I've been a fan since the mid 1980s and raced for many years and I have a hard time even watching now, strictly because of him. They might all be "to the gills" but he is next level, grade A, bull$hit.
So Lance doping for 7 straight wins didn't turn you off the sport?
Lance's cheating absolutely was part of my growing disgust for the sport. Then there seemed to be hope from the blood passport concept. Even if it didn't stop doping there was at least some hope that it would dial it way back.
What Poagcar is doing, both in the Grand Tours and one-day classics, is ridiculous. Hitting nearly 7w/Kg for about 40 minutes... that isn't worth my time to watch.
Imagine if a world class 5000 meter runner suddenly dropped an 11:59 or close to it. Would we cheer or would we puke?
It's so stupid that I just have to turn away and do something else with my time.
Pog is not doping. What people are missing is that there are a lot of factors involved in his performance: (1) better training methods today, (2) better nutrition today, (3) electronic shifting, (4) hydraulic braking systems, (5) lighter bikes made of better alloys- his daily Tour bike runs around $20,000, (6) he has one hell of a team to ride with (and Vingo dearly misses Sepp Kuss), (7) Pog uses a smaller crankset than most professional riders do. His is at 165 mm, while the usual size is 175. This provides him more power faster on climbs than for the other top GC contenders. I am surprised this has not caught on.
Pog and Vingo are worlds better than other riders, but according to this thread, they are all doping anyway. P and V must have better chemists according to this logic, or why would there not be others just as good?
There have been plenty of improvements (training, fueling, team tactics, bike tech, aerodynamics, etc...), but mechanical shifting and hydraulic braking aren't helping anyone climb. If you believe that you have fallen victim to the marketing department of SRAM or Shimano.
And to the prior poster - No, I don't think Cancellara used a motor for PR. Ive seen the videos, but I think they are in the typical genre of conspiracy theory -- looking for random and innane things to fit a far flung narrative.
Pog is not doping. What people are missing is that there are a lot of factors involved in his performance: (1) better training methods today, (2) better nutrition today, (3) electronic shifting, (4) hydraulic braking systems, (5) lighter bikes made of better alloys- his daily Tour bike runs around $20,000, (6) he has one hell of a team to ride with (and Vingo dearly misses Sepp Kuss), (7) Pog uses a smaller crankset than most professional riders do. His is at 165 mm, while the usual size is 175. This provides him more power faster on climbs than for the other top GC contenders. I am surprised this has not caught on.
Pog and Vingo are worlds better than other riders, but according to this thread, they are all doping anyway. P and V must have better chemists according to this logic, or why would there not be others just as good?
I’d be inclined to believe you if he hadn’t done and won the giro already. There’s almost no time to recover and get back in shape, but somehow he’s even better now at a time where you’d have dead legs. To think the nutrion and training is not known to the other teams is ridiculous. On top of that he is riding for a team sponsored by a disgusting country known for their human rigths abuse and slave workers in a sport ridden by corruption and doping scandals.
Pog is not doping. What people are missing is that there are a lot of factors involved in his performance: (1) better training methods today, (2) better nutrition today, (3) electronic shifting, (4) hydraulic braking systems, (5) lighter bikes made of better alloys- his daily Tour bike runs around $20,000, (6) he has one hell of a team to ride with (and Vingo dearly misses Sepp Kuss), (7) Pog uses a smaller crankset than most professional riders do. His is at 165 mm, while the usual size is 175. This provides him more power faster on climbs than for the other top GC contenders. I am surprised this has not caught on.
Pog and Vingo are worlds better than other riders, but according to this thread, they are all doping anyway. P and V must have better chemists according to this logic, or why would there not be others just as good?
Pog is not doping. What people are missing is that there are a lot of factors involved in his performance: (1) better training methods today, (2) better nutrition today, (3) electronic shifting, (4) hydraulic braking systems, (5) lighter bikes made of better alloys- his daily Tour bike runs around $20,000, (6) he has one hell of a team to ride with (and Vingo dearly misses Sepp Kuss), (7) Pog uses a smaller crankset than most professional riders do. His is at 165 mm, while the usual size is 175. This provides him more power faster on climbs than for the other top GC contenders. I am surprised this has not caught on.
