[drewmcg]

When he fell on the climb? The road was a little wet, but that was a gentle curve and he was CLIMBING--no way it should have slipped out from under him like that.

Either bad tire design, too much pressure, or oil slick in road (or some combo).

Anyone know what tire?

 

[iliveonnitro]

I'll disagree with all of it and say it's just his crappy bike handling in wet weather. I'm sure his tires were top of the line.

 

[drewmcg]

Did you see it? Sure didn't look like crappy bike handling to me. But then, you're a coach (what does Menchov know?).

 

[Guest]

Menchov doesn't seem to be a great bike handler. So I think he was probably just putting in a hard dig on a curve and torqued the bike. Bummer though, it may have been a good move.

 

[gray8110]

Looks to me like his back tire just gave out, not a whole lot he could have done differently except go slower - he might have been taking the turn a bit tight, but it looks to me to be a result of being leaned over at relatively high speed on a damp/oily road. Especially on new, smooth pavement, the first few moments of a light rain can be downright treacherous. Good bike handler or no, no one else had the opportunity to take that line so it is a bit hard to tell.

For what it's worth, Rabobank <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/tour07/tech/probike.php?id=/photos/2007/tech/probikes/tour_rasmussen_rabobank_colnago/Michael_Rasmussens_Rabobank_Colnago_Extreme-C_Vittoria_tire">usually rides Vittoria tubulars</a> - same as about half the peloton although there are dozens of models available.

 

[Iwannapodiumgirl]

At 0:26 it looks like he slipped on something painted on the road... maybe a wet road penis?

 

[drewmcg]

At 0:15 it looks like his back wheel slipped out before he got to any paint. He looks pretty upright, too, just before the wheel let go--hardly leaning at all. We can all speculate poor bike handling, but (for me) seeing is believing, and I just don't see it. Could be oil, though, or an over-inflated tire. Does everyone ride a slick on a TDF mountain stage when rain is forecast? If everyone's riding the same tires then others should have slipped going up the mountain, too. I don't get it.

 

[iliveonnitro]

Did you see it? Sure didn't look like crappy bike handling to me. But then, you're a coach (what does Menchov know?).

Spare me

 

[iliveonnitro]

Same tires as everyone else. Unless it was some weird combination of a rock in the road and ultra slick only for him, I'm still going with rider error. It's not like most euro riders are known for their superb bike handling ability.

I'm pretty sure this isn't the first, or second, time he's done this.

 

[SicBith]

Take a close look at the footage. It looks like to me that the back may have drifted a little bit, but he surely over corrected and the front end went down. He may of even over steered the corner and lost the front end before the back. I would say he was going for the break, and lost the front end while driving into the turn.

 

[tjjm36m3]

His body wasn't even at that steep of an angle on the turn. His rear tire must have given out due to wet payment or the paint that he went over on. Another cause might be that he got caught with a strong gust of crosswind.

 

[unterhausen]

they said it had just started raining so the road was extra slick because the oil hadn't washed away yet. He's wobbling a little from effort before he goes down, might not have been the best idea until the rain had washed a little more oil off the road.

 

[I am The Edge]

its pretty obvious it isn't a cross wind.

slick road, hard acceleration...rider down.

 

[ZoSoSwiM]

Physics. Simple enough.

 

[filtersweep]

Looks like oil to me. I went down on a slick a few months ago--- felt like a hit a patch of ice in the middle of the summer. He wasn't moving that fast and there are no crazy angles. Everyone looks rather conservative here.

they said it had just started raining so the road was extra slick because the oil hadn't washed away yet. He's wobbling a little from effort before he goes down, might not have been the best idea until the rain had washed a little more oil off the road.

 

[gh1]

No one is mentioning that something like 40 riders went down in a roundabout just a few miles before this. The road simply, was very slick.

 

[Creakyknees]

It's not like most euro riders are known for their superb bike handling ability.

ok, now it's your turn to spare _me_.

 

[den bakker]

Same tires as everyone else. Unless it was some weird combination of a rock in the road and ultra slick only for him, I'm still going with rider error. It's not like most euro riders are known for their superb bike handling ability.

I'm pretty sure this isn't the first, or second, time he's done this.

"Day 11 was in Cedarburg, WI. I was preregistered for this race, but debating if I should do it. Still sore from Sunday's race in Evanston, I was iffy about the race. By the time I showed up, it was raining. That just about solidified my decision. I asked to have my preregistration switched to Whitnall Park the following day."
no ride in the rain and recovering from a crash? How does it look through that hole in the glass house?

 

[MaestroXC]

ok, now it's your turn to spare _me_.

You beat me to it. Saying that anyone in the European peloton is a sub-par bike handler (I don't care HOW much they crash) is ludicrous. You race, Nitro, you should know better. Riding as fast as they do, on the roads they do, as close as they are to as many other riders, each of these guys is a superior bike rider.

 

[RSPDiver]

Wait, Menchov isn't even European. He's from Russia. That's Asia, last I checked. Unless there's some new, hippy map I'm not aware of.