Road Cycling · Public discussion

Question on Lance's Save

Duffy Pratt · 2003-07-14T21:00:21+00:00

When Beloki fell, how fast were he and Lance going? How much steeper did it get when he cut straight down the field instead of making the switchback on the road? I'm thinking they were going 30mph at a minimum, and probably faster than that by a considerable amount. Then Lance put his bike onto an entirely new and even shakier surface, started going down a considerably steeper incline, managed to brake in time to avoid the ditch, jumped it smoothly with bike and started up again almost like nothing had happenned. Is that an accurate assessment? Duffy

Started by Duffy Pratt · 14 July 2003 · Last activity 15 July 2003 · 10 posts · 704 views

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01 / Original postQuestion on Lance's SaveDuffy Pratt · 14 Jul 2003 02 / This pagePosts 1–10Page 1 of 1 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #10Raptor · 15 Jul 2003

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Original section: Road Cycling
Published: 14 July 2003
Last activity: 15 July 2003
Original author: Duffy Pratt
Posts: 10
Discussion status: Public discussion
Total views: 704
Views / 30 days: 0
Topics: Cyclocross

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Original post
Duffy Pratt
Archived post

14 July 2003, 21:00 UTC #1

When Beloki fell, how fast were he and Lance going?
How much steeper did it get when he cut straight down the field instead of making the switchback
on the road?
I'm thinking they were going 30mph at a minimum, and probably faster than that by a considerable
amount. Then Lance put his bike onto an entirely new and even shakier surface, started going down a
considerably steeper incline, managed to brake in time to avoid the ditch, jumped it smoothly with
bike and started up again almost like nothing had happenned.
Is that an accurate assessment?
Duffy

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Robert Oliver
Archived post

14 July 2003, 22:00 UTC #2

Quoted message said:
When Beloki fell, how fast were he and Lance going?
One site reported 45 mph.
Quoted message said:
How much steeper did it get when he cut straight down the field instead of making the switchback
on the road?
No clue. The helo footage doesn't help in figuring that out.
Quoted message said:
and started up again almost like nothing had happenned.
Is that an accurate assessment?
Yes, he did indeed reintegrate himself into the field with amazing smoothness. The footage at
Eurosport shows just how quickly he got back on the road.

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Flashsteve
Archived post

15 July 2003, 00:00 UTC #3

Boy, I would have guess closer to 20mph than 30, just based on how far he skidded and how quickly
Lance came on him and dodged him. He was started to exit a pretty tight turn; 30 mph is tough on an
apex like that.
But, then, I was watching on TV.
The grade question could be answer mathematically pretty easily. It looked like Lance traveled about
half as far as the guy's doing the whole turn, therefore his grade was twice theirs. So I would
guess 7 degrees for the group, 14 for Lance.
Steve Scarich

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Nick Burns
Archived post

15 July 2003, 01:00 UTC #4

"FlashSteve" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Boy, I would have guess closer to 20mph than 30,
Me too.
just based on how far he
Quoted message said:
skidded and how quickly Lance came on him and dodged him. He was started

to
Quoted message said:
exit a pretty tight turn; 30 mph is tough on an apex like that.
But, then, I was watching on TV.
The grade question could be answer mathematically pretty easily. It

looked
Quoted message said:
like Lance traveled about half as far as the guy's doing the whole turn, therefore his grade was
twice theirs. So I would guess 7 degrees for the group, 14 for Lance.
Steve Scarich

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Clovis Lark
Archived post

15 July 2003, 01:31 UTC #5

FlashSteve said:
Boy, I would have guess closer to 20mph than 30, just based on how far he skidded and how quickly
Lance came on him and dodged him. He was started to exit a pretty tight turn; 30 mph is tough on
an apex like that.
That's A-pecs...
Quoted message said:
But, then, I was watching on TV.
Quoted message said:
The grade question could be answer mathematically pretty easily. It looked like Lance traveled
about half as far as the guy's doing the whole turn, therefore his grade was twice theirs. So I
would guess 7 degrees for the group, 14 for Lance.
Quoted message said:
Steve Scarich

