Bodies in Classics v Tours
rick_chasey
Posts: 75,661
I've been paying attention to riders' weight recently, after the interview with Boonen (who gets a mention a lot a) because I pay attention to him and b) he's pretty open about his weight and diet during the season) who says he comes into the Flandrian cycling week at 82Kg, even though he can get himself, for a few weeks or so in the summer down to 77 odd KG.
Indeed, Cancellara came in at E3 kitted out and laden with food etc at 92KG :shock:, and we know he can lose a few kilos when he needs to.
I've also been flicking through some TdF pictures and, after watching weeks of northern classics racing, they look SO thin!
Now I know Boonen and Canellara seem to say that a little extra weight is useful to keep the cold out, and going so thin when it's cold and wet is a recipe for illness, but given how warm the bigger races have been for the last decade or so, surely it'd be worth those guys losing a couple of kilos?
I think one's ability to be very skinny and not get ill is a bigger role than we somtimes think - I know Boonen has dropped out of a tour or two because he got too skinny...
Anyway, I figured that'd be worth sharing - any comments?
Indeed, Cancellara came in at E3 kitted out and laden with food etc at 92KG :shock:, and we know he can lose a few kilos when he needs to.
I've also been flicking through some TdF pictures and, after watching weeks of northern classics racing, they look SO thin!
Now I know Boonen and Canellara seem to say that a little extra weight is useful to keep the cold out, and going so thin when it's cold and wet is a recipe for illness, but given how warm the bigger races have been for the last decade or so, surely it'd be worth those guys losing a couple of kilos?
I think one's ability to be very skinny and not get ill is a bigger role than we somtimes think - I know Boonen has dropped out of a tour or two because he got too skinny...
Anyway, I figured that'd be worth sharing - any comments?
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Comments
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You'd miss those extra kilos on the cobbles of P-R I think, irrespective of the weather.
[tinfoilhat]
Fab probably has lead filled bidons his car gives him, before the cobbled sections and takes back afterwards.
[/tinfoilhat]___________________
Strava is not Zen.0 -
Would those few kilos really make a difference on the cobbles?
I know of guys who are lighter than those two who do pretty well on them. Haussler's 71KG and he really shows some great cobbled prowess on the Arenburg in '09.0 -
You've got a good point there. A friend of mine used to be a very good marathon runner, he knew when he'd be on for a good time, sub 2hr 40, when people would ask him if he was ill in the few weeks before the race when there wasn't an ounce of fat on him. He said that invariable in the weeks after a marathon he'd go down with every bug around. I don't know if this was due to his weight, or if both were symptoms of his (over) training or not? I'm sure this keeps may sports scientists and doctors usefully occupied though.0
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I like that photo. 92kg for Fabian?!?! More like 80 something I would have thought.
Backstedt super heavy. Petegem super light. Museeuw weight?
Here is another photo of the stick thin Schlecks:
Contador is the Greatest0 -
frenchfighter wrote:I like that photo. 92kg for Fabian?!?! More like 80 something I would have thought.
Backstedt super heavy. Petegem super light. Museeuw weight?
Here is another photo of the stick thin Schlecks:
http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail ... =G6E383N2I0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:frenchfighter wrote:I like that photo. 92kg for Fabian?!?! More like 80 something I would have thought.
Backstedt super heavy. Petegem super light. Museeuw weight?
Here is another photo of the stick thin Schlecks:
http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail ... =G6E383N2I
Maybe he's 92.5kg including the gigantic bottle of Belgian red?___________________
Strava is not Zen.0 -
calvjones wrote:Rick Chasey wrote:frenchfighter wrote:I like that photo. 92kg for Fabian?!?! More like 80 something I would have thought.
Backstedt super heavy. Petegem super light. Museeuw weight?
Here is another photo of the stick thin Schlecks:
http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail ... =G6E383N2I
Maybe he's 92.5kg including the gigantic bottle of Belgian red?
Noooo, it's as I said. 92.5 fully clothed.0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:calvjones wrote:Rick Chasey wrote:frenchfighter wrote:I like that photo. 92kg for Fabian?!?! More like 80 something I would have thought.
Backstedt super heavy. Petegem super light. Museeuw weight?
Here is another photo of the stick thin Schlecks:
http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail ... =G6E383N2I
Maybe he's 92.5kg including the gigantic bottle of Belgian red?
Noooo, it's as I said. 92.5 fully clothed.
[sound of faint whoosh passing far above Rick]___________________
Strava is not Zen.0 -
*sigh*
I'm irritating because I've finished all my work, my boss won't give me anymore, and all my friend around London are busy so I can't enjoy a nice lunch in this gorgeous weather with someone.
I'm boooooooooooooooored.0 -
I thought that 92.5 kg weight included his bike?0
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Rick Chasey wrote:*sigh*
I'm irritating because I've finished all my work, my boss won't give me anymore, and all my friend around London are busy so I can't enjoy a nice lunch in this gorgeous weather with someone.
I'm boooooooooooooooored.
I'm off to 4 hrs of 'speed awareness' this afternoon in a sh1t hotel because I strayed over the 30mph limit on a dual carriageway. Not, I suspect in the sunny beer garden. So I'll see your irritating and raise you an annoying!___________________
Strava is not Zen.0 -
andyp wrote:I thought that 92.5 kg weight included his bike?
