Rodriguez's time trial of his career!

[Benotti69]

Seriously, Katusha was a mess before SW arrived. Bad bikes, bad tires, bad wheels, even worse rider positions. SW began working with the U23 team in 2011, Anton Vorobev improved significantly ever since.

During the Giro, SW rode to Italy with HED clincher wheels for the final ITT in the trunk which he tested two days before on the Büttgen Track. Unfortunately Purito believed in some obscure Italian or Spanish "Technician" and did everything wrong. Appearently he finally follows Weber's approach now.

SW is a narcistic freak but I see no hints of doping.

When were they a mess? in 2009 they had 20+ wins and have not had as many wins since then.

 

[Carstenbf]

This was practically a MTT. I'm not at all surprised Rodriguez did well.

Very strong ride yes. Incredible? I don't think so.

 

[roundabout]

When were they a mess? in 2009 they has 20+ wins and have not had as many wins since then.

Colom, Pfannberger. They were a mess.

Of course now that they figured out the secrets to wheels they can do better and still be clean.

And Galimzyanov doped on his own of course.

 

[roundabout]

This was practically a MTT. I'm not at all surprised Rodriguez did well.

Very strong ride yes. Incredible? I don't think so.

31 kmh average for the climb for Kessiakoff. Hardly the steepest climb in the universe.

 

[Mr.38%]

When were they a mess? in 2009 they has 20+ wins and have not had as many wins since then.

I'm talking about the technical part only. Butyl innertubes, those Focus BS bikes, wheels - all a mess. If you have a rider improve his aerodynamics by almost 40 watts @ 50 km/h during a two-day session in Büttgen, that's much more than a good shot in the veins can do.

So yes, marginal (or not so marginal) gains work, especially in TT.

Edit: So like acoggan in the SKY thread, I do not rule out pharmaceutical help in general, but I rule out an increased program as the cause of Purito's improvement in this ITT.

 

[Benotti69]

I'm talking about the technical part only. Butyl innertubes, those Focus BS bikes, wheels - all a mess. If you have a rider improve his aerodynamics by almost 40 watts @ 50 km/h during a two-day session in Büttgen, that's much more than a good shot in the veins can do.

So yes, marginal (or not so marginal) gains work, especially in TT.

Edit: So like acoggan in the SKY thread, I do not rule out pharmaceutical help in general, but I rule out an increased program as the cause of Purito's improvement in this ITT.

Sorry not buying it.

 

[simo1733]

Did no one see that Valverde was wearing a watch with the Union Jack

Dear Sky fans. That is a joke, not me actually claiming to have found proof of a conspiracy



Never let your emotions cloud your judgment

I saw it.That's proof right there.He has been ingesting carbon monoxide to boost his natural EPO.

 

[Armchaircyclist]

This was practically a MTT. I'm not at all surprised Rodriguez did well.

Very strong ride yes. Incredible? I don't think so.

----------------

I agree, and find it odd that the team that took places 1-2 is not mentioned in a separate thread today. Kessiakoff has done well before, and surely this ITT fit him very well, but it also fit Rodriguez well, and he's not exactly a nobody either.

 

[_frost]

I'm talking about the technical part only. Butyl innertubes, those Focus BS bikes, wheels - all a mess. If you have a rider improve his aerodynamics by almost 40 watts @ 50 km/h during a two-day session in Büttgen, that's much more than a good shot in the veins can do.

So yes, marginal (or not so marginal) gains work, especially in TT.

Edit: So like acoggan in the SKY thread, I do not rule out pharmaceutical help in general, but I rule out an increased program as the cause of Purito's improvement in this ITT.

Would be very interesting to know, how many of the Clinic-writers actually train with a power meter and have first hand experience, not just read here, about the consequences of eg. adjusting a TT position, changing equipment (eg. badly rolling tyres) or dropping weight.

That indeed can be much, much more than marginal and as amazing it sounds, even PT-level team doesn't guarantee technologically level field.

 

[Havetts]

This was practically a MTT. I'm not at all surprised Rodriguez did well.

Very strong ride yes. Incredible? I don't think so.

Finally someone that realizes..

 

[Mr.38%]

Sorry not buying it.

A friend, fellow cat 1 racer and employee of SW's company went to Italy last year and did the tests in Büttgen. He is even writing training plans for the second tier squads and women, performing diagnostics and such. See these as facts opposed to your assumptions.

 

[Benotti69]

A friend, fellow cat 1 racer and employee of SW's company went to Italy last year and did the tests in Büttgen. He is even writing training plans for the second tier squads and women, performing diagnostics and such. See these as facts opposed to your assumptions.

they won over 20+ races in 2009 on focus bikes. They have yet to win so many since then! Maybe they had a problem with the TT bikes, but to say they were on inferior equipement is a misnomer.

I dont have a focus, but it is the 1st i heard about them being that bad that they won lots of races.

 

[Mr.38%]

TT only (apart from using Contis Pro edition tires on their road bikes, too which are supposed to save 2-4 watts per wheel depending on road surface).

 

[Benotti69]

TT only (apart from using Contis Pro edition tires on their road bikes, too which are supposed to save 2-4 watts per wheel depending on road surface).

I am off the opinion TT bikes should be banned from road racing.