Pog and Vingo are worlds better than other riders, but according to this thread, they are all doping anyway. P and V must have better chemists according to this logic, or why would there not be others just as good?
I was having these conversations 20 years ago online. I can find those posts today even.
You're just taking the same story and changing details. Did you know Lance Armstrong fanboys, 20 years ago, would say 1) Cancer made him change his body morphology to be more of a climber/GC than sprinter 2) Wind Tunnels and all the aero improvements 3) Focused on one race instead of season 4) Had never been "caught" 5) Bikes were also the 20k equivalent, 6) USPS was the best team and best run team in the world then 7) Armstrong Foundation...Lance is just too good a guy to cheat.
The two top riders today are blatent about it. I do remember Basso smoking everyone at the Giro...right before Operation Puerto happened. Even his competitors called him "Extra terrestrial"
Interviews I've read on Cycling News seems to have similar comments from other riders that were passed on the mountain.
I don't even watch road cycling anymore, all I do is check the results, so I have a pulse for what is going on. Same with running actually, all dirty.
There is clearly something new that hasn't been found out yet. Genetic modification maybe. Its coming, if not here.
Pog is not doping. What people are missing is that there are a lot of factors involved in his performance: (1) better training methods today, (2) better nutrition today, (3) electronic shifting, (4) hydraulic braking systems, (5) lighter bikes made of better alloys- his daily Tour bike runs around $20,000, (6) he has one hell of a team to ride with (and Vingo dearly misses Sepp Kuss), (7) Pog uses a smaller crankset than most professional riders do. His is at 165 mm, while the usual size is 175. This provides him more power faster on climbs than for the other top GC contenders. I am surprised this has not caught on.
Pog and Vingo are worlds better than other riders, but according to this thread, they are all doping anyway. P and V must have better chemists according to this logic, or why would there not be others just as good?
I was having these conversations 20 years ago online. I can find those posts today even.
You're just taking the same story and changing details. Did you know Lance Armstrong fanboys, 20 years ago, would say 1) Cancer made him change his body morphology to be more of a climber/GC than sprinter 2) Wind Tunnels and all the aero improvements 3) Focused on one race instead of season 4) Had never been "caught" 5) Bikes were also the 20k equivalent, 6) USPS was the best team and best run team in the world then 7) Armstrong Foundation...Lance is just too good a guy to cheat.
The two top riders today are blatent about it. I do remember Basso smoking everyone at the Giro...right before Operation Puerto happened. Even his competitors called him "Extra terrestrial"
Interviews I've read on Cycling News seems to have similar comments from other riders that were passed on the mountain.
I don't even watch road cycling anymore, all I do is check the results, so I have a pulse for what is going on. Same with running actually, all dirty.
There is clearly something new that hasn't been found out yet. Genetic modification maybe. Its coming, if not here.
I forgot to add Lance was known as a spinner, and one argument used was he "put the load on his aerobic system" by spinning 100, 110 rpm instead of grinding at 80. Kinda sounds like your crank length argument.
I have no doubt that there are new super drugs or even gene doping going on in cycling...and other endurance sports!
But legitimate and profound advancements have been made in cycling in on-the-bike nutrition, aerodynamics, and training. Literally 30-50 watts of improvement in aerodynamics efficiency alone is huge. Figuring out the perfect glucose to fructose ratio now allows riders to consume a monster 100g of carbs per hour on the bike without digestive bombs going off...totally changing the modern peloton speed. Like t&f, training methods are well known and well publicized across the entire spectrum of riders, teams and even recreationalists providing way higher fitness top to bottom.
Pog is not doping. What people are missing is that there are a lot of factors involved in his performance: (1) better training methods today, (2) better nutrition today, (3) electronic shifting, (4) hydraulic braking systems, (5) lighter bikes made of better alloys- his daily Tour bike runs around $20,000, (6) he has one hell of a team to ride with (and Vingo dearly misses Sepp Kuss), (7) Pog uses a smaller crankset than most professional riders do. His is at 165 mm, while the usual size is 175. This provides him more power faster on climbs than for the other top GC contenders. I am surprised this has not caught on.
