was then in team Milram before joining Sky in 2010. It was different straight away - the first meeting wasn't about days of work and money but the questions were on a different level, like how we if we work together in the team we make it better. If we become the best support team for riders, so they will perform better. In the team it's always communicated to us that the important thing is to do your very best.
Team Sky have also the first truck made with side pods which go out so mechanics and carers can work inside (if raining or hot weather), with AC and TV.
PTR: Guess that comes handy during warm days in summer. The cobbled classics are over us, how do you set up the bikes, special frames, handlebar tape and tires?
IT: For cobbled races we have special frames, and also set up.
First, in the handlebar we put near to the stem one more small brake end also buttons for shifting (riders grab handlebar in cobbles up, so they can brake and shift). We put double tape or some gel under the tape (depends what the riders prefer). Some of the riders change seat for a more soft one. Wheels we take classic (alu,no carbon) with 25-27 tires which have less pressure(normaly 9bar, here 7bar). Chainrings depends on the individual rider and how they ride on the cobbles (in which rpm).
PTR: Braking and shifting like a XC rider, how about that? Guess that is not for everyone.. How about damage to the bike?
IT:In cobbled races the damage is mostly flat tires, broken wheels (mostly the carbon ones), there are also lot more crashes (especially if is raining) so you can sometimes get a broken frame.
PTR: How are the mechanics team organised during a cobbled race and do you have mechanics whose special field is different from others?
IT: In the cobbled races we are mostly working the same way as in other races. However they are differences in that some of the mechanics or other members of team go with some spare wheels at various points agreed beforehand with the DS. It helps if our riders have a flat and the car with the race mechanic isn't right behind - or if the rider in question is behind the team car.
In the team all mechanics can cover all parts of the work, the only specialist field is in making wheels, some of mechanics are better at making wheels as to make a good wheel takes some experience for cobbled races.
PTR: Back in the day teams like US Postal used to store the tires in a basement in France or Holland for years, to give the tires the proper moist and elasticity in hope to avoid flats. Do you do something similar with yours?
IT: In Gerolsteiner we also had something like this in our basement, for the big and important races, older tires they are much better and in some big Tours we didn’t have any flats.
Last year we were testing some more different brands. Now we've decided on Veloflex tires, we'll put some into store so that they get older and better.
Last year's collection of tires ready to be glued before Paris-Roubaix 2010. 100 tires were prepared.
PTR: How will you describe the relationship between the mechanics and the representatives from the "mechanical" brands like Shimano et al? How do you keep track on R&D?
IT: I've worked with a few different brands: Campagnolo (Krka-Telekom), Shimano (Gerolsteiner), SRAM (Milram).
The longest time i spent with Shimano and I must say that they are the best to work with. They listen and try to make everything better, like sending engineers to races...we have realy good relationship with Shimano.
For staying on "top”of all new things in the bike industry it's mostly the internet, bike magazines, talking with other mechanics and presentations from Shimano.
PTR: Well, thanks for taking the time Igor Turk, really appreciate it. Good luck in the cobbled classics.
Tomorrow the Tour of Oman 2011 begins. Last year Team Sky did what they could to influence the race with Edvald Boasson Hagen leading cycling's brand new hot-shot team to a podium, knocking out Fabian himself on the TT on the 5th stage.
As a pretty new pro, Boasson Hagen also made a mistake in the race. Having the overall lead, he stopped on a "natural break" some 50 kilometres from the finish on stage 4. Two Cervelo riders increased the tempo significantly, causing the other teams to respond, leaving Boasson Hagen way behind struggling in the crosswind, losing the lead jersey. Some says it was a way of saying "get back in line" from other teams, because Team Sky allegedly have pedalled hard through the feeding zone earlier that day, causing stress and anger from other teams.
Road.cc later described this incident as a "controlled experiment" and that it came as research to "aggregation to marginal gains". Apparently, Team Sky was working with a Professor Primo del Mese, to see how Team Sky could benefit from a proposed two-way radio ban by the UCI. Read more here.
Eddy Merckx deemed Boasson Hagen favourite for this year's race, but I think there are many more who can make it exciting. The race is different this year, far hillier than last year. A hilltop-finish on stage 4 will be hard to master for the sprinters and could indicate changes on the overall podium. Gesink, Rodriguez, Pozzato, Boonen and Taylor Phinney are all contesters for the overall lead.
I hope that the battle for "marginal gains" continue, but that any pee breaks will be respected according to the unwritten laws. That said, it is allowed to carefully examine when the proper time and place is for a break as well.
It seems like the written rules struggle these days, just more reason to follow the unwritten ones.
Geraint Thomas playing chess with Michael Rogers
Picture by Michael Rogers - from Twitter.
What do riders do when they have time off? I guess that is difficult to answer, considering there are possibly as many differences as riders. As I wrote in The unsung heroes II, riders tend to relax as much as possible when they have time off. That is pretty much what every athlete is doing, at least endurance athletes.
Footballers
From time to time young football players open their homes to TV-features and give us a glimpse of how they live their lives. Mind you, beside the fancy clothing and the mandatory bling-watch, they also relax. I will not criticize or jugde them, all though some have argued that footballers are getting way too much money for very little actual training. But if you think they are just taking naps and eating, you're wrong. They hit the couch and play PS 3 online with other players. All day.
Chess-mate
I have noticed how this trend has moved over to cycling. Not the PS3 trend, but chess. There have been many stories of cyclists playing chess lately, especially within the ranks of Team Sky. I'll give you a couple of examples:
Michael Rogers sent out a picture of Geraint Thomas and him playing chess in December. Kurt Asle Arvesen updated his Twitter profile yesterday with a picture of EBH and Lars Petter Nordhaug playing chess, picture here. As if that wasn't enough, probably just for the heck of it, Arvesen sent the picture to Magnus Carlsen, the 21-year old chess Grandmaster from Norway, to get a comment on who-should-do-what. As you might expect judging from the picture, the Grandmaster didn't give EBH much credit. In other words; there are no reasons why Edvald should leave his day-time job for the time being.
Who is the lead figure in playing chess on Team Sky is uncertain for the time being, even who's responsible for this trend's somewhat unclear.
Riders playing chess is not something unique to Team Sky. Take a look at Nibali and Basso playing a game of chess at the training camp in the Dolomites in December.
Picture by Roberto Bettini
Dan Hunt, a race coach with Team Sky, says this about cycling:
"Cycling's similar to chess on wheels. In a road race you can be the strongest guy in the race and finish nowhere. Or you might not be the strongest, but make the right decisions and win. It's never clear-cut. There are tactics and there is the mental game plan, and that, hopefully, is where we can help make a difference."
I will not claim this is the reason some cyclists play chess. Perhaps does it feel good to use the head after some long monotone hours on the bike?
Whether Team Sky will benefit tactical from playing some games of chess is unclear but at least the riders relax and time fly by. Many will probably be happy they're not wearing the latest bling on the market while playing.
Picture: Downloaded from Twitter. Picture: Downloaded from cyclingnews.com, more specifically here.