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J Jones
Archived post

15 July 2003, 02:01 UTC #6

"FlashSteve" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Boy, I would have guess closer to 20mph than 30, just based on how far he skidded and how quickly
Lance came on him and dodged him. He was started

to
Quoted message said:
exit a pretty tight turn; 30 mph is tough on an apex like that.
But, then, I was watching on TV.
The grade question could be answer mathematically pretty easily. It

looked
Quoted message said:
like Lance traveled about half as far as the guy's doing the whole turn, therefore his grade was
twice theirs. So I would guess 7 degrees for the group, 14 for Lance.
Steve Scarich
I'm thinking b/w 30 & 35mph - but then, they were coming up on the switchback, which is why Beloki
was braking. Difficult to say, but Lance's save was incredible - especially since he was sideways
for an instant prior to heading down into the grass. Absolutely anything could've happened right
then, but he was smiled upon by the cycling Gods for sure. Jeff

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Raptor
Archived post

15 July 2003, 05:01 UTC #7

FlashSteve said:
Boy, I would have guess closer to 20mph than 30, just based on how far he skidded and how quickly
Lance came on him and dodged him. He was started to exit a pretty tight turn; 30 mph is tough on
an apex like that.
But, then, I was watching on TV.
The grade question could be answer mathematically pretty easily. It looked like Lance traveled
about half as far as the guy's doing the whole turn, therefore his grade was twice theirs. So I
would guess 7 degrees for the group, 14 for Lance.
Steve Scarich
It looked like 40-ish mph to me. They were chasing downhill and rounding a gentle turn before that
hairpin turn popped up in their line of vision.
--
--
Lynn Wallace xmission.com~lawall "I'm not proud. We really haven't done everything we
could to protect our customers. Our products just aren't engineered for security." --Microsoft VP in
charge of Windows OS Development, Brian Valentine.

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Nick Burns
Archived post

15 July 2003, 05:31 UTC #8

"Raptor" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
FlashSteve said:
Boy, I would have guess closer to 20mph than 30, just based on how far

he
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
skidded and how quickly Lance came on him and dodged him. He was

started to
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
exit a pretty tight turn; 30 mph is tough on an apex like that.
But, then, I was watching on TV.
The grade question could be answer mathematically pretty easily. It

looked
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
like Lance traveled about half as far as the guy's doing the whole turn, therefore his grade was
twice theirs. So I would guess 7 degrees for

the
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
group, 14 for Lance.
Steve Scarich
It looked like 40-ish mph to me. They were chasing downhill and rounding a gentle turn before that
hairpin turn popped up in their line of vision.
I'll look again on my tape, but the corner they were going through was way too tight for that
kind of speed.
Quoted message said:

--
--
Lynn Wallace xmission.com~lawall "I'm not proud. We really haven't done everything we
could to protect our customers. Our products just aren't engineered for security." --Microsoft VP
in charge of Windows OS Development, Brian Valentine.

Report
Royg
Archived post

15 July 2003, 12:00 UTC #9

Lance's field trip seemed slow and controlled.
"Duffy Pratt" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
When Beloki fell, how fast were he and Lance going?
How much steeper did it get when he cut straight down the field instead of making the switchback
on the road?
I'm thinking they were going 30mph at a minimum, and probably faster than that by a considerable
amount. Then Lance put his bike onto an entirely

new
Quoted message said:
and even shakier surface, started going down a considerably steeper

incline,
Quoted message said:
managed to brake in time to avoid the ditch, jumped it smoothly with bike and started up again
almost like nothing had happenned.
Is that an accurate assessment?
Duffy

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Raptor
Archived post

15 July 2003, 19:00 UTC #10

RoyG said:
Lance's field trip seemed slow and controlled.
I can't see it, but that could be me. I laugh every time I watch it. It's just so wild, whether he
was calm cool and collected or hanging on for dear life.
When I'm on my road bike, I ride the road. Like, it'll break if it touches a blade of grass, won't
it? So the thought doesn't cross my mind. I can relate to LANCE's massively hard work, training,
skill and physical superiority - it's all just a much higher level of what I do to/for myself. But
his field crossing stunt? No way would that have been me. At best, I would've ridden the
shoulder/ditch for a few meters, likely sliding out and getting back up ASAP.
I've never raced cyclocross but mtb a lot. The equipment under me seems to change my mindset
completely.
--
--
Lynn Wallace xmission.com~lawall "I'm not proud. We really haven't done everything we
could to protect our customers. Our products just aren't engineered for security." --Microsoft VP in
charge of Windows OS Development, Brian Valentine.

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