[cda 455]

Interesting article regarding Froome:

Bike Pure removes Froome from its website ahead of Tour


Several members here have made the point countless times: "You riders say your clean; then show us the numbers!" That's what the organization is asking.

 

[Local Hero]

Does Purebike suffer from unwarranted self importance?

 

[cda 455]

Does Purebike suffer from unwarranted self importance?

What do you mean?

 

[champamoore]

If the entire field isn't posting their numbers, why should a favorite? That is highly valuable information for rivals in pursuit of the GC.

 

[kbiker3111]

That is highly valuable information for rivals in pursuit of the GC.

How? At this point the fitness is there or it isn't. Knowing what w/kg froome is doing as he rides away from you or vice versa isn't going to change how your legs work.

 

[ph0enix]

How? At this point the fitness is there or it isn't. Knowing what w/kg froome is doing as he rides away from you or vice versa isn't going to change how your legs work.

Probably right. He's already the favorite and by that, a marked man in the peloton. Don't think his numbers would give anything away.
On the other hand, worrying about compliance with Bike Pure's policy a few days before his big tour is probably the last thing on Froome's mind.

 

[Kristatos]

Does Purebike suffer from unwarranted self importance?

I agree that this is what it seems like. I had never heard of them before - nothing like calling out the big favorite and manufacturing some supposed controversy right before the TdF starts as a cry for attention.

 

[RkFast]

Would a NASCAR team divulge its dyno numbers to the public the days before the Indy 500?

Would an NFL team divulge detailed info to the public on the health of the QB days before the Super Bowl?

Why should a cyclist divulge his performance data to the public days before the Tour?

 

[Bluenote]

They found a technicality to avoid a possible PR hit down the road.

Btw, shouldn't "miraculous" be after "mutant"?

 

[Local Hero]

What do you mean?

Unwarranted Self Importance, or USI, is popculture/internet speak used to describe an individual or group who overestimates their status or weight.

My question is this: When did Bike Pure become a governing body in international cycling and how much do they charge for hats, T-shirts and wrist bands?

If the entire field isn't posting their numbers, why should a favorite? That is highly valuable information for rivals in pursuit of the GC.

In their defense, they said they would be happy to take the numbers *after* the event.

Still, it will open Froome to unecessary scrutiny and criticism.

How? At this point the fitness is there or it isn't. Knowing what w/kg froome is doing as he rides away from you or vice versa isn't going to change how your legs work.

NO.

Knowing your opponents' power can change how you race against them.

For example, if one knows an opponent can sustain X power up a climb, it will change the tempo their team sets running them down.

 

[cda 455]

Would a NASCAR team divulge its dyno numbers to the public the days before the Indy 500?

Would an NFL team divulge detailed info to the public on the health of the QB days before the Super Bowl?

Why should a cyclist divulge his performance data to the public days before the Tour?

You're not from the U.S.; are you?


NASCAR doesn't race in the Indy 500.

By NFL rules, teams can not keep secret the health of a player for any reasons. They must be reported directly to the NFL. Injury reports are then made public on a weekly basis during the season.


I was expecting your fourth point to be: 'Did the U.S. give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?! NO!!'

 

[Kristatos]

NASCAR doesn't race in the Indy 500.

Depends on whether you consider the Brickyard 400 to be "in the Indy 500" whatever that means. Who cares anyways, RkFast's point seems valid to me.

 

[kbiker3111]

NO.

Knowing your opponents' power can change how you race against them.

For example, if one knows an opponent can sustain X power up a climb, it will change the tempo their team sets running them down.

I guess I don't see it this way. If Sky had known Nibali's 5/20/60 min mmp in this years Giro, would it have changed the way they raced the Giro? If Astana had known Wiggins power would he have dropped out faster?

I guess I can understand not publishing daily numbers until after a GT is over, but publishing pre tour tests and numbers after the race is over seems innocuous. The real reason not to deal with actual power numbers seems to be validating calibration of the PM used. Its easy enough to change to offset of your SRM/whatever and give a lower/higher number than reality.

 

[cda 455]

Depends on whether you consider the Brickyard 400 to be "in the Indy 500" whatever that means. Who cares anyways, RkFast's point seems valid to me.

