Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, January 16, 2021
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2020 Tour de France | 2020 Giro d'Italia
The audiobook version of The Story of the Tour de France, Volume 1 is available.
People think that I must be a very strange person. This is not correct. I have the heart of a small boy. It is in a glass jar on my desk. - Stephen King
Upcoming racing:
- Jan 19 - 24: Santos Festival of Cycling
- Jan 23: Flandriencross
- Jan 24 - 31:
Vuelta a San Juan(cancelled) - Jan 28 - 31:
Challenge Illes Belears(postponed)
Latest completed racing:
- Jan 1: GP Sven Nys Cyclocross
- Dec 26: Heusden-Zolder Cyclocross
- Dec 23: Azencross-Herentals
- Dec 20: Namur Cyclocross
- Dec 13: Gavere Cyclocross
- Dec 12: Scheldecross
- Nov 14: GP Leuven Cyclocross
- Nov 7 - 8: European Cyclocross Championships
Deceuninck-Quick Step tests some of its riders at the Valencia Velodrome
Here’s the team’s post:
During a recent testing session with some of our riders at the Valencia Velodrome, Leo Menville of Specialized told us about the work they do during the session and how it benefits our team throughout the year.
“We have been holding these sessions for several years now, where we do aero testing with the riders. The riders will have a Retül fit before they arrive at the velodrome, where we look to give them a good fit on the bike, as well as metabolic efficiency testing to give us a basis to work from. We use this information to do a test to optimize each rider’s position on the bike, mainly focusing this time on their Shiv Time Trial bikes.
This is done at the Velodrome because it is a controlled environment, where the conditions are always the same and there is no impact from the weather or terrain for example. This means using the same protocol every time where the rider will ride a number of laps of the track at set speeds and the data is checked using a coefficient drag calculator. We then make adjustments to the rider’s position and repeat the test.
The kind of adjustments we can make are with the handlebars, which can be higher or lower, further apart or closer, different pads, or changes to the saddle. The purpose is to find the most aerodynamically efficient position for the rider during a TT. We then pair this with the metabolic tests, which is important – for example it is shown that some positions maybe more aero but mean that the rider can produce less watts. So, we look at all of the information and find what is the perfect position for each rider.
All of the data we collect is recorded, saved and taken into account when we are designing our future new products, but this is not the main reason that we do the tests. Our main purpose is to help the riders of the team get the most out their bike every time they ride.”
Benoit Cosnefroy delays his return to competition
Here’s the release from his Ag2r-Citroen team
Benoit Cosnefroy has suffered for 10 days from a pain at his right knee that handicap him in his training. Medical check-up didn’t detect any lesions but he has to adjust his training. His return to competition, originally planned at l’Etoile de Béssèges (February 3rd to 7th), is delayed for several weeks.
His program will be announced soon.
“The pain is disabling during long physical efforts. It should be better to wait. I’ll continue to train to be competitive in March races”, Benoit Cosnefroy said.
Starrt of 2020 Tour de France stage five: Julian Alaphilippe on the left in yellow and Benoit Cosnefroy on the right in dots. Sirotti photo
Shimano extends Team Jumbo-Visma sponsorship with addition of women’s team
Here’s the team’s news release:
Shimano will provide components for Team Jumbo-Visma men’s team, Development Team and the women’s team. The parties have renewed the sponsorship deal. Shimano’s top tier groupset, Dura-Ace, will grace the new Cervelo frames.
Jumbo-Visma (shown during stage 18 of the 2020 Tour de France) will be sporting Dura-Ace on its bikes in the 2021 season. Sirotti photo
This renewal, which continues the 25-year legacy between the component manufacturer and the team, is historic for the two brands in that it sees the inclusion of Team Jumbo-Visma’s new women’s team. Team Jumbo-Visma Women will race with Shimano’s Dura-Ace drivetrain and pedals, the Development Team will race with Ultegra drivetrain and pedals, and the men’s World Tour Team have opted for Dura-Ace drivetrain, wheels and pedals.
This new deal will see the entire Team Jumbo-Visma squad using Shimano’s disc brake specification (Dura-Ace ST-R9170 or Ultegra ST-R8070) on all bikes. The men’s team will also opt for Shimano’s R9100P Dura-Ace power meter to give exacting feedback on their efforts in training or in races.
Myron Walraven, Shimano sports marketing manager said: “Not only is Team Jumbo-Visma aligned with our goals of inspiring people to get out and ride, but strategically they are also very much on board with the development of our company and the representation of our brand. So I'm very happy to reach a new level of agreement within our long-term partnership.”
Richard Plugge, managing director of Team Jumbo-Visma said: “I am extremely proud and grateful that we are continuing our longest-running collaboration and even able to expand it to our new women's cycling team. Quality is the key for us and we know that we can rely on it at Shimano. Together we have been building continuously through years of innovations, that is characteristic of this partnership. Hopefully we can achieve many more successes on Shimano equipment in the future.”
As well as Shimano components, all Team Jumbo-Visma riders will use Shimano’s S-PHYRE RC902 premium white competition-level shoes in road races. Riders competing in cyclocross, such as Wout van Aert or Marianne Vos, will also use Shimano’s S-PHYRE XC901 off-road race shoe.
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