tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post3388826392601365834..comments2023-07-21T17:26:24.127+04:00Comments on Ron George: Alberto Contador On The Angliru : Climbing Speed & Power to Weight RatioRonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16268869622833968439noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-27972290005778300542008-09-14T14:19:00.000+04:002008-09-14T14:19:00.000+04:00I'm not pointing a finger at Contador (though ...I'm not pointing a finger at Contador (though his Puerto/Bruyneel connection could be enough to raise suspicion) but what I'm saying is it seems that some riders, when doing a great ride, get labelled a doper, yet others, who do those kind of rides over and over and dominate (for up to seven years!) are lauded for their hard work, talent and preparation.<br><br>Funny, after posting this morning, I was out on a ride with a mate, and we were climbing one of the big climbs that is popular. He went away and smashed it up the climb, I was back a little and ended up catching a group of riders who were struggling up. When I re-joined my mate at the top, he said that as he passed some of the slower riders, one yelled out "are you on drugs?". Seems anyone who is faster than anyone else, even on a Sunday ride, is under suspicion, rightly or wrongly. <br><br>PS Armstrong doped! ;-)brettokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13365986594916002921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-1440375768737626792008-09-14T09:38:00.000+04:002008-09-14T09:38:00.000+04:00But Piepoli didn't dope!!!!But Piepoli didn't dope!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-39895686602572640312008-09-14T09:19:00.000+04:002008-09-14T09:19:00.000+04:00A few notes:The gearing used by some riders (53x34...A few notes:<br><br>The gearing used by some riders (53x34) is not a big deal for BCD issues - you can put a 50, 53, 55 on a 110 (compact) chainring; the reason people use compacts is to have a smaller chainring for climbing - 34 Vs. 39. A 34 is physically too small to be attached to a normally spaced crankset since the perimeter is too small to fit in the existing holes. The only thing that suffers is front shifting due to the big ramp between 34 and 53 teeth. Typical front derailleurs recommend a 14 tooth difference.<br><br>VAM is proportional to steepness. If a strong climber was doing stairs instead of a bike race his VAM would be even higher (say, 1:1 ratio of climbing to forward movement). This is because the steeper it gets less energy is used to overcome aerodynamic drag AND he travels less actual distance. El Angliru is tremendously steep, but not that long in distance (12.2 km, 10.3% grade, 1,248 m altitude gain) compared to say Le Col de Galibier (35 km, 5.5%, 2,000 m altitude gain). At the same power/weight, the VAM for Angliru would be much higher than for the Galibier (Armstrong posted 1,450 m/h on the Galibier). 6.4 W/kg is less than some top climbers have posted in other Grand Tour climbs. The infamous Ferrari's magic number was 6.7 W/kg for a Tour contender.<br><br>Before you point the "doping" finger, do some research. Can't assure any of these guys aren't in the juice, but VAM is hardly the parameter to judge it.Rod Diaznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-69274236095382919222008-09-14T09:12:00.000+04:002008-09-14T09:12:00.000+04:00The numbers are a rough estimate. I would imagine ...The numbers are a rough estimate. I would imagine Contador's VAM to be in the late 1800's but again, we havent seen such consistently steep climbs much before so its possible he did cross 1900m/h. This is also only for the last 4K, which is the steepest. The entire climb is some 9-12K long and so the average VAM probably is not unbelievably high.<br><br>Ricco getting caught, even though late, was pretty reasonable as his reference VAM's for early that year never showed anything close to what he put out in the Giro.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18394865788996482667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-16303741931422301022008-09-14T07:40:00.000+04:002008-09-14T07:40:00.000+04:00Contador's VAM on the Col de Peyresourde in th...<a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/sep07/sep12news2" rel="nofollow">Contador's VAM on the Col de Peyresourde in the 2007 Tour was 1642...</a>... seems he's in peak form for this year's vuelta....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-66054720384328417272008-09-14T03:42:00.000+04:002008-09-14T03:42:00.000+04:00from my experience with SRAM, they very good durab...from my experience with SRAM, they very good durable components and excellent range of gearing. the others have only realized lately how important this is to riders.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-46652783430573291732008-09-14T03:31:00.000+04:002008-09-14T03:31:00.000+04:00Perhaps 15 minutes sounds reasonable. I read that ...Perhaps 15 minutes sounds reasonable. I read that it takes pro's around half an hour to climb the last 6.5 kilometers. and the easiest stretch has a grade of 12%. Woww!! <br><br><br>David Millar probably caught a flight back home buhahahahaRonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18394865788996482667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-91054613197188965302008-09-14T03:11:00.000+04:002008-09-14T03:11:00.000+04:00for a pro cyclist, contador looks to have very les...for a pro cyclist, contador looks to have very less musculature on the legs. a big gear won't suit him.dannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-65487677836151267392008-09-14T02:52:00.000+04:002008-09-14T02:52:00.000+04:00ryan : you sure about that? who makes a 34-30 cog ...ryan : you sure about that? who makes a 34-30 cog set for road?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-43746571864896650622008-09-14T02:34:00.000+04:002008-09-14T02:34:00.000+04:00I hear it was a 34x30 on the rear... At least that...I hear it was a 34x30 on the rear... At least that is what Eurosport said. Almost sounds like MTB gearing :)Ryan Sherlockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123990132107937713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-65437563311287018332008-09-14T01:58:00.000+04:002008-09-14T01:58:00.000+04:00A little on the high side I think, butok thanks fo...A little on the high side I think, butok thanks for posting this!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4786784182488135171.post-39768850143329151062008-09-14T01:23:00.000+04:002008-09-14T01:23:00.000+04:00interesting! i wonder what gearing he used. the ki...interesting! i wonder what gearing he used. the kid was flying!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com