B
Benjamin Weiner
Guest
Carl Sundquist <[email protected]> wrote:
> > http://www.olntv.com/tdf03/03tdfvideo.html
> That clip pretty much explains everything except the OP's question. ... Armstrong isn't carrying a
> lot of speed onto the road, so it isn't momentum. The only thing that comes to mind is that he
> mounts the bike from the left side and he might have been concerned about hooking one of the
> riders with his leg as he hopped on his bike. Then again, maybe its a personal thing to be on the
> left side of the road, like on Luz Ardiden.
IIRC, the OP also asked why Armstrong didn't remount right away. A high-caliber cross racer once
gave me this tip: It's quicker to accelerate from a slow speed on foot than on the bike. A common
newbie mistake is to reach the end of a transition (like a run-up) and immediately throw a leg over
the bike, clip in, and have to start pedaling from a near stop. It's faster overall to run a couple
of steps and carry speed through the remount. You can see this playing out often in beginner
category cyclocross races. I've never tried it in road cleats though. I didn't watch the video
again, but maybe that has something to do with it.
It's also probable that we can over-analyze Armstrong's thought process, since it may have been
about 10% "Cross the road or not?"
> > http://www.olntv.com/tdf03/03tdfvideo.html
> That clip pretty much explains everything except the OP's question. ... Armstrong isn't carrying a
> lot of speed onto the road, so it isn't momentum. The only thing that comes to mind is that he
> mounts the bike from the left side and he might have been concerned about hooking one of the
> riders with his leg as he hopped on his bike. Then again, maybe its a personal thing to be on the
> left side of the road, like on Luz Ardiden.
IIRC, the OP also asked why Armstrong didn't remount right away. A high-caliber cross racer once
gave me this tip: It's quicker to accelerate from a slow speed on foot than on the bike. A common
newbie mistake is to reach the end of a transition (like a run-up) and immediately throw a leg over
the bike, clip in, and have to start pedaling from a near stop. It's faster overall to run a couple
of steps and carry speed through the remount. You can see this playing out often in beginner
category cyclocross races. I've never tried it in road cleats though. I didn't watch the video
again, but maybe that has something to do with it.
It's also probable that we can over-analyze Armstrong's thought process, since it may have been
about 10% "Cross the road or not?"