gregf83 

Perhaps decades ago but not lately. Here's a short blurb on Sky's 20 min warmup procedure:
from: Team SKY Warm-up - BritishCycleSport

rubiksoval

Because it doesn't make sense in the least.

You think riders are hopping on their trainers and riding for 3 hours before their time trial start? How does that make any type of sense?

rubiksoval

I call b.s. on it ever happening, period.

63rickert

That is the Sky warmup for a training ride. For something as important as a TdF time trial much more than that is required.

Also, as with all things Sky, what they tell the public is so complex and so goofy it is doubtful anyone ever did that. That they warmup a minimum of twenty minutes is quite believable, all the rest is tosh.

rubiksoval

Since GCN is bible for some forumites:


How long is the warm up?
"Around 20 minutes"

"Pretty short one, like 20 minutes probably'

One rider even talks about no warm up at all. Haaaa.

rubiksoval

How about the world championships?

From the 3x world champion and multiple TdF and Giro stage winner:

"There is no need to spend more than 25 minutes warming up. In fact, I’m quite certain I have left many of my best performances on the ergometer before some time trials even started by warming up too hard and much too long."

The second part of that is interesting. Makes physiological sense, right?

https://cyclingtips.com/2017/05/prep...warm-recovery/

So there we have it.

gregf83 

Why would anyone warm up for a training ride? Same basic procedure is used by Jumbo Visma and others.

Feel free to provide some links to the 3 hr warmups you speak of.

63rickert

They do not hop on their trainers. They do not ride for three hours. They warm up on the road. For high level guys 100km of warmup, including a soft start, finishing with 30 minutes above 50kph, takes about 2-1/2 hours.

It makes complete sense that at start of an important TT racers would want to be fully primed. For guys who race long distances every day and know the feeling of race end after a long day of work 2-1/2 hours is not a big deal. In days of yore it was different. Back when racing was seen as mostly hard physical labor and racers were working stiffs the time trial was an easy day, a short day. A few (Merckx) always did a significant warmup. Anquetil was known for longish warmups. Current fashion was mostly set by Indurain. Everyone saw how well it worked for him and followed suit. Plenty of coaches had always wanted this, advocated for this, it didn’t become standard until Big Mig gave the demonstration.

Why do you think I am or would need to make this up? This is real normal stuff and very well known.

63rickert

I am not providing a link to something you just invented. Rubiksoval came up with three hour warmups. I never suggested any such thing.

Why warmup for a training ride? Shall I also explain why the sun rises in the east?

I can can tell you why club rides mostly abandoned warmups. They used to be all open rides. And every ride started with a warmup. When riding bike had periods of popularity large numbers of goofballs would show up at the start and cause all sorts of mischief. The response was to start the ride at 30mph and slough off the deadwood. It has been so long since organized rides had a warmup it now seems odd. Plenty of the fast guys on those rides do a ride before the ride to be ready for the initial burst of speed.

Apparently no one here has ever raced, ever been around racing. Doesn’t prevent omniscience.

rubiksoval

You have multiple quotes from actual world tour riders that say what you're saying is 100% wrong.

So that's why I think you're making it up. That and the fact it makes zero sense.

gregf83 

You haven't explained why Team Sky would feel the need to warmup before a training ride. You assume they lack the discipline to warmup as a group? The warm-up I posted is what they and the British Cycling Federation use before Time Trials.

Riders and physiologists have progressed from the days when riders would smoke cigarettes to 'open up the lungs'.

cjenrick

had a 25 mile ride to get to work every morning, punching a clock, over 3 minutes late and they mark it down,

multiple late punch-ins could result in getting fired, so it was a TT race every day,

no time to warm up in the morning,

so a really warm bath, soaking for 10 minutes, resulted in legs that were pretty much ready to go right out of the gate.
maybe a 5 minute spin on the way to the main highway, same speed everyday, avg 19 mph with traffic lights,

Carbonfiberboy 

Back when I did TTs, I warmed up by JRA and doing maybe 3 full-on 25" hill sprints, the last one just before getting in line for my start. Worked well. There was a convenient hill for this 10 mile early season TT.