Is Britain benefitting from a new 'technology' gap?

phreak
phreak Posts: 2,953
edited July 2012 in Pro race
Interesting comment in the Guardian today suggesting that the traditional nations have for so long relied upon pharmaceutical means of progress that they are now lagging behind Britain in terms of more legal methods of improvement.

Do you think they have a point?

Comments

  • dodgy
    dodgy Posts: 2,890
    Not really. Sorry for the brevity, but it's how I feel.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,649
    It's a bit simplistic, but there might be something in it.

    Probably more interesting is that Sky riders are trained by the team, while most other riders train themselves, alone.
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  • smithy21
    smithy21 Posts: 2,204
    This is correct. No other team has been able to figure out how power meters work.
  • greasedscotsman
    greasedscotsman Posts: 6,962
    How do you know Sky aren't doping?
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,953
    smithy21 wrote:
    This is correct. No other team has been able to figure out how power meters work.

    Yet the team has bossed the race, with Wiggins have the kind of season not seen in many a year. Surely it's rather silly to assume this is just a case of sticking a power meter on a bike. Sounds like their approach has been a lot more thorough and professional than perhaps other teams.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,649
    smithy21 wrote:
    This is correct. No other team has been able to figure out how power meters work.

    Big difference between knowing how a power meter works and knowing what to do with the data.
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  • kieranb
    kieranb Posts: 1,674
    well, whatever gap there is, it will probably be closed pretty quickly by a few of the larger richer teams.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,649
    kieranb wrote:
    well, whatever gap there is, it will probably be closed pretty quickly by a few of the larger richer teams.

    Yes, though the question is whether any of them can afford to be so far sighted as Brailsford has been. Sponsors demand short term rewards, but Wiggins' triumph was based on something like 5 years of planning.
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  • ratherbeintobago
    ratherbeintobago Posts: 636
    No tA Doctor wrote:
    Yes, though the question is whether any of them can afford to be so far sighted as Brailsford has been. Sponsors demand short term rewards, but Wiggins' triumph was based on something like 5 years of planning.

    Rabo? Bigger budget last season than Sky, and have been sponsoring a team for 16 years (and also a Pro Conti team).

    Andy
    On twitter
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,649
    ratherbeintobago wrote:
    No tA Doctor wrote:
    Yes, though the question is whether any of them can afford to be so far sighted as Brailsford has been. Sponsors demand short term rewards, but Wiggins' triumph was based on something like 5 years of planning.

    Rabo? Bigger budget last season than Sky, and have been sponsoring a team for 16 years (and also a Pro Conti team).

    Andy

    Well at least it wouldn't make that much of a change for Rabo to go for a few years just developing their challenge and not winning anything....
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  • graeme_s-2
    graeme_s-2 Posts: 3,382
    ratherbeintobago wrote:
    No tA Doctor wrote:
    Yes, though the question is whether any of them can afford to be so far sighted as Brailsford has been. Sponsors demand short term rewards, but Wiggins' triumph was based on something like 5 years of planning.

    Rabo? Bigger budget last season than Sky, and have been sponsoring a team for 16 years (and also a Pro Conti team).

    Andy
    They also can't be accused of being focused on short term success. Or in fact any kind of success
  • ratherbeintobago
    ratherbeintobago Posts: 636
    Graeme_S wrote:
    They also can't be accused of being focused on short term success. Or in fact any kind of success

    Aye; there is that :-D
    On twitter
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,649
    It's interesting really, we should probably be putting money on Rabo winning a few tours in a decade or so. They have a youth development program, if they took a leaf out of Sky's book and looked further than cycling for inspiration they might pop into the famous Ajax academy.... I can see them bothering to build something for the future there.
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  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,695
    Technology Gap, No.

    Knowledge Gap, Yes!

    Properly taking training seriously and using some of the best people in sport to design training plans rather than doing whatever you did last year again, Yes
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,649
    Oh and Sanchez must have won the "Not Sky Again" award - after his double take on stage 18 as Cav flew past then to sit all day in the number 1 spot on the TT until Froome and Wiggins blew him out.... Should be some sort of medal for that.
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  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,649
    ddraver wrote:
    Technology Gap, No.

    Knowledge Gap, Yes!

    Properly taking training seriously and using some of the best people in sport to design training plans rather than doing whatever you did last year again, Yes

    That was the focus of the article really. What they did last year was to let riders get on with it themselves. If they underperformed they booted them, if they did well they got a better contract. Classic free market stuff. Of course that leads to riders not being under supervision and doping to win the contract for next season. That's what Sky have broken.
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