The Brickyard 400 is the Brickyard 400 and Indy 500 is the Indy 500. Two completely different races.


Despite his absolute failed analogy attempt, I too, was able to see his point as well. Whether it's valid is a different issue .

 

[RkFast]

Yes, its DAYTONA 500. Im more of an NHRA fan, myself. Although after Scott Kalitta got killed in Englishtown, I felt the move to reduce the track length to 1,000 feet was rash.

 

[Local Hero]

I guess I don't see it this way. If Sky had known Nibali's 5/20/60 min mmp in this years Giro, would it have changed the way they raced the Giro? If Astana had known Wiggins power would he have dropped out faster?

I guess I can understand not publishing daily numbers until after a GT is over, but publishing pre tour tests and numbers after the race is over seems innocuous

Would you like to know your opponents' power numbers?

Let's put away GC and think back to the time when the HTC train would run down a break and give Cavendish the perfect leadout. They had it down to a science...almost!

There were times when the breakaway stayed away. Would knowing the power numbers of all of the riders in the break play into the tactics of running them down?


A related issue is this: There are complaints about race radios and how they make races less exciting. There are complaints about team Sky and how their tactics make races less exciting. If everyone knew everyone else's power, would that make races more or less exciting?

The real reason not to deal with actual power numbers seems to be validating calibration of the PM used. Its easy enough to change to offset of your SRM/whatever and give a lower/higher number than reality.

I've brought this up in the past. If athletes are using countermeasures to defeat doping tests there is no reason to think their power numbers the athletes give Bike Pure (or whatever) will be 100% accurate. If they employ physicians to help them around medical tests, why not employ an IT guy to doctor the SRM numbers?

Let's not fool ourselves into believing that releasing the power numbers is going to solve the doping problem.



On the other hand, I think cycling as a while could modernize and become a little more exciting. I would like to see live gopro feeds from riders' bikes during races with dashboard data, RPM, current speed, power, etc. It would be great to see a helicopter view and then cut to the view from Sagan's handbars!

 

[robdamanii]

On the other hand, I think cycling as a while could modernize and become a little more exciting. I would like to see live gopro feeds from riders' bikes during races with dashboard data, RPM, current speed, power, etc. It would be great to see a helicopter view and then cut to the view from Sagan's handbars!

As cool as that would be, I believe it's banned under the UCI rule of "no telemetry in race situations."

 

[Wookiebiker]

Would you like to know your opponents' power numbers?

For the most part ... knowing your opponents power numbers before a race starts is more of a "Psych Out" game than anything because after the first hard climbing effort, if the others are not there, you have a better W/Kg than the others.

With that said ... you have no idea what the other riders recovery is like. They may get blown away on the first stage, but the rider that won it may have burned too many matches and fall off on the next days climb ... thus taking them out of overall contention.

It could make a difference in a riders mental preparation knowing they have lower or higher W/Kg than other riders ... beyond that I don't think it would make a difference in preparation or change tactics any since all teams go in with their own plan of attack.

It would be interesting to see power numbers live, RPM, HR, etc. and if they were all live, it would be much harder to cheat with power numbers. If one rider shows they are putting out 5.5 W/Kg and another shows 6 W/Kg but the one with lower W/Kg is pulling away from the other ... there is a good chance their numbers are not correct and something "Fishy" is going on. It's the open nature of having numbers for everybody that would make it harder to cheat.

 

[misterwaterfallin]

It could make a difference in a riders mental preparation knowing they have lower or higher W/Kg than other riders ... beyond that I don't think it would make a difference in preparation or change tactics any since all teams go in with their own plan of attack.

It would be interesting to see power numbers live, RPM, HR, etc. and if they were all live, it would be much harder to cheat with power numbers. If one rider shows they are putting out 5.5 W/Kg and another shows 6 W/Kg but the one with lower W/Kg is pulling away from the other ... there is a good chance their numbers are not correct and something "Fishy" is going on. It's the open nature of having numbers for everybody that would make it harder to cheat.

In that scenario there are a lot of factors going on as well. Rider size/weight, bike type, drafting effects, ect. I think it would just make things more confusing if we tried to point fingers using that type of information

 

[Local Hero]

As cool as that would be, I believe it's banned under the UCI rule of "no telemetry in race situations."

I had no idea.