bouldergeek

Yeah, as someone who has done medical classes and blood-borne pathogens training, I try to keep my platelets and plasma to myself. I got back on the bike for a bit after, so I wouldn't develop awkwardness to the track and pedaling. But, I did go clean myself up afterward.

That was last Saturday, and I haven't ridden since. We went from 60s to a foot of snow, again.

I am going to go back for another class next Thursday. I do have a bit of second guessing and healthy fear...um, respect...for how fast one's drive wheel can disconnect if one back pedals ever so slightly in the high banking.

MrMinty

How far down do you squat? I just can't seem to manage ass to the grass, even with no weight on my shoulders

dunderhi

I was told that after a crash I had two choices: either finish the race or go to the hospital. So, I usually ended finishing the race. With a foot of snow outside, I would be on the rollers the next day.

700wheel

That seems like a ridiculous requirement. I can foresee situations where that requirement might involve the race organizers or officials in a lawsuit by the rider. Also there is no such requirement in the USA Cycling Rule Book.

carleton

I think it was more of a "toughen up" lesson as a jr from his coaches.

carleton

Being that it's eas now with cell phones, a lot of lifters video themselves and have a look and adjust.

Maybe do that and see how you compare with photos of those exhibiting good form.

Also, "ass to grass" doesn't mean literally trying to put your butt as close as possible to the ground. Maybe use another cue like parallel thighs.

dunderhi

Bingo! With a large team presence at most races, a spare wheel or a spare bike was always available. As an example of a positive result from this toughening, I won a crit that I spent maybe a dozen laps chasing the field after a crash. The abrasions and bruises healed in about a week, but I still have that gold medal three decades later.

taras0000

Pain is temporary (in most cases!). Pride is forever!

700wheel

I was thinking about more serious crashes - for example at Encino some years ago we had two riders crash and break their helmets; the two race day paramedics questioned the riders and when they could not answer simple questions were told to stop riding.

I agree that there are accidents with no or minimal injuries.

dunderhi

Yes, the serious accidents are the ones that warrant a trip to the hospital. I've made more than one trip to the ER to visit or to accompany a teammate. Actually, one trip to the ER was to visit multiple riders. It was almost like the ending to "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World." We were laughing so hard from everyone's crash stories that the nurse had to come in yell at us to keep it down.

rndstr

That sounds great but it's a bit out of my price range. Have to be careful to not turn into that guy that buys expensive gear but stays slow

Quinn8it

I'll go ahead and say it:
if you can't afford a computer with 0.5" sample rate you should just sell all your **** and look in to Kite Surfing or Rock Climbing- because there is no way to get fast on a bike without it. Don't even try

McRussellPants

I couldn't really either till I got some lifting shoes, 75$ for some Powerlifts wasn't too bad. I feel like a dweeb lifting so light in them but they really helped me with going low without bouncing and keeping my knees right.

MrMinty

How come male sprinters are proper beefy but women sprinters are more spelt? Is it purely down to testosterone or is there more too it? How come the women sprinters aren't built like Russian bodybuilders?

MrMinty

Think I'll stick to parallel at the moment. I saw a really interesting video about squatting. I'll see if I can find it. I bought some compression leggings this week, so hopefully they'll support me a bit more. I'm going to add deadlifts into my routine too.

taras0000

Has a lot to do with testosterone and androgen production. What you do see amongst the women is a lot more variation in body types when it comes to sprinting. The males aren't all as beefy as you think. Most of the guys would look pretty normal in street clothes, maybe with a hint of an athletic build (Forsty being an obvious exception). It's the body composition/leanness that makes the guys look really beefy. The women are much smoother, so don't look so muscular. Put the women in a line up side by side and you'll see the variation between them

Godsight

That is Awang at the 2015 wc, he was 3rd in the keirin final but he is known for being a small rider both in height and muscle size. Still, is a very good sprinter at worlds level. Not everyone need the thighs of Hoy, Baugé, Forstermann and Pervis to get those watts out.

carleton

That photo is really dated.

But, I get your point.

Absolute Wattage does not guarantee success. Watts/Kg does not guarantee success. Watts/CdA? NOW we are talking.

(For those who don't know): What is CdA?

Awang's advantage is similar to the advantages that Sandie Clair and Kristina Vogel enjoy. They make comparable power/weight as their competitors, but they gain a much bigger advantage from drafting. On top of that, they offer an opponent little benefit from drafting.

Example:

2 riders who are twins, Following Rider trails Leading Rider at 70KPH. Trailing Rider is expending about 75% of the energy that Leading Rider is expending to go the same speed. Now, when the size of riders relative to each other changes, so do the benefits. If Leading Rider is bigger than Training Rider, Trailing Rider will use, say 65% of the energy that Lead Rider is spending. If Trailing Rider is bigger than Leading rider, he may spend 90% of what Leading Rider is expending.

Source: I'm a big guy that hates sprinting against small guys. They have a significant advantage. Drafting off of them is almost pointless, yet when they draft me, it's like I pull them along behind me.

queerpunk

There's a flip side, too.

I'm small, and I've ridden the wheels of guys that are so big that I barely get any draft - it all passes above me!

MrMinty

Found the video I was looking for

Velocirapture

Thanks for this. Really interesting

Velocirapture

haha! yup. All that airflow through the legs - i'm hearing you.

queerpunk

I know a guy who's about 5'5" who tells stories about his old leadout man, who was like waaaaay over 6 feet. He says he'd have to maneuver another rider in between them and conduct the leadout like that.

taras0000

How is it legal for Bauge to wear the Giro Air Attack with the ear flaps? Doesn't that go against the rule of commercially available equipment (article 1.3.007 of the Clarification Guide of the UCI Technical Regulation)

Dalai

Saw a CZE female rider during the elimination of the Omnium with a PC7 on the handlebars and the screen not covered too!