Thanks as always to all who contributed to this issue of the BTC Beat! We will be issuing another single month issue in August before moving back to a bimonthly schedule, so start sending your ideas, results, photos, and requests  my way anytime, at mcmillan.w@gmail.com. Included in this issue are: a re-cap from list discussion on aerodynamics from Neal Henderson; volunteer updates from Sally Dyer and Tricia Dixon; the dirt on the Dirty Thirty from Mike Conroy; details on the Dino Tri and racing back to fitness post-injury from Charles Garabedian, and more. Don’t forget to check out this month’s Athlete Profile (Tricia Dixon…no cookie winners this month, alas!), and the partial shot.

Keep up the Beat, BTCers.

WORD ON THE STREET…ummm, that is, BTC LIST

Lots of talk abounded recently on the club forum regarding the potential impact of aerodynamics in cycling and triathlon. We’re fortunate to have a wealth of knowledge and experience among club members and “list lurkers”, and many weighed in with great info, including several coaches. Thanks to all for sharing their helpful expertise! Here’s a re-cap, in case you missed it, of observations from Boulder Center for Sports Medicine’s Neal Henderson. Neal has performed world aerodynamics evaluations on velodromes with world champions, world  record holders, and grand tour podium finishers.

MYTHS–BUSTED

 

1.       Lower is not faster

a.       I raised a multiple time world champ/world record holder by 4cm in the front end (elblow pad height) and we reduced his CdA significantly…and he set a new world record  5 days later using less power than previous attempts with the lower position.

2.       Aero helmets are always better.

Actually, aero helmets are usually much better than standard helmets….but:

a.       Head position with any helmet being used is even more important.

b.      There is no one ideal/fastest helmet for all.

c.       Heat dissipation is also a factor to consider regarding use/non-use for most triathletes regarding aero helmets.

3.       Saddles don’t matter.

a.       Where/what you are sitting on greatly affects your hip angle, back position, neck position, muscles engaged, etc.

b.      There is no “one best” saddle – everyone has different morphology

4.       No need to think about water placement.

It’s really worth giving some thought, as water placement varies:

a.       Aero frame/non aero frame

b.      Cage/no cage

c.       Need for water during event relative to conditions/physiological demands

d.      Regardless of all of the above, the differences are quite small.  On most tests that I’ve done, a water bottle on the downtube is faster than none at all (even standard round bottles on aero/TT frames).

5.       Aerodynamics have bigger impacts in total time f faster riders than slower riders.

It’s really the other way around.

a.       Blasphemy you say…not really.  It’s simple arithmetic.

b.      Simply put, the gains that you can make in overall time when going slower are larger than the gains you can make going faster.  This also applies to pacing/effort/power during a TT/race course – more power/effort should be applied on the slower segments of the course (uphills & headwinds) and less effort applied in the faster segments (downhills/tailwinds) to maximize your average speed and optimize physiological strain.  Exact variation depends on your fitness and the actual course conditions, but typically would be in the 10-20% above and below your goal/achievable sustained power for the entire course.

c.       Reference: Jeukendrup, A. E. and J. Martin. Improving cycling performance: how should we spend our time and money. Sports Med. 31:559-569, 2001. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11428691

6.       In triathlon, aerodynamics on the bike are everything.

a.       The ability to maintain a position, produce power and ultimately have the fastest combined bike + run time is the name of the game.

b.      Too many triathletes seek an extreme position that can not be sustained for the duration of the event and/or hold a position that does not enable them to achieve their best combined bike + run split.

Happy riding and racing,

Neal

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