- Welcome to another Ask GCN Anything.
Si and I are gonna turn things on their heads
today by doing the Rapid Fire round first.
- That's right, we're gonna have a much
slower start to the video than normal.
- Yeah, ease ourselves in gently.
First up, Kyle Deans underneath last week's
Ask GCN Anything said, "Do you guys agree that
it's no longer possible for riders to do well
in the Giro and do well at the Tour de France.
Look at Quintana as an example."
Well, we did go into this in this week's
GCN show briefly.
So if you haven't caught up that,
make sure you watch the show.
But what we've got to remember is it's not
just the double that double
that he did this year is it?
He also competed at the Tour de France
last year and the Vuelta.
And he won the Vuelta, and finished
on the podium at the Tour de France.
That is, in effect, four grand tours
on the trot where he tried to go for GC.
- And he is doing pretty well
even if he's not winning.
I suppose the question is; would he be
winning if he hadn't done quite so much.
I wonder whether he might, you know.
- I do think it will still be possible
with someone, at some point in the future.
Don't think we should just write it off.
- With a bit of luck as well actually.
'Cause that come into it doesn't it?
Right, next up, 'cause this is
the Rapid Fire Round don't forget.
This is from Lawrence Liu.
"Why don't all riders in the pro peloton
ride aero bikes if they have the option?
Surely they can get them down to the
lower weight limit."
That's a really good point, actually.
From my perspective, I don't think pros
always, to say, make the most
rational equipment decisions do they?
So because obviously rider preference comes into it.
But, yeah, on paper, an aero bike, most aero bikes,
would be faster on any stage;
whether they're mountain stages or flat stages.
And if I was racing again, I would
definitely ride an aero bike.
- Well, back when I was racing for the
Cervelo test team, we had a certain Carlos Sastre
on the team who had won the Tour de France,
and we had all sorts of very clever engineers
from Cervelo and Zipp explain to us,
including Carlos, what were the best
equipment choices for the mountains.
And it would often be a 303
or even a 404 for mountain stages.
But Carlos always went for 202s;
a lot shallower, lighter climbing wheel,
because he much preferred the feeling on the descent,
actually, rather than the climbs.
He preferred the handling around hairpins, etc. as well.
It is an interesting one, but, as Si said,
pros often just like the feel of a
certain piece of equipment
even if they're told it's not as fast.
- Sticking with Cervelo, I see,
I was out at the launch of their new R5.
I was talking to one of the engineers;
well, the guy who actually designed it basically.
He was saying that for a while the riders
only had the S5, but it's not just an aero bike,
because the geometry is more aggressive.
It's much twitchier.
So actually some of the riders have then
chosen to go with the new R5,
which is slightly more relaxed.
It's not boring to ride,
but it's a little bit easier and a bit less demanding.
Because if, at the end of the day, if you're riding
six hours a day you don't always want to be
absolutely on point D.
- We are really outdoing ourselves
on this Rapid Fire Round.
Two questions down already. - Yeah.
- Third question today, Alexander Micallef,
"Is it better to sprint from a non-ideal position
(e.g. 10th) but with full energy, or use some energy
to get a more ideal position (e.g. third)
and sprint with slightly less energy?
Almost impossible to answer,
but you have to say Kittel,
who has come from non-ideal positions
to win a few stages this year
in the Tour de France.
But it's gonna depend on so many factors;
i.e. how far from the finish you're talking about,
what the corners are like, how strung out the field is, etc.
- Head wind, gradient, yeah, there is actually
no ideal position for a sprint.
Just watch someone like Cav over the years.
He wins from all sorts of different positions didn't he.
- Here's a question for you, Si,
from the beigemaster86.
- Beigemaster. - Yeah.
More like it, yeah, I think it probably is beige.
"In a world of 'marginal gains' why isn't anyone
in the pro peloton running tubeless tyres?
Data suggests that rolling resistance are equal
or better to tubular, but how much time can
a team save by not having to change wheels
due to punctures, etc?
- Yeah, well, I think this
comes back to a previous point.
Teams or riders don't always make the rational decisions.
Like we hear stories in a bunch about
individual riders will join a team,
and they still wanna use some ancient
brand of tubular, because they feel
better on it even if they're not faster.
