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Tour De France Showcases Multitude Of Tech
whoda writes "When you think of a bicycle, you most likely think of 2 tires, a chain, some gearing of some sort, and other assorted mechanical bits. However, when Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, and over 180 other riders get together to compete at the Tour de France every year, there is a lot of technology that comes along for the ride too. From Lance's Sunglass'/MP3 Player to the advanced use of composites seen on Tyler Hamilton's
time trial bike, there are many examples of
high technology making the racers faster through better training, materials and
aerodynamics."
Look at Lance's amazing biochemistry! He wouldn't have made it to any of these races if it weren't for his body and iron will!
Wouldn't fitting the paper under a tight clear-plastic vest do the trick?
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I know we're talking about the TDF and those guys are on a different plane of existence here but there's something I've got to say about some non-pro cyclists out there.
While I agree that the use of technology is important in cycling, there's only so much one can do without having to rely on natural talent and training. Spending $180 for a 13 cm piece of metal in order to save 50 grams, is a problem. I see it with the guys I ride with. They'll spend a shit load of cash on a Litespeed titanium bike or a Trek 5200 but will still mow down a pizza after a ride and not think about the fact that they can get over those hills a little faster if they weren't carrying a anchor on their gut.
Hour record for a fully faired recumbant is over 100kph, solo, on the flats. Granted, the operative word is 'fully faired'. That's a shell around a rider.
The point is, bike racing is a lot more complicated than going faster than anyone else alone in a straight line on the flats. Sprints, climbinb, break aways, team strategy all play a roll.
Cycling is not like Formula One, something I hesitate to call sport any more. Some of the new technology is well cool and anything that makes a bike lighter and stiffer is welcomed by racing cyclists but one fact remains, the cyclist still has to pedal the damn thing. In racing it boils down to legs, lungs and desire at the end of the day because there is no major technology diffentiator possible on a bike. Lance Armstrong on his postmans bike will always thrash his postman on the latest and greatest technology.
Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
What truth?
There is no dupe
Q: What's the cheapest way to shave 500g off your bike weight?
A: Lose 500g.
I doubt Tyler will take it this year. Heras might kill them on the Mtn TT, and Ulrich might kill them on the "final" TT day, ie not the roll into Paris. These are the two crux days. It will probably revolve around these two days. Some are worried about the central Massiff, Lance et alia didnt prep there, Tyler did. But, Lances team can control this I feel. :)
I would say essentially three guys will be in the running going into the final TT. And, I dont think Tyler is there, it will be Lance, Heras and Ullrich.
Not to say Tyler hasnt got balls. He has plenty, but, its that last TT that will not be good for him, compared to say Ullrich, or Lance.
"Thats right buddy, the large print giveth, and the small print taketh away."
Funny thing about the Tour de France though...automobile traffic is SO not an issue.
I see the sunglasses as being a better replacement to the current radio ear-bud.
What I'd like to know more about is what kind of technology is in place to protect those radio conversations. You'd have to bet that Saiz, Godefroot and Riis would love to listen in on Bruyneel and Armstrong. (directors sportif for Heras, Ullrich, Hamilton and Armstrong)
There are plenty other regulations for international competitive cycling:
-the entire bicycle must weigh at least 6.8 kg
-the frame must be of the 'double diamond' design (this rules out recumbents)
-no fairings
-all competitors are encouraged to use performance enhancing drugs (and their masking agents), as long as the team manager's girlfriend's doctor's cousin carries them.
I seriously doubt that standard equipment will make it into the UCI rules. Mainly, there are too many variables for proper bike fit. Something minor, like pedal style, can make a big positive or negative impact on a rider. Other things, like leg to torso to arm proportions, make geometry standardization totally unfair.
(S(SKK)(SKK))(S(SKK)(SKK))
No, the poster makes no assumptions about cycles in general; only bicycles, which, by definition, have two wheels. Nice try, but you have to pay attention to the details to get the +5 Funny.
The technology is neat, but the technology can't actually win the race. It's still about the riders.
Lance has a cool bike, but all the Tour de France riders have good bikes. There is a limit to how much benefit you can get with a better bike, and all the tour guys have bikes that are close to this limit.
The slowest of the Tour riders, on a bad day, could ride me into the ground on a 20-year-old piece-of-junk bike, even if I were on my good bike. Sure I could climb Alpe d'Huez, but it would take me at least a couple of hours, and the Tour guys race up it in 40 minutes or so, as just part of a 5 or 6 hour day of racing!
The most important tech to Lance is the tech he uses in training. He trains and trains. They measure his power output in Watts, how many Calories he burns, how much wind drag he has on his time trial bike. It's his training that will win the race, his training and good tactics (both his and his team director, Johan Bruyneel).
P.S. The Tour rules have a lower limit on how much a bike can weigh. I think this is a good idea. There is a point at which "light" becomes "stupid light"; where the too-light components aren't strong enough and things start to break. The minimum weight will keep the bikes from getting into a stupid-light arms race.
The Tour rules also now require helmets, and the helmets have to actually be able to protect the riders' heads. Last year riders wore lightweight helmets for the time trial stages, and the lightweight helmets were basically just streamlined shells that wouldn't protect them at all in a crash. This year even the time trial helmets are required to meet crash safety standards. I'm in favor of the idea.
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
Tenacity... yes. More than Lance? I really doubt it.
-Brain Surgery
-Testicular Surgery
-Lungs full of tumors
-Grosjean catheter
-One round of BEP chemotherapy
-Three rounds of VIP chemotherapy
And after all that, he wins 5 TDFs in a row. I think that qualifies as tenacity.
IWARS.
People, in general, disappoint me. Politicians even more so.