Pub Talk - Greatest Cycling Photo Ever!
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This is one of my all time favorites. I drew red lines over two riders: Laurent Fignon and Phil Anderson to show two out-of-the-saddle climbing styles.
Fignon is pure class. This is the form Hinault, Lemond and the best climbers in the world use. The bike is swayed very little. In Fignon's case, it's perfectly vertical...no kidding...I snapped the red line in Photoshop and that's a perfect vertical. Kudos to the photographer! The center of Fignon's chest is over his left pedal. He looks like he's in control...on top of it...just another day at the job on his way to a 2nd consecutive tour victory...and almost 10 minutes over Hinault.
In contrast there's Phil Anderson. Excellent cyclist but clearly not a climber. His bike is swayed a bit too much. His center of gravity is on the bike...not the pedals. He's wasting energy with every pedal stroke. He looks like he's trying to keep up...and will be dropped soon.
There are other subtleties too. Fignon's wider 44cm handlebars actually control side to side movement...which is contrary to what you might think. His brake levers are mounted low/middle of the bend on his drops. This seems uncomfortable and is also contrary to current trends. But look at his hands...so relaxed and with minimum twist.
Contrast that to Anderson's bars. He's holding the bars securely but with more effort. Anderson's brakes are mounted higher...his bars are probably 42cm...maybe 44cm. But he's a fairly tall rider. Fignon at about 5'-8" is riding 44cm bars but he looks supremely comfortable. I think we've forgotten a few things over the years.
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Should be climbing on the drops though
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