Sponsors come into it.
So obviously not many riders and teams
actually have a tubeless set up at their disposal.
And also, yeah, I mean, people still like tubulars
even though they're technically not faster.
You, obviously, maintain--
- Yeah, we discussed this.
- So yeah, riders like the fact that
you can ride a tubular when flat.
But actually you can ride a tubeless
tyre when flat as well.
- Yeah, we thinking of doing an experiment;
a race on flat tyres.
- Yeah, I'm constantly amazed by the fact
that riders are always still on tubulars.
But, there we go.
- Well, Liam Sangaku asks, "What do the staff
in the team cars do when they need to
go to the toilet while following the Tour?
Or do they just hold it?"
Well they can go.
What they tend to do is get the
second team car up when they need
to stop to replace them in the convoy
behind the main peloton.
Pull over to one side.
Do what they need to do,
and then replace the second
team car once they're done.
So it is fairly simple.
And they normally choose a
quieter part of the race to do it.
- There's always a supply of water bottles
as well isn't there.
- No, that's very true Si.
And next up Will Ball on Twitter.
"Nice video on the Mavic neutral service car
and something you don't always get to see.
Who was the last rider to use
a neutral service bike in the TdF?"
- Well the last high-profile rider
certainly was Chris Froome;
infamously on Mont Ventoux where he
couldn't get one with speedplay pedals could he?
So Mavic actually went and changed
the bikes that they put on top of the roof.
And they used...
Should we let Lasty take over?
- Yeah, if you didn't see the video
that Will is talking about,
it's coming up for you right now.
(ominous trance music)
- A lot of the interest with the
neutral service cars is right here
on top of the car of course.
So, Mavic has up to four neutral service vehicles
in each stage of the race here at the Tour de France.
And the first three bikes on one of the cars
are set up in the top three on general classification.
- Well after that really slow video from Lasty,
we should get back to more Rapid Fire questions, Dan.
- Ah yes, the first of which
is from Radio Station, again, underneath
last week's GCN show.
"Why would you choose to lay your arms
flat on the hoods, when going on the drops
gets your body in relatively the same position?"
- Good question that.
- Yeah, well, we've discussed this again
before we came on air.
And we decided it was as much down to
the set up of the bike really.
So when you look at the pros,
they've got those slam stems that are
already very low at the front.
So for them, putting their elbows at 90 degrees
on the hoods gets them a very nice flat back.
Whereas if you're a sportif rider who's
not quite as flexible, and your bars are much higher
at the front, you're probably not gonna have
a flat back by going on the hood
even with your arms bent at 90 degrees.
But on the drops you will be.
- Yeah, and the important thing is probably
the, like Dan said, arms at 90 degrees,
is more aero than having your arms stretched.
So to get your flat; your back in that
all-important flat position,
then your forearms dictate how aero you are after that.
Don't they really? - Yeah, definitely.
Here's one for you Si from Sir Roger,
"Why did it take so long for tour riders
to start using easier gears?
I know they had less to choose from,
in years gone by,
but why not have a really big range
on the back for those really steep climbs?"
He seems to have watched some old videos
of riders grinding up the mountains.
- Yeah, well, to a certain extent it was rider preference.
I think riders actually preferred to use bigger gears.
They felt it was more efficient.
But then obviously technology has moved on.
We've got a video, actually, about that;
about the ever-decreasing size of gears on riders' bikes.
But the fact that we go, or have gone,
from seven-speed to eight-speed to nine-speed,
ten-speed, eleven-speed has meant that
you can still keep the same spread of
gear ratios, or rather the same tightly-spaced
gear ratios lower down,
but then actually just have bigger cogs.
- Yeah I think that's a big thing.
- That is a big thing.
And also technology for things like rear derailleurs.
So we have surround wifly which means that
you can use the same rear derailleur
on an 1123 cassette and an 1132 cassette,
and Shimano also have got their new
Duras as well, which allows you to go to 30.
So technology has allowed it, basically.
Whereas, yeah, I should imagine a tour rider
in the 60s using a...
What were they on?
Five-speed blocks?
Six-speed blocks?
Yeah, you couldn't really have very big jumps.
- No, I think that, also, in talking about technology,
maybe power metres, it does when you're grinding steel
like you're putting more power out
because it kind of hurts your muscles.