Pog and Vingo are worlds better than other riders, but according to this thread, they are all doping anyway. P and V must have better chemists according to this logic, or why would there not be others just as good?
Additional perspective about bike weight in the Pro Tour peloton.
I wouldn't put money on the weight of a bike contributing much. The stiffness of a frame? Maybe. When the riders race the same course on the same day in the same conditions, and for the most part have access to the same technology (nutrition, mechanics, aerodynamics, etc) a butt whooping like yesterday stands out.
We shouldn't forget Vingy's crash in April. Not being at Tadej's level this year is more than understandable, and in year's past, it really has been those two and Sepp showing the most consistent climbing.
Pog is not doping. What people are missing is that there are a lot of factors involved in his performance: (1) better training methods today, (2) better nutrition today, (3) electronic shifting, (4) hydraulic braking systems, (5) lighter bikes made of better alloys- his daily Tour bike runs around $20,000, (6) he has one hell of a team to ride with (and Vingo dearly misses Sepp Kuss), (7) Pog uses a smaller crankset than most professional riders do. His is at 165 mm, while the usual size is 175. This provides him more power faster on climbs than for the other top GC contenders. I am surprised this has not caught on.
Pog and Vingo are worlds better than other riders, but according to this thread, they are all doping anyway. P and V must have better chemists according to this logic, or why would there not be others just as good?
Not sure if serious
It's the kind of non-sensical word salad generated by ChatGPT
Except it isn't. I wrote it. And I always thought Lance was doping, from his 3rd year on. I don't see it here, but I did think Vingo might have been when he killed Tadej last year on that climb, which was so superhuman as to beggar description. Right now, I am not so sure. Too many modern factors in play.
I've been a fan since the mid 1980s and raced for many years and I have a hard time even watching now, strictly because of him. They might all be "to the gills" but he is next level, grade A, bull$hit.
Watching running is the same experience. Next level bs.
Literally 30-50 watts of improvement in aerodynamics efficiency alone is huge.
Aerodynamics matter very little up the steep climb. You are not getting "30-50 watt" from "aerodynamics" up a steep mountain.
Actually it does. The amount it plays is exponential to speed so the faster you go, the more resistance....but Pogacar and the peloton are averaging 14 mph up 10 % grades! 14 mph definitely benefits greatly from aero and we're talking beyond "marginal gains"
Further, Pogacar, Vingagaard, and Eavanopoel each broke Pantani's record and about 7 more came close! A big part of the reason for this is the Visma team especially American Matteo Jotgenson, absolutely destroyed everyone with an unreal tempo! Vingagaard says it was his best performance ever. ...even getting beaten by Pogacar.
Actually it does. The amount it plays is exponential to speed so the faster you go, the more resistance....but Pogacar and the peloton are averaging 14 mph up 10 % grades! 14 mph definitely benefits greatly from aero and we're talking beyond "marginal gains"
You have no idea what you are talking about and have never raced a bike before up a hill.
Actually it does. The amount it plays is exponential to speed so the faster you go, the more resistance....but Pogacar and the peloton are averaging 14 mph up 10 % grades! 14 mph definitely benefits greatly from aero and we're talking beyond "marginal gains"
You have no idea what you are talking about and have never raced a bike before up a hill.
You definitely get 0.25 W/kg or so from the aero frames on most these long climbs where you have portions at/above 15 mph. Neither of us has rode that spend up a climb :)
I raced bikes up hills for many years. Resistance is a combination of many factors (CdA, Crr, drivetrain loss, gravity, etc...). CdA as a percentage of total resistance decreases as you go uphill (gravity is a higher percentage), but that doesn't mean it isn't there. Just because you might not perceive it on a climb (due to all of the variables), its basic science and the calculations are all out there. In fact, I can definitely feel (and measure) the improvement of aero wheels on a climb (for example). CdA as a component of resistance increases with speed, but its always relevant and makes a material difference for a stage of that length. The benefit is obviously reduced when drafting, but he went solo for quite a ways. It matters.