Pedal Stroke

Sorry to interupt with my cycling naiveté--and i know i should look this up someplace else--but what exactly is Anquetil's style? Is it simple the toe-down method used at high paces, or is there something more to it?

 

C'mon Ric.. this is a friendly forum. Let him explain or blow smoke - as long as we all keep pedalling....

 

It is a powerful high geared special pedaling technique
that uses upper and lower body muscles and even
though you are generating all this power, it is done in
a very relaxed way with almost no visiable movement
of the body. Medically it also has advantages such as
back pain elimination and even with the higher gears
it reduces the workload and risk of injury to the knees.
If a young rider used it today, he would be world track
pursuit champion in addition to being invincible in road
time trials, that is for as long as other riders did not
know how to do it.
If you ever get the opportunity to see the video,
"THE MYSTERIOUS CYCLING CHAMPION", you will see
Anquetil in close up pedaling action using the technique
and it devotes a section to his pedaling style but admits
that how he did it is still a mystery. The amazing thing
about this style of pedaling is that the experts refuse
to believe that it ever existed simply because they
have'nt a clue as to how he did it and are not willing to
admit that fact.

 

Noel,

The only way for someone to be world champion is to produce more power than the opposition (assuming similar skills, CdA, and environmental conditions). This is suitably proved by the fact that you're not world champion in any discipline (at least as far as i'm aware). Whilst, you might want to argue that Anquetil's special technique might be less fatiguing, it don't mean a thing if you ain't got the power.

As you are well aware, your costs have been offered by "pedalling experts" to test your theory and special technique. It would, thus, appear to be you depriving science rather than science not believing you. What are you frightened of? If the experts are not willing to admit that they don't know what they're talking about, why have they offered to test you?

Come on Noel, take Wayne and the others up on their very generous offer and prove how wrong we are.

Ric

 

That's true, I am not world champion but for a very good reason, I am now aged 61. I was about 54 when
I solved the mystery of his style and have spent the
years since then perfecting it. This is a very powerful
technique and it would be very easy to push your
heart over its limit and I do not want to end as E. Burke
(R.I.P.) did. Of course if every rider had this technique,
it would be back to a level playing field so it is only the
victims of lower back pain that can get the real
benefit from this technique and it is on them that I
intend concentrating. I only began cycling at age 42 after giving up smoking.

 

I'm still not sure what this proposed technique is, can Crowley please give us a description of how it is different.
When I need to accelerate I use the 'scrape the mud off your shoe' technique and see a quick benefit each time. It is probably because my technique is usually inefficent.
I'd like to experient with Crowley's technique.

Brian

 

That's part of the problem; I can't work out the technique either! Crowley trys to explain it here as well... http://www.cyclingforums.com/t30727-15-1.html.

Your normal techniuqe is likely to be very efficent (as long as your not stuck in a strange gear). Although effective for accelerating, the muddy shoe technique is less efficent than your normal technique, hence it can't be held for long and your body doesn't select this technique for pedalling all of the time. Generaly your self selected technique is most the efficent technique at any given power output.