Riding in the drops - when / how much?

andrewjoseph

larkim wrote:

I'll let you claim that if you want Andrew. These are guys who are running sub 30 minutes for the 10k of the run where running is "only" 1/3 of their sport too. Bear in mind that last year on the track only 23 men in the UK clocked a sub 30 minute 10k. I doubt they are particularly "worse" at cycling than they are at running.

At the London Olympics Alistair Brownlee covered the 43km route on his bike in just over 59 minutes, by my reckoning that's 27mpg average, after a 1500m swim and before a sub 30 minute 10k. Sounds pretty swift to me,,,

I'm not claiming anything. I'm not doubting they are fast triathletes. I just doubt your claims of their cycling abilities compared to most on here.

larkim

We'll have to agree to disagree then. In the same way that neither of then would be a slouch in an elite national running race, I strongly suspect they would be at that same level as cyclists. But I accept I have no specific evidence of this.

cougie

andrewjoseph wrote:

larkim wrote:

LOL, I suspect the Brownlee bros (and any other elite triathletes) are superior cyclists to most (all?) who post on here! But just checking out some photos of the TdF online, it's obvious that the answer to my original question was "the pros ride with their hands in many positions, no reason why you shouldn't too".

i doubt that you can claim that they are superior to most on here, the cycling is only a ⅓ of their sport, they only need stamina, not so much skill in a bunch, from what i've seen the cycle routes are not very technical.

i think the most technical part of their sport is the transition and getting into the bike shoes.

You have no idea what you're talking about. These guys are full time athletes. You don't get Olympic medals and world titles from a lucky dip.

If you think the average poster here could possibly be a match for the Brownlees then you're deluded. They have huge engines and would see any of us off unless we have some pros on here that I don't know about.

simon_masterson

I wouldn't expect the Brownlees to win a TT against the best on the UK scene (Bottrill et al), but the idea of comparing them with weekend warriors is a bit comical.

Matthewfalle

Simon Masterson wrote:

I wouldn't expect the Brownlees to win a TT against the best on the UK scene (Bottrill et al), but the idea of comparing them with weekend warriors is a bit comical.

I wouldn't expect Bottrill et al to beat them in a swim or run either. Or a full tri or duathlon.

It actually wouldn't surprise me if a TT wasn't surprisingly close either .......

simon_masterson

Matthewfalle wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

I wouldn't expect the Brownlees to win a TT against the best on the UK scene (Bottrill et al), but the idea of comparing them with weekend warriors is a bit comical.

I wouldn't expect Bottrill et al to beat them in a swim or run either. Or a full tri or duathlon.

It actually wouldn't surprise me if a TT wasn't surprisingly close either .......

Exactly. I imagine that both Brownlees could do an 18 on the right course. (And on full TT rigs)

ManOfKent

andrewjoseph wrote:

larkim wrote:

I'll let you claim that if you want Andrew. These are guys who are running sub 30 minutes for the 10k of the run where running is "only" 1/3 of their sport too. Bear in mind that last year on the track only 23 men in the UK clocked a sub 30 minute 10k. I doubt they are particularly "worse" at cycling than they are at running.

At the London Olympics Alistair Brownlee covered the 43km route on his bike in just over 59 minutes, by my reckoning that's 27mpg average, after a 1500m swim and before a sub 30 minute 10k. Sounds pretty swift to me,,,

I'm not claiming anything. I'm not doubting they are fast triathletes. I just doubt your claims of their cycling abilities compared to most on here.

I'm relatively young, relatively light and usually in the top 25% of finishers in sportives - the best benchmark I can provide in the absence of racing. How that compares to "most" on here I don't know. I can say with certainty that I couldn't average 27mph for an hour even in a bunch.

When riding in a group I tend to give amateur triathletes - insert visual-clue stereotype here - a wide berth until I've seen they can actually ride around corners, but the likes of the Brownlees are undoubtedly very good cyclists indeed.