- Well then your heart rate's often lower isn't it?
That's the other thing.
You can have a lower heart rate for the same power.
So if you only have a heart rate monitor,
it might think that...
You might think it is more efficient,
even if your legs are completely toasted at the top.
- Another question climbing
from DucatiMan1973g who's learned from us how to
find the right gear before a climb.
I always get on well with.
Has also learned to get in and out of the saddle
whilst climbing, but does find when standing
he needs to be in a higher gear,
and it's tough to change back and forth.
What's missing?
- Take it away Dan.
- Well, yeah, that's normal to want to go down
to a lower rpm once you get out of the saddle.
That goes for everyone really, including the pros.
You just need to get used to when is best
to change that gear.
And thinking about my own personal riding style,
I would say it's just before I'm about
to get out of the saddle.
If you just click the gear then.
You can get to a point where the gear then changes
whilst you're not putting quite so much torque
through the pedals, so the gear changing
can be a lot smoother.
- Yeah, just easing off I think probably isn't it?
And, yeah, when you get as experienced as Dan,
you can do it very speedily.
That's what I mean.
Next up, we've got this one
from Dave Hogue, "If the UCI require all parts
to be commercially available," which they do "then why can't
the general public buy those nice Continental Pro tyres?"
That we were talking about
in a couple of Tour de France technies.
Basically brands are still allowed to test
stuff in the pro peloton, which is good.
Because otherwise you wouldn't ever see
products that had been tested by the pros.
Because they're pretty good at testing stuff, aren't they?
So one would imagine that Conti will be
releasing those tyres at some point in the future.
And we will all be able to get our hands on them.
But now they are pro edition only.
And, then, yeah.
- I think they've got a few months, haven't they
from prototype to be able to get
it to the general public.
Because that is the rule.
But there was a reply underneath Dave's question,
underneath last week's show asking about Froome's
3D-printed trial bikes.
But I don't know.
- Ah, ah, I saw something.
- I've never seen you so excited.
I'm excited myself now.
- Well no, so I read something on the internet
just, I think it was this morning in fact,
basically Pinarello will be selling
3D-printed trial bikes.
- Oh, OK.
- So they'll be costing gazillions of pounds,
as you might imagine, but they will be available.
And that, I guess, is the logical
extension of that UCI rule.
So I think that's good.
- Sticking with UCI rules,
Bruno Puype on Twitter, "Should the UCI change
the supply rule?
Not drinking or eating isn't healthy.
Supply in the last kilometres from stationary people?"
Well the current rules bar riders from
taking any food or drink from their team cars
or from the side of the road in the first
50 kilometres of the stage and the last 20.
Now they do change that on hot days
to perhaps the first 20 Ks and the last 10.
But it is an interesting point.
And it's been raised since they
gave those penalties which were
then taken back for both George Bennett was it?
And Rigoberto Uran at the Tour de France.
We can't think of any reason why
you shouldn't be allowed to have
food or drink passed up to you
in the last few Ks of a mountain stage.
- Well, I literally did just think of something.
I wonder whether the whole sticky bottle thing.
- But it's the side of the road.
- Oh, I'm sorry, but this is from team cars as well innit?
I guess from a handout from the side of the road
is a rider ever only at a disadvantage
from grabbing a bottle.
Whereas from a team car you could, you know,
push the rules a little bit.
- We definitely don't think it should be allowed
on sprint stages.
That would be quite dangerous.
- But who would do it?
- On a very hot mountainous stage,
if you're gasping for water,
'cause your team car's been blocked behind,
why not get it handed up from the side?
- Yeah, the UCI commissairs were not
looking at their best that day were they,
I don't think, with that decision.
- No.
- Again, watch the GCN show for
a bit more controversy.
- Next up is Liz Riley.
"How much difference does it make to carry
speed onto a climb?
Is the advantage mostly psychological?"
- Well, a bit depends on what climb
you're riding onto.
The shorter the climb, the more important
it is to carry speed.
And definitely not just psychological.
Absolutely massive difference.
I suspect that by the time you're talking about
Alpe d'Huez being 13 kilometres long,
you know, the advantage is minimal.
But certainly momentum makes a huge difference doesn't it?
