So......these skinny 10 stone climbers ?
JimmyK
Posts: 712
I mean those guys who are wearing a belt to hold up size 30 waistband trousers . I have never ridden with somebody who is a through and through climber and whose physique shows that they are just plain and simple naturals in this field.
Have you been puffing going up a climb whilst "skinnymalink" in the pack merrily pedals effortlessly up the climb and leaves you for dust. ? Of course the sprinters will leaves mr climber for dead when the road levels out, but tell us of an experience whereby there has been a guy present on a ride who was simply born to climb . Was he the stereotype 10 stoner ?
Jimmy
Have you been puffing going up a climb whilst "skinnymalink" in the pack merrily pedals effortlessly up the climb and leaves you for dust. ? Of course the sprinters will leaves mr climber for dead when the road levels out, but tell us of an experience whereby there has been a guy present on a ride who was simply born to climb . Was he the stereotype 10 stoner ?
Jimmy
0
Comments
-
I'm 10st8lb&climb pretty well,My mate's 13st&climbs like a wet sack in glue.He can produce 1400watts whereas i can only produce 854 but i can beat him in a sprint now'n' then.So stereotypes are not allways wholy correct.By the way i'm a 32"waist&can fight my way out of a paper bag when i feel strong
TT photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/steverob/0 -
10 stone is light for an average male in Britain but it's not really a climber. Paris-Roubaix / Flanders contenders like Alessandro Ballan or Heinrich Haussler weigh in at 10 stone something, real climbers are more towards 8/9 stone in our sport but these are the real specialists in the pro ranks, who are suited to the long alpine climbs but they'd be stuck on almost every uphill road.0
-
Weight is only a small aspect of climbing, I know many riders that are 2+ stone lighter than me that I can drop at the slightest incline, but I also know a pure 9 stone climber who does the same to me. I also know a few heavy lads that can climb well.0
-
Climbing = power ÷ weight
There's almost nothing else to it.0 -
I'm a stone heavier than I was 4 yearsa go and still climbing just as well in training and racing. Likewise, there was one really annoying guy I used to ride with who was 14st and could climb all day. He was an animal."In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"
@gietvangent0 -
Im 10stone 4 and a size 30 waist
I find that its my leg strength that works for me. I can climb pretty well but put that down to running 40 odd fell races a year so my legs are pretty strong.
I hate riding on the flat . Give me the peak district anyday.0 -
I've been the same weight for two years now, but can climb (if you can call it that) better now (I think) than I could back then.
0 -
Power/weight is more important than weight.0
-
I think I could climb Wi the Best if i was 10 stone!0
-
I'm tall and skinny, climbs are the easiest bit of racing + chaingangs for me by miles. The only real place I can attack.
I can't do a single pressup though."I hold it true, what'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost;
Than never to have loved at all."
Alfred Tennyson0 -
I'm quite a good climber when I'm fit for cycling, 5ft 10 and weigh about 11.5-12 stone.0
-
so is it true that the ultra climbers in the hills aint so hot on the flats ? i imagine somebody with chris hoy legs would just have way too much power on flats for a 10 stone climbing freak. case of eat my dust on the climbs , but once it gets to flat ground, the rest just go gettouttamyway and climber dude gets dropped ?
or would somebody like contador be the exception, ace in the climbs AND the flats ?
or could we give that accolade to lance , or was his superhuman ability more geared towards his overall body biology ?
jimmy0 -
so explain contador then?0
-
JimmyK wrote:so is it true that the ultra climbers in the hills aint so hot on the flats ? i imagine somebody with chris hoy legs would just have way too much power on flats for a 10 stone climbing freak. case of eat my dust on the climbs , but once it gets to flat ground, the rest just go gettouttamyway and climber dude gets dropped ?
or would somebody like contador be the exception, ace in the climbs AND the flats ?
or could we give that accolade to lance , or was his superhuman ability more geared towards his overall body biology ?
jimmy
Flats are easy though, you just suck wheels.
Contador never has to worry about the flats because he has a team that can chase down dangerous breaks and shelter him from the wind.
Very rarely will you see a race winning break that happens from a flat bit of road."I hold it true, what'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost;
Than never to have loved at all."
Alfred Tennyson0 -
Garz wrote:nolf wrote:I can't do a single pressup though.
You dont want to lose too much weight that normal riding suffers at the expense of climbing!
