ASPHALT JUNKIES Summer Bronzing Crew - CLOSED (Page 36)

Warren, sorry about the motorcycle wrecks...that is tough!

Dirk, are you smiling...ready to rock and roll????

My son is back and our dog is so happy...it is amazing what the dog went thru, lost weight etc etc etc, now he is happy again.

Watching TDF and have lots of questions.
What is the difference in a sprinter and a mountain climber, is it the size of the person?
What gears do they typically ride in for flat vs hills? Ive been trying to look at the bikes but they just do not show the gears when I'm watching anyway.
How do they get points?
What is the difference in their bike and the bike you can buy off the shelf? any?

An finally, have ya'll see the size of their legs...dang!

I know I'm stupid but last year is the 1st year I've ever watched the race.. I love it now and jus wish it came on before 8:00... I can only watch 30 minutes before it is bed time

I call it the angry bumblebee. Because when I wind that thing out to 9000rpms it is a formidable sound!

Ok, well all of you junkies should know (and those of you that pray...do so) for Dirk's Muncie race.
Due to recent bad weather in his area there is a lot of repair work to be done and he may have to skip Muncie.

Jeff I'm with you, I would really hate to see Dirk miss that race because of the repair work that needs to be done due to the recent bad weather. Let's hope he can get out there and race Muncie this weekend.

Ok, so here are some attempted answers...

The mountain climbers will be the guys that have a higher power to weight ratio...the highest power to weight ratio is always found in lighter people. So you will see that the climbers are men very small of stature. Usually around 130lbs. They do not have enough absolute power to sprint fast.

The sprinters have high levels of absolute power along with high VO2max capabilities. Their power to weight ratio (at least during extended aerobic outputs) sucks. They drag like boat anchors up long mountain climbs.

I can't say what gears they use because each team's mechanics will make that decision day to day and probably in conjunction with each rider's preferences. On flat stages they might very well use a 53/39 crank or a compact crank with something like 50/34. Either one would work well enough on a flat stage with a cassette like 12-25 or 11-25.
Except the sprinters. They will need a gear they can spin up to 40+ mph and will probably have 53/39 and 11-25.

On the mountain stages I bet most will be using compact cranks and 11-27 cassettes. The compact crank would be necessary for those 10% grades for miles on miles....and the 11 tooth cog necessary for the stupid fast descents.


Points...Each stage has spots on the route that are marked for points. If there are categorized climbs there are points available at the top of each climb that go towards the king of the mountain competition. category 4 climbs have the least points and only roll down a few places. HC climbs have the most points and roll down many places.

On flat stages (and flat sections of mountain stages too sometimes) there are SPRINT marks on the course to make things exciting and points are available there too just like on the climbs. But the number of points and how deep they roll down varies at the whim of the race organizers. The finish line of a stage always gives sprinter points in addition to any out on the course.

The polka dot jersey is worn by the leader in the king of the mountain points
the green jersey worn by the leader in the sprint points
the white jersey worn by the highest ranked rider in the OVERALL standings (this by time) who is 25 or under.
The yellow jersey is worn by the highest ranked rider in the overall standings (this by time)
And there is some type of jersey or award given to the 'most aggressive' rider. It is awarded by the judges to the rider that shows the most balls but not related to actual standings in the race.

What have I missed?

As for bikes...yes, most of those bikes can be had by the general population.
In some cases a frame may be custom made for a rider here and there when the sponsor company's offerings wouldn't fit right.
One year a bike sponsor of a team didn't offer TT bikes, so they contracted with Trek to provide their TT bikes and put their own paint and brand name on them.

I assume you are watching the TDF on NBCSN. It's actually on all day. At least 3 different times. The 8pm broadcast is the last one. You can catch the first one starting at something like 7:30am.
I know you aren't home, but if you can record it then you can start watching it far earlier than 8pm!

Karl I'm no expert either on this but will fill you in on what I know. Sprinters are guys who ride the flats well and are fast. The climbers are guys who ride the hills and mountains well. I would guess natural talent, some people are fast on the flats and some are stronger climbers and some do well on both.

I can't comment on the gearing I think that is really going to be based on whether the stage is flat or has lots of elevation. I'm sure all the riders have different preferences when it comes to the gearing.

Points are awarded for the sprinters and the mountain climbers in each stage. They have to reach certain distance points in the race where they are awarded points based on who gets there first,s second, third etc. The green jersey goes to the overall sprinter point leader and the polka dot jersey goes to the leader of the king of the mountains for the climbers.

I can't comment on the bikes either. I would guess you could buy those models but I'm guessing there is some customization based on each riders size and preferences. I don't know that for sure though. You can check out the TdF website as well they break all this stuff down.

Also I agree these guys are amazing athelets to be able to do all that riding over that 3 week period on that terrain.

Well, Jeff beat me to this and gave a better more detailed explanation of this stuff!



Edited by strikyr 2013-07-11 10:36 AM

Thanks Jeff and Tony, great responses!!!!!

Dirk, hope you get to race!!!!!

Damn, Jeff beat me to the stuff I know!

All accurate stuff, though some good climbers are stunningly large. Well, relatively large- maybe into the 160-170 range. Their FTP must be astronomical. There was a great discussion on that channel a few months back about the tour guys and their gearing choices. Very personal decisions. I was surprised at some of the choices, and how different the riders preferences for cadence, styles, etc are.

I got a chance to watch a climb during a Tour of Cal. leg. It was comical to watch the climbers. The speed they were going up a crazy incline was sick. And it's all relative. Even the climbers are crazy fast sprinters TT'ers, and the sprinters are crazy good climbers, but not relative to the other top Tour guys. Like even the Columbian kid who hammered that climb on the first mountain day (he weighs maybe 130) has an FTP of something like 375.

