Alex Simmons/RST said:
chuckmicD said:
What Dear Wiggo said. Thermoregulation modification is no joke.
It's unfortunate that legit performance enhancement methods get tarred with the doping brush but it is understandable when they are used in conjunction with doping, or when mentioned by dopers as something they do. Doping isn't the only way to improve performance so it make sense these guys will use a combination of options. It's hard to parse out what proportion of performance would be due to various legitimate and illegitimate factors. So while doping is obviously a factor, cooling on very hot days does make an important difference to performance.
I've had a race experience when in a break on a filthy hot Aussie summer day where I had the opportunity to regularly douse myself with cold water from supplied bidons. It worked very, very well.
right.
and the thing about this stage was, when the peloton allowed Floyd the 10 minute rope by just turning the legs over and allowing the domestiques to set the tempo, even allowing FL to take 10 minutes of free time up the road, FL could still achieve this 10 minutes as tempo, well under his FTP. And the stage is up and down and up and down, the aero coefficient is almost immaterial, it is certainly less material than the psychological element of allowing the peloton to ride your tempo, instead of the psychological element of riding with your nose in the wind.
But FL was on, he could easily channel this psychological barrier and cross the psychological "gap", that was not gonna cost him any watts or calories so he would go hunger flat.
One advantage, actually two, one was riding his own tempo. (and FL was a Savoldelli type descender too), Savoldelli, Nibali, Sagan, Cancellara, FL, all descend on a similar level.
And the bidons. So he could maintain some
lower temperature. But it would be lessened, if he had to carry an extra 1kg of liquid in his clothes not yet evaporated.
other riders in the chasing GC group, not able to avail themselves of this advantage, and descending at a lesser speed too