Nah, just a few items in his back pockets
- a variety of hair and skin-care products
- a carton of shoulder-chips to use later when Nuyens beat him
- some spare batteries and a set of jump-leads for his bike
According to C-N today, Hushovd is 83 kg'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'0 -
Reminds me of the first time I saw Sean Yates in real life, I couldn't believe how thin he was, yet he always looked big in the pictures of him racing :shock:
I agree with the comment that to do well at endurance sport generally you need to be so thin people think you are ill.I'm off to 4 hrs of 'speed awareness' this afternoon in a sh1t hotel because I strayed over the 30mph limit on a dual carriageway.
If the CTT must insist on drag strip courses then this is always a pssibility
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I can't see Cancellara being 10 kgs heavier than Hushovd. If anything, Hushovd looks slighty bigger.
I know it's not gospel, but Cancellara's Wikipedia entry has him at 82 kgs.0 -
It's not so much about weight, but the ability to generate power - Roger Hammond is no heavyweight, but is quite stocky to compensate. Paulo Bettini on the other hand was just too light for the Northern races and was more suited to the Ardennes where climbing ability is far more critical. I expect by the time the GTs come round, most pros are down to bodyfat of around 5-6% - any more is anorexic creates problems with immunity suppression.
As someone who used to be pretty handy at running, I gave up because I felt that the training load you needed to be competitive created all sorts of secondary health issues - my bodyfat was once measured at 3.8% - current race weight is about 5kg heavier and I very rarely get injured / sick as a consequence.Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0 -
eh wrote:Reminds me of the first time I saw Sean Yates in real life, I couldn't believe how thin he was, yet he always looked big in the pictures of him racing :shock:
I agree with the comment that to do well at endurance sport generally you need to be so thin people think you are ill.
Whether 80-odd or 90-odd kg, Cancellara looks thin in "civvies"
Or Gilbert with Kim Clijsters at an awards ceremony. Snap him like a twig , she would.
'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'0 -
Surely this is about the difference between power and power-to-weight.
For the flatter northern classics, or those with only short steep climbs, (TTs too) absolute power is more important than power-to-weight. Extra weight is even beneficial on the cobbles. The heavier, more powerful riders tend to win. However, I'm sure they're still very lean and the extra weight is muscle.
In the grand tours, power-to-weight becomes more important for the long climbs, and the classics men would just suffer too much at their April weight, so they wouldn't get to the sprint in any sort of shape to contest it, hence dropping 5kg or so while probably sacrificing a little power. I'd imagine they'd try to lose the weight from the upper body.
The likes of Boonen and Cancellara will probably be heavier again by the time the panflat Worlds come around.0 -
Anyone know the total climbing in Roubaix?Mañana0
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Boonen has to be heavier than Cancellara I'd have thought - he's taller and looks stockier too - his figures sound believable. 92kg is just impossible for Canc - WIki has Greipel down as roughly the same height and 75kg and look at the size of him - 92kg is getting on for what Mike Tyson used to fight at in his prime.
it's a hard life if you don't weaken.0 -
Tom Butcher wrote:Boonen has to be heavier than Cancellara I'd have thought - he's taller and looks stockier too - his figures sound believable. 92kg is just impossible for Canc - WIki has Greipel down as roughly the same height and 75kg and look at the size of him - 92kg is getting on for what Mike Tyson used to fight at in his prime.
Remember that's fully clothes.
Helemt, shoes, overshoes, base layer, jersey, gilet, pockets full with food, etc.0 -
His clothes don't weigh 10 kgs!
I'm sure I read somewhere that this figure included his bike, but a quick google search doesn't reveal anything.0 -
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Looking pretty ripped today to say the least:
AP
Contador is the Greatest0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:Gah - I saw it on TV with my own eyes!
The commentators were similarly suprised.
they must have included his bike as well. As a comparison, Toby Flood is 1.88m and weighs 92kgs. Imagine Cancellara trying to tackle Schalke Berger....
I remember seeing an interview with Bradley Wiggins and he said after The Tour he is about 4% body fat and always gets cold or flu or something cos he doesnt have enough body weight to fight off the illnesses or something.0 -
MrTapir wrote:I remember seeing an interview with Bradley Wiggins and he said after The Tour he is about 4% body fat and always gets cold or flu or something cos he doesnt have enough body weight to fight off the illnesses or something.
I can't remember who it was (might of been LeMond) who once said something along the lines of "Cycling is good for the health, but professional cycling is bad for it".
(and he wasn't referring to doping).Twitter: @RichN950 -
MrTapir wrote:Rick Chasey wrote:Gah - I saw it on TV with my own eyes!
The commentators were similarly suprised.
they must have included his bike as well. As a comparison, Toby Flood is 1.88m and weighs 92kgs. Imagine Cancellara trying to tackle Schalke Berger....
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ARGH! Is this some big conspiracy to wind me up?
There wasn't!
Hence the news article quoted!0 -
Other numbers say he's 78-80kg. That's a lot.
Most riders are 65-75kg.0 -
Term1te wrote:He said that invariable in the weeks after a marathon he'd go down with every bug around. I don't know if this was due to his weight, or if both were symptoms of his (over) training or not? I'm sure this keeps may sports scientists and doctors usefully occupied though.
This is a rule that loosely dictates susceptibility to infections contracted as a result of exercise. Commonly referred to as 'J-Curve'. Endurance athletes in particular are at its mercy.
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