Katusha's TT performances are not on my radar. But i doubt they are clean. Russians are not known for being fair and Katusha with all the moeny from an oligarch are hardly going to play fair.

 

[_frost]

JR TT:ing few years ago. Does it need explanations?

 

[taiwan]

JR TT:ing few years ago. Does it need explanations?

lol

Looks like he's need a custom bike like Evans to get the bars low enough? The Canyon bike must be way better.

 

[Mr.38%]

I am off the opinion TT bikes should be banned from road racing.

I'm 101% with you on this one. Ban this ****!

Katusha's TT performances are not on my radar. But i doubt they are clean. Russians are not known for being fair and Katusha with all the moeny from an oligarch are hardly going to play fair.

Heiko Salzwedel was training with his RusVelo girls in our winter training group (amazing to see 350 W on my SRM and 210 W on theirs on a climb ). He reported that they were waiting for payments since december and hoping to be able to pay the hotel bill for the team. As they are still showing up here occasionally I guess some money was sent...

 

[Parrulo]

they won over 20+ races in 2009 on focus bikes. They have yet to win so many since then! Maybe they had a problem with the TT bikes, but to say they were on inferior equipement is a misnomer.

I dont have a focus, but it is the 1st i heard about them being that bad that they won lots of races.

riddley my friend, completely different

about yesterday, while i think it was a impressive performance from purito i wouldn't go all out and call it a clear sign of doping due to some very simple conditions:

1- clearly super shape rodriguez
2- sub par contador and froome
3- extremely hilly course.

he lost 41 seconds in 13k to a subpar contador on the flat, if the course was all flat and his time loss had a linear progression he would have lost roughly 2 minutes. ofc the progression wouldn't be linear and i dare to say the more k's the itt had the worse it would get for purito and he would end up losing 3 minutes or so.

btw here is a picture of purito yesterday to compare him to 2010:

his itt position does look better from my amateur point of view.

 

[therhodeo]

Sometimes I think the clinic has some good info but then other times I think its full of people who if not for cycling would be running around concerned about UFO's, the Bilderberg Group, or how the Moon landings were a hoax. You see evidence where you want to see it. TT with a climb in the middle and a technical descent. Its not like he put time into Tony or Fabian in a flat TT or something. I mean really Kessiakoff won. Not exactly your typical grand tour time trial.

 

[roundabout]

riddley my friend, completely different

about yesterday, while i think it was a impressive performance from purito i wouldn't go all out and call it a clear sign of doping due to some very simple conditions:

1- clearly super shape rodriguez
2- sub par contador and froome
3- extremely hilly course.

he lost 41 seconds in 13k to a subpar contador on the flat, if the course was all flat and his time loss had a linear progression he would have lost roughly 2 minutes. ofc the progression wouldn't be linear and i dare to say the more k's the itt had the worse it would get for purito and he would end up losing 3 minutes or so.

btw here is a picture of purito yesterday to compare him to 2010:

his itt position does look better from my amateur point of view.

Rubbish.

He paced it better than Contador.

He also lost something like 5.6 seconds per km to Froome last year. Nearly 7 to Martin so no use pointing to an under 3 sec/km loss this year as some kind of sign that there was nothing suspicious.

40w at 50 kmh is the best explanation so far, but I am not sure that I really buy it nor does it fully explain the improvement both in flat TTs and long climbs.

 

[Benotti69]

riddley my friend, completely different

My bad, but all carbon

 

[_frost]

Rubbish.

He paced it better than Contador.

He also lost something like 5.6 seconds per km to Froome last year. Nearly 7 to Martin so no use pointing to an under 3 sec/km loss this year as some kind of sign that there was nothing suspicious.

40w at 50 kmh is the best explanation so far, but I am not sure that I really buy it nor does it fully explain the improvement both in flat TTs and long climbs.

That 40w sounds quite far out to be honest. But looking at his position and equipment change I could quite easily believe 20w worth improvement (eg. 10w for position, >5w for better frame and wheels and <5w for better tyres, this is by no means exact but somewhat representative example).
With the rule of thumb 1w=1s/km that would give him 80 seconds improvement in 40k TT.

 

[taiwan]

Rubbish.

He paced it better than Contador.

He also lost something like 5.6 seconds per km to Froome last year. Nearly 7 to Martin so no use pointing to an under 3 sec/km loss this year as some kind of sign that there was nothing suspicious.

40w at 50 kmh is the best explanation so far, but I am not sure that I really buy it nor does it fully explain the improvement both in flat TTs and long climbs.

This thread is like the Pozzovivo one - misguided. What's your hypothesis? Unless you think he was clean as a whistle on ONCE, Suanier Duval and Caisse, we're not looking at someone who just started juicing and is seeing the benefits in his TT.

 

[Mr.38%]

I don't have authentic info for Rodriguez. SW found over 20W in hardware, frame, tires, wheels, skinsuits etc. Add lots more for the position.

All data was measured on a roofed track. In crosswinds, values may be even higher.

 

[roundabout]

This thread is like the Pozzovivo one - misguided. What's your hypothesis? Unless you think he was clean as a whistle on ONCE, Suanier Duval and Caisse, we're not looking at someone who just started juicing and is seeing the benefits in his TT.

My hypothesis is that I have no idea what it's about exactly. Call it a gut feeling, but something doesn't really fit.