I was exaggerating slightly, I can do 5 if I kill myself.
Doesn't damage my riding much, perfectly happy cruising along the flat in chaingangs/races at the front, even at higher speed. I have a fairly strong core, which makes up for it a bit."I hold it true, what'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost;
Than never to have loved at all."
Alfred Tennyson0 -
nolf wrote:Contador never has to worry about the flats because he has a team that can chase down dangerous breaks and shelter him from the wind.
and what about those TT stages he wins?0 -
nolf wrote:JimmyK wrote:so is it true that the ultra climbers in the hills aint so hot on the flats ? i imagine somebody with chris hoy legs would just have way too much power on flats for a 10 stone climbing freak. case of eat my dust on the climbs , but once it gets to flat ground, the rest just go gettouttamyway and climber dude gets dropped ?
or would somebody like contador be the exception, ace in the climbs AND the flats ?
or could we give that accolade to lance , or was his superhuman ability more geared towards his overall body biology ?
jimmy
Flats are easy though, you just suck wheels.
Contador never has to worry about the flats because he has a team that can chase down dangerous breaks and shelter him from the wind.
Very rarely will you see a race winning break that happens from a flat bit of road.
It can't be very windy where you race then! A strong sidewind can sort out the field of any race the same way a good hill can."A cyclist has nothing to lose but his chain"
PTP Runner Up 20150 -
ShockedSoShocked wrote:It can't be very windy where you race then! A strong sidewind can sort out the field of any race the same way a good hill can.
A good headwind will f@@k up the bunch too!0 -
a_n_t wrote:and what about those TT stages he wins?
It's now common knowledge that he drafted a motorbike in the Lake Annecy TT. Combine this with a slightly fatigued Cancellara (from working hard for the Schlecks), plus a slight climb in the last 3rd of the course and you have yourself a win.
There weren't many other serious contenders in the Spanish National TT (in my opinion).0 -
My mate who I train with is a good climber, not particularly thin but does triathlons and so a lot of running, he's also got a very good vo2 max which serves him well on the shortish hills we get in UK.
His big weakness is after about 2 hours he starts to suffer so if we hit a climb at the end of the ride I could/should be able to stay with him, trouble is I've done most of the work getting to the climb, so it never happens.
0 -
Bhima wrote:It's now common knowledge that he drafted a motorbike in the Lake Annecy TT.
Did he also draft a motorbike in the Paris-Nice prologue?0 -
Alessandro Ballan is 72kg according to wikipedia, that's 11stone 6 lbs, his build is best suited to classic races. As said, power to weight is where it matters. Armstrong is pretty heavy for someone who can climb well. Just like Ullrich etc.
As for Contador, he's just a very gifted rider, and so can do well in TT despite his more climber-esque build. It's got nothing to do with drafting motorbikes.0 -
Yes it's power to weight- with emphasis on weight
I'm 16 stone, very strong and muscular, with a bit of excess fat
My wife is 10 stone, and left me for dead cycling up crawleyside bank on the c2c last year- she rode all the way up and I got off and pushed
But on a sprint, or even a 10 mile TT with a couple of small hills, I'd win easily.
I need to get down to 13/14 stone to compete with her on hills
Similarly, if Wiggins hadn't lost the 6kgs, he'd have suffered on the climbs in Le Tour and not made the top 150 -
I'm close to 13st and my climbing is hard work.
I am only a 30" waist, though
But, it is a power/weight balance. My target for the begining of this season will be 70kgs. That may help Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!0 -
TornadoTom wrote:Bhima wrote:It's now common knowledge that he drafted a motorbike in the Lake Annecy TT.
Did he also draft a motorbike in the Paris-Nice prologue?
If you listen to the whinefest that came from the Schlecks after the Arcalis stage he also drafts the motorbikes uphill too!
:roll:"A cyclist has nothing to lose but his chain"
PTP Runner Up 20150 -
I'm around 9 stone 5 and can climb reasonably well but its all relative isn't it. No matter how good you think you are there will always be someone that'll make you eat dust. Plus of course the bigger guys have other advantages like being able to ride in strong winds a little easier due to your higher power.0
-
TornadoTom wrote:Bhima wrote:It's now common knowledge that he drafted a motorbike in the Lake Annecy TT.
Did he also draft a motorbike in the Paris-Nice prologue?
No, he had a helicopter behind him whereas Wiggins had it in front of him...0
