Team Blog

With our new Michelin order going out soon, I thought it would be a good idea to look at some date regarding tire/tube combinations and wheel weight vs. aerodynamics data. Chris Burnham supplied me with the articles here. In this first review article, it appears that in comparing clincher tires/latex tubes to tubular tires, the clincher tire/latex tube combination seems to have comparable to superior rolling resistance charachteristics vs. tubulars. I know Lance is going to say that tubeless tires have the least rolling resistance, and that's probably true, but tubeless wheelsets still haven't taken the industry by storm... yet...

Think your lightweight climbing wheels are better on climbs vs. an aero wheelset? Maybe not... Here's some data that suggests that on inclines of less than 8% grade, you're still faster on an aero wheelset vs. a lightweight climbing wheelset. Finally, I've also got an article comparing the aerodynamic drag of various wheelsets. Yes, Zipp wheels are faster than Mavic R-Sys.... I know we already know that, but it's nice to see it in a graphical comparison.

What's this mean? Since we're doing a new Michelin order soon, you may want to think about ordering some latex tubes if you're interested in achieving low rolling resistance. I've been using them since our last order, and aside from having to pump up my tires more often, (latex doesn't hold air as long as butyl), they've been working out great. I haven't had a flat tire on them yet, and they're a lot easier to install than the tubular alternative. One disadvantage is their price. They will run more than double the price of the regular tubes, but hey, we're getting a team discount, so it's not that expensive, and it's still less than purchasing tubular tires. Also, the other data suggest that you could probably use your aero wheelset on a fairly hilly course and still get an advantage over lightweight wheels. Reserve your lightweight climbing wheels for those races that exceed 8%, or have a lot of cross wind.

So, last week nobody picked the Tour of Flander's Champion, but Ken and Tom did have Flecha as their picks, so I guess they'll have to share the Clif Bloks. This upcoming Sunday is Paris Roubaix, which is my favorite of the classics. We're having the same competition for the Paris-Roubaix. Submit your top two picks via the "comments" section of this blog entry. Whoever picks the rider who does the best on Sunday, wins. If there's a tie, we'll use the second pick as a tie-breaker. The winner will again get a box of Clif Bloks, and in addition will get a Nuun waterbottle and a Nuun tube of electrolyte tabs. Once again, anyone can try to pick a winner, but the prizes will only be awarded to an MBRT member.

We have all tried it once or twice, it never works, but we are always tempted to do it anyway. Our urge to recreate the winning solo pro moves of Stijn Devolder or the always underrated Karsten Kroon, leave us trying and failing. In this weekend’s local criterium up in Santa Cruz, I found myself in the Cat 3 race with great legs and contempt for the field; a sure recipe for disaster. Ken always reminds me that we are fast fish in our little fishbowl, but I always forget about the rest of the ocean despite his words of wisdom.

            About halfway into the race, I was feeling great and a $10 prime went out, so I decided to take it and see what would happen. After I won the prime, I found a large gap and decided “what the hell, those guys all suck anyway…. right?�  What a cherry I am! Long story short, I held the break for three and a half laps and came back to the pack only to have lost my snap with no shot at the final podium after the effort. I finished 12-15^th and wasn’t even able to lead out Ken after the final corner. In fact I couldn’t even get around him. So, my break not only screwed up my chances, but it indirectly hurt Ken’s race as well.

            So why doesn’t this type of thing work? What went wrong? When I am training my junior officers, I often preach about tactical patience and setting conditions before the decisive point of the battle, It seems I should listen to myself. Another wise lesson is never underestimate your enemy. A win is a win, minimize the risk in getting it. I often do better in the 1,2,3 races because I have a healthy respect, even a little intimidation, for the riders and never do anything too aggressive. As a result, I have much more snap when that critical time comes.

(breakaway power file, click to enlarge)  

            From a technical aspect, it seems pretty obvious why it doesn’t work. I just got a power meter and it becomes very clear how much energy this type of thing wastes. If you look at the power file above, you can see the entire breakaway, from start to the catch. The biggest problem is the initial jump. As you can see from the file, I went totally anaerobic, jumping up to 1317 watts and 183 bpm (6 below my max HR). I tried to settle in at a sustainable 400 watts, but the trick is to do that while recovering from your initial hard effort. Too hard to do. To really recover you need to go back below your threshold for a bit, then settle back up to your max sustainable rate. That is why you need a companion in your foolish endeavor or you must be close enough to the finish that your quickly decreasing power curve will get you to the finish first.

