Originally Posted by
gurana
Most recounts of this story certainly seem to imply that LeMond pulled the aerobars out for the first time on that last stage to the surprise and outrage of the rest of the field. I had no idea they were used in earlier stages and that brings up a whole new set of questions for me. It does seem unlikely that LeMond as an individual or even his team can simply bring out a novel piece of equipment and the UCI would just be ok with it. Was it therefor presented to the UCI for approval prior to the tour? If so, when was the approval made known to everybody?
If the teams knew ahead of time there could be all sorts of reasons that we didn't see them more widely used in that first tour after the approval. Maybe some protested and refused to adopt for reasons of tradition. Maybe some underestimated the benefit. Maybe some saw that there was benefit, but didn't feel there was enough time to implement. It would take some time for a rider to get used to the new position to the point where their unfamiliarity wasn't more of a hindrance than the aero bars were a help. With that in mind, I don't think Fignon can be faulted for not just throwing them on his bike if he didn't go into the tour already knowing how to use them. Maybe two weeks is sufficient time to get familiarity, but it seems like a lot to ask someone to practice on in between stages in the middle of a tour.
The helmet thing certainly seems like it was a mistake that Fignon could be blamed for, especially if he used one in the earlier time trials. I don't know that there's a legitimate way to figure this out, but it's been said that an aero helmet would have been worth at least a few seconds over the TT and with the final margin so close it's hard not to see that as a fatal mistake.
Yeah, it had been awhile since I'd watched the 1989 TdF videos, so I was surprised to notice those details.
If I'm reading the various interviews correctly, LeMond decided just before the '89 TdF to try the aero bars. He didn't have much experience with them either. But he used them effectively that year.
In 1989 LeMond was still struggling to regain his form after the shooting accident, and wasn't sure he'd do well or even finish that year's TdF. And he definitely struggled the first week, but gradually rode himself into shape and doggedly gnawed away at the lead. He seemed to be motivated by a frenemy rivalry with Fignon. They were very similar in physiques, riding styles, strengths and weaknesses.
The next year at the 1990 TdF a few more riders used aero bars, but many didn't. It probably cost Claudio Chiappucci some time. He stuck with a conventional drop bar road bike for -- if I'm recalling correctly -- the stage 20 final time trial. Chiappucci was leading after stage 19, but lost a lot of time in the stage 20 TT and was obviously struggling.
Meanwhile LeMond did ride a bike with aero bars, but also appeared uncomfortable with the aero bars and was in and out of the saddle, mostly using the regular bars. Probably because the stage was more of a roller coaster than the 1989 final stage TT which had been mostly flat, a gradual downhill grade, with a bit of a tailwind -- very fast and well suited to aero bars. And the 1990 stage 20 TT day was hotter than usual, so even LeMond omitted the aero helmet.
It was interesting to watch the gradual development of more aero bikes and rider skills. Not long ago I rewatched the early 2000s TdFs and as much of Floyd Landis's rides in 2006 as I could find online. Landis was an underrated rider whose strengths and skills were overshadowed by the doping scandal... and possibly by his quirky personality. But he was a strong, skillful TT rider, looking much more comfortable than most of his rivals on the aero bars. And he was using the then-legal and much more aero praying mantis position, which was later banned by UCI, although I think it's still legal for most triathlons. So now most UCI competitors use aero bars nearly parallel with the ground. I suppose the UCI prefers it because it looks more ... I dunno ... traditional? Hard to tell, since this is the same organization that now bans the puppy paws invisible aero bar position, with forearms draped across the tops of the drop bars, which didn't seem dangerous on breakaways. That puppy paws position enabled Remco Evenopoel to dominate some breakaways and time trials that prohibited the use of aero bars and special TT bikes. Remco mastered that position and was very comfortable and stable using it.
Nowadays when a race analyst says "So and so didn't spend much time on the time trial bike," that rider still appears more comfortable and faster on the TT bike than many of his predecessors in the early 2000s.