Warren I believe that was Nairo Quintana and that was just an awesome effort on his part in Stage 8. He left everybody in the dust and made it look so effortless. It's too bad he ran out of gas and Chris Froome and Richie Porte overtook him but that was a really great ride by Quintana.

Thanks for the Transition pointers guys. I'll definitely tri to incorporate some of those things. 

I did my brick Bike/Run workout today sockless to try getting used to that for my super sprint in September. The bike shoes are fine sockless. They feel like they don't breathe very well though. On the one mile run I did notice a warm spot forming on the outside of my left pinky toe. I guess that's my first body glide spot so far for the shoes.

I think I might practice my T1 and T2 transitions a couple of times this weekend. To work on efficiency.

Edited by JonnyVero 2013-07-12 2:10 AM

Tony, our tri club has 10 people going to NY this weekend for the NY City triathlon. We also got out new club tri tops in yesterday, so if ya'll see any GulfWinds running or biking, say "hi" to them.

Dirk, are you going to get to race? Sure hope so!

Karl I hope the members of your Tri club have a safe trip up to NY and have a great time at the NYC Triathlon this weekend. Unfortunately I will not see them as I will be busy pounding myself into the ground with as many training hours as I can get in this weekend. Unless of course they are headed out my way here on Eastern LI. I'd be more than happy to swim, bike and run with them :-)

Dirk good luck this weekend at Muncie. I'm hoping you are still on for the race and that you are able to get some rest so you can put forth your best effort.

Good luck to any other Junkies who might be racing this weekend, be safe and have fun.

Another note on sockless running...if you don't like the idea of stuffing Vaseline in your shoes and if body glide put on before the swim isn't sufficient after swimming and cycling, then I have another possible tactic.
Consider dealing with those friction spots in a unique way. For instance, that friction spot on the outside of your pinky toe... put some super glue on it.
Have you ever gotten super glue on your finger tips? If so, you've probably noticed how it stays there for a day or two as a layer on your skin making your fingers feel numb....
It becomes an invisible second skin really.
If you put this on those friction spots it will probably work beautifully against the friction from the shoe.

Jeff that is a good idea and I've heard of the ultra runners using super glue for blisters.

When I did Syracuse I didn't get my finishers hat or the tech shirt for that matter. I dropped WTC an email and lo and behold they actually shipped me a hat. I just got it today. I gotta give 'em some props for doing that they really didn't have to. Now I hope I'll get the shirt one of these days lol.

I was just thinking about writing them about my tech shirt lol did they respond to you on when we might receive them?

JoAnne I did ask about that and I was told we will get them but was not given a time frame for that. The person I dealt with may not have been handling that. I do hope we get them though and you can contact them if you'd like they were responsive to me.

Jeff, you really are a redneck, that is great for superglue...never thought about that but i knew it was good for cuts. You need to send that to Jeff Foxworthy

Tony, glad you are getting your stuff.

Ok today i swam 1500 yards non-stop, the distance of my Oly but it was in a pool. Now should I keep practicing up to maybe 2500 non-stop to be in better condition and be comfortable i can do the distance or start doing intervals. I was doing exactly 500 yards every 10 minutes or 2:00 per 100. I am not concerned w/ speed at this time but more with making it thru the race. I could havd gone more but didn't want to risk hurting my shoulders. Please give any advice since I know NOTHING about swimming.

Great job! Now the biggest problem you will face in your race is that you WILL NOT be able to relax and swim the way you just swam in the pool...And doubling up your distance in the pool will help a little, but won't solve that problem. I'm still struggling with that phenomenon myself...
The obvious difference in the open water is lifting your head to sight and dealing with any anxiety that comes from being in open water or not being able to see...
Those can be helped by swimming in open water. So do so as much as you can before race day.

What won't be solved by that is the nervousness and tension created by the race environment and other swimmers messing with you.

I think that adapting to these things is a gradual long term process so you can't be ready for this by the time you race. Not that you should expect to be...because that's an expert level thing.

BUT, you need to be able to handle it with 1 very important defense...Knowing how to recover in the middle of the swim! So here is what I suggest you do...learn to rest on your back. If you can roll on to your back and relax and recover in that position without sinking then you can deal with all that crap that you will feel in the real race situation. I suspect that you will need half a dozen recoveries like this during your race, so learn how to effectively do this...with that ability you are ready for your race.
It's best if you can keep moving while resting on your back, so try to develop the ability to rest while giving a gentle flutter kick and some type of pull with your arms so at least you are still moving ahead while on your back. (note: if there is nothing in the sky for you to focus on you will begin to swim a large circle while on your back!)

You can incorporate this technique in to your interval work if you want to kill 2 birds. After each interval, instead of stopping at the wall and catching your breath, turn and continue but on your back....so that during the entire workout you don't hold the side or touch the bottom.

GREAT info Jeff, as of now I can't float on my back but will start working on it...is it possible to learn by August 10th?????? I will also start doing OWS again..if the lifeguard is not there....

Sure! It should be easy...the key is tilting your head back until the water hits your hairline on your forehead. And you don't want to bend at the waist....keep your belly button dry!

Karl that is very good advice from Jeff. The more open water swimming you can get in before the Oly the better for you. I think trying to being relaxed during the swim and staying calm is harder than actually swimming the distance. I found the more I swam in the open water the better I was at it and I was able to relax more and stay calm. You can definitely do this.

I'll be wearing bib 1773 tomorrow for all of you trackers. Hopefully I'll get some much needed sleep and wake easy to rock.

Good Luck and we'll be pulling for you and tracking you! Glad you get to race!