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| 5/24 |
| 2005/7/25-27 [Transportation/Bicycle] UID:38816 Activity:low |
7/25 Tour De France: What is the role of the biking team? Is it really
better to bike directly behind other bikers?
\_ Less air resistance, I guess. I don't ride street bikes.
\_ Yes. Less air resistance. This shows up commonly in other
races as well, not to mention birds flying in formation.
\_ "slipstream." Now why they don't use a fairing to increase
their performance by 30%, I don't know.
\_ I saw a video once comparing team riding around a track to a
bike with a fairing on a track. This was more than 10 years
ago, but the fairing bike had a much higher top speed.
It's possible that fairings are illegal in the Tour De
France, or that the terrain makes the wieght not worth the
gains in areodynamics. Anyone know?
\_ Isn't there anyone on soda that can reply to this thread in
snooty French?
\_ Eet ees so you STEWPEED americans heve to look et more
edvertizing on ze jerseys of se bicycleestes. -John (I
tried to get a glimpse of the TdF in Paris on Sunday, but
was mainly foiled by STEWPEED 6'4" 500lbs. US tourists
who'd been camping out at the barriers since 9 a.m. and
refused to let even short little girls in front, so we told
'em to shove it and went for a big lunch, no I'm not
bitter, because it rained, and I hope all the fat fucks get
Pneumonia and get sent to Iraq and die coughing infected
blood in the desert.)
\_ Fairings are illegal in the tour. as are recumbents
there are some restrictions on frame construction.
for a while (dont know if it still the case), anything
that was added onto a bike that resulted in aerodynamic
advantage was not allowed, which led to some situations
where say one piece aerodynamic handle bars were legal
but adding on something to standard handlebars that let
take a more aerodynamic posture were not legal. Ditto
for wheel covers versus one piece wheels where the 'cover'
was an integral part of the load bearing design.
\_ Sheesh, they should just give everyone stock bikes.
\_ Cars in NASCAR were supposed to be stock too. Look how
it turned uot.
\- hello you may wish to see the immense differences
in the HOUR CYCLING RECORDS to evaluate the impact
of fairings, recumbents, wheel technolog, EGG,
SUPERMAN etc.
\_ A bike must fit the body of an individual cyclist.
\_ "How Do Cycling Teams Work?" http://www.slate.com/id/2122645
\_ interesting |
| 5/24 |
|
| www.slate.com/id/2122645 big lead over his main rivals in the Tour de F rance late on Tuesday, as his team raced together up a 22-kilometer moun tain climb. But Armstrong finished in sixth place for the day on Wednesd ay, more than a minute behind the leader. A peloton of Slate readers have e-mailed to ask: How do cycling teams work? One member of the team serves as its leader, and the others do everything they can to help him win. In the major races, each team leader works wi th eight other riders, called "domestiques," who don't have much chance of winning the race themselves. Top teams typically have 20 or more cycl ists on their rosters, from which team managers can choose a nine-person team suited for each event. For the most part, they ride in front of the team leader. Cycling team strategy revolves around the notion that it's easier to pedal when there's someone in front of you to cut the wind. Cy cling experts say that "drafting" like this can save you between 20 and 40 percent of your energy in a long event. peloton, so each competitor gets the benefit of drafting. Except f or the guy in the lead, of coursehe's said to be "pulling" the pack. Th e puller tires more quickly, even as he sets the pace for everyone else; after a short stint in front, he'll move back and let another rider tak e over. Team leaders like Armstrong tend to hang back in these clusters to conserve energy, while their teammates take turns out in front. strategy comes into play when someone tries to break aw ay from the peloton. This is called an "attack" and often precipitates a "chase." In a chase, members of the pack switch off pulling at a higher speed and expend lots of energy dragging the group closer to the attack er. For example, a domestique might pull at the front of the pack at a slow speed. One domestique will surge ahead and f orce a rival team to lead a chase. As soon as the pack catches up, anoth er domestique will surge ahead. The goal is to tire out the opposing tea ms and soften them up for a run by the team leader. Sports Nut: Its a Whole New Ball Game Where Have All the Jockstraps Gone? If you're a guy of a certain age, chances are you wouldn't think of hitti ng the gym without... |