            Don’t underestimate how much this type of effort will cost you later. Prior to my break, my average HR was 158bpm and the race was easy as can be. After the break, my average HR was 165bpm and I was struggling to get back up to the front. It also had 300 less watts in the final sprint than from my prime lap, and that could be the difference between 12^th and 1^st.

           

1. Don’t underestimate your competition.

2. You have to recover if you go anaerobic. It’s science; you can’t suspend it.

3. Think hard about the decisive point of the race and save your energy for that moment.

4. Be patient, most of us only have the power for one crazy effort, choose it wisely and see 3 above. 

It's time for the Classics to begin in Europe, and this year we're going to have a friendly competition for MBRT members. For the Ronde van Vlaanderen on April 6th, all MBRT members are invited to try to pick the top two riders of the race. We'll give a box of Clif Blocks (assorted flavors) to the MBRT member whose top pick does the best in the race. If we have multiple people picking the same top rider, then their second pick will be the tie-breaker. If people choose the same riders for their first and second picks, well, then you're going to have to share. To enter your picks, MBRT members must post their first and second choices to this blog via the "comments" section. Please give me your name, and then list your top two picks, and please identify which rider is your top pick. Any post after the race begins will not be considered. Anyone can post their picks, but we're only going to give the Clif Blocks to an MBRT member.

Webmaster.

MBRT racer, Kadria Milani, is offering a Pilates class for MBRT members and friends of the club. For those of you who aren't familiar with pilates, or if you're wondering how pilates can help a cyclist, please read Kadria's description below:

Core Strength Class based on Joseph Pilates method will strengthen the Transversus Abdominis, a deep muscle in the belly that wraps around to the back. That muscle is responsible for stabilizing the spine and the pelvis. Sports that require major force to be generated by the lower limbs, soccer, football, cycling and running (the list goes on) stress the back muscles as they try to keep the pelvis and spine from being pulled out of alignment. Pilates movements isolate the deep abdominals while inhibiting the over use of the hip flexors usually typical in cyclists, while stretching tight hamstrings and tight back muscles. Strengthening the erector spinae and multifidus ( back muscles) is achieved with controlled and precise movements. Also, because of overuse and the principle of overcompensation the body becomes imbalanced, back pain and chronic fatigue are the symptoms. With Pilates that balance is restored and correct muscle firing patterns are re-learned. The result is no back pain a very strong and stable core which allows for more power output by the hip flexors and hamstrings and quadriceps (all major leg muscles). Class will be offered at Energia for six weeks, once a week on Monday nights. E-mail me directly to sign up. Time and start date to be determined.

Kadria Milani

Now that MBRT has a website and a blog, I'd like to encourage team members to add photos and videos to the Photo Gallery and/or the blog. If any MBRT member would like posting privileges to the blog, let me know and I'll get you set up. If you'd like access to posting to the photo gallery, then you'd have to contact either Lance or myself (we're the only ones with website access for now).

thanks

Gregg Olson

Even though the Central Coast is probably not going to see much more rain this year, after getting a new team Ridley bike, I decided to change my 4 year old Fondriest to a rain & winter bike. I wanted to put on full-coverage fenders which was a problem since I was using a race bike with no fender eyelets and campy record brakes calipers. I used Planet Bike Cascade fenders, which needed to have some fabricated attachments due to the tight clearances of the frame and wheels. The entire setup was purchased and installed at Joselyn's Bike shop in Monterey by Jason (one of their helpful mechanics). The fenders have about a half centimeter of clearance from the tires, but there seems to be no fender rub as of yet. Also, since I didn't have to change over to long reach brake calipers, the record brakes should still give me plenty of stopping power, even in wet conditions. The fenders themselves have great coverage. I'm thinking the extended mudguards should keep the crud off my feet, and also provide some spray protection to anyone riding behind me. I'm not sure if we'll have any more rain this year to allow me to test these fenders in real wet conditions, but I'm sure we'll have some of that wet, drizzly central coast fog. Either way, I'm hoping to test it out on wet roads pretty soon.


submitted by Gregg Olson