[ad_1]
That yarn in full – warning, it may contain time trial nerdiness!
TT Bike vs Road Bike vs a hybrid of the 2? Teams that are serious about this will have modeled both sections of the course separately and for the riders. Individually the model would have taken into account both aerodynamics and force / kg, this is not very difficult to do with the best division of bikes.
Without modeling it myself (maldon 10 to get ready for the tome) I guess it’s a no brainer to take the tt bike in all its TT aerodynamics for the stretch to the base of Planche de Belle Filles. But the complicated thing is if or when to change bikes.
If the race has determined a point to specifically change bikes and that point is while the speed is over 50 km / h, then there is much more time wasted decelerating, shifting, accelerating (on a slower aero bike) than if the change is on the slopes of the climb at say 15kph.
But also, road cyclists changing bikes is often not a pleasant affair and Sod’s law will mean that the cleats are likely not to encounter Van Der Poel Cyclo cross speed pedals (WVA exception). And if the mechanic can give you a push, since getting going uphill is difficult, it will be a profit.
Simply put, time lost in shifting can be calculated against time lost riding a tt bike on a mountain or time lost to stall when running a hybrid road / tt setup the entire ride.
HOWEVER
So @xavierdisley has made some great info graphics of profit losses in the field. I will add some points to the equation. Bike change decisions from a rider’s point of view will also take into account their TT bike and what it’s like to ride uphill …
Some TT bike brands have an absurdly low base bar, while others have a high base bar, if the rider is very tall the base bar becomes even lower as TT bikes rarely have a height adjustment there , the dream setting is a rising style base bar. that’s similar to the height of the hood of a road bike
Weight, there are some light tt bikes, around the 7-7.5kg mark, and there are some TT bikes that could go on a diet, pushing 10kg in some cases. Again, this will be taken into account in modeling.
But a clip-on hybrid road bike is effective, unless it’s been aerodynamically tunnel or track tested, it really is a stab in the dark as to how much time you’ll lose before the climb starts, so this option really can’t be late thinking during the last day or 2.
So the equipment options will be great to see, I think tomorrow it will be quite easy to recognize teams that know and have known from the start of the course exactly what to do, there will be teams that will take an informed guess, and some teams that leave it to the cyclist’s preference.
Anyway, I hope you found it interesting! Or just take a look if a TT day is as exciting as watching paint dry.
[ad_2]
