Are some teams more scientific than others?

[B_Ugli]

I wondered which Pro Tour teams follow modern training methods/analysis and which dont. I know in the old days Gilbert Duclos Lassales long winter miles seemed crazy to the young Chris Boardman who was all about the heart rate monitor and power meter.

The impression I get is that teams like Quick Step, Lotto and some other French teams still seem to be old school as opposed to Radioschlek, Saxo Bank and Sky (who seem to always have the SRM's rigged up).

I wondered what others thought? The more old school teams dont seem to be at any disadvantage or are they?

 

[Christian]

Sky has a weather van, that's science for ya

 

[jens_attacks]

i think sky is the most professional team right now.probably cofidis is still doing an hour of swimming and then one of riding(if it's not raining).then whine because you can't win le tour

 

[craig1985]

I think the French are catching up though, Europcar are looking to improve their riders TT abilities. As for the OP, you can't discount Garmin, I think it was Brian Holm who said that their nutrition section was the amongst the best in the sport and the they were catching up to them. GreenEdge is another, I mean they have links to the AIS who has a brand new shiny training centre in Varese.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

More scientific could also mean more developed doping programme . I cant resist say this even though i know that its not the dungeon of The Clinic

 

[jens_attacks]

I think the French are catching up though, Europcar are looking to improve their riders TT abilities.

absolutely.ag2r was also always above the usual french level,now the cryotherapy...france is catching up

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

i think sky is the most professional team right now.probably cofidis is still doing an hour of swimming and then one of riding(if it's not raining).then whine because you can't win le tour

that's what sky makes you believe. it's lots of typical anglo blabla. while fdjeux has been doing windtunnel tests for the past 5 years

 

[Von Mises]

i think sky is the most professional team right now.probably cofidis is still doing an hour of swimming and then one of riding(if it's not raining).then whine because you can't win le tour

Cofidis is still behind, but they are improving. It is just one example, but I know that Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) complained that they will never use wind tunnels for TT training, but last year he and some other Cofidsi riders visited wind tunnel first time.

 

[Suedehead]

Duclos Lassales won Paris-Roubaix. Boardman did not. They trained differently, won races the other couldn't.

Those low tech frenchies...
The wind tunnel in the eifel tower is a hundred years old! And french bike riders were in wind tunnels in the late seventies, maybe they now it is more about marketing than than "science"?

 

[will10]

that's what sky makes you believe. it's lots of typical anglo blabla. while fdjeux has been doing windtunnel tests for the past 5 years

The French tunnel sucks compared to D2Z though.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

who said that?

 

[Von Mises]

who said that?

I cannot give direct answer, but I can again point to Cofidis example. I remember Taaramae blogging that when Cofidis started to look for wind tunnel, they had to turn first choices down because these were crap. At last Cofidis scraped the money and rented Magny-Cours tunnel for couple of days.

 

[unsheath]

Does Cav's icecream bucket helmet count as scientific. Brailsford/Sky and their marginal gains mumbo jumbo!

 

[B_Ugli]

I cannot give direct answer, but I can again point to Cofidis example. I remember Taaramae blogging that when Cofidis started to look for wind tunnel, they had to turn first choices down because these were crap. At last Cofidis scraped the money and rented Magny-Cours tunnel for couple of days.

I think Dave Millar mentions this in his book that allegedly they wouldnt sort him out a dedicated TT machine and he bought his own from Terry Dolan.

Sky always talks in terms of power output
Boonen and other talk in terms of % of best condition.

Maybe its still old school for the classics, and new school for grand tours and tts!

 

[crapna]

I wonder why this topic is not on the clinic.

 

[Ryaguas]

Well I think that depends of the money that the team has to invest in that area... the use of a wind tunnel is not cheap you know, also hiring specialist in the nutrition and biomechanics area are not cheap either... Teams like Garmin, Sky, RANT, Liquigas can afford it but there are others teams that cant...

And about French teams well... They like OldSchool... that is other way to say "We dont have money for that..."

 

[Michele]

There was an interview of Pinotti some months ago and he was asked why he would choose foreinger teams like HTC in his case, compared to his past team Lampre and he said something like "...in Lampre we had a elektrostymulator sponsor which gave us the products but actually it was just for half team and that was it. In HTC if they were gonna give it to us they would even have a sort of class for explain how to use it properly".

Italian teams use to be "old style" as some say but it's slowly changing, if you look at people like Damiani and Guercilena.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I wonder why this topic is not on the clinic.

I wonder why you are here