We actually made a video about that.
- We have, and it's right behind you
on the screen right now.
So if you'd like to see what difference
momentum makes for the short, steep climb,
the answer is here.
- I don't look very happy there.
I can't remember what bit that was.
- 'Cause you hadn't found out about
the Pinarello 3D bike.
- Yeah, good point.
- Did you do it?
- Yeah. - Three times?
- Three, two, one, go.
- Before we get on to our final question of the day,
a reminder that if you'd like to
ask us a question for next week's show,
you can do so in the comment section below
this video or you can use #TORQUEBACK
on Twitter or Facebook.
Final question then comes from Tom Wilson
underneath last week's show.
"Smart trainer or powermetre,
which will improve my training more?
I live in London, so it's rainy in the winter
and about 20 miles to get to nice quiet roads."
- That's a tough question.
I think the answer is gonna be; it depends.
Doesn't it, really?
So the pros and cons would be that,
with a smart trainer you can obviously
connect it up to a third-party app.
So like Zwift or something so in the
rainy London winters you get really good-quality
workouts, great fun riding experience
from the safety of your own home.
And even actually when the weather is all right,
if you've still got that 20-mile ride to
good roads, then, you know, you still
get really good-quality training.
But obviously when you're not on your smart trainer,
then you don't have the luxury of looking at your numbers.
So you can't go up and ride up climbs or do time trials.
So you're slightly more limited
even if you would then, perhaps,
enjoy more of your riding more of the time.
What would you go for mate?
- I'm not sure.
I'm a big proponent of a powermeter,
but if you look at something like the new
Elite Direto Smart Trainer, which has got a
powermeter in-built which is accurate
to plus or minus two and a half percent,
which is very similar to the best bike powermeters.
That really is quite impressive under 900 dollars.
And it does give you a much better experience
on something like goes with in terms of
simulating the gradient going up and down hill;
drafting behind other riders, etc.
And it sounds from Tom's specific circumstances,
like most of the rides he'll be doing outside,
due to the traffic and the distance,
will be more endurance riding which you can do
on-field with a heart rate monitor.
And perhaps his more specific sessions
will almost all will be done indoors.
- I'm gonna disagree with you there.
I'm gonna go for a powermeter.
Because I would invest in a powermeter,
and then I'd get a less expensive indoor trainer,
but one with variable resistance; maybe magnetic resistance.
So then when I was on something like Zwift,
and I decided I wanted to ride up Zwift mountain,
I could knock it down and increase the resistance.
And that would feel realistic.
And I've got my powermeter, so that, you know,
it's translating my data accurately.
But then I will ride outside a lot,
even if I had to contend with 20 miles of traffic.
And then I would be out on the open roads
seeing what power I'm actually producing, in the wild.
And I think that that would be something I would miss
if I didn't have a powermeter,
and just had a smart trainer.
- I've seen you racing on Zwift.
And I'm not sure you've got the energy
to change the resistance manually,
whilst you're on it.
Anyway, if you would like to see a Zwift up close...
That's actually from some time ago now isn't it,
when they launched that app.
We did a video where we also raced
against Jens Voigt, but also had a look
at how it felt to be in that
immersive world on a smart trainer.
- There's Jens actually, look, there he is.
He doesn't know yet we're about to smoke him.
That's another high five moment mate.
Yeah.
Never race him again.
- No.
We might actually.
Yeah, he's gonna bring his team next time.
- Si Richardson capitalises on the
strong teamwork from Daniel Lloyd.
Only 200 metres to go now.
He's got a finish line in sight.
He's got time to look at the crowd.
He puts his arm in the air.
Daniel Lloyd puts his arm in the air too; Ks behind.
- High five Dan. - One, two.
(heavy breathing)
Well that's the end of another
rapid Ask GCN.
Yeah, don't worry everyone.
We will slow down, take more time next week
over your questions.
- I doubt it.
Yeah, don't forget to leave your questions
in the comment section just down below.
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Anyway, right, how about more content for you.
Why not a couple of genius Tour de France videos.
We've got lightweight tech just down there,
and custom tech just over there.
Both definitely well worth the watch.
Also showing that a lot of Tour de France
riders still pass as lightweight.
And with added weights in the bottom bracket.
- Yeah.