Descending, poor Thibaut.

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  • pat1cp
    pat1cp Posts: 766
    I once had the most horrendous speed wobble coming down a famous Scottish mountain at inxs of 60 mph. Had to cut a corner just to stay on, if there was a car coming the other way it wouldn't have been pretty. Meantime, someone is shouting at me to go faster, "to get through it".. Not nice and I feel for the guy.

    From what I can gather all pro's can lose it for a while (Savoldelli et.al.excepted), it's just a confidence thing.
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  • tonyf34
    tonyf34 Posts: 194
    pat1cp wrote:
    I once had the most horrendous speed wobble coming down a famous Scottish mountain at inxs of 60 mph. Had to cut a corner just to stay on, if there was a car coming the other way it wouldn't have been pretty. Meantime, someone is shouting at me to go faster, "to get through it".. Not nice and I feel for the guy.

    From what I can gather all pro's can lose it for a while (Savoldelli et.al.excepted), it's just a confidence thing.
    I had a serious 'tankslapper'/wobble whilst on my first ever tour round France 22 years ago, coming into a valley at about 55mph bit of a crosswind & the bars just went into breakdance mode :lol: ..jesus it gets the heart going, ever since then though I just love the speed and even nipping to the shops I try to go as hard/fast as I can.

    I watch the pros & still I think a lot aren't all that great at descending, some aren't all that at reading the racing line (especially tighter corners) some stick their leg/knee out like an airbrake when tucking them in and using the whole body is the more efficient way of steering round corners quickly but I guess doing what makes you feel safe/habit is what does that.
  • mroli
    mroli Posts: 3,622
    I went through a nasty stage of speed wobbles on hitting about 45mph on descents. Hopefully I've cured myself of that little issue, but it is something that goes through my head and spoils my enjoyment of really fast descents now.
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  • crescent
    crescent Posts: 1,201
    OCDuPalais wrote:
    Yours is same the tack I imagine Bernard Hinault taking.

    Obviously, Hinault would give him a damn good thrashing as well I suspect.

    I suppose it does take guts to admit something like that. He's essentially saying, "I'm not very good at some aspects of my job". I bet most of us could say that to some degree, we just don't have millions watching when it happens. He does seem a bright prospect for the future if he can overcome this.
    On a purely selfish note, I wish I had known this before I picked him for my fantasy team, he has scored zero points so far.
    Bianchi ImpulsoBMC Teammachine SLR02 01Trek Domane AL3“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. “ ~H.G. Wells Edit - "Unless it's a BMX"
  • dolan_driver
    dolan_driver Posts: 831
    Thibaut has left the Tour today, apparently no longer happy to face the descending ahead. Maybe that is for the best. No point going down the hills on the brakes with the cameras there. Let's hope he can sort this out for the future.

    DD.
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    Like I said in the spoiler thread, his team says he left because he was ill, then Cyclingnews wrote an article with a howling non sequitur rehashing the quote about being afraid of fast descents. All of a sudden that somehow became "Pinot leaves the Tour because he's afraid of descending".

    He's ill.

    If anyone can find me an article from today with quotes that aren't a week old, I will happily revise my opinion.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,549
    Dolan Driver wrote:
    Thibaut has left the Tour today, apparently no longer happy to face the descending ahead. Maybe that is for the best. No point going down the hills on the brakes with the cameras there. Let's hope he can sort this out for the future.

    DD.

    Err, he's actually been ill the last few days with a throat infection.
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  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    No tA Doctor wrote:
    Dolan Driver wrote:
    Thibaut has left the Tour today, apparently no longer happy to face the descending ahead. Maybe that is for the best. No point going down the hills on the brakes with the cameras there. Let's hope he can sort this out for the future.

    DD.

    Err, he's actually been ill the last few days with a throat infection.

    Carlton Kirby spent about 5 hours today saying he pulled out because he was scared... my TV was lucky to survive the afternoon intact.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,549
    I'm lucky enough that whenever you say Carlton Kirby, I just think "who? Oh yeah, some commentator I've never had to hear"
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  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Interesting - missed this piece of news. I doubt he is ill - good way for his team to help him save face though.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,549
    frenchfighter wrote:
    Interesting - missed this piece of news. I doubt he is ill - good way for his team to help him save face though.

    Daniel Friebe ‏@friebos 4h

    Where did this idea that Pinot has quit Tour because of his fear of descending come from? He's been ill for days.
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  • Roscobob
    Roscobob Posts: 344
    He's posted a pic of his tonsils etc on Twitter. Looks pretty bad to me!
  • morstar
    morstar Posts: 6,190
    Roscobob wrote:
    He's posted a pic of his tonsils etc on Twitter. Looks pretty bad to me!

    Don't let evidence get in the way of internet conjecture!
  • Roscobob
    Roscobob Posts: 344
    morstar wrote:
    Roscobob wrote:
    He's posted a pic of his tonsils etc on Twitter. Looks pretty bad to me!

    Don't let evidence get in the way of internet conjecture!

    Apologies!

    As you were....
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Pinot's season may be over

    Thibaut Pinot finally quit the Tour de France before Tuesday's stage to Gap and headed home tired, sick and mentally empty. However even his journey home was difficult and his season could be over if suspicions of mononucleosis are confirmed.

    Pinot's parents were on holiday, heading to Alpe d'Huez to hopefully see him in the race. That meant he was forced to hire a car and drive 540km alone, thinking about his suffering during the Tour.

    The FDJ.fr rider had a nightmare Tour de France. He finished tenth and won a stage in 2012, elevating him to the status of 'next great thing' in France. However his fear of descending meant he lost time in the Pyrenees and his race went downhill from there. He became ill with a throat infection in the second week and even a course of antibiotics did not help.He published a close-up photo of his infected throat on Twitter.

    "The antibiotics didn’t have real affect and so there's a strong possibility that it's mononucleosis," Pinot told Equipe.

    "If it's mononucleosis, then my season is over. If not, I could be at the Vuelta. For now I just don’t know."
    Contador is the Greatest
  • timoid.
    timoid. Posts: 3,133
    Mononucleosis eh? He should ask Mick Rogers for advice. He's had it. Twice...
    It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired.
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,310
    http://inrng.com/2013/08/thursday-shorts-6/#more-16593
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